Fitness trainer shares four simple exercises to build bigger, stronger quads
Leg day may feel like a bit of a slog but if you’re serious about your training you won’t miss it. Strong quads are essential for helping you with everyday movement and building a balanced physique (which is going to reduce the likelihood of injury), and they will help your compound lifts soar. Even your upper body ones, like bench press) – so train them you must!
One guy who knows a thing or two about training legs legs is Obi Vincent. Like, have you seen this dude's quads? They’re big. In a recent Instagram post Obi shared his ‘drumstick leg workout’ that you can do either in a gym, or at home that will help take your pins from sticks to stumps. Don't worry if you don't have access to an Olympic barbell like Obi, as a pair of dumbbells will work perfectly.
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This workout is made up of four classic compound exercises that, although have a quad focus, will also hit your posterior chain muscles and even your core, so it’s a great overall lower-body workout. To make things even more challenging Obi uses tempo reps, where he slows down each movement, to fire up your legs even more. If you don’t have dumbbells, grab a backpack and stuff it with some heavy-ish items or if you have other weights, like a kettlebell you can use that instead. A few of the exercises are 'elevated', so either grab a small weight plate, or book, to slightly raise your heels with. Here’s your workout:
Elevated front squat with barbell/dumbbells in front rack position - 4 x 8-12 reps with 3 second eccentric
Foot elevated split squat - 4 x 10 reps each leg with 2 second eccentric
Goblet squat - 4 x 10 reps with 3 second eccentric
Walking lunges - 3 x 20 metres
Once you've completed this, don't forget to consume a combination of protein and carbs, whether that's in a form of a protein shake, or whole foods to help with muscle repair and replenish glycogen stores. If you're looking for similar workouts, give this five-move workout a go next. Again, you'll need a pair of dumbbells, or if you don't own any weights, try this lower body workout from Arnold Schwarzenegger a whirl using no weights.
