For example, a recent study comparing how different lower body exercises affect muscle growth found the following:
The leg press was better for growing the vastus lateralis (outer quad) than leg extensions, while leg extensions trained the rectus femoris (front of the quad) harder.
Standing calf raises grew the gastrocnemius (the largest calf muscle) more effectively than seated calf raises, which provided slightly better results for the soleus (the calf muscle found deeper in the lower leg).
In short, variety is important for an exercise program because it helps promote balanced muscle growth.
Supplement these compound exercises with isolation exercises that target the smaller, harder-to-hit muscles that compounds train less well.
Switch up some of your exercises every 8-to-10 weeks. You don’t need to overhaul your entire routine—core lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses can stay in your program almost indefinitely. But swapping out other exercises for similar variations is smart.
For those looking to fine-tune their program further, here’s an extra insight based on the results: muscles that move multiple joints (biarticular muscles) seem to benefit more from exercise variety than those that move one joint (monoarticular muscles).
Or, more simply, it appears your quads, hamstrings, and arms need more exercise variety to reach their full potential than other body parts.
To put this into action, follow these guidelines:
Quads: Mix squats, lunges, and leg presses with knee extension exercises (e.g., leg extensions or sissy squats)
Hamstrings: Add knee flexion exercises (e.g., lying or seated leg curls) alongside hip extension exercises like deadlifts.
This is the approach we use with our body transformation coaching clients, and it’s the foundation of my bestselling books, Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger. Thousands of people have built strong, balanced physiques using these principles, and their results speak for themselves:
Want to learn more about how to maximize muscle growth?
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Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the UK, Canada, Puerto Rico, or Guam, your order ships free when it’s over $99.
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Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
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