Advice on Squats and quads

[Brian999]

I have been doing squats since I first started training, I would do it once a week, but now that Im doing SS Im doing it daily. This is kind of the same question that Malice posted but I didn't want to post there, and hijack his thread. My squat has gone up significantly-check out my journal. I gained about 60 pounds since I started, my stomach isn't too big, but my thighs are huge. I cant wear my normal jeans, shorts, or boxers, none will go past the thighs!!! I already had big thighs genetically, but they have gotten bigger with all this squatting. Im forced to wear backetball shorts now. They look, and feel solid, so Im not sure if its fat or muscle, but my thighs have the MOST stretch marks, more then my chest of arms. I do like the definition of my quads now, but is there a way I can get them smaller with that look? I honestly enjoy squatting, but I would like to fit in my pants, I bought a bigger size, and it still looks pretty funny because the thighs just look huge. BTW- everything below the knee is skinny (I have chicken legs) and above is big (cow thighs). I would just like everybody's opinion on whats best. I read an article that Louie Simmons wrote about box sqauts and I remember it said that your quads will get smaller by doing them. Would that be a good alternative for me? I was considering not squatting anymore, but since I hear a lot of benefits from them, like It makes your whole body grow etc...I dont want to quit doing them.


I would like honest opinions, please. I know a lot of newbies dont want to sqaut because they dont want big legs, just big arms but I already had pretty big thighs before hand. Maybe most of the weight I gained went to my thighs, and I should cut off a few pounds? Im not sure though because my quads feel solid, before they were kind of beefy.

Thanks in advance everybody! :)

[d0rkyd00d]

What's your body fat %?

I, too, genetically have pork chops (or as my girlfriend calls them, tree trunks). When I fill out, it happens from the bottom up, so I have enormous thighs; however, doing a lot of aerobic work these past 8 months while I've lifted have melted them down considerably, so i don't have the tight pants / boxers situation like I used to.

My advice would be aerobics, but it really depends on what your ultimate goal is. Is it to be as strong as possible? If so, then pepare to make adjusments in your life to accommodate big legs. If you want your legs to fit into pants, then my guess is aerobics.

[Brian999]

What's your body fat %?

I, too, genetically have pork chops (or as my girlfriend calls them, tree trunks). When I fill out, it happens from the bottom up, so I have enormous thighs; however, doing a lot of aerobic work these past 8 months while I've lifted have melted them down considerably, so i don't have the tight pants / boxers situation like I used to.

My advice would be aerobics, but it really depends on what your ultimate goal is. Is it to be as strong as possible? If so, then pepare to make adjusments in your life to accommodate big legs. If you want your legs to fit into pants, then my guess is aerobics.

Thanks man! Im honestly not sure what my bodyfat percentage is, maybe my gym has the thing to check it? I'll ask Wednesday. That should help a little. I used to do boxing, so I jumped rope a lot, and ran a lot, so they weren't too big. I do need to have my body fat percentage checked because like I said not sure if its the quad muscle or fat. I'll consider arobics, would jumping rope, and running be enough? I've been bulking the entire time I've been lifting and didn't do any cardio until now, I only do it behind my house, and I've done it 4 times so far. I want to be strong, but would like to have a nice body as well. I enjoy lifting heavy and squatting, but would still like to have smaller thighs. I've seen videos of powerlifters and it honestly doesn't look like there thighs are as big as mine.

[Off Road]

Lucky ... I have the oposite problem. My upper body gets big but I struggle to get my thighs to grow. Actually, box squats have got them going now, so I guess everybody is different. That's what makes things interesting.

[rbtrout]

You might cut your squatting down to 2 times a week and throw some aerobics in there as dorkydood suggested. Squat heavy one day, deadlift heavy one day and squat light/med the last day.

[Xellarz]

What do your thighs measure? (say...at the largest part and maybe 4" or so above the knee)

[Xellarz]

If your mid-thigh skin-fold measurement is 12 millimeters or less yet your thighs are still bigger than you'd like them to be, then you do likely have too much muscle.

On the other hand, if your quad skin-fold is over 15 millimeters or so, then you really don't know what your legs will look like once you lose the excess fat on them. If this is the case, you need to focus on fat loss. Once you've leaned out, you can concern yourself with losing muscle if you feel the need to do so. - Clay Hyght

A) Stepmill or Incline Treadmill 1set 5 minutes, fast pace - rest: None
B1) Lunge Jumps 3sets 16reps (8 per leg) - rest: None
B2) Squat Jumps 3sets 8reps - rest: None
B3) Bodyweight Squats 3sets 20reps - rest: 60 seconds
C) Dumbbell Stiff-legged Deadlifts 4sets - 8 to 12reps - rest: 90 seconds
D) Walking Barbell Lunges 3sets - 40 to 50reps (20-25 per leg) - rest: 60 seconds

Alternatively you could run - here's a "track workout" from the same author
6 x 40-yard dash
4 x 100-yard dash
2 x 100-yards of walking lunges
Notes:
• Walk back to your starting point for rest between each dash and set of walking lunges.

All info and routine suggestion provided by Dr. Clay Hyght

[Brian999]

You might cut your squatting down to 2 times a week and throw some aerobics in there as dorkydood suggested. Squat heavy one day, deadlift heavy one day and squat light/med the last day.

Thanks! I didn't squat today because I did Monday, I'll squat again on Friday and go light. Im not sure if its because I didn't squat but I added 30 pounds to my deadlift and it was easy.


What do your thighs measure? (say...at the largest part and maybe 4" or so above the knee)

Just measured largest part measures 29" 4" above the knee is 21 1/2". Also about my bodyfat I didn't get it checked but Im 90% sure its over 20%

[Brian999]

If your mid-thigh skin-fold measurement is 12 millimeters or less yet your thighs are still bigger than you'd like them to be, then you do likely have too much muscle.

On the other hand, if your quad skin-fold is over 15 millimeters or so, then you really don't know what your legs will look like once you lose the excess fat on them. If this is the case, you need to focus on fat loss. Once you've leaned out, you can concern yourself with losing muscle if you feel the need to do so. - Clay Hyght

A) Stepmill or Incline Treadmill 1set 5 minutes, fast pace - rest: None
B1) Lunge Jumps 3sets 16reps (8 per leg) - rest: None
B2) Squat Jumps 3sets 8reps - rest: None
B3) Bodyweight Squats 3sets 20reps - rest: 60 seconds
C) Dumbbell Stiff-legged Deadlifts 4sets - 8 to 12reps - rest: 90 seconds
D) Walking Barbell Lunges 3sets - 40 to 50reps (20-25 per leg) - rest: 60 seconds

Alternatively you could run - here's a "track workout" from the same author
6 x 40-yard dash
4 x 100-yard dash
2 x 100-yards of walking lunges
Notes:
• Walk back to your starting point for rest between each dash and set of walking lunges.

All info and routine suggestion provided by Dr. Clay Hyght

Thanks for that, I'll do running and incline treadmill. I dont get the quad skin fold though. I cant fold the skin:confused:

[Xellarz]

Just measured largest part measures 29" 4" above the knee is 21 1/2". Also about my bodyfat I didn't get it checked but Im 90% sure its over 20%

Heh. So you DO have large thighs! :)

But you do have a fair bit of fat, it must also be on your thighs. Dieting will help this but I highly recommend the "routine" suggestions I posted.

You've gotta look at it like this...what builds muscle?
Heavy weight (if the volume is adequate) will build muscle. So will sets in the 8-12 rep range if the volume is enough. Legs also respond well to a very high number of reps. And they also respond well to training to failure! These are all things you should NOT do to lose some inches off your thighs.

So don't toss on a light weight and pound out 30 reps...because your thighs very well might grow!

EDIT: oh and don't worry about the skinfold test, I guess - you'd need calipers (and probably a person who was trained to use them) in order to get a good reading.

[Brian999]

Heh. So you DO have large thighs! :)

But you do have a fair bit of fat, it must also be on your thighs. Dieting will help this but I highly recommend the "routine" suggestions I posted.

You've gotta look at it like this...what builds muscle?
Heavy weight (if the volume is adequate) will build muscle. So will sets in the 8-12 rep range if the volume is enough. Legs also respond well to a very high number of reps. And they also respond well to training to failure! These are all things you should NOT do to lose some inches off your thighs.

So don't toss on a light weight and pound out 30 reps...because your thighs very well might grow!

EDIT: oh and don't worry about the skinfold test, I guess - you'd need calipers (and probably a person who was trained to use them) in order to get a good reading.


Thanks. I'll go ahead and try a little of that routine you posted, Im going to start eating cleaner, and a little less now as well. I'll most likely keep squating one a week, because when I did once a week my thighs didn't really grow, it was once I starting squatting 3x a week and very heavy like you said. I'll let you know how it goes, hopefully It wont be too long before I can fit in my old pants again!:)

[rhymenocerous]

i have a lot of fat around my thighs as well. ive been doing interval training twice a week on a treadmill for a few months and my thighs look much more lean and ive noticed my calves (if you can even call them that) looking more ripped than ever.

i sprint 30-walk 60, sprint 40-walk 80, sprint 20-walk 40. i go through that progression 6 times and its pretty intense.