My daughter and her firefighter husband-to-be were over again, grilling me about my training and theirs…
“Dad, I know you no longer do them because you’re working out in your home gym, but do you think we should do leg extensions and leg curls?”
“Not many machines are designed correctly, unfortunately. Most keep the resistance even throughout the stroke or have it increase at contraction. That’s ass backward. The resistance should decrease as you reach contraction, where the muscle is weakest.The plate-loaded extensions are really backward, with almost zero resistance at stretch and too much at contraction.”
“But I really get a good ache and burn with those machines.”
“Of course you do. That’s from continuous tension—no blood is allowed into the working muscle throughout the set, so it floods the muscle right after. That’s a good growth stimulus.”
“So then we should use them?”
“If I were training in a commercial gym, I would—even with the flaws. I know you like to do a few sets of regular squats too, despite my warnings. So if I were you, I’d do most of my sets on the ideal exercise, sissy squats. Then I’d follow with a few sets of leg extensions. Put barbell squats with glute training.”
“We train quads and glutes on the same day. Should we hit quads first?”
“If you’re going to do barbell squats, try training your glutes first. I know you have a hip-flexion machine at your gym, so start with those. That’s your ideal butt move. Then after that, you can do a set or two of sets of barbell squats.”
“Won’t the squats interfere with our quad workout after?”
“No because barbell squats are only about 30 percent quad emphasis for most trainees. In fact, the squats will be a good transition move to your direct quad work. You’ll really feel the sissy squats.”
“We’ll give it a try. What if we want to start with quads at one lower-body workout and glutes at the next?”
“Ah, change to gain. I like it. In that case, just keep the same order: start with sissies, then leg extensions. After that, do your hip-flexion-machine sets followed by some barbell squats. Your quads will be exhausted by the time you get to squats, but so will your glutes. You’ll have to use less weight on the squats on this day—doing them after direct quad and glute work. That’s a good thing though—less spine compression.”
“I think Mom is calling us to the table for dinner. Mmm, stuffed bell peppers.”
“We’ll come back into the gym after we eat for my take on hamstrings.”
“Mmm, ham. Sorry, I’m in a calorie deficit.”
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Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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