In today's gyms, the focus is almost entirely on the upper body. The chest, upper arms, forearms and shoulders are all overworked, yet little attention is paid to the lower body. For proper function, a balance of both upper body and lower body muscles is necessary. Two major complexes of lower body muscles, commonly referred to as the thigh, are the quadriceps and hamstrings. Exercises for both muscle groups are a necessity to build a set of big thighs.
Quadriceps Anatomy
The quadriceps make up the anterior, or front portion of the thigh. This muscle complex is made up of four muscles including the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius. The primary function of the quadriceps is to extend the knee, although they are also involved in hip flexion. These movements occur in both lunges and squats.
Hamstring Anatomy
Opposite to the quadriceps, the hamstrings make up the posterior, or back portion of the knee. This muscle complex is made up of three muscles including the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus. The primary functions of the hamstrings are knee flexion and hip extension. These movements are often seen in deadlift variations and wide stance squats.
Quadriceps Exercises
The squat and lunge are the two most commonly used exercises that target the quadriceps. The squat involves placing a barbell on your back. With a narrow stance, squat down until the upper thighs are parallel to the floor, then power the weight up and repeat the motion. The squat may be performed in several variations including dumbbell squats, ball squats, wall squats, heel-elevated squats and jump squats.
The lunge, similar to the squat, involves lowering the body towards the floor and back up. In this exercise, however, begin with both feet together. From here, stretch one leg out until you are in a lunging position. Then bring the leg back in and to the starting position and repeat. Lunges are often performed with dumbbells in each hand to add resistance and may also be done with the front or back leg elevated to increase difficulty.
Hamstrings Exercises
The deadlift is one of the most well-known hamstring exercises. Although many people know the deadlift as a back exercise, it can also hammer the hamstrings. The two primary movements performed during the deadlift are hip extension and knee flexion. To perform a deadlift, stand with a narrow stance in a squatting position. Grip a barbell and pull it up until the body is straight, then lower the bar to the floor. This exercise can be performed in many variations including Romanian deadlifts, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, and snatch grip deadlifts. A wide stance can also be used to put additional stress on the hamstrings.
Considerations
To truly build big thighs, a combination of quadricep and hamstring exercises must be used. Because of the complexity of the body, muscle imbalance is a common occurrence even in recreational lifters and is responsible for all sorts of injuries. For example, the hamstrings are often tight in much of the population. This causes other muscles, like the glutes, to overcompensate. These little overcompensations take their toll on the body over time and the result is injury. Balance is the key to preventing this.
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