High-Intensity Squats

As every serious bodybuilder knows, Squats are often the exercise that separates the wannabes from the big boys. There’s no doubt that good old Squats are still the best all around muscle developer out there—they not only work to increase muscle-mass in the lower body, they also have a beneficial anabolic effect on the entire body.

Here’s an easy way to up the intensity even higher with your Squats and blast your legs to new growth. Some of you may already do this, but if you don’t give it a shot.

Do your regular warm-ups. During your working sets, drop your weight down by about 15%-25%. Perform your Squats as usual—descending to parallel with proper form. However, instead of locking out your knees at the top of the movement, maintain continuous tension on your muscles by stopping short of lock-out and slowly dropping back down to parallel. Repeat for a set of 8-20 reps without locking out until the last rep. You’ll feel your upper legs explode.