Quads

Heads and regions

Rectus femoris
Vastus lateralis
Vastus medialis
Vastus intermedius

What it does

Knee extension
Hip flexion (rectus femoris)

How to train it

Depth matters more than load. A deep, controlled squat beats a heavy half-rep.
Add one knee-extension movement — squats alone leave the rectus femoris short.
Quads take a long time to recover. Do not stack heavy leg days back to back.

Common questions

How many sets of quads a week?

12 to 20 hard sets, spread over 2x per week. A hard set is one taken close to failure — warm-ups and easy back-off sets do not count towards it. Below that range you are maintaining rather than building; above it, for most people, the extra sets cost more recovery than they buy.

How often should I train quads?

2x per week. Splitting the week's sets across more than one session means each one is done fresher, and the quality of the last set matters more than the number of them. With 14 movements to choose from there is no need to repeat the same session twice.

Where should a beginner start?

8 of the 14 movements here are rated for a beginner. Learn the compounds first — they teach the pattern and they load the muscle hardest.

What else works the quads

9 other movements in the library train the quads as a secondary mover rather than as the target. That volume is real and it counts: if a week already contains a lot of these, the direct work needed to reach 12–20 sets is at the lower end of the range, not the upper.