“Some women who think they’re quad dominant carry a lot of body fat there,” Masters Fitness World Champion Victoria Scott claims. After her most recent competition, judges told Scott her legs were too big and muscular.
Scott leverages lighter weights, combination sets, and bodyweight exercises to downsize while burning more calories to fix asymmetry. “If you need to build quad muscle, [this] is not how I would do things,” Scott disclosed.
Scott mentioned tentative plans to compete, although the show and weight class are uncertain.
Scott’s Quad-Shaping Workout
Scott combined machines, plyometrics, and pause training with supersets and giant sets, aiming for less muscle size but improving muscle quality.
Superset
- Leg Press: 3 Sets x 8-to-10 Reps
- Jumping Lunges
Superset
- Smith Machine Lunge: 8-10 Reps Per Side
- In-and-Out Jump Squat
Giant Set
- Machine Extension Iso-Holds: 2 Sets x 8 and 7 Reps
- Speed Step-Up: 20 Reps Per Leg
- Walking Lunges
[Related: The Worst Leg Training Mistake for Bodybuilders]
Train Heavy for Size, Plyos for Shaping
Though advised to downsize, Scott programmed heavy leg presses to keep most of her leg muscle, with intensity being a key differentiator, paired with jump lunges. Bodyweight plyometrics build power but involve less stimulus that would generate hypertrophy. Weight training emphasizes time under tension and, therefore, growth.
“They’re so humbling,” Scott revealed after a superset before transitioning to stationary lunges under a Smith machine bar, with one foot slightly forward to bias her quads. Placing the foot too far forward biases the glutes.
“This is a very underutilized exercise,” Scott included, preferring no shoes, “[I] really spread my feet and push into the ground…with my big toe.” Though barefoot training isn’t necessarily more beneficial than wearing shoes, some lifters feel a stronger mind-muscle connection when making more direct contact with the ground.
Isometric Extensions Giant Set
Ending with giant sets — three exercises performed back to back — Scott included isometric holds via leg extensions, matching reps with equal seconds, pausing, and squeezing at the top. According to research, iso-holds enhance muscle performance. (1)(2)(3)
“At first, it’s easy, but by the time you get to five, it jumps to 10 times the difficulty,” Scott proclaimed, believing iso-hold extensions performed last as an effective strategy. She finished with high-tempo step-ups to prolong muscle tension and walking lunges to hit more glutes.
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References
- Burd NA, Andrews RJ, West DW, Little JP, Cochran AJ, Hector AJ, Cashaback JG, Gibala MJ, Potvin JR, Baker SK, Phillips SM. Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. J Physiol. 2012 Jan 15;590(2):351-62. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200. Epub 2011 Nov 21. PMID: 22106173; PMCID: PMC3285070.
- Babault, N., Pousson, M., Ballay, Y., & Van Hoecke, J. (2001). Activation of human quadriceps femoris during isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 91(6), 2628–2634. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.2001.91.6.2628
- Oranchuk, D. J., Storey, A. G., Nelson, A. R., & Cronin, J. B. (2019). Isometric training and long-term adaptations: Effects of muscle length, intensity, and intent: A systematic review. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 29(4), 484–503. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13375
Featured Image: @sixpackchick on Instagram
