Dillett's Quad Equation

Thigh Mass 101: A 12-week quad-building program

Math was never my best subject in school, but I've never had any trouble calculating figures in bodybuilding. It ain't, as they say, rocket science. All you have to do is be able to add weight, multiply your gains, and divide your time among training, nutrition and recuperation. If you can do that and count reps to 20, the rest is easy.

That being said, no one's physique is perfect. If your quad development is less than you'd hoped for, my 12-week course will teach everything you need to produce number-crunching thighs. This plan uses three specific exercises: leg extensions, leg presses and hack squats. All of these exercises directly target the quads without the distraction of focusing on hamstrings and calves. Those you can save for another day.

You'll notice the absence of squats in this routine. If you feel you get more quad growth from squats than leg presses, you can make that substitution, but keep in mind that squats may exhaust your hamstrings, glutes and lower back before your quads are pushed to the max.

If you have a bodypart that's been lagging behind the rest, you must take one training day to focus on developing that straggler. If that bodypart is quads, follow this simple formula: Train your quads once a week, all-out, after a day of complete rest, when they're freshest. Concentrate on your quads throughout every set, taking each rep to the point where you feel a full intense burn.

Follow this program for 12 weeks, and you'll see that targeted training will solve your quad problems.

PAUL DILLETT'S 12-WEEK QUADRATIC EQUATION
Exercise Sets Reps
Leg extensions 3 20

Leg presses 4-5 10-20
Hack squats 4-5 10-20
Leg extensions4 10-20

Originally featured in: Flex November, 1999
Written by: Paul Dillett
Photos by: Chris Lund