Anyone here have success with growing their legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves) that weren’t already naturally big?

[xcept68]

@kowalski1 How many sets of this behemoth are you doing each time?

 

[kowalski1]

@xcept68 On supersquats? Only 3. But you're suppose to start with about 60% of your max, and eventually work up to your 10 rep max for sets of 20.

On what I'm currently doing? I do one set of 20 per week, along with 5 more "normal" sets.

 

[sarah04]

@xcept68 When I switched to doing 3x12 squats and consistently moving up 5 pounds every session, my legs finally started to grow. The trick for me was realizing I actually had way more in reserve than I thought I did, so I would take long pauses every 4 reps or even more frequently than that to gather myself, catch my breath, and pump out another few reps. It’s harder to go to failure on squats because failure is so much more devastating than on other lifts, especially if you don’t have a spotter.

 

[xcept68]

@sarah04 Thank you

 

[sarah04]

@xcept68 Anytime, good luck!

 

[fredjames007]

@xcept68 25+ sets a week might be too much depending on your intensity.

For me, I completely stopped any barbell squatting and deadlifting and now the only exercise I do with a barbell is RDLs. All other exercises are stable (leg press, hack squats, Bulgarian split squats in a smith machine) which allows me to push way harder on the target muscles and train closer to failure. I do 12 sets for quads, 11 sets for hamstrings, and 8 sets for glutes per week all pretty close to failure and am growing like never before.

 

[xcept68]

@fredjames007 Thanks so much. How many reps?

And yea I can’t really flirt with failure on many of those as I don’t have a spotter so can’t get the good failure push

 

[fredjames007]

@xcept68 All of my training is done in the 8-15 rep range with a few exceptions for higher reps. Just personal preference because it feels a lot better on my joints and I can maintain good technique.

 

[christianheart1993]

@xcept68 I was the chicken leg guy until I ran Stronglifts 5x5. The squat volume is insane and it is brutally taxing, but your legs will grow and you will gain strength.

For calves, get taller socks.

 

[want2bsober]

@xcept68 Quads, Hamstrings and glutes yes. Calves not really.

For me everything took off when I started getting better depth on squats. It wasn’t ass to grass depth as I’m tall with exceptionally long legs. But I get to just under 90 degrees and that helped a lot with quad and glute growth. Leg mobility overall got way better after that. Size followed. I also can’t recommend Bulgarian split squats enough for leg / ass growth and overall lower body health.

All that being said, my calves never seem to actually grow. They have gotten stronger but size just never follows for me.

 

[stmarien]

@xcept68 You don't need to go super deep to develop the quads. Going deep hits the glutes and hams more. Go 12 to 15 reps. If that doesn't work try 1 leg day a week instead of 2. Do less cardio , and when you do cardio , walk don't run

 

[xcept68]

@stmarien Thank you. The good news is I can’t run (or jump)

 

[ecce]

@xcept68 Increase your squat and deadlift. Eat in a slight surplus. Your legs will grow