Thigh Training -- Spencer Churchill (1953)

 

Chet Yorton

Good Friend and contributor here, Liam Tweed, is currently experiencing some health issues and working his way out of them. Let's give a communal wish of "Get Better Soon" to him, and you can feel free to use the comments here. 

The thighs and hips are composed of the largest muscles in the body; they are also the strongest muscles in the body. Therefore, to obtain good results heavy poundages have to be used in training them.

Squatting is of course the basis of all leg work, and a lot of bodybuilding authorities consider it to be the main bodybuilding exercise, as it stimulates all round growth due mainly to the deep breathing coupled with muscular effort.

The full squat is without a doubt the most arduous exercise in the curriculum of a bodybuilder's weight training schedule. It is considered to be a power exercise of the best caliber and is used exclusively in the weightlifting world to assist them in their training. 

During my short career as a bodybuilder I have tried and experimented with many forms of leg exercises and below I will give a description of the ones which I found gave the best results.

The full squat is the most widely used, and in my estimation the best all round leg developer. I prefer to do the full squat with the heels raised on a block. This seems to aid balance and also throws the work on to the thighs rather than the hips. One of gthe most favorable points about squatting is that it induces very deep breathing, therefore although breathing is very important in all bodybuilding exercises it is of paramount importance in the squat. Unless your breathing is correct you will make very little progress on squatting. 

The correct method of breathing is as follows: 

1) In 

2) Out

Right?

No.

Okay then . . . 

Presume that you are standing with the bar on your shoulders and are about to commence squatting, take a deep breath, go down to the squat position holding your breath, as you come up to the starting position you will find a point that seems the toughest part of recovery [most people find Step 8 the hardest of the dozen of 'em], when you have passed this then is the time to breath out, by the time you are upright you should have fully exhaled, then between 3 and 6 deep breaths should be taken before the next squat. 

I found that for this type of squat 12 reps gave the best results. Being such an exhausting movement I would not recommend more than two sets for a beginner and three for an advanced bodybuilder. 

Another form of squat I found very beneficial was the Pumping Squat. For this movement only a light weight can be used. 15 reps are used in each set and they are performed in groups of 5. From the starting position you do 5 reps straight off with a single breath for each rep, and they are performed fast. When the first 5 have been done you pause and breathe deeply around a half dozen times, then perform the next 5 the same as first 5, pausing again for deep breathing, and likewise for the last 5. 

The next exercise is the Half Squat. You should be able to use nearly double the poundage that you use on the full squat.  This movement is best performed on a low bench which makes it easier than just checking when you're halfway down. 

Note: I prefer using a rack, with the bottom catchers set at the depth I want to use. Take the first rep from the top pins, lower to the bottom catchers, pause, explode back up. Starting at the top can help with staying in your normal squat groove. That's what I find anyhow. 

I found 20 reps best on this exercise, performed fairly fast, resting after the first 10 for deep breathing. 4 sets can be used on these half-squats if you feel you can handle it. This is a great exercise for increasing your poundages and is essentially a power exercise.

Very recently I began to use a Squat Harness. This is an apparatus that fits over the shoulders, made of webbing  with the hooks at the back where the bar fixes in. Very little weight can be used on this exercise. The advantage is that there is no weight pressing down on the shoulders. When doing this exercise it is necessary to have a rope to hold on to as the weight being in the small of your back would pull you over unless you have something to help maintain you in an upright position.

High reps, 20-25, can be used on this exercise and between 4-6 sets as it is not nearly as exhausting as the squat. 

My last exercise is one that I use in conjunction with one of the above exercises. This is the thigh curl. It can be done with leg-bells but I prefer to do it lying face down on a bench and getting my training partner to add resistance manually. 

Note: There just has to be a better way. I for one wish someone would invent one soonly. 

This exercise can do a lot for the all-round shape of your legs, and I'm afraid most bodybuilders are apt to neglect their leg biceps. For best results 4 sets of 15 should be performed after you have finished your squatting. 

A last word on leg work. I feel as it is the heaviest part of your weight training routine it should be done at the beginning of your schedule, although this is purely my own fancy. Lots of bodybuilders like to leave it till last but I feel that it is best to get it done within the early part of your schedule. 

Enjoy Your Lifting!