So your legs are not growing eh? Well this is a common problem for many people that are not genetically gifted to grow their legs. Now what you have to realize is that even if you don’t have the best genetics you can grow your legs to be massive. I know you might be thinking that I am talking shit but its the truth.
The best example of this is Tom Platz. Now if you don’t know who that is then I feel bad for you. He possessed the best legs of all time without a doubt. Others have come and gone since his time of competing in the 1980’s but no one has surpassed or even equalled what he accomplished. Now I know you are going to say when you see the pics I posted of how crazy his legs were. In fact you will be wrong if you think that Tom had some freak genetics. I have included a pic of Tom from his late teens or early 20’s and as you can see he had horrible leg genetics at best.
A Young Tom Platz with Chicken Legs!
In fact his upper body greatly surpassed his lower half. But it was his training style and intensity that made those skinny legs into the tree trunks that you see before your eyes. It is not always genetics that make champions, its hard work and dedication that creates champions. Dorian Yates is another example of sub par genetics but his determination and training took his gains over the top.
Now I am not going to cover proper leg press technique as that is an article in itself but let’s assume you know what you are doing. Now if your form is on point and your legs are not growing then what is the issue we are looking at here? First off are you getting a proper range of motion? Are you going deep enough to stimulate your quads properly? This is an issue with many guys that want to load up the leg press machine with ten plates on each side only to move it an inch or two. If this is you then stop right now. The first mistake most guys make is one adding too much weight to the leg press and second is a poor range of motion.
How many time have you seen guys in the gym or on YouTube who are leg pressing way too much weight. They move the sled about two inches and they think they did some amazing feat of strength. These people are complete idiots. Now don’t get me wrong everyone likes to feel strong and the leg press is a movement you can show off with. But at the same time the range of motion needs to be proper. You cannot stimulate the fibres in your quads and hamstrings doing any movements that are an inch deep. I am not talking about partial movements here. Those are a different story and are usually incorporated at the end of a set when the muscle has been exhausted with full range movements prior to performing them.
First tip for you is to drop the amount of weight you are using by 50% at least. Now I know you are going to look at me and think what is this clown talking about? I will look like a little girl in the gym if I do that. Well that is fine so stop worrying about what you look like in the gym. Worry about how your legs look no matter what amount of weight you have on the bar. So if you are doing 1000 pound leg presses as you told me earlier, then now its time to keep it at 500 max. This will be the weight you will work with from now on. You may even have to drop it even more once you hear of the technique that I will be explaining.
Tom Platz Possessing the Best Legs in the History of Bodybuilding!
The second mistake you are making is not doing enough reps. I have seen a ton of guys in the gym that train legs heavy and yes they are actually doing proper form and range of motion so they are not being clowns in the gym. But they still can’t get their legs to grow the way they would like. Training legs heavy for many guys simply doesn’t work, that is what most need to understand. The legs need high reps, large amounts of volume, and enough time under tension to get them to grow. When you bang out 6 reps on a 1000 pound leg press then you are not fulfilling any of the above.
So here is one technique that I use with all my athletes and it makes their legs grow like weeds. I personally am not a fan of using heavy weight on the leg press. Yea it may look cool if you perform them correctly and with proper range of motion but it still is not my preference. There are ways to stimulate those fibres much more efficiently and reduce the strain on your joints and ligaments as well. So lets take a look at my secret technique.
This technique I call Static Volume 20/5/20. Now you may be wondering what that really means. We start off by performing 20 solid full range reps. Here I like to use a piston firing technique without stopping at the top. Your legs should literally look like pistons firing but in a controlled manner with a moderate speed. Not too fast and not too slow but completely controlled for every single rep.
Tom Performed Heavy Weight for High Reps to Build Massive Legs!
Then once the 20 reps are complete you will now perform 5 reps with a static hold just short of the bottom position for a ten second hold on each rep. Yea you heard that correct my friend. Have someone time you as I guarantee you will shortchange yourself and reduce the time to probably five seconds at best. This static hold on each rep after performing those first 20 reps will feel like you poured acid on your quads. It is really brutal when done correctly because not only do the legs feel pumped beyond belief, but now they have this deep acidic burn from the static holds.
Now once those 5 reps of torture are done you now have to complete another 20 reps in the same piston like formation you did earlier. Once this is done you have now completed your first set. So 20 regular reps, 5 static hold reps of ten seconds each, then 20 more regular reps to complete the set.
Now you might think this sounds easy on paper but once you give it a try and perform it correctly you will feel the pain like never before. One set like this with full intensity will produce more growth for your legs than six sets of the way you are currently doing them. Now usually I will have this as the second or third exercise in my routine. I like to pre-exhaust the quads on the leg extension first then use this sometimes right after. Just to be frank but what I just do on the leg extension for my athletes will have most wanting to go home just after that. I usually have most of my athletes performing 3-5 working sets of leg press in this manner. You might get through the first and second set, but when set four comes around you will be looking for the puke bucket that is no lie.
The Proper Depth for Static Holds!
So why do I like this technique you ask? Well by performing the first 20 reps you fill the legs with a ton of blood especially when performed in the piston like style I recommend. Then when those legs are full of blood I like to take advantage of the static effect of holding the weight in the stretched position. Boy the lactic acid starts seeping into those quads big time. Then when you feel like you are going to die, hold that thought at least to the end of the set cause we have 20 more full range piston like reps to go before you can pull your body out of the leg press. Those last 20 reps feel like they are never going to end. The ten second static hold on those 5 reps will feel like an eternity believe me. Make sure you have someone spotting you as well as doing the timing for each rep because having your legs give out on this technique when you are not accustomed to it is possible. Also monitor your breathing. Do not hold your breath because you will need all the oxygen you can get.
So here you have it man. This is one of my favourite techniques when performing leg press. Even if you are doing 1000 pound leg presses currently, you may only be able to use 400 pounds with this technique. The days of show boating those big leg press Instagram fame videos on your phone are over. Give this a try because it will do a ton more for growing those legs than wasting your time lifting heavy weight and getting nothing in return but sore knees and back.
