in need of help! want to become QUADZILLA

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brokenjohninchrist

New member
hi all! i'm struggling to see significant gains in my thighs/quads. i keep finding posts and comments about wanting to "grow glutes without growing legs" and how to not be quad-dominant, but i am the opposite currently.

here is my complete weekly routine -- GZCLP (hello r/gzcl )with a lil twist (added Hip Thrusts as T1). i've also written my leg-focused days below.

i want some massive, strong quads!! and i would appreciate all and any exercise/food/etc. advice! thank you

---- NUTRITION: aim for 0.8-1gram protein per lb, 100-500 calorie surplus each day? i don't track bc eating disorder history.

-----WEIGHTS:

Sumo DL: 100lb x 10 and 105lb x 5

BB Squat: 55lb (learning form!)

Hip Thrust: 145-150lbx10 and 165lbx6

Goblet Squat: 45lb

Leg Extensions: 27.5lb-15lb per leg (have to decrease weight as sets go on) and 60lb when doing both legs together

Bulgarians: 20lb dumbbells pair

Leg Press: 22.5-25lb addition to 150lb sled i think? not sure

KB DL: 80lb

RDL: 70lb

------ ROUTINE (reps x sets) -----

----- Monday - Anterior Focus? ----

Barbell Squat 5 x 3+

Hip Thrust 10-12 x 3

Bulgarian Split Squats 10-12 x 3

GB Squats 15 x 3

Leg Press 15 x 3

Leg Extensions 15-20 x 3+

Calf Raises 15-20 x 3

----- Wednesday - Posterior focus? -----

Hip Thrust 5 x 3+

Sumo DL 10-12 x 3

KB Deadlifts 15 x 3

Romanian Deadlift 15 x 3

Glute Kickback 15 x 3

Hip Abductions 20 x 2

------ Friday ----

Sumo Deadlift 5 x 3+

Barbell Squat 10-12 x 3

Hip Thrusts 20 x 3

Leg Press 15 x 3

Leg Extensions 15-20 x 3+

Hip Abductions 20 x 2

Calf Raises 15-20 x 3
 
@brokenjohninchrist I found that super squats was an excellent program for adding mass to my quads. I've not yet run GZCLP so can't comment on it other than the fact that I'd like to run it some day

Your variable surplus seems low at times, 100 calories is a rounding error, I would personally aim for a solid surplus every day. I find plateaus are more often a result of diet rather than training

Your accessory volume seems high, I would say unnecessary, I personally only back squat and Zercher squat and am happy with how my quads are shaping up, but if you can recover from it and your lifts go up then you're fine
 
@theadmiral thank you so much!!

i'm going to actually try and increase my back squat next week as i feel like my form is good enough to do so. i don't zercher or front squat because they bruise my shoulders so i'm sticking to goblet squats for now. i do need to figure out front squats but i'm too lazy... gonna try to tomorrow.
 
@brokenjohninchrist Sounds good! Increasing your back squat will do wonders for body transformation, your program should tell you when to increase the weight which can sometimes lead to you surprising yourself. Zerchers may get around your issue with front squats as you hold the bar in the crook of your elbows which means you can add a little padding if it's hurting without compromising the position of the lift too much. I'm quite biased though as I've become a big fan of Zercher lifts over the last few months

Front squats are definitely good if you can figure out a way of doing them that works for you, I find rapid high rep front squats with 50ish% of my TM is a great accessory to heavy back squats, but done the day after
 
@theadmiral ooh you're right. zerchers might be good for me while i move onto front squats. i really want to figure FS out, as i've heard they can be more heavily loaded and cause less fatigue on the arms? i am a WEAKLING

my program recommends adding 5-10lb weekly, and i've been pleasantly surprised by my deadlifts. i actually double-checked during my last DLs because i thought i had put lower weights on the barbell. nope, just gaining strength!

saving this comment for future reference! thank you
 
@brokenjohninchrist Front squats are definitely worth figuring out, they're an excellent lift, in case you can't tell I'm a squat fiend

Awesome! As long as you recover properly and eat enough then in theory you should be able to progress on the program recommendations, sometimes it's good to be scared of the weight you're going to move, obviously keep judging it for yourself though as I have no clue what your recovery or activity baseline is

It sounds like you're on the right track and doing well, keep getting stronger and your muscles will get there, as long as you allow them to recover enough they'll grow
 
@theadmiral thank you!!

checked your profile and saw your post about learning/trying Zercher squats. and now, you love them enough to recommend them to me!

kind of motivating to see someone learn a movement and grow to love it :')
 
@brokenjohninchrist Ride a bicycle!

My lifting routine is all glute-focused on the lower half not because I want a butt but because I bike too much and my quads are so dominant/strong they're pulling the rest of me out of alignment at times so I need to balance them in the weight room.
 
@brokenjohninchrist You don't have big thigh gains because you only squat 55lb.

I built my legs doing squats and basic compound movements, and gaining lots of weight. Basically no accessories, though that will be program specific, I've never run gzcl so don't know anything about modifying it. I did usually 3-4 lifts in a session, with some grip/calves/core tossed in, sometimes.
 
@teatimebabe28 i'm not gaining a lot of weight or squatting heavy. so basically not doing anything you did 🥲 shit. makes sense.

thank you for commenting! def gonna cut down accessories and focus on getting my compounds down
 
@brokenjohninchrist How long have you been lifting?

Muscle gain is a long, long, long, longggg game.

Going totally crazy with the volume especially in the beginning is really not going to help. Quality of the workout and adequate rest, food, and sleep is more important. You don't want to burn out. There's only so much muscle you can put on at a time no matter how hard you workout and that's just the nature of physiology.

If you're looking for serious growth, like going from not much muscle to THICK AF.... I'd say just take it slow and steady and buckle up for the next few years (yes, years). You can definitely see aesthetic changes sooner. I think my quads looked significantly more defined and larger around maybe 8 months to a year in. But definitely not what I would consider "quadzilla" if you're comparing yourself to say, power lifters on social media.
 
@forhislight i've been hitting the gym since september, so 6 months? random stuff around the gym to a random aesthetic program). lifting for 3 weeks with GZCLP. haven't really been eating properly or recovering well until a month or two ago and my lifts have been going up every week since then!

i'm definitely going to cut down accessories by around 1/2. these comments have convinced me!

my quads do look different. i was expecting dramatic "newbie gains"? i guess? my butt has grown decently but probably because i started doing hip thrusts much before i did barbell squats and deadlifts.

but now that i'm thinking about it, i wasn't properly recovering and am/have been at a pretty low weight (another comment pointed this out & it's pretty logical). i can't expect to massive huge quads if i dont have... mass.

thank you for commenting!!
 
@forhislight this is a very comforting response. thank you!

i definitely did get off-track with my goals i think. if that's what newbie gains are, then they have been blossoming with adding 5lb each week to most lifts. but i thought aesthetics would blossom along with them... whoops

but like you said, there's only so much my body CAN do each week. and i think i should enjoy the process & the gains (non-physical and physical).
 
@brokenjohninchrist You don’t need that many accessories. Only add exercises if you have a good reason to do so rather that doing every conceivable leg exercise out some misplaced fear of missing something.

The squat will get most of it done if you’re adding weight each week. Make sure you’re taking them nice and deep and really sitting into your quads on the way down and pushing through them on the way up.
Then maybe one or two accessories based on something you don’t feel is sufficiently achieved by squatting (which honestly isn’t much if you’re doing them right). Bulgarians and deadlifts (sumo is fine) would likely fill this gap. But if you do too much you’re going to inhibit your ability to add weight and progress on these few movements which is counterproductive.

If you want to implement a lot of variation then swap out some of your accessories every 3-6 weeks when you’re not able to progress on them or theyre just feeling stale/not producing the results you want.
 
@mags1234 ahh i'm used to bodybuilding routines so i kind of went for volume + accessories !! i'm going to cut them down by 1/2.

i felt like i wasn't pushing myself hard enough on my squats as i'm trying to get my form down instead of focusing on weight. so my muscles weren't actually being damaged/worked/challenged? that's kind of why i have goblet squats and other squat variations -- to adequately push my muscles to failure/fatigue. maybe that's a dumb thought whoops

swapping out accessories and decreasing them is what im thinking of now. thank you for this advice!
 
@brokenjohninchrist If you aren't able to go heavy on your barbell squats yet, I wouldn't count them as a main lift. Do them first in the workout, call them technique practice (but still go as heavy as your form allows), and then do leg press or whatever as your T1 squat.
 
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