WHATS BETTER QUAD SWEEP OR VMO FULL

Visualization may help, imagining the muscle working during the exercise, as EMG-based biofeedback has had some success.Cycling also likely hits Type 1 fibers more so than lifting weights, and many note that it seems to develop the teardrop muscle preferentially. This may partially explain the higher EMG from the vastus lateralis on most resistance training exercises. Higher reps, since most studies report the VM as more slow-twitch than the vastus lateralis.Hip abduction has also been tried with less success. This means techniques like pinching the knees. This seems only the case for closed chain exercises like squats and leg presses though. Knee extension simultaneously occurring with hip adduction may stabilize the origin of the VMO for greater contraction strength, and the VMO fibers partially attach to the adductor magnus.Instability may recruit the VM more, like squatting on unstable surfaces, and including unilateral exercises such as split squats.

WHATS BETTER QUAD SWEEP OR VMO FULL

Emphasizing the endpoints for the range of motion, with the knee both near full extension (final 15-30°) and near full flexion such as with deep squats, perhaps due to longer sarcomeres.

A wider stance or feet placed further apart.

Toes pointed out during knee extension, both with closed-chain (squats & leg presses) and open-chain (leg extension) exercises, with the tibia externally rotated.

For our purposes then, we will treat this as a single muscle, the vastus medialis (VM).īodybuilders, and some research, have found these factors to possibly matter: Some anatomists have noted that this distinction is impossible if the fibers are arranged in-series.

The VMO is supposed to focus on medial patella tracking, with more horizontal fibers, and the VML on knee extension with relatively more vertical fibers. The vastus medialis, according to some studies, is comprised of both the vastus medialis longus (VML) and the vastus medialis oblique (VMO). Let’s take a look at what the studies and bodybuilders have tried to accentuate each muscle. He confirmed that the vastus medialis and vastus lateralis can be emphasized based on toes out and toes in respectively for the leg extension. Outside of EMG, Per Tesch found a difference via MRI. The fiber orientation of the vastus medialis may also compensate for less strength and size compared to the vastus lateralis.

This may just be a loss of mechanical advantage with the final degrees of knee extension, not specific muscle weakness. Some have noticed that vastus medialis paralysis inhibits terminal knee extension. Most studies have found no EMG variations between various exercises to selectively recruit the vastus medialis, specifically the vastus medialis oblique, over the vastus lateralis. Some experts believe these fibers run horizontally and therefore stabilize the knee. Most studies relevant to physical therapy have analyzed possible vastus medial oblique (VMO) activation, a division of the vastus medialis. They each pull laterally and medially respectively to fix the kneecap within its groove called the femoral trochlea. They are concerned with the balance between the vastus lateralis and the vastus medialis. Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), sometimes known as runner’s knee, may occur in part due to a poor balance of the quadriceps muscles surrounding the patella or kneecap, though other muscles definitely play a role too. Physical therapists and exercise scientists have also been interested in balanced quads, albeit for a different reason. Though they all seem innervated by the femoral nerve, it may be more complex due to different nerve supplies among other factors. Since these muscles spread throughout the thigh, it makes sense that they should develop in proportion, if possible, for bodybuilding purposes. The rectus femoris is a superficial, two-headed muscle within the middle and top of the thigh, that attaches to both the knee and hip. The vastus intermedius is a deep, non-visible muscle within the middle of the thigh. The vastus lateralis is the largest and creates outer sweep. The vastus medialis forms the teardrop above and inside the knee. My view is that muscle length can be changed through valgus and varus positions, so a slight emphasis is possible.īodybuilders have historically aimed for balance among bodyparts, especially when striving for an aesthetic physique over sheer size. These usually rely on EMG though, which can be misleading. Most studies find that the vastus medialis cannot be emphasized over the vastus lateralis and vice versa.

Whats better quad sweep or vmo