How To Get Bigger Legs Fast (NOT QUARTER SQUATS!)
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- Опубліковано 27 лют 2020
- #AthleanX #NotQuarterSquats #EnkiriEliteFitness
After having the same size legs for roughly the last 7 years I managed to add over an inch of mass to my thighs in just 8 short weeks. And it wasn't by harnessing the magical power of quarter squats! Instead I've been cutting my teeth with a far grittier, old school method to build this newfound mass. It's a tough one, but the results so far are quite unlike anything I've experienced in a long time. Here's how I did it!
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Alec has sounded the horns of war. We must all answer the call with widowmakers until our legs grow or our wives bury us. Onward!
Lol! Agreed,
I will be buried with the barbell, please.
Controversial opinion alert: Mostly beginners watch Athlean-X, who need to know the basics of strength training and how to gain size long-term safely. FACT: Most of Jeff's videos are filled to the brim with jargon and useless information which beginners just eat right up and they end up over-complicating their training.
I agree 100%. Jeff cavalier makes things harder than what they have to be.
Jeff is plain wrong about a lot of things.
Obviously this was bound to happen with an unpopular opinion. I disagree, I don't think Jeff's videos are overcomplicated, and he only uses jargon when using laymen's terms would make the message less clear.
SumDude Norris why focus on all the exercises that he perceives as “superior” and “different” to come off as unique. Along with the “slow contraction” BS he spews on all the exercises on machines. Just focus on the free weight exercises known as the big 3, add weight and have good form! No need to worry about all the stuff he concerns his viewers about.
@@rickywagner6990 yeah he spouts a lot of nonsense but some of it is good. For instance he's right about face pulls - most lifters do a lot of strengthening internal rotation (eg. pecs, lats) but nothing for external rotation. If you're doing Olympic lifts you're okay but otherwise you need something like cubans or face pulls.
Nothing like a well executed ATG squat. The olympic weight lifters make the squat movement a work of art. Do quarter squats have a place maybe, but I have no time for them personally.
Part of that is a natural build for it, but yeah man, I agree. Nothing quite as aesthetically pleasing as a well executed ATG squat!
@@EnkiriElite Hey man I have a question can you help me?
Thanks for the wisdom, brother.
I’ll stick to my bosu ball pistol squats. I don’t want your feminine leg sweep 😉
Marc Stuart Marc Stuart you need to meet Marc steubing
I hope this is a troll
I'm tall and my legs wouldn't look feminine I'm lucky
I understood that reference! Another solid video man, enjoying the longer informative videos
Thank you, sir. It's much appreciated. Always glad to hear that people are enjoying the lengthier content.
Any video in the pipeline about his latest BP video?
@@mikeoxmaul1788 It's another one of his PT-influenced videos that worries too much about the minutiae with a purely anatomical lens. The advice he gives in the video (doing cable bench press) is generally not applicable for most considering setting up a bench in between two cable stations is a luxury few can afford. Even then, the loading capacity of the exercise is lower than a barbell press or dips or something similar. It is reasonable to say that that advice will not, in fact, make one's chest grow more than a bench press can.
Here's what we said to another person who asked the same question:
"As long as total mechanical workload is greater with progressive overload, it doesn't matter if you are abducting or not. This is just a reason he gives so he can sell his modified low reward exercises since he is likely incapable of good programming on things like bench press or simply wants to sell his own fad at the expense of better exercise selection.
The title is also pretty inapplicable: you cannot be good at bench press and not have a small chest. Even people with "long arms" can modify their form and grip width, etc. and make tremendous gains on the bench press. The fact is, most people who think they don't have a good chest and are bench pressing are either using bad or nonexistent form or have not even remotely made bench progress. Since most people just want some fad exercises without actually putting time and effort into getting good at the basics and progressing, which is the story of his entire channel.
Will be making a video on this issue some time..."
@@curlean-x4443 thanks, this is indeed the general theme around his channel, gimmicky low reward exercises that are an in efficient use of a person's time in the gym. It's thanks to channels like yours and Alec's that my eyes were opened up to this. Looking for ward to that vid and you guys should keep up the good work
@@mikeoxmaul1788 Thanks, and speaking of Alec, there'll be something special in next week's A-X Exposed episode which I'm sure all of us will have plenty of laughs about.
Very informative, Coach
Inspiring video! Good work. High rep squats are incredible!! I am new to squats and using them with a light weight, up to 30 reps, and my legs are building great.
14:41 Yeah you told me this a while back when I asked about breathing squats. Good to see you kept an open mind and have changed your view on it.
One of the best training videos I ever seen! After a period where strength and muscle growth have been slow for me this motivated me a lot. Absolute fucking class! Greetings from Sweden!
Thank you, my friend. Glad you enjoyed it.
You are a beast keep up the good work
Thanks man!
Good Video. As someone who just completed Jeff's conjugate style program and a subscriber of yours, I'll say that he did include most of what you spoke about. Alot on the dynamic lower body day. I don't think that he ever programmed quarter squats in any program, so I agree that it may be clickbait. Also why educating ourselves are so important to know what to apply. In his new program he used pause squats, box and squats as variations.
Weighted wall sits holding a dumbbell at each a side is SO underrated. They work very well for me.
Nice work man
Thank you, sir.
Alright. You got me. I’m doing a super high rep set tomorrow during training.
Awesome videos
Subtle, yet not-so-subtle shots fired. I love it. Lol.
Subtle enough
Great job man! The kind of physique you have and the lifts you’re really good at is what I’m aspiring for!
I also love that you dare to step outside of the fitness circle jerk and their false prophets! Keep on doing your thing! You’re one of my favorite youtubers!
Thanks a lot man! Glad you enjoy the content.
Mad respect bro. I tried these a few years back after watching Tom Platz and they destroyed me. Can't imagine that with 315+ I think the heaviest set I ever completed was 245. You're an animal!
335 for me lol
Thanks bro!
That video is great. I think he mentioned in an interview with Ric Drasin that he got to the point of squatting only once every other week because of the amount of volume he would put into each session
Tom Platz the type of guy to watch you do a 50 rep widowmaker set and tell you "that's one set, now show me 5 more son"
Something similar happened to me too in 2017, my bodyfat is higher but I went from 23" to 25.5" in 1.5 months. I only got to 220x20, but my squat went from 325 to 350. As soon as I get a rack or something I really want to try these "widowmakers" again
might wanna try this out
Edit: it was way tougher than I had expected, my glutes and quads were mostly fine but like all the supporting muscles like the side glutes, calves, upper back burned out really fast after the 10th rep.
I had to rerack after the 17th rep even tho it was only 265, a warmup weight, and I feel like I would've passed out if I had pushed any further.
Yes sir . You know your shit .
Thank you, my friend.
I’ve had a bunch of knee surgeries and always struggled with building big legs. As a former chubby boi, I’ve built what I considered and am told is a great upper body, but my legs are abhorrently small. From patellar fractures in both knees as well as defective cartilage, i just cannot load the weight heavy enough without destroying my knees. Any solutions here?
got back into squatting and i’m going to do this once a week along with another session doing a 3x5. i made 20 reps with 135, don’t make fun of the baby weight!😂
No shame in the weights man. We've all gotta start somewhere.
I wonder why Purebullfit and SSS haven't addressed this 😏
Your guess is as good as mine!
They are busy ignoring their 🚨Fanboy alert 🚨 when it's actually time to call out the real BS
I like the 4th lower day of candito 6 week. One set of 10 followed by 10 sets of 3 with short rest and it works really well.
have you dealt with and cured shin splints?
Question coach: You do one widowmaker session per week? That is one set at 60% of your Max Squat for 20 reps? Then increase weight next week?
Thank you for sharing your videos!
I started with 315 which is roughly 60% of my best. Evey time I successfully hit 20 reps I add 10lbs and try again. Currently I'm up to 335x18.
Receiving this video right after dislocating my patela has to be one universes sickest jokes
Patella will heal and the video will still be here man!
@@EnkiriElite thx man, trying to stay strong, have you ever had it? Does it take long? Im quiet anxious lol
@@alessandrocostacoutinho7745 na, but I've had to recover from hip surgery so I know the feeling!
Hello sir. Is doing butt wink on front squats safe ? How much is allowed and for whom ?
I imagine a load of smug bodybuilders being like no shit you grow if you improve in the 15-20+ rep range. And someone like Ian valeire being like when are you going to start doing real 30+ rep sets. Keep at it Alec.
Thanks for the support bro.
Did you ever try a widow maker with deadlifts or bench
I should do this on curls
Edit: Its weird doing it but the forearms get tired of gripping the bar.
I've experimented with quarter squats before and haven't found them to be as good as full R.O.M. ass-to-grass squats in terms of both hypertrophy and strength. So I strongly disagree with anyone saying quarter squats can give someone big legs. I know everyone responds differently to different exercises, but that was just my 2 cents.
Shots fired
Na, just critiquing the information. We've been given permission to do that now.
Would it be ok to do this with beltless front squats? I just started front squats and doing 8 reps alone with light weights is really hard with breathing and everything.
Front squats are not going to be an ideal choice for high reps because of the bar positioning. I dont go over 5 reps when doing front squats, and I don't don't program higher than 5 for my clients either.
What happens when you go to 30 reps or 40?
Have had a "pulled/strained" groin for like a month... Totally dreading biting the bullet and using my newly acquired health insurance to go get it checked out
Good luck man! Get it taken care of.
Ever since i started doing quarter squats before full squats, the weight feels way lighter on my back. I feel like it gets your nervous system ready for some heavy weight :)
Just warm-up properly and you won't have that problem.
I wonder if i were to take this training style to another excercise such as bench or overhead press if i would see similar growth.
could you discuss in a video the general additions/alterations you would make to a program for an mma fighter/grappler?
I can't speak to the technical requirements of martial arts or grappling, but the general strength and power developments are global and benefit all athletes. Same as a strength and conditioning coach at a university doesn't yeah the guys how to play football, he just increases the raw attributes the athletes possess so they can play football better.
When I did finally try partial squats, I can say I was actually surprised how little stronger I was. The stretch reflex was eliminated, causing each rep to look like a pause because I was having to grind so hard to reverse the motion back upward. It's likely to do with my femur length, or ass dominance. With the right weight, they in no way feel easier, that's for sure. And legs/glute DOMS reign. Partial front squats are the only thing to cause trap DOMS in me, aside from powershrugs.
I believe partials should be merely sprinkled into the training routine.
We all need to figure out a high rep variation of this for shoulders and all... In OHP, my triceps would just die before the brain did
7:25 what a sensual squat description, I love squats too lol
*Winkie face*
Hi Alec, do you think this method could be applied to other variations of the squat? The one that I'm thinking about is the front squat.
Front squat is not ideal because the upper back tends to fatigue at a rate disproportionate to the legs. You could do an SSB squat though and that would be similar!
How often do you perform the high rep squats? Also, how many times a week do you perform squats as a whole with this method? I reason I ask is because I've noticed when I do rep out sessions like this with other movements I tend to have much better workouts when I lower the frequency to something like once every 9-12 days. When I try any more frequently than that I tend to start losing reps and feeling weak as a whole. It tends to work better though when I include an easier session or two in between my rep out days to keep things moving along.
I've been squatting once a week and I've only been doing the high rep squats. Interestingly enough, similar to what you noted, a few of my sessions were spread out by 9-10 days instead just a week due to travel and whatnot, and those sessions have all been above par compared to most of the other sessions (for example, the 315x22 set came after a 9 layoff I believe after being stuck at 19 reps for 2 consecutive weeks). I had considered decreasing the frequency in light of this, but it throws off the schedule. What you are suggesting sounds like a really good idea though, and taking that into account, I would consider doing something like only do the AMRAP widowmaker set every other week, and then in the alternate week cut the volume in half or down to 75% or something like that. So if I did 335x18 in week 1, then I would do 335x10-12 in week 2, and then in week 3 I would try for 335x20 again. That way I could still squat every week but potentially be better recovered for the AMRAP sets. I'll have to try it to see if it works well, but thanks for the idea!
He said in the video that he did on of these brutal sets every week
@@EnkiriElite Thanks for the response. No problem man, I hope it works for you (although it seems to be working for you already lol)
I wish I could get my squat in the realm of what you're doing, it just seems to stall really bad. I've tried doing infrequent heavy higher rep squatting like you outline in the video but I can never seem to make the sessions feel all that good. I tend to have more success with squats about twice a week using a few different variations but even that progress isn't very consistent. I seem to progress better with upper body movements more than leg movements.
Just gotta get your programming on point man! Anyone can make dramatic progress on the squat/deadlift relative to their own starting point. I've seen it time and time again from guys who thought they weren't cut out for it or whatever. Just need to get a few aspects on point and do the right things for a long enough time and the progress will come.
when the kino body collab happening? ;)
I probably actually would do that.
Damn you. I thought I had put 20 rep squats in my rearview window, but now I'm gonna have to program them again. They suck, but lort do they work.
Oh yeah man, I think every serious lifter needs to revisit them down the line once they've built up a decent strength base. First time I tried them I was too weak to really get all the value that was potentially there.
@@EnkiriElite It's been a few years for me. I was progressing well on them back then. I had just got up to 255-260. But after I was finished, my brain went off to another land and as I was taking off the plates I dropped a 25 on my toe, which broke it. Couldn't squat for a few weeks and by the time it healed I didn't have the mental capacity to do them again. After watching your video, the drive came back.
How do you track progress though? When would you know to add weight ?
when youre able to hit 20 add weight
in your squat journey, have you played with box squats? westside style (vertical shin, often banded w/ overspeed ecc, etc) .. not related to this topic, but just curious.. great vid
I have actually. Hit 525 that way back in the day. I think there is certainly validity to including them every now and then for athletic development or even general strength development..just need to be sure to execute them properly!
@@EnkiriElite you da man
99.99999% would be enough, since he has 10M Subs.
Thanks Alec. I'm going through the uploads in search of you mentioning where you got your knowledge from... do you have a list of books you studied that helped you? I'm sure you're a genetic freak too and there has been much trial and error in your quest for knowledge and strength but is there a book that you can recommend that has attributed to your success? Thanks again
If you're looking to get very in depth, two of the most detailed texts I've ever read are the science and practice of strength training by zatsiorsky, and supertraining by Mel siff. Both of those are full of gems and cover pretty much every weight training related topic you can think of. I also enjoyed bill Starr's the strongest shall survive, which is primarily geared towards strength training for football specifically, but a lot of that information can be extrapolated elsewhere. If you're interested in learning all about the science of vertical jump training, check out Kelly Baggett's vertical jump development Bible if it's still available. A lot of practical information in there as well and these all make great resources. Additionally, nothing but personal experience obviously, but scour the web. There is an abundance of free and super valuable information available for free from plenty of fantastic coaches.
@@EnkiriElite thanks again... I've read Bill Starr's book, Rippetoe's and even some Louie Simmons stuff and Marty Gallagher's purposeful primitive. I'd like to say that it all comes down to stress, recovery and adaptation... but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't after some secret or hidden knowledge somewhere. Maybe Mel Sif can be what I'm looking for. Thanks again for sharing all that you have already and I hope to pay it back or forward one day. Great upload, man!
Alec what’s your take on knee wraps I squat often are they somthing I should invest in bro??
Knee warps or knee sleeves? Big difference.
Sleeves my bad, I don’t want to use wraps. I’d use sleeves if anything, if they are worth buying let me know, especially if they are good for your program that your making me hha
@@lookmomitsthatboy1869 ohh didn't know you had purchased a program! Haha. Sleeves are fine. They keep your knees warm and snug and the thicker ones like the SBD sleeves will you give you a *small* amount of assistance out of the hole. Wraps are a no go unless you are competing in a powerlifting division that uses wraps.
Hey Alec what are your thoughts on Anderson squats (pin squats)?
I think they're great building brute strength and I need to do more of them myself haha.
Yo Eric, what do you do for lower back strength.
Deadlifts and heavy weighted hyerextensions primarily.
So widow makers zombie squats next ?!
Hahaha 10/10 would die
Alec do you think farmers walk helps to build bigger legs?
I don't think it will be a very big help in that regard, no.
At what bodyweight you ended your novice phase?Im about the same height,i just need a guideline where about i should aim without getting fat,i can afford to get fluffy it dosent bother me.I cant decide between 160 or 180.Whats your experience with this?
It's not the body weight that determines it, it's the ability to progress. If you can keep easily progressing with linear progressions then you are likely still in the novice phase or early intermediate phase.
Enkiri Elite Fitness body weight gain is still required to gain muscle tho
Well, of course, because muscle is weight after all. But that will happen as a natural consequence of proper training, nutrition, and recovery during the early phases of training. Your initial focus should be on building up your base of strength on a few key exercises and the other pieces will fall into place on their own.
Bodybuilder enters the chat:
If you do even less weight and stop shy of lockout, you can build even more muscle mass. You gotta think that you are a piston, up and down up and down. Just look at how Ronnie Coleman would execute his squats (or look at my penultimum video where I execute the "bodybuilder" squat).
Using less weight and more volume is also how you build striations in the muscle when you cut.
Seriously tho
I don't think there's any reason to do quarter squats but if you have good knees and/or bad hips and care mainly about your quads then half squats are fine. You can do more reps with the same weight and get more quad size. I do squats but it is not a great exercise for me I always worry my hips will fall apart and also my legs are naturally way too big to want to increase them because aesthetically that would look ridiculous. If you're a pro athlete aside from a football player I would consider hack squats or power cleans and forget about squats.
Dude you look like me
You and Christian Thibaudeau (Thibarmy) are the most underrated strength training channels on UA-cam. People will catch on eventually.
A better audio environment would help though. Your voice always has too much top-end and short reverb.
Much appreciated man. I'll get a new mic eventually. The one I have now is less than good haha.
The only problem I see is shredded sport science will tell you it’s not necessary to build legs 😐😐😐. However I will give this try in a few months, I’m still building up my newbie size and strength.
Shredded Sports Science thinks training is an exercise solely in mental masturbation. He doesn't realize that to actualize any of that knowledge you have to get up off the couch and do something, ANYTHING, at some point.
Enkiri Elite Fitness yeah I don’t think he really loves training, I think he just likes it. I think he loves reading studies about training, which is completely fine but it’s a huge difference between the two as I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you. Which is why I can only take his information at face value. And the other half of his content where he is exposing people giving out wrong information. He should just retire that theme.
The problem is the title said how to get bigger legs and obviously full range of motion squat is far superior hypertrophic exercise than a partial . it was clickbait because instead athletic performance was brought up and quarter squats may help vertical but there are more effective time tested methods such as using full range of motion to build strength structure and muscle and also do explosive exercises like sprint jumps kettle bell swings and Olympic variations ! I agree ! Also quarter squats are worse for your knees.
Yeah, the title was misleading and that was why I addressed both components, re: the athleticism aspect as well as the hypertrophy aspect. Like I said in the video, its not a totally useless exercise, but the circumstances that would potentially justify its inclusion are so limited that dedicating an entire video to it when your audience is comprised of nothing but beginners is pretty much pointless.
@ Matt C Yes, I agree. Athlean-X should have chosen a more appropriate title for that video.
Greatest Libtard Alive facts bro he also has too many followers so theyre already were too any people quarter squatting as it is now it’s gonna be worse !
dude how do you deal with the burning sensation it's like your leg is on fire actually want to kill myself during those squats but it did grow my legs so thank you :)
Just gotta block it out man! These sets never really feel "easy," you just get better at them haha.
@@EnkiriElite Thanks for the answer I didn't really think you would actually answer this.
I'm gonna try this with FRONT SQUATS. If I don't need psychiatric therapy afterwards then I want my money back.
I tried it with front squats but I couldn’t hold the front rack throughout the entire set. I know it was my front rack that failed because I had to drop the weight at the top while I was trying to recover for the next rep. I got to 16 reps. With the back squat you can rest more efficiently at the top.
@@bennconner1195 I agree. That's why I decided to do it with the back squat instead.
Can I apply this method to Weighted pull ups and weighted dips?
I've never tried this style of high reps on those exercises so I can't say how the results would be. My of the cuff reaction is that it the results wouldn't be nearly as pronounced because those exercises are not nearly as overall taxing to the body as squatting is. I'm also inclined to think it wouldn't work very well with chin-ups in general because once the fatigue sets in on those it kicks in really really fast. With dips you might be able to make it work if you're patient, but again, I can't speak to what kind of results you could expect.
@@EnkiriElite Which method would you recommend on those exercises?
@@HoangNguyen-lb5zj I like to do a volume day and a heavy day when I'm really trying to build the weighted dip/chinup. Check out this video I did on it: ua-cam.com/video/x4iReBhF9Ok/v-deo.html
My goal is to get as jacked as you. I think we are the same height, and similar weight.
Glad to help you stay motivated man! Good luck with your goal.
So it’s basically 10 reaps + 10 mio-reps.
Why don't you try this method with other exercises?
You could try some others, but there's just something special about the barbell back squat man.
Pls do one on bfr pls
I'll look into it.
@@EnkiriElite can you also do one on how to build size with 1 heavy dumbell or item i only have 1 time and one to build miscle to lift
25 inch thighs relative to your height is insane
They're 26" now!
Enkiri Elite Fitness i just did my first widowmaker set- 225 at an RPE 8 for 20 reps, going to try 245 next week!
@@pearthicorn solid bro! Good luck next week. Let me know how it goes!
@@EnkiriElite I've gotta tell you I clicked on the video to see your legs and you bashed the quarter squat a lot but I in fact did them for a year bc I didn't know wtf I was doing I could quarter squat 500 lbs at 155 lbs bw but the thing abt is my legs got huge but only at the top at 15 years old my legs are 24 inches but not all the way to the knee. My vert went up like 5-8 inches and my 40 dropped by .7 seconds but my legs look weird to me by they aren't 24 inches down to the knee and I full squat now but my legs look weird to me I don't know what to do
You get something done with the teeth? They're looking bright my dude.
Hahaha nothing special done, but I appreciate the compliment.
Keep it up! Looking forward for more videos from you, don't stop! Would you like to be UA-cam friends? :]
Incoming purebullfit
Hahah
Hi Alec,
Just wondering, have you heard of the youtube channel "Bastionhead"? He's a dude that has been training this way for years, only the difference is he does one 20-25 rep squat set once every two weeks as his primary leg training. He is really jacked and his legs are thick.. Here is a video of him squatting 315 x 25 and then outlining his routine afterwards: ua-cam.com/video/L_rrD-gtguE/v-deo.html
Never heard of him of but 315x25 and 405x17 are both pretty damn impressive sets!
Let me guess . Skwats ?
Something like that.
did your strength go up from the size increase?
We will see shortly. I just did my first heavy front squat workout this past week. It was a very good starting point, but it's going to take some time to re-acclimate to heavy work before I can answer that question.
But your not even doing full squats?
Every rep is below parallel and would pass in powerlifting competition. Going beyond this depth confers no additional benefits and unless you are anatomically suited for is going to destroy your hips and possibly your knees in the long run.
Not athletic. Might do it on a bosu though.
Nice video man! Would you like to be UA-cam friends? :]
Unrelated to your great information, but just wanted to say that this hairdo looks like a wig. The buzzcut is way better.
Your legs are getting too feminine😂
Also LOL at the first hashtag
bro who cares, chicks dont care about your legs
You shouldn't be training for the sake of others