"I feel the iron has always been my therapy. No matter what emotions I was feeling, good or bad, I always wanted to dump those emotions into a squat workout. The iron has always been a counselor for me; it leads me on the path of life. There have been countless times when my love for training dictated my decisions outside of the gym. I've known many people who don't have a backbone; that just float away in the wind. They make bad choices, they cave into peer pressure, and they adopt self destructive habits. The squat rack has always been my north star." 10/10 mindset. Thanks for the inspiration, Alan.
I am an old women who has been consistent in the gym for 2 years and have seen so much improvement in my body. I love your videos and many others. Take care.
Lmao. Ive been thinking about this for a year. Weightlifters don’t even care about trying to look good yet they accidentally end up looking better than bodybuilders. 😂
That is why I skip Chest days. I hate bench pressing but god do I love some squatting. High volume, low volume, backs squat, front squat, hack squat, I do love them all.
When I was going to high school I had to climb a set of 627 steps each day to get to the part of the city where the school was and I strongly believe that is one of the reasons I have not small calves. I am training them now, but I have only recently started to properly isolate them for the purpose of growing in size. I believe that all that bike riding when you were young gave you "a great starting ignition" for your leg growth edit: 7:00
this video was about training legs and your experience. for me.. it is a realization that because i had unfortunate circumstances in my prime years 19-27 regarding health, I should take full control in making decisions that will i will be grateful for in my 40's or 50's. Thank you. It's never too late to go after what u want, regardless of how much harder it is as we get older.
Mr Thrall, i havent watched your channel in a few years, then i saw a guy today with a huge beard and thought he hooked like you, which inspired me to look up your channel to see what you're up. I gave up high bar squatting a year ago bc i was no good at it, i hated my form and never had anybody to coach me, and in turn switched to a leg press. While watching this you reminded me that i actually got really good at the low bar squat back in 2020-2021 when was following Rip's Starting Strength program as i think it favors my body type more than high bar. Thank you for the inspiration, Low Bar Squat is going to make a return to my program. Take care!
Super interesting to hear you talk about your aerobic/anaerobic background during high school. GVS just put out a video about how his background in distance running gave him an advantage in bodybuilding because of the greater work capacity and recovery he had available. As an 18 year old who started lifting about a year ago, my background in cross country, track, and wrestling let me push my squat 1RM from 210 to 380 relatively comfortably.
I’ve been skipping leg day for the last 4 years due to injuries and then training mostly for MMA for the last 2 years. This video motivated me to start training legs again!
Damn. This hit me right in the feels. Especially att about 12 min when you talked about your love of strength training right back at you brother. I really needed to see this video. It gave me a sense of pride. I was feelong sad, and this really cheered me up.
I like lunges better than squats for them glutes. It's weird because to me they don't seem like hugely different motions, like they're both hip bending knee bending exercises, but the effects on my glutes between them are very different. One exercise makes it painful to sit down for days afterward and the other doesn't. That being said I really want to increase my squatting, the weight I can do. I'm in my fourth year of lifting, have always had squats in my routines, but I'm not much strength focused and so I can't squat very much. That's fine, like I said I'm much less strength focused than most, but I want to pass a certain goal for squats this year and increasing frequency, and lowering reps, needs to be done to get there. Great video man.
I've found that the more I focus on strength training the stronger my legs get, but their size/muscularity doesn't increase that much. I'm doing 350kg on leg press for reps, maxing out around 400kg, which is WAY more than I could ever do while I was bodybuilding. But my legs now are noticeable smaller than they used to be, despite being a hell of a lot stronger. So it really depends what you want to train for, and in turn how you train. If you just want big legs, it might not be the same thing as building strong legs (genetics aside).
Hamstring curls for size, not really. But that might just be me. Extensions definitely, but depending on how I did them. Controlled on the way up, into a short pause, into unbearably slow on the way down, was definitely better size-wise. But explosive on the way up, no pause, controlled on the way down was better for strength I found. It pretty much always comes down to trying the different variations for yourself and see what you feel the most. Tie that in with what you are training for to figure out what is best for your goals.
Been following your channel ever since Omarisuf shouted you out back in 2012 and you just never miss with your video quality and even more importantly your message behind every video. As always Trainnnnnnnnn Untameddddd!
Getting better at squats is a positive feedback mechanism. When you start adding serious weight on the bar, you start to enjoy the movement more and you will probably want to train it harder and more often as you get better. Squats were my shittiest lift for a long time and I always dreaded squat day because of it. After getting mogged one too many times, I decided I needed to seriously reassess my technique and hammer out all the imperfections (one of the ways I did this was by watching some of Alan's videos). Fast forward to now where squat is my best lift, and now I look forward to squat day and genuinely enjoy the sessions. We enjoy doing things we're good at. Dial in your squat, have fun with it, and the horse legs will come as a side effect.
Low bar squat is great, as long as it's ass to grass. Also, pause squats helped me out a ton. If you can't go all the way down, pause, read the paper, and fill out a job application down there, then you're not really controlling the weight.
What he says about the low bar squat being one of the best glute exercises is very true. I remember noticing gains on my glutes doing it along with deadlift. Every woman that ask me about wanting to build a good booty, I'd always say LB Squat and DL/RDL together.
I didn't start until age 19, and I had no base before that at all. I was incredibly skinny, except for good calves. I was obese before that. It would be nice to have had these early years younger, but that's moot now. There's a guy called Tank Strength on YT who is huge, has bench pressed 240 kg, is apparently natty, and is 23 or 24. As old as me. I anticipate that, with a bodybuilding-focused approach, I will be able to achieve that maximum size, that Casey Butt Calculator size, before I'm 40. And with that size will come the strength once I go into phase for it.
Thanks ! This is one my favorite of your videos . Have to say Alan , I'm holding on to hope that you bring back the long hair and beard as it is synonymous with voice that tells us to always remember to" TRAIN UNTAMED " .
Great story Alan. I may monetise my leg story, but for now here it is. This is brutal, but will result in inches being added to your lower body in months. If you need to walk to work, University or to the shops then give yourself extra time. It'll be needed. I stopped squatting around 2005. Legs didn't fit into dress trousers and the dress down Fridays at work wasn't a thing in the UK yet. I started squatting again in 2017. Working from home was a thing and you could wear jeans at the office. I squatted heavy with low reps and saw a slight increase in size , most probably due to muscle memory. Roll on to 2024. I was amazed by the leg development of Rubiel Mosquera AKA Neckzilla and Robert Forstman AKA Quadzilla. But lso the lack of leg development in Larry Wheels. As a lifetime natty at 60 years old. I decided to implement the following program from Feb 2024 till present. Initially. 20 x ATG to 3/4 way up, no lockout body weight squats, do these in the rest periods of other upper body movements and or as a warmup for the whole body when the starting the work out. Start with 3 sets per workout session and increase to 5 or more sets adding a set when it becomes easy. This is the break in period of about 2 weeks. The following 6 week period comprises of 4 sets per workout. 1 x 20 ATG to 2/3 no lock out reps. No rest, walk to leg curl machine. Body weight with bar 1 x 10 leg curl, pause at the top, slow eccentric. Light 1 x 20 ATG to 2/3 no lock out reps. No rest, walk to leg curl machine. 25% 1RM 1 x 10 leg curl, pause at the top, slow eccentric. Medium 1 x 20 ATG to 2/3 no lock out reps. No rest, walk to leg curl machine. 40% 1RM 1 x 10 leg curl, pause at the top, slow eccentric. Heavy 1 x 20 ATG to 2/3 no lock out reps. No rest, walk to leg curl machine. 50% 1RM 1 x 10 leg curl, pause at the top, slow eccentric. Medium Repeat the above twice weekly before any other gym activity. Eat and sleep to ensure to make it to the end of the program. Reduce weight if you cannot get 20 reps in the correct manner. Increase of you find it too easy. After week three my inner legs rubbed against each other whilst walking, my tracksuit bottoms, split or became too tight. You will need to deload at some time as this intensity cannot be sustained indefinitely. Good luck. 😎
I am an active 53-year-old man and lifted seriously from my teens into my 20s, until a string of mountain bike injuries derailed my serious lifting (365x3 raw bench at 190 pounds bodyweight the session before my first crash). From my mid-20s through my late 40s life got in the way, but over the last year I’ve been back in the gym for real. My favorite sessions every week are when I hit the squat rack. Looking forward to rebuilding a solid foundation in the basics and competing in a few power lifting events before I turn 55. I still want that elusive 400 pound bench/500 pound squat at 200 pounds bodyweight. Videos like this motivate the hell out of me!
I never lifted at all until my mid 20's and not seriously until my mid 30's. I find at least with powerlifting here a lot of people that started early are kind of wore out by my age from years of injuries/life getting in the way/etc, but so far I'm just getting better and better. There aren't a whole lot of people people deadlifting 600 lbs around age 40. If I can keep this going I want to look into a national championship when I'm eligible for Masters next year :)
Through Alan's videos I've learned to love my workout - not fear it or hate it - though I didn't get serious about squatting until I was 59!!! That's okay, today I did 185, but it felt good!
This guy has single-handedly gotten me back into barbell squats. I can only comfortably/safely do low bar. I go on the lifter side, slow eccentric, and a 2count pause at the bottom.
True, in Germany there is a pro cyclist who is famed for his "huge" legs - which are only 75cm on roids, I know dozens of natural beasts who got bigger legs but never get credit for it lol
I would also add the "leverages" into that mix. Many people are built good for squat and respond to it very well. Others don't. Deadlift actually have done way more for my legs but squat didn't.
9:01 -- Holy hell dude! You almost matched what I did in college! I was a top 10 rated lifter in the college ranks of my weight division 2 of my competitive years. I would do between 4 and 6 working sets at a specific weight per week on heavy days. Then I would have a 2nd day where I did front squats and knees-together closed stance work for knees. On closed stance and variation day, I would also do sumo deadlifts to work on that. I was a power lifter. My wide stanced squats helped me get hip flex and hit my contraction faster. The way I saw it, if I was wide stance Dead lifting and squatting, I was working many of the same muscles 2x a week anyways. So the heavy 500 lbs sets on DL doubled as reverse-directional work for the hips and legs used in the wide stance squats. Also, for all you in the chat below... it's personal preference and body style that determines squat type and stance. Narrow stance squats are also powerful, but lowbar wide stance is also good for building legs. I always felt sore in the legs after both the squat workout and the weekly DL workout. Small machine work always compliments the squat too. Do you extensions and hamstring curls, your hack squats and calf work after the squat. It's a great way to burn out. Also: if you've had a very hard squat day, and you're in college.. it can loosen you up to jog slowly for a mile or 2 after you're done. I did that often to avoid cramps
Yeah, as a kid I did a ton of cycling and got these huge quads. I had no upper body at the time so it was noticeable. Then I started playing drums and developed big "pop eye" forearms - again without any other muscle development. Yeah I looked pretty weird 😂😂
And respond or not, everyone benefits from strength training. And from cardio conditioning for that matter. From what I've heard (and from listening to too many barbell medicine podcasts) those two statements are supported by ample amounts of evidence.
SQUAT DAY IS THE BEST DAY!!! Thank you for sharing your story! I think models and athletes background and highschool years are often overlooked when considering physique. This gives other people unrealistic expectations or makes them feel bad by comparison. We don't all start at the same place, so just stay in your lane and bust ass! I know it's a cliche but "comparison is the thief of joy" so "compare yourself to yourself yesterday, not someone else today."
I didn’t discover weight training until I was in my late teens/early twenties. Really wish it was part of the education system in my country. Then I would have discovered this vital developmental tool a lot earlier. Even when most guys discover weight training it takes a while until most guys are taking advantage of the big compound movements and pushing them hard with proper form.
I agree with starting young. Other than track for a little while, I did nothing as a teenager. I started lifting at 19 and am now 22 and honestly have still gotten good gains though
There are only 4 things consistently in common across people that have gone a long way into muscle development (removing steroids). Consitency, intensity, progressive overload and time. In my experience and from what I've gathered from approaching 11 years doing strength training and 23 years doing physical training of some form, thats what matters. Trends change, training changes, goals change, but always whatever it is your targetting has been trained hard and consistently with the idea of pushing them harder over time for a long time.
Excellent video! Legs have always been my weakest muscles, even after 7 years of lifting. I’m 6’5 and almost 200lbs and have yet to squat my weight. I’ve tried all different exercises and protocols but results come slow. I didn’t start lifting til 45 and always had chicken legs so maybe it’s my fate. Or maybe not. I keep grinding and pushing and plan to lift til I’m dead. Thanks for the insights and motivation ❤🙏
I'm glad you reached the conclusions that you did because I was thinking to myself - why isn't this video about any other body part? Even if all that leg centric activity that you've been through in the last 20 years was responsible for your leg size (to some extent, genetics is always a factor when anyone does anything) you have probably still done a lot of pushups, pullups, bench pressing, overhead pressing etc over the years, and that didn't give you an upper body that stood out to the extent that your legs did. It would be interesting to know what your combined frequency and average reps per week was of bench pressing and overhead pressing during the same time period because if it's vaguely similar, then it would be a really good example of how the same protocol applied in the same person, but to a different body part didn't yield the same results.
I've been undertraining, what a surprise. When I'm "on", I have 4 sets a week of squats proper and 3-4 of some kind of variation/assistance thing. I enjoy the tempo squats because a) it's a squat, and 2) it helps squat better. But I'm old and only have so much gym time. I guess I'll have to quit my job.
Consistent, continuous volume, of front squat/trap bar deadlift, nordics, and Bulgarian split squats should do it. But that’s only for the upper portion of legs
Was it 10s of thousands of reps of squats and deadlifts, and variations thereof? I don’t see how it’s possible somebody WOULDN’T have big legs after so many years on PL, Strongman and Oly training.
4:58 Same here. I was a psycho sprinter as a kid, but only because i wanted to he sonic the hedgehog lol. I also ended up with gigantic quads. I just started lifting and im already squatting 120kg by my third session. Same as my older brother, but he’s been lifting for years. I think our childhood athletic life played a much bigger role than maybe even genetics.
I feel you with the leg genetics haha. It was funny seeing peoples faces when I told them I only worked upper body back then. When I first started training legs I had been doing bench and rows for half a year and only managed to get my working set to 70 kg for bench (rows weren't to bad). After only hitting legs for 2 months I could already deadlift 143 kg basically just genetically (WITH GOOD FORM MIND YOU NO STUPID LOW BACK ROUNDING TO PLEASE MY EGO). Squats weren't going badly either although I was mainly trying to hone in my form before adding massive weight. I must say that I have pretty bad bench genetics since I have really long arms so that 70 kg was like using 100 kg for anyone else.
This is how I feel about my arms. I started around age 15. My arms blew up and just kinda stayed big for the rest of my training time. I dont have a magic pill, I train them as hard and frquently as I can and somehow got bigger than my friends.. I feel like kinda awkward about getting compliments for my arms because I am sure other people train just as hard.
Hey Alan. Can you please elaborate (maybe through a comment if not a video) on what may have caused your *hernia*? Could it be years of heavy lifting? If you have gained any wisdom on how these kinds of internal heavy lifting-related injuries can be avoided, please enlighten us.
Not exactly related to this video and maybe you've talked about this before but I'm assuming you try to do some form of event-specific peak for strongman shows, do you peak on squats? Say you have heavy yoke coming up, do you drop squats and just train yoke?
Translation for bro lifters: Train leg like train chest. Squat good. Squat real good.
Deep and hard.
EDIT: Giggity
@@oz_jonesThat's what she said
And often
Frequency
Consistency
Effort
Desire to improve.
When their powers combine, you get turkey thighs larger than your Thanksgiving turkey!
Why not include genes? Coping hard
@@Doubleptremit's outside your control so why obsess over it?
"I feel the iron has always been my therapy. No matter what emotions I was feeling, good or bad, I always wanted to dump those emotions into a squat workout. The iron has always been a counselor for me; it leads me on the path of life. There have been countless times when my love for training dictated my decisions outside of the gym. I've known many people who don't have a backbone; that just float away in the wind. They make bad choices, they cave into peer pressure, and they adopt self destructive habits. The squat rack has always been my north star."
10/10 mindset. Thanks for the inspiration, Alan.
Cope
@@maalikserebryakovfat
I am an old women who has been consistent in the gym for 2 years and have seen so much improvement in my body. I love your videos and many others. Take care.
Keep up the good work 👍🏻
One thing I learned in college was that friends don't let friends skip leg day
Love it
Legs dont matter much for make aesthetics. Just leave it at once a week.
@@bobdarrick2628Legs and back dictate aesthetics.
@@bobdarrick2628 yeah but you see a guy with small legs you know hes just puffy and weak, good legs are athletic, show strength and prove toughness
@@bobdarrick2628tell me you’re a pencil neck without telling me you’re a pencil neck…
Christ that transition at 4:22 sounds crazy in headphones. I jumped out of my seat
scared the bejeezus out of me
scared me too! I was watching in a darkened room 😁
You need to get your Dad on the channel, that fro is f'ing glorious.
Exact same phrase I was thinking haha.
That montage of you training different people made my day man. I fucking love normal people doing things
Alan I'm happy that with your success you still keep the humour of the old days. TRAIN UNTAMED
They did a study years ago that lean leg mass from natural powerlifting was equal to enhanced bodybuilding where bodyweight was equalized
Lmao. Ive been thinking about this for a year.
Weightlifters don’t even care about trying to look good yet they accidentally end up looking better than bodybuilders. 😂
That is why I skip Chest days. I hate bench pressing but god do I love some squatting. High volume, low volume, backs squat, front squat, hack squat, I do love them all.
Hack squats are so much fun
Do you know it's a sin to skip International Chest Day?
😅
I hate bench but never miss chest day
Never miss any day
"Thank god I started in my thirties" - insert any hobby you may be procrastinating on here. Great vid as always, Alan. You're the man
13:40 Alan's bromance with the squat rack is so tender
When I was going to high school I had to climb a set of 627 steps each day to get to the part of the city where the school was and I strongly believe that is one of the reasons I have not small calves. I am training them now, but I have only recently started to properly isolate them for the purpose of growing in size. I believe that all that bike riding when you were young gave you "a great starting ignition" for your leg growth
edit: 7:00
this video was about training legs and your experience. for me.. it is a realization that because i had unfortunate circumstances in my prime years 19-27 regarding health, I should take full control in making decisions that will i will be grateful for in my 40's or 50's. Thank you. It's never too late to go after what u want, regardless of how much harder it is as we get older.
Mr Thrall, i havent watched your channel in a few years, then i saw a guy today with a huge beard and thought he hooked like you, which inspired me to look up your channel to see what you're up. I gave up high bar squatting a year ago bc i was no good at it, i hated my form and never had anybody to coach me, and in turn switched to a leg press. While watching this you reminded me that i actually got really good at the low bar squat back in 2020-2021 when was following Rip's Starting Strength program as i think it favors my body type more than high bar. Thank you for the inspiration, Low Bar Squat is going to make a return to my program. Take care!
Super interesting to hear you talk about your aerobic/anaerobic background during high school. GVS just put out a video about how his background in distance running gave him an advantage in bodybuilding because of the greater work capacity and recovery he had available. As an 18 year old who started lifting about a year ago, my background in cross country, track, and wrestling let me push my squat 1RM from 210 to 380 relatively comfortably.
I’ve been skipping leg day for the last 4 years due to injuries and then training mostly for MMA for the last 2 years. This video motivated me to start training legs again!
Damn. This hit me right in the feels. Especially att about 12 min when you talked about your love of strength training right back at you brother.
I really needed to see this video. It gave me a sense of pride. I was feelong sad, and this really cheered me up.
04:23 You scared the shit out of me!
3:14
I had to thumbs up then and there.
For your bravery at facing the genetic determinism that has it’s brutal fingers in every goal we set.
I like lunges better than squats for them glutes. It's weird because to me they don't seem like hugely different motions, like they're both hip bending knee bending exercises, but the effects on my glutes between them are very different. One exercise makes it painful to sit down for days afterward and the other doesn't.
That being said I really want to increase my squatting, the weight I can do. I'm in my fourth year of lifting, have always had squats in my routines, but I'm not much strength focused and so I can't squat very much. That's fine, like I said I'm much less strength focused than most, but I want to pass a certain goal for squats this year and increasing frequency, and lowering reps, needs to be done to get there.
Great video man.
I've found that the more I focus on strength training the stronger my legs get, but their size/muscularity doesn't increase that much. I'm doing 350kg on leg press for reps, maxing out around 400kg, which is WAY more than I could ever do while I was bodybuilding.
But my legs now are noticeable smaller than they used to be, despite being a hell of a lot stronger. So it really depends what you want to train for, and in turn how you train. If you just want big legs, it might not be the same thing as building strong legs (genetics aside).
Have leg extensions/leg curls helped you gain size in your experience?
everything was genetics, fitness is all a scam!!
Hamstring curls for size, not really. But that might just be me.
Extensions definitely, but depending on how I did them.
Controlled on the way up, into a short pause, into unbearably slow on the way down, was definitely better size-wise. But explosive on the way up, no pause, controlled on the way down was better for strength I found.
It pretty much always comes down to trying the different variations for yourself and see what you feel the most. Tie that in with what you are training for to figure out what is best for your goals.
@@JohnSmith-rr3jt Great tips. Thanks, man.
Duh, thats because strength training is something different than hypertrophy training
Impressive monologue. Applicable to anything to which we devote our time. Thank you Alan.
Cracking video. I’m 40 and have only just started pushing myself. I wish I’d had discipline in my 20’s.
Been following your channel ever since Omarisuf shouted you out back in 2012 and you just never miss with your video quality and even more importantly your message behind every video. As always Trainnnnnnnnn Untameddddd!
Getting better at squats is a positive feedback mechanism. When you start adding serious weight on the bar, you start to enjoy the movement more and you will probably want to train it harder and more often as you get better. Squats were my shittiest lift for a long time and I always dreaded squat day because of it. After getting mogged one too many times, I decided I needed to seriously reassess my technique and hammer out all the imperfections (one of the ways I did this was by watching some of Alan's videos). Fast forward to now where squat is my best lift, and now I look forward to squat day and genuinely enjoy the sessions. We enjoy doing things we're good at. Dial in your squat, have fun with it, and the horse legs will come as a side effect.
MOGGED????
Low bar squat is great, as long as it's ass to grass. Also, pause squats helped me out a ton. If you can't go all the way down, pause, read the paper, and fill out a job application down there, then you're not really controlling the weight.
What he says about the low bar squat being one of the best glute exercises is very true. I remember noticing gains on my glutes doing it along with deadlift. Every woman that ask me about wanting to build a good booty, I'd always say LB Squat and DL/RDL together.
This video is so much calmer than the majority of your previous. I really enjoyed this one.
Just started this video but if the solution is squats…. 😭
Plot twist, it's bench.
It's squats
Knee flexion with weight on bak
Any loaded knee/hip flexion works.... leg press, hack squat, lunges, whatever
@@XxXnonameAsDXxX Hah! That's a good way to put it to someone who hesitates to squat out of fear, to their detriment.
I didn't start until age 19, and I had no base before that at all. I was incredibly skinny, except for good calves. I was obese before that. It would be nice to have had these early years younger, but that's moot now. There's a guy called Tank Strength on YT who is huge, has bench pressed 240 kg, is apparently natty, and is 23 or 24. As old as me. I anticipate that, with a bodybuilding-focused approach, I will be able to achieve that maximum size, that Casey Butt Calculator size, before I'm 40. And with that size will come the strength once I go into phase for it.
Thanks ! This is one my favorite of your videos . Have to say Alan , I'm holding on to hope that you bring back the long hair and beard as it is synonymous with voice that tells us to always remember to" TRAIN UNTAMED " .
4:31 This is an amazing photo. I really like this. :D
you've motivated me to try low-bar Alan, been a high-bar Quad botherer for a while now, its about time.
You are kind hearted man I wish all amircans were the same
Squatting is love, squatting is life.
Great story Alan. I may monetise my leg story, but for now here it is. This is brutal, but will result in inches being added to your lower body in months. If you need to walk to work, University or to the shops then give yourself extra time. It'll be needed. I stopped squatting around 2005. Legs didn't fit into dress trousers and the dress down Fridays at work wasn't a thing in the UK yet. I started squatting again in 2017. Working from home was a thing and you could wear jeans at the office. I squatted heavy with low reps and saw a slight increase in size , most probably due to muscle memory. Roll on to 2024. I was amazed by the leg development of Rubiel Mosquera AKA Neckzilla and Robert Forstman AKA Quadzilla. But lso the lack of leg development in Larry Wheels.
As a lifetime natty at 60 years old. I decided to implement the following program from Feb 2024 till present.
Initially. 20 x ATG to 3/4 way up, no lockout body weight squats, do these in the rest periods of other upper body movements and or as a warmup for the whole body when the starting the work out. Start with 3 sets per workout session and increase to 5 or more sets adding a set when it becomes easy. This is the break in period of about 2 weeks.
The following 6 week period comprises of 4 sets per workout.
1 x 20 ATG to 2/3 no lock out reps. No rest, walk to leg curl machine. Body weight with bar
1 x 10 leg curl, pause at the top, slow eccentric. Light
1 x 20 ATG to 2/3 no lock out reps. No rest, walk to leg curl machine. 25% 1RM
1 x 10 leg curl, pause at the top, slow eccentric. Medium
1 x 20 ATG to 2/3 no lock out reps. No rest, walk to leg curl machine. 40% 1RM
1 x 10 leg curl, pause at the top, slow eccentric. Heavy
1 x 20 ATG to 2/3 no lock out reps. No rest, walk to leg curl machine. 50% 1RM
1 x 10 leg curl, pause at the top, slow eccentric. Medium
Repeat the above twice weekly before any other gym activity. Eat and sleep to ensure to make it to the end of the program. Reduce weight if you cannot get 20 reps in the correct manner. Increase of you find it too easy. After week three my inner legs rubbed against each other whilst walking, my tracksuit bottoms, split or became too tight. You will need to deload at some time as this intensity cannot be sustained indefinitely.
Good luck. 😎
As a former Football and Track guy in HS & College you spittin' nothin' but FACTS!
Awesome video, Alan. I have been doing atg squats now for years and my legs have responded.
Do you find glutes, quads, or the flexors/adductors respond best to the atg split squats?
I am an active 53-year-old man and lifted seriously from my teens into my 20s, until a string of mountain bike injuries derailed my serious lifting (365x3 raw bench at 190 pounds bodyweight the session before my first crash). From my mid-20s through my late 40s life got in the way, but over the last year I’ve been back in the gym for real. My favorite sessions every week are when I hit the squat rack. Looking forward to rebuilding a solid foundation in the basics and competing in a few power lifting events before I turn 55. I still want that elusive 400 pound bench/500 pound squat at 200 pounds bodyweight. Videos like this motivate the hell out of me!
I never lifted at all until my mid 20's and not seriously until my mid 30's. I find at least with powerlifting here a lot of people that started early are kind of wore out by my age from years of injuries/life getting in the way/etc, but so far I'm just getting better and better. There aren't a whole lot of people people deadlifting 600 lbs around age 40. If I can keep this going I want to look into a national championship when I'm eligible for Masters next year :)
Allan the mvp
Through Alan's videos I've learned to love my workout - not fear it or hate it - though I didn't get serious about squatting until I was 59!!! That's okay, today I did 185, but it felt good!
This guy has single-handedly gotten me back into barbell squats.
I can only comfortably/safely do low bar. I go on the lifter side, slow eccentric, and a 2count pause at the bottom.
The "train untamed" really made me jump and I knew it was coming.
You need to train until that adrenalin wears off.
I absolutely loved this video, watched it from start to finish !! Thank you for sharing your experience!
That's the best thing about being a natural strongman - you can still have lean huge quads. Like zero fat 80+cm quads, bigger than 90% of roidheads
True, in Germany there is a pro cyclist who is famed for his "huge" legs - which are only 75cm on roids, I know dozens of natural beasts who got bigger legs but never get credit for it lol
I would also add the "leverages" into that mix.
Many people are built good for squat and respond to it very well. Others don't.
Deadlift actually have done way more for my legs but squat didn't.
legend
9:01 -- Holy hell dude! You almost matched what I did in college! I was a top 10 rated lifter in the college ranks of my weight division 2 of my competitive years. I would do between 4 and 6 working sets at a specific weight per week on heavy days. Then I would have a 2nd day where I did front squats and knees-together closed stance work for knees.
On closed stance and variation day, I would also do sumo deadlifts to work on that. I was a power lifter. My wide stanced squats helped me get hip flex and hit my contraction faster. The way I saw it, if I was wide stance Dead lifting and squatting, I was working many of the same muscles 2x a week anyways. So the heavy 500 lbs sets on DL doubled as reverse-directional work for the hips and legs used in the wide stance squats.
Also, for all you in the chat below... it's personal preference and body style that determines squat type and stance. Narrow stance squats are also powerful, but lowbar wide stance is also good for building legs. I always felt sore in the legs after both the squat workout and the weekly DL workout. Small machine work always compliments the squat too. Do you extensions and hamstring curls, your hack squats and calf work after the squat. It's a great way to burn out. Also: if you've had a very hard squat day, and you're in college.. it can loosen you up to jog slowly for a mile or 2 after you're done. I did that often to avoid cramps
Another outstanding production and excellent info
Your school gym is amazing! We had no weights in my school, just a hall.
Absolutely outstanding video! Thank you so much for all the amazing advice. 🙌
love the channel mate
Yeah, as a kid I did a ton of cycling and got these huge quads. I had no upper body at the time so it was noticeable. Then I started playing drums and developed big "pop eye" forearms - again without any other muscle development. Yeah I looked pretty weird 😂😂
And respond or not, everyone benefits from strength training. And from cardio conditioning for that matter. From what I've heard (and from listening to too many barbell medicine podcasts) those two statements are supported by ample amounts of evidence.
Alan, you’re an excellent filmmaker
Another fantastic video
SQUAT DAY IS THE BEST DAY!!! Thank you for sharing your story!
I think models and athletes background and highschool years are often overlooked when considering physique. This gives other people unrealistic expectations or makes them feel bad by comparison. We don't all start at the same place, so just stay in your lane and bust ass! I know it's a cliche but "comparison is the thief of joy" so "compare yourself to yourself yesterday, not someone else today."
Awesome video man. So much respect.
Switching from doing leg pressing and doing more bodybuilding type things to my lower body to 531 BBB put 2 and a half inches on my legs in 6 months
So needed this video! Thanks Alan.
14:25
Mark Bell!! Silent Mike!!
Great video! Great channel man, I really enjoy and appreciate the videos you put out.
I didn’t discover weight training until I was in my late teens/early twenties. Really wish it was part of the education system in my country. Then I would have discovered this vital developmental tool a lot earlier. Even when most guys discover weight training it takes a while until most guys are taking advantage of the big compound movements and pushing them hard with proper form.
I agree with starting young. Other than track for a little while, I did nothing as a teenager. I started lifting at 19 and am now 22 and honestly have still gotten good gains though
This was awesome. Well done, sir! 💥
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
There are only 4 things consistently in common across people that have gone a long way into muscle development (removing steroids). Consitency, intensity, progressive overload and time. In my experience and from what I've gathered from approaching 11 years doing strength training and 23 years doing physical training of some form, thats what matters. Trends change, training changes, goals change, but always whatever it is your targetting has been trained hard and consistently with the idea of pushing them harder over time for a long time.
Phenomenal content as usual
Excellent video! Legs have always been my weakest muscles, even after 7 years of lifting. I’m 6’5 and almost 200lbs and have yet to squat my weight. I’ve tried all different exercises and protocols but results come slow. I didn’t start lifting til 45 and always had chicken legs so maybe it’s my fate. Or maybe not. I keep grinding and pushing and plan to lift til I’m dead. Thanks for the insights and motivation ❤🙏
I think some people are just naturally weak
No point struggling too much
I'm glad you reached the conclusions that you did because I was thinking to myself - why isn't this video about any other body part?
Even if all that leg centric activity that you've been through in the last 20 years was responsible for your leg size (to some extent, genetics is always a factor when anyone does anything) you have probably still done a lot of pushups, pullups, bench pressing, overhead pressing etc over the years, and that didn't give you an upper body that stood out to the extent that your legs did.
It would be interesting to know what your combined frequency and average reps per week was of bench pressing and overhead pressing during the same time period because if it's vaguely similar, then it would be a really good example of how the same protocol applied in the same person, but to a different body part didn't yield the same results.
You and your brothers look like a commercial for that old show prison break.
I've been undertraining, what a surprise. When I'm "on", I have 4 sets a week of squats proper and 3-4 of some kind of variation/assistance thing. I enjoy the tempo squats because a) it's a squat, and 2) it helps squat better. But I'm old and only have so much gym time. I guess I'll have to quit my job.
Consistent, continuous volume, of front squat/trap bar deadlift, nordics, and Bulgarian split squats should do it. But that’s only for the upper portion of legs
I needed this 😊
Was it 10s of thousands of reps of squats and deadlifts, and variations thereof? I don’t see how it’s possible somebody WOULDN’T have big legs after so many years on PL, Strongman and Oly training.
4:58
Same here. I was a psycho sprinter as a kid, but only because i wanted to he sonic the hedgehog lol.
I also ended up with gigantic quads.
I just started lifting and im already squatting 120kg by my third session. Same as my older brother, but he’s been lifting for years.
I think our childhood athletic life played a much bigger role than maybe even genetics.
5:01 the kid on the right only has one measly medal, Alan took them all!
Great video dude
I feel you with the leg genetics haha. It was funny seeing peoples faces when I told them I only worked upper body back then. When I first started training legs I had been doing bench and rows for half a year and only managed to get my working set to 70 kg for bench (rows weren't to bad). After only hitting legs for 2 months I could already deadlift 143 kg basically just genetically (WITH GOOD FORM MIND YOU NO STUPID LOW BACK ROUNDING TO PLEASE MY EGO). Squats weren't going badly either although I was mainly trying to hone in my form before adding massive weight. I must say that I have pretty bad bench genetics since I have really long arms so that 70 kg was like using 100 kg for anyone else.
thanks for the motivation
Hip DRAHVE!!!
Gotta do fahves and have fahve gallons of milk a day for them thunder thighs!
Amazing channer amazing info thank you alan
Awesome Video thanx.
Dom Mazzetti : "so basically what he's saying is that I need to get a stronger bench"
This guy is funny as well and wholesome
Just did my annual leg day but will note this for next year
dude this is the first vid of yours i watched and watched all 16 minutes undistracted.
Goin for that Men's Wellness Division build? Nice.
Won’t say my legs are huge now, but after I started squatting weekly, def had to buy pants to big for my waist just for the leg room.
My legs aren't the size of Alan's but they're big enough where I can't buy pants that fit my waist anymore. It's kind of a flattering problem to have.
To anyone that'll come across these comments: Buy bottoms that are woven out of 5%-10% spandex or elastene, my humble tip 🫡
This is how I feel about my arms. I started around age 15. My arms blew up and just kinda stayed big for the rest of my training time. I dont have a magic pill, I train them as hard and frquently as I can and somehow got bigger than my friends.. I feel like kinda awkward about getting compliments for my arms because I am sure other people train just as hard.
Hearing how often you squat got me like Frodo Baggins: fine, keep your secrets! I don't wanna know your leg program anymore!
I'm finding that ATG split squats are helping my leg development. I'm nearly 60 and never really trained seriously.
Thanks for the info.
You're telling ME that I can't look like Iron Biby?! Unsubbed
Hey Alan. Can you please elaborate (maybe through a comment if not a video) on what may have caused your *hernia*? Could it be years of heavy lifting?
If you have gained any wisdom on how these kinds of internal heavy lifting-related injuries can be avoided, please enlighten us.
Best exercice for glute: barbell squat => ok thumb down
Great vid!
Not exactly related to this video and maybe you've talked about this before but I'm assuming you try to do some form of event-specific peak for strongman shows, do you peak on squats? Say you have heavy yoke coming up, do you drop squats and just train yoke?