• Point your toes in to work the outer quads (vastus lateralis) more; point them out to work the inner quads (vastus medialis) more.
• Keep your feet under your hips during exercises, such as Smith machine squats, to target the quads more and glutes less.
• Taking a narrow stance will focus more on the outer quads; taking a wide stance (and pointing your toes out) will focus more on the muscles of the inner thighs.
2. Use Full Range of Motion
• Each rep squats should descend to where your quads are parallel to the floor, if not deeper. The exception is when doing half squats to focus on the medialis, which research has shown is effective.
• Squats or leg presses should stop just short of lockout, at the top.
• Maintain strict form through leg extensions or any other machines.
• Only use partials reps after reaching failure with full-range reps.
3. Don't Go Too Heavy
This usually leads to the insufficient range of motion.
Solutions
• Keep full range reps.
• Keep the reps for most sets in the eight-to-12 range.
• Work your muscles, not the weight.
4. Squat With Correct Form
This includes stopping short of parallel, leaning too far forward and pushing your hips too far backward, working your backs, hips and butts more than your quads.
See our full page on Squats.
Solutions
• When you take a stance that’s wider than shoulder width angle your toes slightly outward.
• Find the stance that lets you remain as upright as possible.
• Taller people often need a wider stance.
• Overemphasize the arch in your lower back.
• Look straight ahead throughout each rep.
As you descend, keep your butt over your heels, as if you’re going to sit down on a chair.
• Consider starting with Smith machine squats until you master the form, then move on to free-weight squats.
5. Go Beyond Failure
• Use reps in the 10-15 range.
• Use partials, supersets and rest-pause to push sets beyond full-rep failure.
Hamstrings
6. Be Sure to Work All Areas
• Lying leg curls with your hips on the bench target the biceps femoris (outer hams).
• Seated leg curls target your semitendinosus and semimembranosus (inner hams).
7. Make Sure To Train Them Enough
• Consider training your hamstrings on separate days from your quadriceps allowing you to focus more on each area.
• If you train quads and hams in the same workout, try combining the two by following an exercise for one with an exercise for the other.
• Do at least 10 sets for hamstrings, and at least three different exercises in each ham workout.
8. Train With Enough Intensity
• Give hamstrings their own workout to give them your maximum focus.
• Do drop sets, negatives or rest-pauses.
9. Going Too Fast and Too Short
• Slow down each rep.
• Focus on getting a complete stretch and contraction on each rep.
10. Go Beyond Failure
• Use partials, supersets and rest-pause to push sets beyond full-rep failure.
