Rehab from a torn ACL really made me learn the hard way how much you can compensate on the squat without even noticing, and how some parts of your quads and hips can be lagging hard and you can still technically squat fine. Have become a huge fan of machines and single leg work
@bigpicturegains - exactly what i was gonna type!! Can't just do squats for legs just like you can't do just bench press for chest. Both needed & useful but in pursuit of maximum muscle hypertrophy different / variety of exercises will always be required.
I always marvel at the well crafted gym you have built! The wood and lighting make it feel warm and inviting. I've been lifting for 29 years and this gym your gym is just about perfect in my opinion. Keep up the great work dude!
The Exercise band model/simulation is an extremely elegant demonstration of the lengthening and shortening of the muscle. I watch a ton of 'fitness youtube' and can't believe I haven't seen it before. I hope the main idea lands with viewers - if you aren't moving in a way that aligns with the muscle's purpose, you aren't doing anything!
Not exactly that. The muscles going over two joints which therefore doesn’t change length much in certain exercises. What they do is instead move the load from knee to hip, or the other way. This is called the Lombard's paradox. What he is saying is that those muscles don't get enough training in the exercises when they work like that. So he adds exercises where one of these joints aren't moving, so the muscle has to streach and compress, and thereby do work.
@@Zurendren I would say about half a year, overall it just feels like with dumbbells I get better stabilization and more importantly for me I had pain in the iliopsoas muscle( I hope I pronounce that right) which went away after a while with dumbbell lunges I think I am hitting certain muscles which I cant otherwise, hope this helps!
Hey, bro, sorry for accusing you of ripping off Ben Patrick a couple of years back. I've come to really appreciate your content over the years, and I just jumped the gun, after seeing all of his copycats start to pop up. You bring your own unique flair to the fitness world. Thanks, man!
Woa, Eugene has been a training coach way longer than him! But one can understand just getting to know them at around the same time. Ben Patrick had a huge influence on everyone. And they are both outstanding instructors anyway.
Respect to you for apologising. In my experience 99% of justified apologies never materialise, even when it's patently obvious they were wrong. (I don't know the comment you are referring to, just talking in general.)
Solid advice as always! I struggle with barbell squats as I have very long legs, right now I do bulgarian split squats and leg press alternating weeks. For the posterior chain I do RDL and barbell hip thrusts alternating weeks, then leg extensions, leg curl (lying as it's what my gym has) alternated with back extensions to hit the lower back and hamstrings, then calf work and lying hip flexor raises too. Throw in the odd reverse lunge from time to time.
I love back-squats and still perform them, but definitely if I had a nasty back workout the day before, my bracing/stability is definitely not there and can't do heavy squats.
...thank you for always sharing information. also, thank you for posting when you have something to say or share, that you really think needs to get out there.., rather than just throwing stuff up again the wall to appease the algorithm ...
I squat for decades, my body really kept telling me it didn't like it anymore.. and after a couple injuries and constantly feeling beat up, I abandoned them and have had no issues maintaining size or strength without them.
There are some ways to make squats less fatiguing and hit the target muscles more. First and foremost: stick to a bodybuilding rep range, somewhere between 5 to 15 reps. Secondly, create worse leverages like doing Platz squats or standing on a slant board. Also, if you're doing them in a squat rack and put the safeties in the perfect position, you can take the last set to failure. I did it for a while and it can be fun in a scary kind of way. You can't take every set to failure though, its a hassle to take off all the plates and put everything back on 😅 As someone with a home gym, for the rectus femoris i like sissy squats. Alex Leonidas did a great video on it a while back. I have noticed a lot of growth since doing them on the regular.
Love my back squats, but I also love torturing myself with split squats, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls. All work synergistically to give me the gains I want and need. So thanks for the reminder Uncle Eugene.
7:57 I've always preferred the seated leg curl machine to the standard lying-down leg curl. The seated leg curl enables me to move much more weight and stretch better at the top of the motion. Coupled with other hamstring exercises, I've managed to even out leg development.
I found that by making sure my back is straight (with elevated heals), not going too deep, and a rep range from 10-12 with little to almost no pauses, my quads are actually targeted pretty well.
Great video, I’ve been avoiding squats after being diagnosed with multiple disc protrusions. So this makes me feel glad to realise that there safer alternatives. Can you make a dedicated video on how to train legs or in general for people with lower back issues?
The fun thing about squats is that I often learn something new while/after doing them. For example, depending of how my body feels, I can change the position or angle of the squat and I can focus on glutes and hips, or on quads more, or I can go as deep as I wish. As long as your form isn't really bad, then it's your choice how you do them.
This video is great at explaining how stiff deadlifts (hip extension), seated leg curls (knee flexion), and leg extensions (knee extension) can complement the squat movement by targeting the hamstrings and quads more completely. I appreciate this content, but I don't think seat reclined leg extension can nearly match the motion of hip flexion, which is almost always ignored in fitness content. I recommend doing cable front kicks or knee strikes with the anchor on your ankle to address this. Stand straight and away from the cable for a good stretch, and hold onto something for balance as you’ll be standing on one leg.
I have a love/hate relationship with not just squats but all the traditional barbell lifts. In terms of strength, nothing packed on more overall strength than the classic lifts. However, as the years go by they can feel extremely taxing on the body sometimes. They are not necessary if you don’t like doing them. Dumbbells & Machines are perfectly fine substitutes.
They beat the shit out of your body long term. I know powerlifters with an emotional attachment to those lifts will deny this and say your programming just sucks, but they’ll also dress up like a Christmas tree just to warm up 😂
@@StopTheDamnTape That’s true. There is a lot of dogmatism around the big 3 and powerlifting. The only thing I will say is that if there aren’t any recovery issues, they can be efficient if you can recover from them. The other extreme is doing shit loads of volume with garbage programs that you see in Men’s Health magazines hence, a lot of people struggle to build a decent physique even though it’s not that difficult. I myself am thinking of incorporating some more calisthenics. I think that is a nice way to train with also throwing in some weights here & there.
But it really is your program that sucks lmao, and I'm not even a strength dude, you just need to not make them the main goal of your program and treat them like what they are, a big stimulus big fatigue movement @@StopTheDamnTape
@@coacheugeneteo The exercise band going limp, shortening, lengthening across certain joints was very impactful and memorable. (Way more than mere verbal explanation or verbal + gesturing) Please consider deploying this again for future explanations.
I have barbell squats as my compound lift but I also have RDLs, Leg Extensions, Leg Curl like what this video demonstrated. These are imo the top tier accessories that covers what the barbell squat lacks.
with leg extension I do the same thing. but if my gym lacks a leg extension with good stretch at the bottom and lack of ability to extend the hips out.....I'll then do a normal set and then immediately afterwards superset with sissy squats nearby
Exactly, since I've ditched the typical "8 reps" sets and aimed to get 15 reps, I feel the quads, my back is safe, and get awesome pumps. You just need bigger lungs😊 However, there are periods when I switch to another squat movement, usually hack squats or sometimes leg press, but after a while I always return to back squats because it's a basic exercise for me. My mentality is if I can do squats with perfection and enduring pain, I can do anything.
5:00 this is also why jm press/close grip bench press are bad for the long head of the triceps, they lengthen at the shoulder and shorten at the elbow, resulting in alot less work on the long head
I do sissy squats instead of leg extensions. It loads the muscles the same, but with even more ot that leaning back you do with leg extensions. Some trainers belive those two exercises are bad for your knees, but they aren’t if you are healthy. You wont have healthy knees if you dont load them. These exercises does load the knees, so you should regard them as training of them too. That means, dont load the knees more than they can take. It takes years to get tendons and joints to become strong, so extreamly slow progress! At age 76, I know how to keep joints healthy, and how important that is! I do the rest of your exercises pretty much as you describes so well in the video, and those 4 for the same reasons as you explained. Old knowledge for me, even though I'm not a trainer. Just pretty knowledgeable about anatomy and biomechanics.
I stopped squatting with a BB 18 months ago. Use Dumbbells and different movements now. Did a leg workout this morning and quads are still cramping, and lower back feels heaps better.
Thanks for the in-depth explanation. Among all these exercises, The only one I've stopped doing for now is hack squat. Because it takes too much energy from me. I was feeling so fatigued afterwards that started to hinder the whole workout. Literally, over the entire week I dreaded the day I was gonna do hack squat. Maybe I was doing something wrong, I don't know. Hopefully, I'll get back to it after a couple of months.
Your content is really good. Originally, I tuned in because the model is hot, but your explanations are so good. I suck at rdl's bad. No matter what I do, it hurts. Originally, I was doing them where I move my butt back (more stiff knee), but I wouldn't get much range of motion. Then I started doing them with a more bent knee. I get a better range of motion, but they hurt the lower back. I'm running out of ideas. Not fun being in pain all the time.
In terms of SLDL vs RDL naming, the way I use them is that the RDL doesn't touch the floor and the SLDL does. Both are excellent for hypertrophy but the SLDL will give more carryover to standard deadlift strength.
Seated hamstring curls while leaning forward is one of the most underrated exercises you can do for the hammies. Pendulum squats however I feel are useless since they create the most amount of tension at the end of the movement and not at the most stretched position for the quads. Good video.
Question: In my current routine, i'm doing bulgarian split squats and hack squats... but from my understanding, neither one of these target the rectus femoris, or all the heads of quads. Could it be sufficient to swap out the hack squat, for leg extension since i already do the bulgarian split squat, which is another form of squatting, or would i be losing out on some benefits? Although the gym i go to doesn't have the leaned back lex extension to emphazise the rectus femoris. And yes... i hate the bss due to the lower back discomfort, pain and some stiffness it causes me, but i love it a little at the same time 😆
Can you please make a workout out of this? So instead of squats you recommend: -Hack Squats complemented with Leg Extensions and -RDLs or stiff legged deadlifts complemented with Seated Leg Curls Did I get this right?
That's pretty much it! There's other options available too. Hack Squats >> Any supported squat/leg press variation Leg Extensions >> Any exercise that has a fixed hip position as knee bends (Sissy, Reverse Nordics etc) RDL >> Any hinge Seated Leg Curl >> Any leg curl exercise You can do them all in the one workout, or break it up however you like. And of course if you still want to do regular Squats you can. I currently do Zercher Squats a couple of times a week, then use that template to fill in the gaps
I've had a back injury many years ago, herniated a couple of disks, and even though I don't have any pain anymore, backsquats flare up this injury after a few days or weeks of doing them, to me the juice is not worth the squeeze.
Sensei Ganbaru, thanks for your content! You have the incredible ability to turn complicated topics into not so complicated… hahaha… Thanks for all you've for us, meatheads nerds!
I’ve noticed my form is solid until I get close to a 1RM and that’s where I might lose confidence on something like FROM in the rep and the squat is shallower than it can be. Technique is tough the closer to your failure point you go.
The rectus femoris is essentially the kicking muscle. If you've ever had pain while kicking a ball then you need to strengthen the rectus femoris. In fact, you can actually practice the kicking motion using a cable machine. Strap the cable to your ankle and allow your hip to go into extension while the knee is flexed, then contract your rectus to bring your leg as far out in front of your body as you can. It works in the same way when your knee extension machine has no seat, but you have much more control over the range of the movement.. Also, if you want to train the hip flexion aspect of the rectus femoris then you could do that too by using a cable and just flex the hip while keeping your knee completely flexed as well. And if you truly want to shred your rectus femoris then you could position the cable high above your ankle and extend your knee while it is completely flexed and your hip is completely extended. I would not recommend this to anyone who has never trained their knees before because you will definitely majorly tear something. You have to build up to it by doing your knee extensions first.
Very nice video Eugene! Please can you make the same kinda video for a back workout (with rows/pull ups) as well as one for chest (with barbell movements and alternatives)
What are your recs for someone wtih chronic low back pain and a swollen (but not burst) L6 disc? Currently I can only do full-range bodyweight squats. Anything heavier and I feel like my spine is gonna snap in two. I've compensated by doing 100 reps of bodyweight squats (divided by 3-4 sets) and then doing incline leg presses at a shorter range of motion, with leg curls and seated calf raises for accessory workouts. Anything I can add to this to maybe address the back?
squats are cool compound workout but if you want to lift serious weights, safer to go for more isolated movements i.e. leg press, extensions, curls, RDLs and hip thrusts depending on what you want to work hard at.
One thing that your content on TH-cam has taught me (with respect to uploads and videos, not training) is that the quality of the content matters much more than the quantity. You took a long break from uploading on TH-cam, but when you came back, you picked up where you left off, which I have to say, I didn't expect.
How do people feel about belt squats? I have been doing them more high rep as an accessory in the 16-20 range and I can get a super deep range of motion and stabilize with the bar around the platform. I have been doing belt squats after deadlifts and on the other leg day I have been doing squats with RDLs as an accessory.
I will answer your question. The king of exercises is the Olympic Snatch, followed by the clean/jerk. You go from fully-relaxed to fully-extended in one second, plus you get to do very deep squats in the process.
Eugene do you think for strength gain we should you stretch reflex of the muscle or no? Doesn’t squat like the girl can put you in more risk for injury? Does use the stretch reflex promote more adaptation to tissue so you are more bullet proof or is better to slow eccentrics and pause at the bottom?
As a 160 pound (73kg), my max squat is probably like 225... (102kg). ... :( just started back, but still. She's strong AF. Didn't know about the tiny hamstring muscle! Thanks for the tips!
I'm not built for squats (long femur, short upper body). Also my knees hate me, but.. I've been s.l.o.w.l.y building back some resilience and can even do rear foot elevated squats now without pain. (I couldn't even bench without knee pain a year ago) My RDL is respectable though :-) (well IMO that is which is all that matters)
So do you have an optimal CKC (Closed Kinetic Chain) exercise for the Rectus Femoris Muscle? I have had in the past knee pain (patella femoral pain) from doing leg extensions. My Orthopedic doctors tell me don't do leg extensions because they are OKC. So some CKC options would be awesome.
I swear by box squats, deep ones though like a lower box. they help with technique and time under tension. my leg gains and strnegth have been quite noticeable since I started. also kettle bell swings and low bar trap bar deadlift. that'll do it!
The main negative for the standard squat to me is the fatigue cost. It’s why I’m considering switching, even though they’re maybe my favorite exercise. Once you get to 315 or more for 5-10 reps, it’s just a lot to recover from and negatively impacts your sessions unless you take a couple days off.
You could tweak exercise order and pre-fatigue... Like doing squats near the end once you're gassed, and perform 2-3 sets of 20 @225 with a slow eccentric and pause once per week for lower systemic fatigue.
One of my favourite leg exercises would be the Romanian lunge I’m getting stronger in the legs and seeing some good growth with my quads, but I need to be focused more with my hams. Would you say doing Romanian dead lifts on a smith machine a good idea?
I'm increasingly a fan of squats as a "power" rather than strength exercise. Like, 3ish reps at a time, never a doubt (70-80%), short-ish rest or clusters. It seems to give a lot without taking as much out of me.
@Keprotica then you have your definition backwards. Strength exercise rather than a power. In powerlifting you are trying to produce the most amount of force to move as much weight as possible. For strength conditioning it's to strengthen your everyday movement and keep your muscles and tendons healthy.
@FINsoininen but are people not the ones generating that power? Are we not doing the lifting? What else would you call it specifically. It's still correct since we are generating force and displacing an object over time.
Bro. I hope My question be noticed. I have this problem many years ago. Its been here for 5 Years. Btw I'm 20. When I do push-ups, my right arm which is my dominant hand. Always get the tension and no matter what I do, my left arm doesn't get any tension at all. I look like Charger from Lefordead. I hope you make content featuring this issue. Thank you!!
Anyone know why I can do leg extensions all day long with no knee pain but the second I try any squat variant (hack, barbell, split) even belt squat, my outer knee on one side screams in a grinding pain?
Leg extensions don't fully utilize all the muscles in a squat, or rather it is not loaded the same way. I would seek professional help but incorporate single leg work would be a good start.
I'm doing squats ATG and bulgarian split squats on leg day, I wanted to incorporate RDLs but after those first 2 exercises my legs are a wobbly mess, the walk back home from the gym takes so much longer too lol. Also I have no access to all those machines so yeah.
I feel the same about deadlifting and variations of it, although more forgiving even on an off day than squats. At some point it doesnt make sense to be fatigued for days when it wasnt even a PR. I feel fresh when I am lifting below 175 at 117lbs. Anytime I shoot for over 235 I'm dead for 2-3 days. I could bulk, but nah 😂
Squats are difficult. They require more technique than most other exercises. I'm surprised that so very few people don't do hexbar deadlifts. . You can do them exactly right for your body, from like squats to like regular deadlifts. Just seek the body’s natural balance point! The few times I've tried it, it felt perfect. But nobody uses that poor tool in my gym. It took me years to get to a version of squats that my body likes. And dragging the bar against my legs in deadlifts doesn't feel right for me. But the hexbar was immediately just perfect! It let's your body decide how to lift, instead of struggling with a straight bar which forces you to hold it in a certain unnatural position in front of your legs, or dragging on your legs. How natural is that? I'm going to start using the hexbar not just to be contrary, but because it's obviously the best tool for us who aren't competing, just training.
Eugene I recently started up squatting after a back injury had healed and i was doing 5x3 and after I got done with it the same pain that I got came back from the injury before. it hurts the most to get in the position to do bent over rows. what do i do and how do i prevent this next time around?
You're back isn't ready for those rep ranges yet. Do lighter and higher reps where those reps don't hurt or cause residual low back pain. The ceiling will gradually rise and u can being slowly getting heavier with perfect form over several months until you can tolerate working in higher 1RM percentages without feeling the effects of axial compression. I'm a DPT and work with many low back patients over the years who go too fast and heavy too soon. Also perform plenty of oblique strengthening such as calisthenics like dragon flags and handstands, L sits to really develop the ability to resist high forces. Good luck!
An Aussie Asian trainer and a bald exercise scientist have been keeping me sane.
YES lmaoooo
True my friend 😂
Funny how white peoples arent aussie either but you wouldnt say aussie white guy now would you.
🤦🏾♀️@@zainali-gu3mj
@@zainali-gu3mj brother you don’t gotta be a prick over a literal TH-cam comment
Rehab from a torn ACL really made me learn the hard way how much you can compensate on the squat without even noticing, and how some parts of your quads and hips can be lagging hard and you can still technically squat fine. Have become a huge fan of machines and single leg work
Yes!
I’m going through the same experience with my acl rehab now too. Single leg bulgarians and single leg presses have been great
My main takeaway from this is that the body is complex, and to build well rounded strength & muscle, it requires well rounded training.
@bigpicturegains - exactly what i was gonna type!! Can't just do squats for legs just like you can't do just bench press for chest. Both needed & useful but in pursuit of maximum muscle hypertrophy different / variety of exercises will always be required.
I always marvel at the well crafted gym you have built! The wood and lighting make it feel warm and inviting. I've been lifting for 29 years and this gym your gym is just about perfect in my opinion. Keep up the great work dude!
This!!'
The Exercise band model/simulation is an extremely elegant demonstration of the lengthening and shortening of the muscle. I watch a ton of 'fitness youtube' and can't believe I haven't seen it before.
I hope the main idea lands with viewers - if you aren't moving in a way that aligns with the muscle's purpose, you aren't doing anything!
Thank you! 🙏 Glad you appreciate it mate
Not exactly that. The muscles going over two joints which therefore doesn’t change length much in certain exercises. What they do is instead move the load from knee to hip, or the other way. This is called the Lombard's paradox.
What he is saying is that those muscles don't get enough training in the exercises when they work like that.
So he adds exercises where one of these joints aren't moving, so the muscle has to streach and compress, and thereby do work.
Ive switched from squats to doing dumbbell lunges and it honestly feels amazing!
How long have you changed over for? And what are the new benefits of changing over to lunges vs squats?
Have you tried smith machine lunges? I've heard these a great because they take out the instability.
I did the same thing about a year or so ago, feel a lot more athletic/flexible than I did when I was just doing squats.
@@Zurendren I would say about half a year, overall it just feels like with dumbbells I get better stabilization and more importantly for me I had pain in the iliopsoas muscle( I hope I pronounce that right) which went away after a while with dumbbell lunges I think I am hitting certain muscles which I cant otherwise, hope this helps!
@@LetUsTrySewing No sadly I only have a rack at home with a pulley, dumbbells, barbell and some weights 😀
Hey, bro, sorry for accusing you of ripping off Ben Patrick a couple of years back. I've come to really appreciate your content over the years, and I just jumped the gun, after seeing all of his copycats start to pop up. You bring your own unique flair to the fitness world. Thanks, man!
Woa, Eugene has been a training coach way longer than him! But one can understand just getting to know them at around the same time. Ben Patrick had a huge influence on everyone.
And they are both outstanding instructors anyway.
Eugene knows more overall. Ben is more specialized in lower body and less on strength but more on athletics.
Respect to you for apologising. In my experience 99% of justified apologies never materialise, even when it's patently obvious they were wrong. (I don't know the comment you are referring to, just talking in general.)
You can tell who's ripping off ben patrick because they will have "guy" somewhere in their username 😆
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Solid advice as always! I struggle with barbell squats as I have very long legs, right now I do bulgarian split squats and leg press alternating weeks. For the posterior chain I do RDL and barbell hip thrusts alternating weeks, then leg extensions, leg curl (lying as it's what my gym has) alternated with back extensions to hit the lower back and hamstrings, then calf work and lying hip flexor raises too. Throw in the odd reverse lunge from time to time.
I love back-squats and still perform them, but definitely if I had a nasty back workout the day before, my bracing/stability is definitely not there and can't do heavy squats.
...thank you for always sharing information. also, thank you for posting when you have something to say or share, that you really think needs to get out there.., rather than just throwing stuff up again the wall to appease the algorithm ...
I squat for decades, my body really kept telling me it didn't like it anymore.. and after a couple injuries and constantly feeling beat up, I abandoned them and have had no issues maintaining size or strength without them.
There are some ways to make squats less fatiguing and hit the target muscles more. First and foremost: stick to a bodybuilding rep range, somewhere between 5 to 15 reps. Secondly, create worse leverages like doing Platz squats or standing on a slant board. Also, if you're doing them in a squat rack and put the safeties in the perfect position, you can take the last set to failure. I did it for a while and it can be fun in a scary kind of way. You can't take every set to failure though, its a hassle to take off all the plates and put everything back on 😅
As someone with a home gym, for the rectus femoris i like sissy squats. Alex Leonidas did a great video on it a while back. I have noticed a lot of growth since doing them on the regular.
You can. You just have to oin squat the first rep
Love my back squats, but I also love torturing myself with split squats, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls. All work synergistically to give me the gains I want and need. So thanks for the reminder Uncle Eugene.
7:57 I've always preferred the seated leg curl machine to the standard lying-down leg curl. The seated leg curl enables me to move much more weight and stretch better at the top of the motion. Coupled with other hamstring exercises, I've managed to even out leg development.
I found that by making sure my back is straight (with elevated heals), not going too deep, and a rep range from 10-12 with little to almost no pauses, my quads are actually targeted pretty well.
Great video, I’ve been avoiding squats after being diagnosed with multiple disc protrusions. So this makes me feel glad to realise that there safer alternatives.
Can you make a dedicated video on how to train legs or in general for people with lower back issues?
The fun thing about squats is that I often learn something new while/after doing them. For example, depending of how my body feels, I can change the position or angle of the squat and I can focus on glutes and hips, or on quads more, or I can go as deep as I wish. As long as your form isn't really bad, then it's your choice how you do them.
This video is great at explaining how stiff deadlifts (hip extension), seated leg curls (knee flexion), and leg extensions (knee extension) can complement the squat movement by targeting the hamstrings and quads more completely. I appreciate this content, but I don't think seat reclined leg extension can nearly match the motion of hip flexion, which is almost always ignored in fitness content.
I recommend doing cable front kicks or knee strikes with the anchor on your ankle to address this. Stand straight and away from the cable for a good stretch, and hold onto something for balance as you’ll be standing on one leg.
I have a love/hate relationship with not just squats but all the traditional barbell lifts. In terms of strength, nothing packed on more overall strength than the classic lifts. However, as the years go by they can feel extremely taxing on the body sometimes. They are not necessary if you don’t like doing them. Dumbbells & Machines are perfectly fine substitutes.
They beat the shit out of your body long term. I know powerlifters with an emotional attachment to those lifts will deny this and say your programming just sucks, but they’ll also dress up like a Christmas tree just to warm up 😂
@@StopTheDamnTape That’s true. There is a lot of dogmatism around the big 3 and powerlifting. The only thing I will say is that if there aren’t any recovery issues, they can be efficient if you can recover from them. The other extreme is doing shit loads of volume with garbage programs that you see in Men’s Health magazines hence, a lot of people struggle to build a decent physique even though it’s not that difficult. I myself am thinking of incorporating some more calisthenics. I think that is a nice way to train with also throwing in some weights here & there.
But it really is your program that sucks lmao, and I'm not even a strength dude, you just need to not make them the main goal of your program and treat them like what they are, a big stimulus big fatigue movement @@StopTheDamnTape
Top shelf explaining. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
@@coacheugeneteo The exercise band going limp, shortening, lengthening across certain joints was very impactful and memorable. (Way more than mere verbal explanation or verbal + gesturing)
Please consider deploying this again for future explanations.
great vid eugene..and I can confirm the impact of squats being overused and neglecting hams. also advocate seated leg curls over lying
Here for BeeYanka.
Thats not Bianca taylor dude. Bianca has tats this is Michelle kuo if I'm right.
I like the moment when he introduced her as Bianca Lupton
I have barbell squats as my compound lift but I also have RDLs, Leg Extensions, Leg Curl like what this video demonstrated. These are imo the top tier accessories that covers what the barbell squat lacks.
with leg extension I do the same thing. but if my gym lacks a leg extension with good stretch at the bottom and lack of ability to extend the hips out.....I'll then do a normal set and then immediately afterwards superset with sissy squats nearby
This is more of a full leg workout... amazing!🎉
throwing my .002 cents in here but I get a fantastic quad response from 12-15 rep squats. they are working like a charm.
Exactly, since I've ditched the typical "8 reps" sets and aimed to get 15 reps, I feel the quads, my back is safe, and get awesome pumps. You just need bigger lungs😊
However, there are periods when I switch to another squat movement, usually hack squats or sometimes leg press, but after a while I always return to back squats because it's a basic exercise for me. My mentality is if I can do squats with perfection and enduring pain, I can do anything.
I appreciate all the information and explanation you put into these videos!
5:00 this is also why jm press/close grip bench press are bad for the long head of the triceps, they lengthen at the shoulder and shorten at the elbow, resulting in alot less work on the long head
Great demonstrations, information, and editing!
Great video as aleays Uncle Eugene .. and great job Bianca!! ❤💪😃
Thanks for staying up to date, Eugene, as well as your efforts in sharing it to your audience. All sound tips and advice 🦵.
My pleasure!
thanks for the lean forward rip on the leg curl
I do sissy squats instead of leg extensions. It loads the muscles the same, but with even more ot that leaning back you do with leg extensions.
Some trainers belive those two exercises are bad for your knees, but they aren’t if you are healthy. You wont have healthy knees if you dont load them.
These exercises does load the knees, so you should regard them as training of them too. That means, dont load the knees more than they can take.
It takes years to get tendons and joints to become strong, so extreamly slow progress!
At age 76, I know how to keep joints healthy, and how important that is!
I do the rest of your exercises pretty much as you describes so well in the video, and those 4 for the same reasons as you explained.
Old knowledge for me, even though I'm not a trainer. Just pretty knowledgeable about anatomy and biomechanics.
Sissy Squats are fantastic!!
Timing is very good on this video as I'm replacing barbell back squats in my current program.
I stopped squatting with a BB 18 months ago. Use Dumbbells and different movements now. Did a leg workout this morning and quads are still cramping, and lower back feels heaps better.
I like using the SSB bar to do squats with as well as hack squats. Great video as usual!
Thanks for the in-depth explanation. Among all these exercises, The only one I've stopped doing for now is hack squat. Because it takes too much energy from me. I was feeling so fatigued afterwards that started to hinder the whole workout. Literally, over the entire week I dreaded the day I was gonna do hack squat. Maybe I was doing something wrong, I don't know. Hopefully, I'll get back to it after a couple of months.
Your content is really good. Originally, I tuned in because the model is hot, but your explanations are so good. I suck at rdl's bad. No matter what I do, it hurts. Originally, I was doing them where I move my butt back (more stiff knee), but I wouldn't get much range of motion. Then I started doing them with a more bent knee. I get a better range of motion, but they hurt the lower back. I'm running out of ideas. Not fun being in pain all the time.
Bianca is a beast!!
Her@
In terms of SLDL vs RDL naming, the way I use them is that the RDL doesn't touch the floor and the SLDL does. Both are excellent for hypertrophy but the SLDL will give more carryover to standard deadlift strength.
What a great lesson and beautiful display of anatomy
Seated hamstring curls while leaning forward is one of the most underrated exercises you can do for the hammies. Pendulum squats however I feel are useless since they create the most amount of tension at the end of the movement and not at the most stretched position for the quads. Good video.
This is very informative! Thank you so much, sir!
Question: In my current routine, i'm doing bulgarian split squats and hack squats... but from my understanding, neither one of these target the rectus femoris, or all the heads of quads.
Could it be sufficient to swap out the hack squat, for leg extension since i already do the bulgarian split squat, which is another form of squatting, or would i be losing out on some benefits?
Although the gym i go to doesn't have the leaned back lex extension to emphazise the rectus femoris.
And yes... i hate the bss due to the lower back discomfort, pain and some stiffness it causes me, but i love it a little at the same time 😆
Can you please make a workout out of this? So instead of squats you recommend:
-Hack Squats complemented with Leg Extensions and
-RDLs or stiff legged deadlifts complemented with Seated Leg Curls
Did I get this right?
That's pretty much it! There's other options available too.
Hack Squats >> Any supported squat/leg press variation
Leg Extensions >> Any exercise that has a fixed hip position as knee bends (Sissy, Reverse Nordics etc)
RDL >> Any hinge
Seated Leg Curl >> Any leg curl exercise
You can do them all in the one workout, or break it up however you like. And of course if you still want to do regular Squats you can. I currently do Zercher Squats a couple of times a week, then use that template to fill in the gaps
@coacheugeneteo Wow! Thank you so much for the fast and concise response 🙏🏼 Your timing for dropping this video is impeccable!
King of all exc the deadlift, you can shift it for the back or front legs, lil bit upper too.
I've had a back injury many years ago, herniated a couple of disks, and even though I don't have any pain anymore, backsquats flare up this injury after a few days or weeks of doing them, to me the juice is not worth the squeeze.
Very nice form on the squats. keep it up.
Thanks, lots of good things to know!
Sensei Ganbaru, thanks for your content!
You have the incredible ability to turn complicated topics into not so complicated… hahaha…
Thanks for all you've for us, meatheads nerds!
I’ve noticed my form is solid until I get close to a 1RM and that’s where I might lose confidence on something like FROM in the rep and the squat is shallower than it can be. Technique is tough the closer to your failure point you go.
The rectus femoris is essentially the kicking muscle. If you've ever had pain while kicking a ball then you need to strengthen the rectus femoris. In fact, you can actually practice the kicking motion using a cable machine. Strap the cable to your ankle and allow your hip to go into extension while the knee is flexed, then contract your rectus to bring your leg as far out in front of your body as you can. It works in the same way when your knee extension machine has no seat, but you have much more control over the range of the movement.. Also, if you want to train the hip flexion aspect of the rectus femoris then you could do that too by using a cable and just flex the hip while keeping your knee completely flexed as well. And if you truly want to shred your rectus femoris then you could position the cable high above your ankle and extend your knee while it is completely flexed and your hip is completely extended. I would not recommend this to anyone who has never trained their knees before because you will definitely majorly tear something. You have to build up to it by doing your knee extensions first.
That's a lot of setup that can be replaced by working towards sissy squats and reverse nordics
@@leonardo9259 those two exercises are hard to progressively overload, nor do they have the consistent tension that you get from cables
If I were to choose a single one video on lower body training, I'd probably choose this one.
Very nice video Eugene!
Please can you make the same kinda video for a back workout (with rows/pull ups) as well as one for chest (with barbell movements and alternatives)
Sure!
@@coacheugeneteo
I am really looking forward to it! Thanks!
excellent, thank you
How about doing reverse nordic/sissy squats to strengthen the rectus femoris?
Great options!
What are your recs for someone wtih chronic low back pain and a swollen (but not burst) L6 disc? Currently I can only do full-range bodyweight squats. Anything heavier and I feel like my spine is gonna snap in two. I've compensated by doing 100 reps of bodyweight squats (divided by 3-4 sets) and then doing incline leg presses at a shorter range of motion, with leg curls and seated calf raises for accessory workouts. Anything I can add to this to maybe address the back?
squats are cool compound workout but if you want to lift serious weights, safer to go for more isolated movements i.e. leg press, extensions, curls, RDLs and hip thrusts depending on what you want to work hard at.
excellent tips my brotha
One thing that your content on TH-cam has taught me (with respect to uploads and videos, not training) is that the quality of the content matters much more than the quantity. You took a long break from uploading on TH-cam, but when you came back, you picked up where you left off, which I have to say, I didn't expect.
How do people feel about belt squats? I have been doing them more high rep as an accessory in the 16-20 range and I can get a super deep range of motion and stabilize with the bar around the platform. I have been doing belt squats after deadlifts and on the other leg day I have been doing squats with RDLs as an accessory.
good action, nice body, result of intelligent training, discipline and hard work, well done!!
Great content!
How about the lumbar retification in the bottom of the hack squat? when I do with heavy weights sometimes I feel some lower back pain.
Teo , we need more workouts with the Swolewerine!
I will answer your question. The king of exercises is the Olympic Snatch, followed by the clean/jerk. You go from fully-relaxed to fully-extended in one second, plus you get to do very deep squats in the process.
Eugene do you think for strength gain we should you stretch reflex of the muscle or no?
Doesn’t squat like the girl can put you in more risk for injury?
Does use the stretch reflex promote more adaptation to tissue so you are more bullet proof or is better to slow eccentrics and pause at the bottom?
As a 160 pound (73kg), my max squat is probably like 225... (102kg). ... :( just started back, but still. She's strong AF. Didn't know about the tiny hamstring muscle! Thanks for the tips!
I'm not built for squats (long femur, short upper body). Also my knees hate me, but.. I've been s.l.o.w.l.y building back some resilience and can even do rear foot elevated squats now without pain. (I couldn't even bench without knee pain a year ago) My RDL is respectable though :-) (well IMO that is which is all that matters)
Nice one!
Zercher squats are like an abbreviated sumo deadlift. Another great variation are Hatfoeld squats with the SSB.
I've got 99 problems, but squatting ain't one. Front and back squats are the cornerstone of my quad (and overall body) training
So do you have an optimal CKC (Closed Kinetic Chain) exercise for the Rectus Femoris Muscle? I have had in the past knee pain (patella femoral pain) from doing leg extensions. My Orthopedic doctors tell me don't do leg extensions because they are OKC. So some CKC options would be awesome.
Stay strong my brothers in arms!
Wdym brother 🤨🤨
I swear by box squats, deep ones though like a lower box. they help with technique and time under tension. my leg gains and strnegth have been quite noticeable since I started. also kettle bell swings and low bar trap bar deadlift. that'll do it!
I love the barbell squat but I've noticed the leg workouts where I don't do them tend to feel the best in regards to the stimulus vs fatigue ratio
The main negative for the standard squat to me is the fatigue cost. It’s why I’m considering switching, even though they’re maybe my favorite exercise. Once you get to 315 or more for 5-10 reps, it’s just a lot to recover from and negatively impacts your sessions unless you take a couple days off.
Agreed.
But then, here I am doing Zercher Squats twice a week 😂😂😂
@@coacheugeneteohaha, yeah those are also quite taxing.
You could tweak exercise order and pre-fatigue... Like doing squats near the end once you're gassed, and perform 2-3 sets of 20 @225 with a slow eccentric and pause once per week for lower systemic fatigue.
Squat, romanian, ham curl, hack squat, leg extension.
One of my favourite leg exercises would be the Romanian lunge I’m getting stronger in the legs and seeing some good growth with my quads, but I need to be focused more with my hams.
Would you say doing Romanian dead lifts on a smith machine a good idea?
i have stage 2 osteoarthritis on my hip and can't squat no more pretty much. it sucks, but it is what it is
So if I lean back on leg extensions, could I hit that middle muscle in the thigh muscles
I workout at home. All I have is a barbell and a power rack. Are there any good substitutions I could make?
Check my previous video, it has exactly what you need to fill in the gaps, using just bodyweight/power rack set up
Srs question, what exercise to choose to replace legext, and flexion at home without machines? Thx in advance 💪😈
check my previous video for a bodyweight/dumbbell only leg video
Sure! I’m gonna carry blocks to the gym now 🙂🙃
treating us all with the views 😍
Super underrated TH-camr
Thank you! 🙏
What’s a leg curl equivalent if you workout from home?
So he just tied the resistance bands together and clipped them to the belt or is that a separate product as well ??
I'm increasingly a fan of squats as a "power" rather than strength exercise. Like, 3ish reps at a time, never a doubt (70-80%), short-ish rest or clusters. It seems to give a lot without taking as much out of me.
Welcome to powerlifting
@@hueyyang10 I am talking about power, not strength. It never gets that heavy.
@Keprotica then you have your definition backwards. Strength exercise rather than a power. In powerlifting you are trying to produce the most amount of force to move as much weight as possible. For strength conditioning it's to strengthen your everyday movement and keep your muscles and tendons healthy.
@@hueyyang10 Power is force(mass) times velocity. Powerlifting is technically named wrong. You only care about the mass.
@FINsoininen but are people not the ones generating that power? Are we not doing the lifting? What else would you call it specifically. It's still correct since we are generating force and displacing an object over time.
Bro. I hope My question be noticed. I have this problem many years ago. Its been here for 5 Years. Btw I'm 20.
When I do push-ups, my right arm which is my dominant hand. Always get the tension and no matter what I do, my left arm doesn't get any tension at all. I look like Charger from Lefordead.
I hope you make content featuring this issue. Thank you!!
I live leg extension. It's my strongest exercise.
I dont fully understand what is meant with brace at the bottom? What does this process entail?
Anyone know why I can do leg extensions all day long with no knee pain but the second I try any squat variant (hack, barbell, split) even belt squat, my outer knee on one side screams in a grinding pain?
i would first test for equal mobility on both sides (internal/ext rotation, etc)
Leg extensions don't fully utilize all the muscles in a squat, or rather it is not loaded the same way. I would seek professional help but incorporate single leg work would be a good start.
Check out various squat university videos to see if you can find the mobility or stability issue with ankles or hips.
Because the side of the knees don't even notice when you do leg extensions, try to do unilateral work, just don't do too much too soon
I'm doing squats ATG and bulgarian split squats on leg day, I wanted to incorporate RDLs but after those first 2 exercises my legs are a wobbly mess, the walk back home from the gym takes so much longer too lol. Also I have no access to all those machines so yeah.
GREAT VIDEO
Is rectus femoris the hip flexor?
I feel the same about deadlifting and variations of it, although more forgiving even on an off day than squats. At some point it doesnt make sense to be fatigued for days when it wasnt even a PR. I feel fresh when I am lifting below 175 at 117lbs. Anytime I shoot for over 235 I'm dead for 2-3 days. I could bulk, but nah 😂
Squats are difficult. They require more technique than most other exercises. I'm surprised that so very few people don't do hexbar deadlifts. . You can do them exactly right for your body, from like squats to like regular deadlifts. Just seek the body’s natural balance point!
The few times I've tried it, it felt perfect. But nobody uses that poor tool in my gym.
It took me years to get to a version of squats that my body likes. And dragging the bar against my legs in deadlifts doesn't feel right for me.
But the hexbar was immediately just perfect! It let's your body decide how to lift, instead of struggling with a straight bar which forces you to hold it in a certain unnatural position in front of your legs, or dragging on your legs. How natural is that?
I'm going to start using the hexbar not just to be contrary, but because it's obviously the best tool for us who aren't competing, just training.
Eugene I recently started up squatting after a back injury had healed and i was doing 5x3 and after I got done with it the same pain that I got came back from the injury before. it hurts the most to get in the position to do bent over rows. what do i do and how do i prevent this next time around?
You're back isn't ready for those rep ranges yet. Do lighter and higher reps where those reps don't hurt or cause residual low back pain. The ceiling will gradually rise and u can being slowly getting heavier with perfect form over several months until you can tolerate working in higher 1RM percentages without feeling the effects of axial compression. I'm a DPT and work with many low back patients over the years who go too fast and heavy too soon. Also perform plenty of oblique strengthening such as calisthenics like dragon flags and handstands, L sits to really develop the ability to resist high forces. Good luck!
What's the routine?
Haven't finished video yet, but as a beginner / novice is it beneficial to do squats?