Legs are a group of muscles that are quite difficult to train. Therefore, many athletes do not devote time to working on them. Learn the secrets of large quads. Most experts and professional athletes believe that the most effective number of repetitions for gaining mass is from 6 to 10. This is true for the upper body, but with the bottom it is a little different. The legs respond well to a combination of high-rep and low-rep training. This is due to the fact that in this case it is possible to use all types of fibers. With this approach to training, your legs will be strong and prominent.
To date, quite a lot of techniques have been created that allow you to alternate heavy and light workouts. The most popular method is to divide your activities into high and low rep days. You can also do this within one lesson. When we mentioned light training day, we did not mean light training. For example, squats with less weight but more reps can make your session even harder than usual. The same can be said about other exercises. Let's take a closer look at the methods of specific training of leg muscles in more detail.
Increasing Leg Load Sets
With this technique, you can quickly achieve muscle failure without using near-limiting weights. Note that this method is the opposite of the weight loss method. Start with a working weight that allows you to perform 10 to 12 repetitions. However, you should only do 6. After that, you should increase the weight of the sports equipment by 10 or 15 percent and do 6 repetitions again. Then do another set of 6 repetitions, previously increasing the weight again by the same 10-15 percent. In total, you will do 18 repetitions in total. If the initial weight was chosen correctly, then in the third set, the last repetitions will be very difficult for you, and you will reach failure.
Partial repetitions and constant muscle tension in the legs
Many athletes believe that all movements should be performed with maximum amplitude. At the same time, for bodybuilders, squats at a slow pace will be most effective, without a pause at the top of the trajectory of movement.
After doing a deep squat, an incomplete upward movement (by half or three quarters of the amplitude) will increase the time during which the muscles are in tension. In addition, the media forest will be actively involved in the work. One of the most popular schemes for implementing this technique is "21".
The essence of this technique is to perform one approach, consisting of seven repetitions only in the upper part of the amplitude. Then the next approach is performed only in the lower part of the trajectory, and the last approach is full of amplitude movements. As a result, 21 repetitions are recruited, which gave the name to this scheme.
Lots of repetitions for the legs
We already talked about this at the very beginning of the article, but this technique is very effective in training legs and should be considered in more detail. A lot of reps should be at least 20 or even 50. You should remember that the fewer reps you do, the stronger your muscles become, but at the same time gaining mass is very reluctant.
At the same time, one should not refuse from low-repetition training, and the best option would be to combine them with high-repetition. Consider squats as an example, as this exercise is very effective and helps to strengthen not only the muscles of the legs, but also the whole body.
It should be noted right away that you must be able to breathe correctly. Otherwise, a large amount of lactic acid will build up in your muscles very quickly, and you will not be able to complete the set number of repetitions. The first 10 repetitions should be done in a familiar style. Then, for the next 10 reps, inhale deeply after each rep.
The next ten repetitions are performed with two or three deep breaths at the top of the trajectory. If you can continue to do the exercise, take a deep breath after each rep.
If you have always used a small number of reps before, then you should first increase the body's endurance. Start with 20 reps and work your way up to 50 or at least 40 reps. To make it easier to track your progress, keep a class diary.
Regression method for leg training
If you used the pyramid principle in class, then this method is the opposite of it. The pyramid can be very effective, but the regression method is not inferior in performance. The first approach must be performed with the maximum possible weight, which must then be reduced in each set. At the same time, you should increase the number of repetitions.
To get the most out of this training method, you need to do a good warm-up. Using the pyramid principle, where the first sets are mostly warm-ups, you will approach the last set very tired and will not be able to lift the required working weight. In turn, the regression method does not have this drawback. You do the first set with the maximum weight while you are still full of energy.
Preliminary depletion of the leg muscles
This method is, in fact, a variation of the superset, which includes heavy basic and light isolated movements. First, you need to perform an isolated movement to tire the target muscle. After that, move on to doing the basic one, which will involve additional muscles, and for this reason you will be able to do it.
This method is also very useful when you are injured or have just recently recovered from an injury. For example, if you perform leg presses to failure, you can then squat with less weight, thereby reducing the risk of new injury.
More about the rules of leg training in this video:
