What I appreciate the most in this channel is that Milo doesn't simply give us the answers, he shows the thought process, making us able to follow it and pick the exercises by ourselves if we want to. Chrees Dr. Milo.
I recently got my first reverse nordic at 6'1 220 pounds completely flat on the ground with a slow eccentric and a 1 second pause. If you are heavy/tall or your joints aren't ready for this movement, I would suggest easing into it. It took me about a year to get this level of strength (I was also getting over a knee injury). I think this is a great move for hypertrophy and knee strength but you have to ease into the movement. Initially I put up something behind me to catch me as I didn't have great range on motion. As I got more flexible and stronger I switched to bands in the 5 - 10 rep range and focused on doing full reps. Once I could do 10ish, I could do 5 with a lighter band. The bands will slightly de-emphasize the weight at the bottom but it was still always hardest at the bottom so this should not be a concern if you are strong enough. I also initially could only handle this once a week but as time went on my joints can handle twice a week and more volume (sets). Good luck with this great movement!
You could also assist yourself with a bar by grabbing it with one hand or two (if you have a bar on each side like in a squat rack) and lifting yourself up by pulling with your arms at the bottom. Over time you then assist yourself a bit less until you can do a full rep without assistance or assist yourself to get a few more reps. That's how I do it and it feels great and it's an easier setup
I will offer that the leg extension is dependent on the manufacturer. A manufacturer like hoist makes a really shity leg extension that only gives you about the top three quarters of the movement. But the one at my gym what's my calf against my hamstring at the starting position. I couldn't get any more stretched if I tried. Amazing quad stimulus on that particular little beast.
@@claudiamarianidamato9499 honestly not sure. But every Hoist Leg Ext machine I've been on had been the same design. No adjustment options, force curve toward the top of the movement, no stretch. Garbage.
Have you thought about doing videos on lengthened partial tutorials for each muscle group and quickly walking us through them on popular/or your favourite exercises to do them on safely?
I have tutorials for quite a few exercises on my channel as playlists! Most exercises *probably* benefit from partials, but at least you'll see how to do them.
Now I feel dumb >.< I went through your videos a few weeks ago but I sorted by popularity. It's a shame, they deserve more views. Maybe a condensed video rehashed with all of the footage of the same muscle groups compiled together? I'm fine with watching them all separately, but sounds like something many people would be interested in. Or maybe making a small mention now and again that you have them in your playlist/channel history?
Reverse nordics are the best quad excercise in my opinion. They place a huge amount of tension in the quads and they give you the craziest stretch. Also you can do those almost anywhere and if bodyweight is no longer challenging enough you can load them up by holding a plate or dumbell against your chest. Good news are that you'll never have to go very heavy to challenge your quads maximally so they are very friendly for all my home gym people. Also if you struggle with just bodyweight and wanna make them easier you can use a band attached to higher anchor point which will give you assistance during that bottom position so you can learn the movement without any risk or pain in your knees ( since the band will take some tension of the joint). Doing this will allow you to go deeper if you are not flexible enough. I did ibanded reps and now i can go all the way down till my shoulders touch the floor with my hips fully extended. Thrust me this is one the best movement for quads i do it 2-3 times a week and my quads are big. In my experience they not only made my rectus femoris big but they also grew my vastus lateralis even more. Totally underrated excercise. Try it for the best quad gains of your life.
They are the best for the rectus femoris, but the other quad muscles which don't cross the hip are in a comparatively weakened position to generate force which limits their hypertrophy. It's a trade off, but i think overall, a full squat variation. ie smith machine or hack squat which allows a good stretch is probably best as it develops 3 of the 4 quad muscles very well indeed versus the reverse nordics which develop the rectus femoris very well and the other quad muscles only adequately.
You can do some modifications to de leg extension in order to make It more "partial-friendly". If the seat is adjustable, you can put it as far back as possible to adopt a hip-extended position. You can also put some pads on your tibias so you get more stretch. Some leg extension machines allow for a magnificent range of motion! But I understand that not everyone has acces to them. I am pretty lucky to have a good on my gym.
I disagree with you on leg extensions You can adjust the seat by pushing it back to get it in a more stretched position and you can micro load. Its available in most commercial gyms and doesnt really require any neuromuscular training. Sure you can probably get more stretch on the other examples but progressive overload and ease favours the leg extension
Still, the most important point, according to him, is that it doesn't allow for full load when the knees are bent (in the bottom when the Quads muscles are lengthened. The force curve is that it gets harder in the opposite position, which is bad) and that is what is limiting it. If we are to believe the newest research...
@@Magnus_Loov are you sure this is actually the case? Yeah, if the machine is plate loaded with plates loaded at the ankle, I get your point, but if the machine is stack loaded and built so that tension is constant (the stacks travels upwards for an equal amount of distance whether you're moving around the bottom or the top portion of the range of motion), I don't see why tension should be lost at the stretched position.
I did the reverse Nordic curl till near failure for a few sets and got sore in the quads for the first time in years! The next week pounded out a few more reps. Feels great. I’ll replace leg extensions with these from now on. What a killer stretch and pump! Thanks! 🙏
An argument that I'd make in favor of the knee extension in relation to most quad isolation exercises is that it is ease to do single-sides. Which is great for muscle imbalances or recovery from injury/surgery, etc.
Honestly suprised by how good this video is. Didnt know this channel and I expected something like "emg showed higher quad activation in exercise ... thats why its best". Keep up the good content. Only thing i would add is that there are definitely Leg extension machines that allow a far greater ROM in the stretch than the one showed in the video, like Gym80 for example where you can adjust the ROM
I have a home gym and recently bought a *cambered* bench press bar and lately I've been using it for the high bar squats too (other than Bench, OHP, Rows) because I feel like it allows me for a more upright posture, where I feel the quads more (also my glutes too). Great video, you're gonna be huge one day!
If you are like me and are too weak to do regular reverse nordic curls then you can take a mat to a cable machine, set up the cable at a low height, and then use the weight from the cable machine for assistance similar in concept to an assisted pull-up machine.
Hi Milo! Your channel is already looking great, I’ll look forward to what you do on RUclips! One small thing I wanted to note, anyone with a home gym, or a dedicated athlete who goes to a commercial gym will probably be able to micro load cables. This can be done with a cable pin (check out baresteel equipment for some examples) or more commonly by taking the standard pin and looping through a change plate. So I wouldn’t necessarily say cables cannot be micro loaded like barbells 😊.
Congrats on this series, it's great! I have one question about the reverse nordic curl though, how exactly would you apply progressive overload to them?
Love this series! One question: If you performed a variation of the leg extension where you placed the seat all the way back and extended your hips (maybe with a pad underneath your butt) and you have a machine that allows a deep stretch, that would seemingly fix the problems, correct? Plus, you could add more load in a more stable way than something like a sissy squat. Curious to get your thoughts on this variation
Great news about the reverse Nordic. I’ve just started doing them as my only quad exercise as I have a knee issue which hurts when it’s between about 30 and 70 degrees. So I can’t do any squats etc. Let’s see how reverse nordics work without a compound to go with it, at least until I fix my knee.
the only downside of nordic extension is that you need quite good mobility in shin, I only started to feel comfortable after about 10 times of doing this exercise
Love doing paused squats for growth. I was under the impression that the great growth came from the slower-eccentric (increased time under tension) and limitation of some of the elastic energy at the bottom of the range of motion, but now it seems like the main factor could might be that the movement forces a person to get a full bottom stretch under tension.
Love the videos! What is your take on rotating exercises to prevent staleness and provide a novel stimulus? Lengthened biased movements seem to be the way to go, but in practice, it is hard to make EVERY exercise lengthen biased. Would you be in favor of swapping a lengthen biased movement for a more shorten/medium length biased movement if you had the lengthened one in for several months and stopped progressing? I think a video on how you program exercise variation would be cool.
to get a better stretch in the quads I've been trying a cable machine quad extension. it has been amazing apart from the stability which I am working on by trying different positions
I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts on a leg extension performed lying down, to lengthen the rectus femoris more in the starting position. e.g. I have a simple plate loaded leg extension attachment for my bench, and I like to do these lying down. Back when I used machines in the gym, I would always try to lay back as much as the machine would let me. I really miss that machine. It also allowed for a much larger range of motion than the one Pak used in this video.
Does it really matter? I mean the force will still be at the lowest in "the wrong place", ie when the knees are bent, so there's nothing to do about it!
@@Magnus_Loov It matters to me because it's the machine I have, haha! And it's a pretty common piece of equipment. I also don't think the force curve is that bad with my setup, but I would agree that it misses about 10-20 degrees of useful range of motion. There is a way to hack this machine to increase the ROM, but I haven't implemented that yet. Anyway, yeah I'm still interested in seated vs. lying leg extensions. I'm particularly interested because I train in my basement gym, and I've incurred a dumb injury (not training-related) that makes squatting inadvisable. I've also tried reverse nordics (for months), and they remain so uncomfortable that I don't believe I was able to get much out of them (aside from knee pain).
I have to take exception to the knock on leg extensions. Admittedly like leg press and hack squat, the amount of stretch you can get can depend on the machine itself. But id argue that if you have a decent machine it is quite stretch friendly. The resistance curve is similar to many back exercises whereby the contraction is the hardest part so you can effectively burn out the full ROM and then pump out lengthened partials to completeoy empty the clip. It also has a great loaded contraction which is fairly rare for quad exercises as usually the weight is loaded vertically in line with your lower legs and spine whereby for leg extension the load is pushed downwards on your quads.
I anchor a band overhead and use it to assit dropping into the bottom of the reverse nordic, allows me avoid arching the back and lower all the way down to the floor
I guess I am the only person on the planet earth that finds Smith machine uncomfortable. It feels weird and uncomfortable, having to put my legs to far up front to feel stable. I also don't feel my muscles working. 😅
You most probably have a great hip/ankle/knee mobility. Sadly that's certainly not the case for at least 90% of population. That makes traditional squat almost Impossible to do without cheating and/or using small weights and/or compromise low back so... for normal people, yeah sure Smith machine is fucking unbeatable
The movement is definitely different and it takes some experimentation to find what works for you. Maybe there's no position with it that will work for you, but if there is it can really help put the focus on the quads more than a standard barbell squat does in my experience. Both are awesome exercises though.
That partial movement is the most difficult part of the squat, and is recommemded in Drew Baye's Project: Kratos bodyweight program as a hard version of the BW squat.
Is the pull up a good exercise to do lengthened partials on? I'm wondering since there doesn't seem to be much tension on the muscles in the stretched position. Like a standing dumbbell curl and I see you prefer the preacher curl over that one.
Thats for great video, Dr.! Is there a technique or exercise that puts more emphasis on the vastus medialis? I feel them a lot on the bulgarian split squat. Beyond the cool look, my knees feel bulletproof! Might be all in my head tho lol
I think the leg extension can be used as a warm-up to increase blood flow to the quads(lighter weights high reps) before doing lengthened movements like squats, reverse nordics
Dr. Wolf, what do you think about leg extensions using an ankle strap and cable machine? I can position the pulley height so the max tension is at the stretch position pulling the foot back and up slightly and stick my knee far forward over the edge of my bench to allow full flexion, and by leaning back I can extend the hips a bit too. It's also seated and quite stable with no other limiting factors really. Would all this make it a much better quad isolation exercise compared to doing it on a machine and more on the level of reverse nordics and sissy squats?
One thing is bothering me with squats: I can do them super deep ATG very comfortably, but the very bottom of a squat (where quad is most lengthened) I feel no tension. I can sit in a bottom of a squat with barbell on my back and just chill there. I'm wondering if mechanically I need to stop a bit sooner to avoid my slav squat genes from removing the tension.
Great tip to anyone who can't rep out reverse nordics yet: do it next to a cable machine, set the weight, move it to the top. Hold on to the cable with one or both hands and now you have an incremental way of progressing to a full bw reverse nordic.
This is how I developed and blew up my rectus femoris - I perform an assisted sissy squat under a racked empty barbell on a squat rack, about chest high. I hold the bar using both hands, place my feet, about 12 inches apart from each other, under and a little forward the bar, and lower myself to the bottom position of a sissy squat, butt resting on my calves, and supporting my weight with my hands gripping the barbell. This is my starting position, focusing on keeping my trunk, hips, and quads on a straight line while my quads are very stretched out. Then I do lengthened partial sissy squats by lifting my body up using my quads by imagining I'm doing a leg extension. I try to touch the bar with my nose, but I can't, it's too hard. I use my hands to stabilize me and sometime spot myself as little as possible,. But I can do about 12 reps per set doing this really close to failure. I've been doing this way before this video came out but it was inspired by @WolfCoaching and his research on lengthened partials.
With the leg extension, if you can set the range of motion to the maximum your leg can accommodate in a seated position and then lean back as much as possible squeezing the glutes you cab get a great stretch. We need a leg extension where you can lay down on your back where the platform is declined to maximize the stretch and lengthened position.
What would you recommend as the best unilateral quadricep exercise? My left quad is a little bigger than the right quad and I was wondering how to bring the right one up.
I’ve always loved the reverse Nordic . I started doing them about a decade ago , i don’t think it’s a very popular movement though because I’ve never seen anyone in a gym do them in all these years. Definitely prefer them over the sissy squats too
I could feel the leg extension machine just not working for me especially not how the leg curl works for my hams. This explains it. I can't wait to try reverse nordic, i hope i can do it, it looks a bit hard to get into.
Milo I'm a bit confused about the feet forward smith squat. Wouldn't putting the feet forward make it more glute dominant? Just like putting your feet more forward/higher on a hack squat or leg press machine? Also, how is it increasing the lever? The axis of rotation is your knees, and the weight is coming from your torso/hips, so moving the feet forward or back doesn't really change the distance of the force from the axis of rotation since your femur is the same length regardless and your just moving the bottom part of your leg. Doesn't it just mean that at the bottom you get less knee bend and some of the movement is coming from the hip to get deeper while staying upright so a standard feet in smith squat would be better for the quads?
Got a question. Say I want to do a bodyweight quad exercise at home to get in some more leg volume for the gym. I squat twice a week at the gym, one day is pretty easy and the other is supposed to be pretty hard. I mostly am concerned with increasing my squat #s while maintaining or increasing my legs. Should I be doing reverse nordic curls, wall squats, bodyweight squats? I don't know which one to choose or a framework for how to do it. Also, I don't know if this is a good idea at all?
Looking forward to machines that make reverse nordic curls as comfortable as possible: Not require the foot to be extended, which would also require something to secure the knees to the floor (perhaps a strap) since the extended foot is otherwise needed to not tip backwards.
I remember a decade or so ago we assumed that lengthened position partials were good for distal hypertrophy while mid range to contracted position partials were good for proximal hypertrophy. Whats the current status quo on that?
I still think leg extensions that allow for a stretch and loading at the bottom like the ones from Schnell or Prime are supreme for quad isolation but naturally not available to most people therefore making reverse nordics and sissys the better option
Looking beyond just hypertrophy, is there any health reason to use for exampel normal back squat rather than smith machine squat? Does the need to stabalize a large amount of weight cause a stimulus that is useful for things like injury prevention, longevity, spine health, etc.
Great video, I just have one question. Last mesocycle, I tried lengthened partials on the heel elevated smith machine squat for the first time, and it felt great, but I had a problem with getting out of breath, because on a regular squat, the top position is where I'm used to breathing in. How would you recommend breathing for this case and when doing lengthened partials in general?
I would just try to breathe at the bottom without completely unbracing, basically just taking in and letting out small sips of air without letting your core deflate as best as you can
Question about progression in the reverse nordic curl. Suppose one is taking an appropriate amount of time to do each rep (e.g.: 6 seconds eccentric, 1 second paused in bottom stretch, 1 second concentric) and is able to complete 10 repetitions. How would you program going forward? Just keep adding reps, or is there another way to incrementaly increase the intensity?
I don't understand why you can't do lengthened partials on the leg extension like I thought I was doing yesterday. Is it because the movement doesn't allow for enough of a stretch? My legs were stretching back beyond vertical at the bottom...
I think it's because on most leg extension machines, resistance from the machine is at its lowest when your quad is fully stretched. Which is the opposite of what you want.
You should check out the pendalum sissy squat. It is much more stable and also more loadable than the bdw leg extension. Alex leonidas has a short on it
What are your thoughts on using a safety squat bar squats if you have mid and upper back mobility issues ? ive tried using smith machine before but i find it pins me into a poor squatting position .
What should I do if I’m not strong enough for the reverse Nordic curl? I can‘t go down very far and as soon as I start feeling my quads I can’t stretch any further or I’ll fall over.
Put a box, a bosu, swiss ball behind you to act as a stopper. Then, you make the stop lower as you progress. Stretch using the DCR REC fem stretch which is the same stretch as the reverse nordic
I feel significant stress on my knees when doing reverse Nordic curls. You have any tips to relieve such pressure, or should I just ease into the movement using bands to assist? Furthermore, are reverse Nordic curls bad for the knees long term? Thanks for any insight.
@WolfCoaching I have access to a leg press/hack squat machine with an adjustable angle bottom back/foot plate (respectively). Is it beneficial to have an angle greater than 90 degrees on this plate which might facilitate a bigger hip angle (like leaning back on leg extension vs 90 degree position). if it were somehow possible to have a leg press machine that allowed you to almost lay down in a decline and perform the exercise (similar to a reverse nordic curl) would this improve the stretch in quads and improve the hypertrophy?
The exercises series freaking slaps bro, love your content!
Thank you sir! I'll keep them coming.
Watch doug brignole s workout.
What I appreciate the most in this channel is that Milo doesn't simply give us the answers, he shows the thought process, making us able to follow it and pick the exercises by ourselves if we want to. Chrees Dr. Milo.
But what is this answer based on??? I don't see any links to studies and if I listened to every person with a title DR I'd be dead 😂
I recently got my first reverse nordic at 6'1 220 pounds completely flat on the ground with a slow eccentric and a 1 second pause. If you are heavy/tall or your joints aren't ready for this movement, I would suggest easing into it. It took me about a year to get this level of strength (I was also getting over a knee injury). I think this is a great move for hypertrophy and knee strength but you have to ease into the movement. Initially I put up something behind me to catch me as I didn't have great range on motion. As I got more flexible and stronger I switched to bands in the 5 - 10 rep range and focused on doing full reps. Once I could do 10ish, I could do 5 with a lighter band. The bands will slightly de-emphasize the weight at the bottom but it was still always hardest at the bottom so this should not be a concern if you are strong enough. I also initially could only handle this once a week but as time went on my joints can handle twice a week and more volume (sets). Good luck with this great movement!
You could also assist yourself with a bar by grabbing it with one hand or two (if you have a bar on each side like in a squat rack) and lifting yourself up by pulling with your arms at the bottom. Over time you then assist yourself a bit less until you can do a full rep without assistance or assist yourself to get a few more reps. That's how I do it and it feels great and it's an easier setup
I will offer that the leg extension is dependent on the manufacturer. A manufacturer like hoist makes a really shity leg extension that only gives you about the top three quarters of the movement. But the one at my gym what's my calf against my hamstring at the starting position. I couldn't get any more stretched if I tried. Amazing quad stimulus on that particular little beast.
Absolutely, the leg extension is the one exercise where it's either garbage tier or the best quad pump of your life if it's a good machine
Are you talking about the hoist “roc it”? It’s such a trash machine and all of the commercial gyms in my area insist on having them
@@claudiamarianidamato9499 honestly not sure. But every Hoist Leg Ext machine I've been on had been the same design. No adjustment options, force curve toward the top of the movement, no stretch. Garbage.
Have you thought about doing videos on lengthened partial tutorials for each muscle group and quickly walking us through them on popular/or your favourite exercises to do them on safely?
I have tutorials for quite a few exercises on my channel as playlists! Most exercises *probably* benefit from partials, but at least you'll see how to do them.
Now I feel dumb >.< I went through your videos a few weeks ago but I sorted by popularity. It's a shame, they deserve more views. Maybe a condensed video rehashed with all of the footage of the same muscle groups compiled together? I'm fine with watching them all separately, but sounds like something many people would be interested in. Or maybe making a small mention now and again that you have them in your playlist/channel history?
Early face lauding is superior for building muscle, . Pro tip
Reverse nordics are the best quad excercise in my opinion. They place a huge amount of tension in the quads and they give you the craziest stretch. Also you can do those almost anywhere and if bodyweight is no longer challenging enough you can load them up by holding a plate or dumbell against your chest. Good news are that you'll never have to go very heavy to challenge your quads maximally so they are very friendly for all my home gym people. Also if you struggle with just bodyweight and wanna make them easier you can use a band attached to higher anchor point which will give you assistance during that bottom position so you can learn the movement without any risk or pain in your knees ( since the band will take some tension of the joint). Doing this will allow you to go deeper if you are not flexible enough. I did ibanded reps and now i can go all the way down till my shoulders touch the floor with my hips fully extended. Thrust me this is one the best movement for quads i do it 2-3 times a week and my quads are big. In my experience they not only made my rectus femoris big but they also grew my vastus lateralis even more. Totally underrated excercise. Try it for the best quad gains of your life.
They are the best for the rectus femoris, but the other quad muscles which don't cross the hip are in a comparatively weakened position to generate force which limits their hypertrophy. It's a trade off, but i think overall, a full squat variation. ie smith machine or hack squat which allows a good stretch is probably best as it develops 3 of the 4 quad muscles very well indeed versus the reverse nordics which develop the rectus femoris very well and the other quad muscles only adequately.
Listening to your pronunciation of Work is 100% the highlight of my Friday evening!
Finally I can have Dr Milo's quads. Thank you! Continues this series, it's incredible!
You can do some modifications to de leg extension in order to make It more "partial-friendly". If the seat is adjustable, you can put it as far back as possible to adopt a hip-extended position. You can also put some pads on your tibias so you get more stretch. Some leg extension machines allow for a magnificent range of motion! But I understand that not everyone has acces to them. I am pretty lucky to have a good on my gym.
I disagree with you on leg extensions
You can adjust the seat by pushing it back to get it in a more stretched position and you can micro load. Its available in most commercial gyms and doesnt really require any neuromuscular training. Sure you can probably get more stretch on the other examples but progressive overload and ease favours the leg extension
Still, the most important point, according to him, is that it doesn't allow for full load when the knees are bent (in the bottom when the Quads muscles are lengthened. The force curve is that it gets harder in the opposite position, which is bad) and that is what is limiting it. If we are to believe the newest research...
also, you can put yoga blocks between pad and ankle, and get even more stretch on quads.
@@Magnus_Loov are you sure this is actually the case? Yeah, if the machine is plate loaded with plates loaded at the ankle, I get your point, but if the machine is stack loaded and built so that tension is constant (the stacks travels upwards for an equal amount of distance whether you're moving around the bottom or the top portion of the range of motion), I don't see why tension should be lost at the stretched position.
Milo is speaking based on science evidence
I did the reverse Nordic curl till near failure for a few sets and got sore in the quads for the first time in years! The next week pounded out a few more reps. Feels great. I’ll replace leg extensions with these from now on.
What a killer stretch and pump!
Thanks! 🙏
5:20 the guy in the background should start watching your videos
An argument that I'd make in favor of the knee extension in relation to most quad isolation exercises is that it is ease to do single-sides. Which is great for muscle imbalances or recovery from injury/surgery, etc.
Unilateral Leg Extensions were always there for me when I tweaked my back a couple of times. Even bilateral would cause pain at the top.
Honestly suprised by how good this video is. Didnt know this channel and I expected something like "emg showed higher quad activation in exercise ... thats why its best". Keep up the good content. Only thing i would add is that there are definitely Leg extension machines that allow a far greater ROM in the stretch than the one showed in the video, like Gym80 for example where you can adjust the ROM
I have a home gym and recently bought a *cambered* bench press bar and lately I've been using it for the high bar squats too (other than Bench, OHP, Rows) because I feel like it allows me for a more upright posture, where I feel the quads more (also my glutes too). Great video, you're gonna be huge one day!
Keep this series going, please
The reverse Nordics absolutely slap the quads around. Thanks for this. Unreal pump after a few sets
If you are like me and are too weak to do regular reverse nordic curls then you can take a mat to a cable machine, set up the cable at a low height, and then use the weight from the cable machine for assistance similar in concept to an assisted pull-up machine.
Love this series bro. Tossing my hat in the ring and asking for lats!
Hi Milo! Your channel is already looking great, I’ll look forward to what you do on RUclips!
One small thing I wanted to note, anyone with a home gym, or a dedicated athlete who goes to a commercial gym will probably be able to micro load cables.
This can be done with a cable pin (check out baresteel equipment for some examples) or more commonly by taking the standard pin and looping through a change plate.
So I wouldn’t necessarily say cables cannot be micro loaded like barbells 😊.
Congrats on this series, it's great! I have one question about the reverse nordic curl though, how exactly would you apply progressive overload to them?
What do you think about a lunge or a split squat for quad growth?
Love this series! One question: If you performed a variation of the leg extension where you placed the seat all the way back and extended your hips (maybe with a pad underneath your butt) and you have a machine that allows a deep stretch, that would seemingly fix the problems, correct? Plus, you could add more load in a more stable way than something like a sissy squat. Curious to get your thoughts on this variation
Great news about the reverse Nordic. I’ve just started doing them as my only quad exercise as I have a knee issue which hurts when it’s between about 30 and 70 degrees. So I can’t do any squats etc. Let’s see how reverse nordics work without a compound to go with it, at least until I fix my knee.
Goated series! I’m looking forward to more of these for each muscle group!
the only downside of nordic extension is that you need quite good mobility in shin, I only started to feel comfortable after about 10 times of doing this exercise
Put front of your ankles on a something that will raise your feet.
A foam roller is excellent for this.
SSB Squats tom platz way is very good especially for people who train in a power rack without access to machines
For sure! Especially with a heel elevation, can allow people to get a deeper stretch!
Love doing paused squats for growth.
I was under the impression that the great growth came from the slower-eccentric (increased time under tension) and limitation of some of the elastic energy at the bottom of the range of motion, but now it seems like the main factor could might be that the movement forces a person to get a full bottom stretch under tension.
What do you think about the "belt squat" mashine? Thanks for another great video! Your videos make my week .
I was thinking the same thing. Definitely one of my favorites.
I would love to see a full routine/split with all of the most optimal exercises for every body part.
please keep this series coming. Very infomative.
Have to try those nordic curls
Love the videos! What is your take on rotating exercises to prevent staleness and provide a novel stimulus? Lengthened biased movements seem to be the way to go, but in practice, it is hard to make EVERY exercise lengthen biased. Would you be in favor of swapping a lengthen biased movement for a more shorten/medium length biased movement if you had the lengthened one in for several months and stopped progressing? I think a video on how you program exercise variation would be cool.
Make for chest or back i love this style of videos
So glad I watched this , you never stop learning 💪👍
to get a better stretch in the quads I've been trying a cable machine quad extension. it has been amazing apart from the stability which I am working on by trying different positions
I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts on a leg extension performed lying down, to lengthen the rectus femoris more in the starting position. e.g. I have a simple plate loaded leg extension attachment for my bench, and I like to do these lying down. Back when I used machines in the gym, I would always try to lay back as much as the machine would let me. I really miss that machine. It also allowed for a much larger range of motion than the one Pak used in this video.
Menno Henselmans talked about it in this video ruclips.net/video/d5rzL-J1zA8/видео.htmlsi=7NFc2s53eCti6SCq
Does it really matter? I mean the force will still be at the lowest in "the wrong place", ie when the knees are bent, so there's nothing to do about it!
@@Magnus_Loov It matters to me because it's the machine I have, haha! And it's a pretty common piece of equipment. I also don't think the force curve is that bad with my setup, but I would agree that it misses about 10-20 degrees of useful range of motion. There is a way to hack this machine to increase the ROM, but I haven't implemented that yet. Anyway, yeah I'm still interested in seated vs. lying leg extensions. I'm particularly interested because I train in my basement gym, and I've incurred a dumb injury (not training-related) that makes squatting inadvisable. I've also tried reverse nordics (for months), and they remain so uncomfortable that I don't believe I was able to get much out of them (aside from knee pain).
How efficient are belt squats and split squats compared to the squats you showed on the smith machine? Thanks in advance
best science based back exercises! 🙏
It's on the way!
I have to take exception to the knock on leg extensions. Admittedly like leg press and hack squat, the amount of stretch you can get can depend on the machine itself. But id argue that if you have a decent machine it is quite stretch friendly. The resistance curve is similar to many back exercises whereby the contraction is the hardest part so you can effectively burn out the full ROM and then pump out lengthened partials to completeoy empty the clip. It also has a great loaded contraction which is fairly rare for quad exercises as usually the weight is loaded vertically in line with your lower legs and spine whereby for leg extension the load is pushed downwards on your quads.
I anchor a band overhead and use it to assit dropping into the bottom of the reverse nordic, allows me avoid arching the back and lower all the way down to the floor
I guess I am the only person on the planet earth that finds Smith machine uncomfortable. It feels weird and uncomfortable, having to put my legs to far up front to feel stable. I also don't feel my muscles working. 😅
Also all this pressure on your spine/neck! Always have to wear the sleeve.
You most probably have a great hip/ankle/knee mobility.
Sadly that's certainly not the case for at least 90% of population. That makes traditional squat almost Impossible to do without cheating and/or using small weights and/or compromise low back so... for normal people, yeah sure
Smith machine is fucking unbeatable
@@fernandoloboribeiro9494how does mobility prevent you from squatting? Unless you're so mobile that going ass to heels isn't a stretch at all
Same here. In my case, it hurts my knees, and I feel really awkward while doing the movement.
The movement is definitely different and it takes some experimentation to find what works for you. Maybe there's no position with it that will work for you, but if there is it can really help put the focus on the quads more than a standard barbell squat does in my experience. Both are awesome exercises though.
That partial movement is the most difficult part of the squat, and is recommemded in Drew Baye's Project: Kratos bodyweight program as a hard version of the BW squat.
Love this video. Hope to see more of your thoughts soon. I can't just rely on Dr. Mike all the time. Hahaha
Is the pull up a good exercise to do lengthened partials on? I'm wondering since there doesn't seem to be much tension on the muscles in the stretched position. Like a standing dumbbell curl and I see you prefer the preacher curl over that one.
Thats for great video, Dr.! Is there a technique or exercise that puts more emphasis on the vastus medialis? I feel them a lot on the bulgarian split squat. Beyond the cool look, my knees feel bulletproof! Might be all in my head tho lol
Great video , Dr Wolf
Hey Dr Wolf, great video! Could you do one of those for Lats?
Keep up the good work!
I think the leg extension can be used as a warm-up to increase blood flow to the quads(lighter weights high reps) before doing lengthened movements like squats, reverse nordics
That works well for me
Dr. Wolf, what do you think about leg extensions using an ankle strap and cable machine?
I can position the pulley height so the max tension is at the stretch position pulling the foot back and up slightly and stick my knee far forward over the edge of my bench to allow full flexion, and by leaning back I can extend the hips a bit too. It's also seated and quite stable with no other limiting factors really.
Would all this make it a much better quad isolation exercise compared to doing it on a machine and more on the level of reverse nordics and sissy squats?
One thing is bothering me with squats: I can do them super deep ATG very comfortably, but the very bottom of a squat (where quad is most lengthened) I feel no tension. I can sit in a bottom of a squat with barbell on my back and just chill there. I'm wondering if mechanically I need to stop a bit sooner to avoid my slav squat genes from removing the tension.
Thoughts on using leg extensions for knee joint development?
Thoughts on something like the Prime leg extension where you can load the stretched position more heavily?
Great tip to anyone who can't rep out reverse nordics yet: do it next to a cable machine, set the weight, move it to the top. Hold on to the cable with one or both hands and now you have an incremental way of progressing to a full bw reverse nordic.
This is how I developed and blew up my rectus femoris - I perform an assisted sissy squat under a racked empty barbell on a squat rack, about chest high. I hold the bar using both hands, place my feet, about 12 inches apart from each other, under and a little forward the bar, and lower myself to the bottom position of a sissy squat, butt resting on my calves, and supporting my weight with my hands gripping the barbell. This is my starting position, focusing on keeping my trunk, hips, and quads on a straight line while my quads are very stretched out. Then I do lengthened partial sissy squats by lifting my body up using my quads by imagining I'm doing a leg extension. I try to touch the bar with my nose, but I can't, it's too hard. I use my hands to stabilize me and sometime spot myself as little as possible,. But I can do about 12 reps per set doing this really close to failure. I've been doing this way before this video came out but it was inspired by @WolfCoaching and his research on lengthened partials.
With the leg extension, if you can set the range of motion to the maximum your leg can accommodate in a seated position and then lean back as much as possible squeezing the glutes you cab get a great stretch. We need a leg extension where you can lay down on your back where the platform is declined to maximize the stretch and lengthened position.
Super good info, much appreciated
I tried to avoid adding Nordic Curls for a while because It seems like a hard exercise. Gotta try it now.
What would you recommend as the best unilateral quadricep exercise? My left quad is a little bigger than the right quad and I was wondering how to bring the right one up.
Great as always, please do Back next
I’ve always loved the reverse Nordic . I started doing them about a decade ago , i don’t think it’s a very popular movement though because I’ve never seen anyone in a gym do them in all these years. Definitely prefer them over the sissy squats too
A great exercise for the rectus femoris is also the bulgarian split squat, especially if you prop your back leg a bit higher up and stand up straight
Been training for 29 years and I've never tried the reverse Nordic curls. Is body weight always enough for these?
Those lengthened partial smith squats look brutal af. I can definitely see why that would be a good growth exercise
I could feel the leg extension machine just not working for me especially not how the leg curl works for my hams. This explains it. I can't wait to try reverse nordic, i hope i can do it, it looks a bit hard to get into.
@wolfcoaching how do you feel about machine squats/ pendulum squats?
which execution of lenghtened partials is more effective only 1/3 or half of the movement? Great content.👍👍👍👍 Vielen Dank
Smith machine deep squats are my favorite. Doing 10 rep sets on them are just absolutely brutal.
Great video tsuchikage !
Thank you Hokage
@@DrMiloWolf goated reply
Milo I'm a bit confused about the feet forward smith squat. Wouldn't putting the feet forward make it more glute dominant? Just like putting your feet more forward/higher on a hack squat or leg press machine?
Also, how is it increasing the lever? The axis of rotation is your knees, and the weight is coming from your torso/hips, so moving the feet forward or back doesn't really change the distance of the force from the axis of rotation since your femur is the same length regardless and your just moving the bottom part of your leg.
Doesn't it just mean that at the bottom you get less knee bend and some of the movement is coming from the hip to get deeper while staying upright so a standard feet in smith squat would be better for the quads?
Got a question. Say I want to do a bodyweight quad exercise at home to get in some more leg volume for the gym. I squat twice a week at the gym, one day is pretty easy and the other is supposed to be pretty hard. I mostly am concerned with increasing my squat #s while maintaining or increasing my legs. Should I be doing reverse nordic curls, wall squats, bodyweight squats? I don't know which one to choose or a framework for how to do it. Also, I don't know if this is a good idea at all?
Please make a video on lat, or overall back growth
Looking forward to machines that make reverse nordic curls as comfortable as possible: Not require the foot to be extended, which would also require something to secure the knees to the floor (perhaps a strap) since the extended foot is otherwise needed to not tip backwards.
I remember a decade or so ago we assumed that lengthened position partials were good for distal hypertrophy while mid range to contracted position partials were good for proximal hypertrophy. Whats the current status quo on that?
Please do glutes. Bulgarian split Deadlifts feel weird.
I still think leg extensions that allow for a stretch and loading at the bottom like the ones from Schnell or Prime are supreme for quad isolation but naturally not available to most people therefore making reverse nordics and sissys the better option
Hi 👋 could you make video about glutes and why hip thrusts are bs? 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Looking beyond just hypertrophy, is there any health reason to use for exampel normal back squat rather than smith machine squat? Does the need to stabalize a large amount of weight cause a stimulus that is useful for things like injury prevention, longevity, spine health, etc.
Hey Milo! What If U Just Do UNILATERAL Leg Presses(weak side Fist) Hack Squats( with Dumbbells)and Squats (with Dumbbells on your shoulders and TUT)
Great video, I just have one question. Last mesocycle, I tried lengthened partials on the heel elevated smith machine squat for the first time, and it felt great, but I had a problem with getting out of breath, because on a regular squat, the top position is where I'm used to breathing in. How would you recommend breathing for this case and when doing lengthened partials in general?
I would just try to breathe at the bottom without completely unbracing, basically just taking in and letting out small sips of air without letting your core deflate as best as you can
It's a complete library of scientific fitness knowledge !
Which rep range is the best for these excercises?
Question about progression in the reverse nordic curl. Suppose one is taking an appropriate amount of time to do each rep (e.g.: 6 seconds eccentric, 1 second paused in bottom stretch, 1 second concentric) and is able to complete 10 repetitions. How would you program going forward? Just keep adding reps, or is there another way to incrementaly increase the intensity?
a small weight plate pressed to the chest?
I don't understand why you can't do lengthened partials on the leg extension like I thought I was doing yesterday. Is it because the movement doesn't allow for enough of a stretch? My legs were stretching back beyond vertical at the bottom...
I think it's because on most leg extension machines, resistance from the machine is at its lowest when your quad is fully stretched. Which is the opposite of what you want.
@@apo75018 Okay thanks :)
Front Squats in the Smithmachines, so underrated! Try it out guys! Jay Cutler Style!
You should check out the pendalum sissy squat. It is much more stable and also more loadable than the bdw leg extension. Alex leonidas has a short on it
But does increased force production equate to greater tension?
What are your thoughts on using a safety squat bar squats if you have mid and upper back mobility issues ? ive tried using smith machine before but i find it pins me into a poor squatting position .
What about learning forward on the leg extension to lengthen the rectus femoris
can you show something for biceps femoris? thank you.
Can u maby make a critisize video about the glute guru? He talks a lot about leverages and angles. I am wondering if that really makes a difference.
Is there such a thing as a reclined leg extension? Essentially, mimic the geometry of the reverse Nordic curl on a machine?
how about something like a belt squat? its very stable, allows for crazy stretch at the bottom and is also super lenghted partial friendly!
How about the Pendulum Squat VS SM-Squat? I've access to both in my gym :)
Is locking out at the knees safe or even preferred for knee health? I keep hearing yes and no, have no idea what's true.
What do you think about progressively overloading the reverse nordic by holding a landmine in front of you?
What should I do if I’m not strong enough for the reverse Nordic curl?
I can‘t go down very far and as soon as I start feeling my quads I can’t stretch any further or I’ll fall over.
Put a box, a bosu, swiss ball behind you to act as a stopper. Then, you make the stop lower as you progress. Stretch using the DCR REC fem stretch which is the same stretch as the reverse nordic
Grab a band/cable for support.
I feel significant stress on my knees when doing reverse Nordic curls. You have any tips to relieve such pressure, or should I just ease into the movement using bands to assist? Furthermore, are reverse Nordic curls bad for the knees long term? Thanks for any insight.
Dr. Milo Wolf, how would you rank the Pendulum Squat and the Belt Squat in comparison to the Hack Squat and the Leg Press?
@WolfCoaching I have access to a leg press/hack squat machine with an adjustable angle bottom back/foot plate (respectively). Is it beneficial to have an angle greater than 90 degrees on this plate which might facilitate a bigger hip angle (like leaning back on leg extension vs 90 degree position). if it were somehow possible to have a leg press machine that allowed you to almost lay down in a decline and perform the exercise (similar to a reverse nordic curl) would this improve the stretch in quads and improve the hypertrophy?