21
votes
Accepted
If a child scooters everyday, does it make one leg of him/her larger than the other?
Unilateral training does indeed lead to a difference between the size and strength of the muscles on each side. However, most active individuals have discrepancies between their dominant and non-...
- 6,161
11
votes
10
votes
Accepted
Reasons to train lower body
It's important to keep one's legs in good working order for anyone who wants to retain the ability to get out of bed, climb stairs, stand up off the toilet, walk around a hilly neighborhood, run away ...
- 24.9k
9
votes
Should seated leg press be avoided?
No, it should not be avoided. Like any machine, it's a tool, and it has a purpose.
The article seems to refer to the fact that during a seated leg press, the weight presses down on your feet, and ...
- 17.9k
9
votes
Accepted
Should I lock my knees doing Leg Press?
No, the knees should not be locked out.* See caveat.
The two primary reasons:
Once the knees are locked all the weight is transferred directly to the joint, which can be disasterous
Not locking out ...
- 2,277
7
votes
What is this calf gym machine called?
Also search for "gastrocnemius press" or "gastrocnemius machine."
But I agree with the other comment, you can usually get 90% of the benefit of this with existing equipment, be it ...
7
votes
Do squat and deadlift work the hip flexors and extensors in a balanced way?
The purpose of the hip flexors are to lift the legs when walking or running.
The purpose of the hip extensors are to lift the whole body when walking or running.
Since the whole body is a lot heavier ...
- 3,717
6
votes
Accepted
Warming up without legs
It's perfectly common to warm up your upper body by simply doing upper body work.
If you're doing bench press, for instance, let your warmup consist of 5-6 lightweight, high-repetition sets of bench ...
- 17.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Lower leg training
The smaller leg muscles, we can pick on the extensor digitorum longus or the sartorius (as examples) are not supposed to be individually engaged. They are role-specific, and supposed to serve in a ...
- 14.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Are squats on the tip of the feet and bending back good for the legs?
I believe you're describing a Sissy Squat *. This is a great body-weight exercise for developing your quadriceps. However, sissy squats don't work the glutes at all; instead recruiting the hip flexors....
- 4,538
6
votes
Do squat and deadlift work the hip flexors and extensors in a balanced way?
I've seen plenty of leg routines based entirely (or almost entirely)
on squats and deadlifts. My simple question is this routine is
balanced.
This question seems to depend on the assumption that it ...
- 13.7k
5
votes
Walking faster V/s Running
The Gait Cycle (Walking vs Running)
The above image compares the gait cycles of walking and running. The same concepts that apply to walking apply to power walking. The only thing that changes is ...
- 2,795
5
votes
Accepted
Is it quite OKAY to do 45 Degree Leg Press alone to replace squat?
It is not going to replace squat.
You can see which muscles the squat hits here and leg press here.
You see, in the squat you use other muscles as well like your erector spinae, obliques and abs. ...
- 398
5
votes
Does cardio build muscle?
This is going to be a yes and no answer, and here is why.
If you start from nothing, you will have not have a lot of muscle mass in your legs. Cardio activities such as running, sprinting and cycling ...
- 4,151
5
votes
Are leg 'pull' exercises a thing?
Well, yes. But actually no.
If we examine your example with "doing squats with your feet glued to the ceiling", we'll find that there's a set of joints that are closing. Namely the hip and ...
- 17.9k
4
votes
Need Help Urgently? Mental and Heavy Legs
This is kind of outside of the scope of the PF SE but you seem genuinely in need.
First point of call would be to talk to your parents, you are saying you are feeling pushed too much into the older ...
- 6,972
4
votes
Accepted
is the squat a complete exercise for the legs?
Squats do activate all muscle groups in the legs to some degree. With that said, I do not think it is the only exercise that should be done for your legs. I noticed that you mentioned powerlifting. ...
- 186
4
votes
Front squats lagging behind back squats by too much
Two major issues for me were core and flexibility in my Lats.
I would say that you should focus on more core work which have a variety of different exercises that can help.
First I would foam roll ...
- 1,144
4
votes
Accepted
Does running/biking suffice as a leg workout?
Please use low-impact exercises till you are fit enough to run. A lot of people make the mistake of using running as an exercise to get fit which can backfire.
Rowing - Uses upper body as well and ...
- 282
4
votes
What next, after Pistol Squats
You can always increase the time you are doing the exercise, increasing the time under tension. In addition to it, you can also do the same exercises with "holds". For example, you can stay in pistol ...
- 884
4
votes
Accepted
Felt like passing out doing Bulgarian Split Squats
Your work capacity is lacking.
Borrowing from my answer here:
Cardio.
It's a bit of a meme in powerlifting that powerlifters never do cardio. Don't fall into that trap. The energy demands of compound ...
- 3,786
3
votes
Most efficient way to stand?
Probably depends just how still you have to stand. Beefeaters (the fellows in black hats and red jackets who stand at attention at the Tower of London) have to stand absolutely still for hours at a ...
- 223
3
votes
Should seated leg press be avoided?
Does this mean that no matter what precautions and position we take when using seated leg press one always incurs the risk of low back injuries?
No, that's not what the author is trying to say. You ...
- 1,996
3
votes
Pain in knees, quadriceps, ankle on jogging
It could be something more complicated, but generally I'll just say that running hurts, especially when you're just starting or increasing your mileage.
I would recommend following a training ...
- 14.8k
3
votes
I can only do body weight squats with proper form - how to compensate?
First things first
While I know what you mean by "ectomorph", you should know that this is a term related to the debunked myth of somatotypes.
Read second paragraph here: https://en.wikipedia.org/...
- 17.9k
3
votes
Unable to do leg day
Is there a reason for training volume you use? I would ask you two questions:
are you world class pro (in your goal)?
do you take performance enhancing drugs (PEDs)?
If your answer is NO for both ...
- 401
3
votes
Accepted
During squat (front & back), is it mechanically possible to work the glutes more than the quads? How?
To understand how to correct the problem, it often helps to think carefully about what, exactly, might be happening. But in summary, it may help to:
take a shoulder-width stance,
externally rotate ...
- 6,161
3
votes
Is it right that frontal muscles above knee gets tired (don't like it) during bicycling with heightened load (>260W)?
I wonder - what muscles can be [approx 5-15 cm above knee]? My guess is that there are very few muscles and they should not be important for the cycling.
That would be the quadriceps, and they are ...
- 13.7k
3
votes
Building the thigh muscles near the knee area
If you aren't already, make sure you include full range of motion squat patterns in your programming. I used to do leg extension variations until I was blue in the face to grow my VMO (the medial ...
- 481
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