Newer Female Grapplers, Develop Your Quadriceps For Thrusting Power

June 8, 2022,

When all else in not working, in your female grappling match, sometimes you need to use the strength of your lower legs to bull rush your opponent and try and knock them off balance or down completely.

To develop strong legs, focus on exercising and training your lower body strength.

The team at madestrength.com summarizes, “Lower Body/Hip and Leg Strength. Many people get too hung up on upper body strength and forget about the lower half. Hip strength goes a long way to making wrestlers dominate the mat.”

Good to know.

Developing lower body strength consists of strengthening the glute muscles, hamstrings, hip flexors and quadriceps.

Today, let’s zoom in on the quadriceps.

The quadriceps muscle, also called the quads, is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large fleshy mass which covers the front and sides of the femur.

You know, when you sit down in that padded chair at the gym, slide your legs under the padded bar and lift, you will feel the movements in your quadriceps.

In strength training, the quadriceps are trained by several leg exercises including the squat, leg press, and leg extension.

All four quadriceps are powerful extensors of the knee joint.

They are crucial in walking, running, jumping and squatting.

Female wrestling too.

For your purposes, jumping or lunging forward to knock your opponent off balance is a great benefit of quadriceps strengthening.

Let’s look at a video of exercising your quads.

Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-qtU-4BLLY

Top Quad Exercises | Build a Superhero Physique

You’ll be motivated and trained by Erin Stern.

Erin is an American IFBB fitness professional and figure competitor and former Figure Olympia.

Fitness and figure competition is a class of physique-exhibition events for women that bear a close resemblance to bodybuilding, yet its emphasis is on muscle definition, not size.

Erin won a collegiate scholarship to the University of Florida, where she earned Junior All-American status in the high jump.

If anyone knows how to help you with your quads, it’s her.

Now, we’ll look to book instruction. Always remember, go by the book.

Then go buy the book.

Exercises book and notebook: All The Most important Exercises For The Quadriceps: Gym, Quadriceps, list, exercises, train, list of exercises, life, workout, work hard (Gym book) Paperback – May 6, 2021

By Cerebrum PP

“A collection of exercises for the quadriceps muscle of the thigh, a list of over 50 exercises for gaining a powerful muscle. This is the first book in the series. The book also has a place for notes, for example to write a training plan or add your own observations.”

Sounds very comprehensive and hands on.

For additional suggestions we turn our attention to a visiting writer.

When you put all of this together, your quads should give you the strength and thrusting power to keep your opponent off balance and progress to a submission.

The Number One Quadriceps Builder - Period

By H. Kim

I think that if the squat, specifically the back squat, is the king of exercises, then the front squat must be the crown prince. The front squat is, to my mind, the best isolation movement out there for the quadriceps. It is as brutal an exercise as the back squat, yet the movement basically takes the hips out. The results are pure quadriceps from rock bottom to top.

Does it work, absolutely. It's interesting that most human beings are like water in that we tend to meander and take the easiest path. Take a look at who is doing squats and who's doing leg extensions next time you are in the gym. Nothing wrong with leg extensions - you know - sitting there, extending the legs. What's the rest of the body doing while you move just the lower legs?

The best results come from the toughest exercises. The front squat is one tough exercise.

The basic challenge comes from the fact that the barbell rests on the front of your shoulders. That simple change in location requires so much more strength in the trunk of your body. The back squat requires a strong lower back to keep you upright. But the front of your body is not really that involved.

Front squat requires you to lift your chest high, to keep the weight on your shoulders. It involves all of your core muscles, front and back. And that makes it even more challenging than the back squat. By the way, there is that small matter of balance.

Unlike the back squat where there is the tendency to lean forward as you go down; during the front squat, you must be vertical the entire time. If the barbell starts to slip forward, it's over. But keeping vertical and your chest high takes all the pressure of the lower back/hips and puts it all on the quadriceps - it is sweet.

One other execution note would be to put a 10lb plate or inch thick board under your heels. This small elevation of the heels helps with balance and in keeping the back vertical through the movement.

The front squat can also be done a smith machine. The advantage that a smith machine provides is safety. Also, you don't have to worry about balancing or the weights slipping off your shoulders. That's nice, as it allows you to focus completely on the movement.

I am not much for guarantees but I guarantee the front squats will blow up your quads like nothing else.

Speaking of blowing up, do not blow out your knees or any other part of your body by doing the front squats wrong. At some point, as you get strong, you will up the weights. But the weights are secondary to the movement. This is a tough exercise where if you are doing 300lbs on back squat, start with 135 on the front squat.

In fact use just a barbell and practice the movement. The simple act of keeping your chest high (elbows high) with a barbell right at the base of your neck, across the collarbone, is brutal. Your whole diaphragm will hurt.

In other words, check your ego at the door. Do this movement and take your quadriceps to a whole new level.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/H._Kim/533169

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4894666

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OPENING PHOTO fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com Marta-Wave-pexels.com

https://www.madestrength.com/?p=408

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadriceps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Stern

https://mrolympia.com/figure-olympia 

https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com

https://femcompetitor.com/

https://grapplingstars.com/

https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/

https://fciwomenswrestling.com/ 

NOTE: Very important, whenever you are engaging in a new exercise or sport for the first time, please consult with your physician first.