First of all, let me give you a brief introduction to quadriceps femoris. As the name implies, it is mainly composed of four small muscles-from the inside out, the medial thigh muscle, the middle thigh muscle and the lateral thigh muscle; And rectus femoris covering the outermost surface.

Among them, thigh muscle, middle thigh muscle and lateral thigh muscle only intersect with the knee joint and only dominate the action of "knee joint straightening".

The remaining rectus femoris intersects with both knees and hips at the same time, dominating the two action elements of knee extension and hip flexion. This is why when practicing leg lifting, I often feel that the muscles on the front side of my thigh are contracting, and even have obvious soreness!

Although the protagonist we are going to introduce below is sitting posture and leg flexion and extension; But I still want to emphasize with my friends that, just like training muscles in any other part, when training quadriceps, we should first give priority to compound fitness movements (the best choice is back bar or squat in front of the neck);

Then cooperate with the isolated training action of "sitting and bending" to further strengthen it in order to obtain the best muscle growth effect. Never put the cart before the horse!

Flexion and extension of legs in sitting position

Leg flexion and extension, as an isolated training action, only exerts force through a single joint of the knee joint; Therefore, the load and intensity used in training are still relatively limited. Excessive load will inevitably affect the accurate play of technical essentials and weaken the stress effect of quadriceps femoris. It is generally recommended that you use a lighter weight, each group moves 12-20 times, and the muscles are close to failure!

For this reason, compared with the routine training method of "continuously increasing load", it is suggested that more emphasis should be placed on "improving technical essentials, strengthening neuromuscular connection and creating a feeling of muscle congestion and swelling" when practicing leg flexion and extension, in order to obtain the most ideal improvement effect!

At the same time, the biggest advantage of sitting leg flexion and extension is that the training is targeted. In the process of stimulating and strengthening quadriceps femoris, there is no need for major operation of surrounding muscle groups and joints; It will not cause the problems of excessive muscle fatigue and prolonged recovery time. Especially suitable for those who want to practice quadriceps!

Finally, some friends may have heard the saying that "sitting posture has a high risk factor of leg flexion and extension, which hurts the knee", so they are worried about entanglement. Should they choose to practice this action?

But in fact, authoritative research has found that there is no evidence that it will increase the risk of knee joint injury under the basic conditions of healthy and injury-free knee joint! So unless your knee hurts or hurts, don't worry too much.

Action essentials

In order to help you give full play to the best training effect of "sitting leg flexion and extension", the following are three practical and efficient points: First, adjust the back of the chair properly to make your hips slightly extended. This ensures that the quadriceps femoris, which connects the two joints of the knee and hip, can give full play to its strength and help complete the extension of the knee joint!

On the contrary, if the back of the chair is completely vertical and the hips are bent at a 90-degree angle, the end where the rectus femoris intersects the hip joint has obviously contracted, and it is impossible to contract at the knee joint, which will inevitably affect the overall muscle strength.

As for the specific angle of the caster, you can try and adjust it according to your actual feelings. It is recommended that the hip joint bend 45-60 degrees.

Furthermore, consciously press the hips to maintain their stability; In order to avoid the loss of strength and ensure the strongest and sustained stress of quadriceps femoris.

In addition, incorrect hip movement will also affect the range of activities and further weaken the training effect of quadriceps femoris!

Finally, for those who want to focus on training the lateral thigh muscles, you can try to put your toes slightly inward, showing a small inner figure posture.

However, the forward posture of toes will stimulate the four areas of quadriceps femoris more evenly. Everyone can choose flexibly according to their training goals and muscle stress!