Quad soreness

[LeoTC]

That’s pretty intense man. Honestly if I had a job that didn’t require me to be on my feet all day, I’d bring the volume up as much as I could.

My issue with the extensions at the moment is that I keep having tension leak into my hamstrings such that the overall effect is diminishing as I go through them. I figure I should just move the weight down and scale it up, should be easy gains.

I honestly wouldn't be afraid of bringing up the volume. Everything in your lower half is built for endurance, for heavy workload. It's why a lot of guys dont respond well after a point. They simply need more stimulus.

If your biggest issue is your hamstrings, run through a few sets of Cable Ham Curls first. Think someone may have already recommended that.

It's kind of hard for me to relate to Glutes taking over in the Squat, but I'm a bit more Quad dominant.

You might consider Front Squats or deep Box Squats. Another option would be to do high rep Landmine Hacksquats and / or Goblet Squats with your heels on a 25lb plate. Latter hits the Quads almost like a Sissy Squat.

On the Extensions, definitely drop the weight. Drop the weight and go high rep - shoot for 20-25. As noted I work through a range, but it's a great finisher / pump accessory.

 

[cfreetenor]

Volume is tricky for me. I’m a high volume restaurant server with very high expectations and responsibility. Very much a consequence of being “the strong one” front of house.

I can sprint in excess of 17mph for 10 seconds or so, but it’s a real grind for me to run even a mile. Always been this way at different levels of fitness. I feel I’m very fast twitch dominant in general, but especially in the legs. So while my quads are not strong enough to keep the connection under very heavy load, I feel like getting to that point is the best way to get some more hypertrophy. At a certain point my legs just give out and it’s not possible for me to get any more quality volume.

Due to the stark drop off in strength due to fatigue, for safety concerns, I feel the safest route is to push out the failure proximate volume on an exercise with a pretty sturdy failsafe like leg presses or extensions. And then, I run into the problem of my hamstrings taking over - and it has been suggested already I should pre exhaust hams to account for this. I’ve never taken this route as mind muscle connection hasn’t been an issue whenever I’ve decided to pay attention to it, so I’ll give that a try, but I’m a slight bit nervous about the systemic fatigue from hamstrings interfering with the primary effort required for high intensity volume for quads.

And today is a rest day, which is very much prone to overthinking these things, so I imagine many of these things are less of an issue than they seem. In truth I’m noticing good local fatigue and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy just from hitting quads harder the past week and a half.

 

[LeoTC]

Volume is tricky for me. I’m a high volume restaurant server with very high expectations and responsibility. Very much a consequence of being “the strong one” front of house.

I can sprint in excess of 17mph for 10 seconds or so, but it’s a real grind for me to run even a mile. Always been this way at different levels of fitness. I feel I’m very fast twitch dominant in general, but especially in the legs. So while my quads are not strong enough to keep the connection under very heavy load, I feel like getting to that point is the best way to get some more hypertrophy. At a certain point my legs just give out and it’s not possible for me to get any more quality volume.

Due to the stark drop off in strength due to fatigue, for safety concerns, I feel the safest route is to push out the failure proximate volume on an exercise with a pretty sturdy failsafe like leg presses or extensions. And then, I run into the problem of my hamstrings taking over - and it has been suggested already I should pre exhaust hams to account for this. I’ve never taken this route as mind muscle connection hasn’t been an issue whenever I’ve decided to pay attention to it, so I’ll give that a try, but I’m a slight bit nervous about the systemic fatigue from hamstrings interfering with the primary effort required for high intensity volume for quads.

And today is a rest day, which is very much prone to overthinking these things, so I imagine many of these things are less of an issue than they seem. In truth I’m noticing good local fatigue and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy just from hitting quads harder the past week and a half.

Just one thing to be mindful of with the LP - it will probably hit your glutes hard as fuck. The only machine I actually miss for just that reason. High / Wide placement blows my ass up.

Keep lower on the plate if you can, and use a narrower stance. You'll definitely want to try on a few different footings.

You could also up your volume by programming multiple leg days per week or just incorporating one lighter movement into each other day. The latter, after a week or two, would likely help you up the intensity of your primary leg day.

Also helps mitigate the DOMS. Huge believer in active recovery here. It works.

I rarely feel more than a little discomfort two days after anymore. Usually when they hit hardest. Pinning and pip actually get me harder. Lol.

 

[cfreetenor]

Just one thing to be mindful of with the LP - it will probably hit your glutes hard as fuck. The only machine I actually miss for just that reason. High / Wide placement blows my ass up.

Keep lower on the plate if you can, and use a narrower stance. You'll definitely want to try on a few different footings.

You could also up your volume by programming multiple leg days per week or just incorporating one lighter movement into each other day. The latter, after a week or two, would likely help you up the intensity of your primary leg day.

Also helps mitigate the DOMS. Huge believer in active recovery here. It works.

I rarely feel more than a little discomfort two days after anymore. Usually when they hit hardest. Pinning and pip actually get me harder. Lol.

I’m following the low and close placement cue, toe angle make any difference?

It’s not so much the DOMS but the lack of function. I need my legs to be very responsive or I make a lot less money lol.

 

[LeoTC]

I’m following the low and close placement cue, toe angle make any difference?

It’s not so much the DOMS but the lack of function. I need my legs to be very responsive or I make a lot less money lol.

Same as extensions, inward feels like it hits the outer sweep a bit harder. Outward the inner.

Guess I'm just following what you mean by functionality. I would think increasing overall work capacity would keep you moving fine.

Is there a motor control issue that I'm missing? Really not trying to be a dick, just understand ya.

 

[cfreetenor]

Same as extensions, inward feels like it hits the outer sweep a bit harder. Outward the inner.

Guess I'm just following what you mean by functionality. I would think increasing overall work capacity would keep you moving fine.

Is there a motor control issue that I'm missing? Really not trying to be a dick, just understand ya.

I have kind of a dickish face already, so I really can’t have my postural muscles at less than 100% or I look like a total douchebag and no one wants to tip me. At least no one around here (apparently). It’s a strange thing I know.

Work capacity is probably a good idea. I’m just giving excuses for why my legs are so weak.

 

[LeoTC]

I have kind of a dickish face already, so I really can’t have my postural muscles at less than 100% or I look like a total douchebag and no one wants to tip me. At least no one around here (apparently). It’s a strange thing I know.

Work capacity is probably a good idea. I’m just giving excuses for why my legs are so weak.

What's the diagnosis, Doc?

...

I'm sorry, but you have terminal resting bitch face. :/

Lol. I got ya, I think.

 

[cfreetenor]

What's the diagnosis, Doc?

...

I'm sorry, but you have terminal resting bitch face. :/

Lol. I got ya, I think.

It’s a real big problem in hospitality. When you have visible pecs and shoulders they have to pat down at the airport and live in a city where everyone thinks they’re Chuck Norris, you have to walk a fine line that looks a lot like a stick up my ass.

 

[LeoTC]

It’s a real big problem in hospitality. When you have visible pecs and shoulders they have to pat down at the airport and live in a city where everyone thinks they’re Chuck Norris, you have to walk a fine line that looks a lot like a stick up my ass.

Just get a really visible and soft tattoo. I get it, believe me.

Took a break from adulting for a year to manage a Toys R Us and have fun. Got the same thing all the time.

Still do, but less so since I incorporated a fucking Pony mark into a small tribute piece on my neck. Also - women fucking love it for some reaso. Go figure.

 

[cfreetenor]

Just get a really visible and soft tattoo. I get it, believe me.

Took a break from adulting for a year to manage a Toys R Us and have fun. Got the same thing all the time.

Still do, but less so since I incorporated a fucking Pony mark into a small tribute piece on my neck. Also - women fucking love it for some reaso. Go figure.

That’s actually fucking brilliant thank you

 

[cfreetenor]

I still have slight and dispersed soreness and fatigue in the quad area as opposed to a stiff sense of DOMS, but my chest and upper back looked massive today from the several days I have taken off of training them combined with the pump from finally doing so.

I felt a sort of hypoxia in my legs when I first woke up, so I decided tomorrow I would hit quads again. This is where some of the difficulty lies, Friday night at work on its own amounts to leg muscle fatigue. Or any busy night really. So that sense of when I can and can’t train effectively is not so consistent as with upper body.

 

[cfreetenor]

Gnarly bruise lines on my traps from high bar. Bright crimson red. Form issue, just need to work in come callouses, or do I just need to use the pad?

 

[LeoTC]

Gnarly bruise lines on my traps from high bar. Bright crimson red. Form issue, just need to work in come callouses, or do I just need to use the pad?

Dont be that guy.

The pad is for bitches.

 

[cfreetenor]

Dont be that guy.

The pad is for bitches.

I don’t want to but what do I do? I just don’t want to have permanent purple lines running across my traps. It’s not for pain.

 

[Btcowboy]

I don’t want to but what do I do? I just don’t want to have permanent purple lines running across my traps. It’s not for pain.

Is it bruised purple lines or just purple lines from the pressure? I used to get that on my shoulders from standing calf raise pads but eventually they quit happening

 

[cfreetenor]

Is it bruised purple lines or just purple lines from the pressure? I used to get that on my shoulders from standing calf raise pads but eventually they quit happening

They look almost like deep cuts but the skin isn’t broken.

 

[cfreetenor]

Much better now but they looked a lot darker in the prior days and in different light

 

[LeoTC]

I use an Ohio bar.

The gnurling literally tears my skin off around 400lbs and above. I handle it my keeping a wire brush in my bag.

Ya know, to clean myself off the bar. Lol.

Your Mark's are just from a bit of pressure that you're not used too. You've got less real estate supporting the bar when you go high. You'll adapt to it pretty quick though.

 

[Btcowboy]

Much better now but they looked a lot darker in the prior days and in different light

As Leo says its just pressure Mark's. They go away and eventually you wont get them anymore

 

[cfreetenor]

HB squats seemed more in the pocket today all around. 4x6. 3x15x315 for leg press gave me the impression of getting both easier and more burning the further I went (assuming this is good).

Feet low, close, toes pointed forward seemed to give me too much ham activation. Separated my feet some with same contours otherwise and totally quad dominant.

Burned out with 3x20 extensions.

I alternated these with (HB squats as first exercise) wide grip OHP 4x8x115, behind-the-back BB rows* 2x15, and finishing with 25x50lbs EZ bar curls then one more set to approximate technical failure (13).

I must have been doing something right because I definitely feel more of a pump and my legs kept giving out while I was just standing between the sets of curls.

*These are a cool exercise I think I invented for rear delts. Not a great ROM, but the idea is you hold the BB supine (palms facing butt) and against your butt while looking forward, being your elbows up and back to peak contraction, and hold/resist eccentrically. If you do it right that should be very hard to do and you feel a rear delt burn concomitant with the amount of time you can keep the bar somewhere within the range of peak contraction. I never swing it up, I pull and allow momentum to bring it up a bit further than a strict pull would allow and try to hold it. By far best rear delt activation and isolation of anything I’ve ever done.