Mass-Tech
2006-09-22, 16:41
It's leg day – the day you've been dreading all week, the day that separates the men from the boys. And what better way to start it off than with heavy squats? It's the exercise you love to hate. Everyone does. There's nothing more gut-wrenching and brutalizing than an all-out set of intense, heavy squats. There is also nothing quite like the look of a well-developed, gargantuan pair of tree-trunk legs. It's the mark of a true hardcore bodybuilder. Nothing will get you respect from other hardcore bodybuilders like having a pair of Quadzilla-like thighs to match your upper body. Massive quads exude strength and power, not to mention mental and physical toughness. Many people can build a decent upper body, but only the ones willing to bust their ass and accept the pain a leg workout brings will reap the rewards of massive, muscular thighs. And no other exercise will build your quads like the squat will. The barbell squat is the core of any leg routine and is renowned for being the undisputed king of all exercises. So stop making excuses, suck it up, and get squatting!
The squat is a push-type compound exercise primarily working the muscles at the front of the thighs – the quadriceps, which includes the vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and rectus femoris muscles. The barbell squat also hits the hamstrings and glute muscles. To effectively and correctly perform the squat, grip the barbell slightly beyond shoulder width and set the barbell behind your neck, resting across your shoulders and traps. Place your feet about shoulder width apart, keeping your toes pointed forward, and remember to keep your abs tight at all times to help support the lower back throughout each set while keeping your back arched. Now simply squat down as far as you can go – the deeper the better – and explode back up. Remember, half-squats, in which you only go down half of the way, aren't going to nearly give you the same results or muscle fiber recruitment a deep glutes-to-calves or “ass to grass” squat will.
By now, you should understand just how important squatting is to anyone in search of building awesome legs, but did you know squats are also the single most anabolic exercise? No other exercise stimulates as much overall muscle as the squat does. When your legs are growing, you'll notice your whole body has a tendency to grow with them. Research shows squatting can actually increase testosterone, the most anabolic hormone in the body, and release growth hormone through lactic acid buildup. Squatting lights the anabolic match in the body so that muscle growth occurs much more readily, and being in a state of anabolism is absolutely vital for growth. If you want to grow, it's important to make sure your body is in this crucial anabolic state not only through squatting and effective training, but also through sound nutrition and adequate rest.
http://img155.imagevenue.com/loc318/th_39571_quad_122_318lo.jpg (http://img155.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=39571_quad_122_318lo.jpg)
The squat is a push-type compound exercise primarily working the muscles at the front of the thighs – the quadriceps, which includes the vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and rectus femoris muscles. The barbell squat also hits the hamstrings and glute muscles. To effectively and correctly perform the squat, grip the barbell slightly beyond shoulder width and set the barbell behind your neck, resting across your shoulders and traps. Place your feet about shoulder width apart, keeping your toes pointed forward, and remember to keep your abs tight at all times to help support the lower back throughout each set while keeping your back arched. Now simply squat down as far as you can go – the deeper the better – and explode back up. Remember, half-squats, in which you only go down half of the way, aren't going to nearly give you the same results or muscle fiber recruitment a deep glutes-to-calves or “ass to grass” squat will.
By now, you should understand just how important squatting is to anyone in search of building awesome legs, but did you know squats are also the single most anabolic exercise? No other exercise stimulates as much overall muscle as the squat does. When your legs are growing, you'll notice your whole body has a tendency to grow with them. Research shows squatting can actually increase testosterone, the most anabolic hormone in the body, and release growth hormone through lactic acid buildup. Squatting lights the anabolic match in the body so that muscle growth occurs much more readily, and being in a state of anabolism is absolutely vital for growth. If you want to grow, it's important to make sure your body is in this crucial anabolic state not only through squatting and effective training, but also through sound nutrition and adequate rest.
http://img155.imagevenue.com/loc318/th_39571_quad_122_318lo.jpg (http://img155.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=39571_quad_122_318lo.jpg)