If you want to see some amazing hip and thigh development, you need not look any further than the athletes participating in this years c Winter Olympic games.
Whether it’s speed skating, ice hockey, or even bobsled, these guys and gals have the hip and thigh development that would make a lot of your average gym-goers jealous.
How do they do it?
While I’ve only worked with a handful of elite athletes from the above-mentioned sports, I can tell you there are a few common threads:
Hard work.
Regardless of their sport, discpline, or the exercises they choose, they all worked their asses off. If you don’t do this, don’t bother reading any further.
Big, compound lifts.
Whether it’s squats, deadlifts, RDL’s, or any variations of the sort, virtually all of these athletes realize that big, compound lifts are where it’s at with regards to improving their strength and size.
Single-leg lifts used as supplemental or accessory exercises.
With many of these sports and events being played on one-leg, single-leg lifts are also incorporated into the programming as a supplement to the compound lifts.
I hope you can see the irony here, especially as I work on a single-leg training DVD and manual! But when you dig into the research and anecdotal evidence, it’s pretty clear that single-leg training is more effective for improving stabilizer function and mobility than it is for developing prime mover strength.
The hips and thighs are the functional centerpiece of your body. Take the time to build balanced levels of mobility, motor control and strength, and you’ll be quite pleased with the results you can achieve.
Good luck and train hard!
MR
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MIke, I think it needs to be said that yeah, all those exercises you mentioned do create thick legs but more importantly, it is a result of their sport. I am the only person in my family to have thick-thighs and that is a result of years of high-level soccer. When you see construction workers with strong hands and forearms well guess what, they don't go to the gym and start doing some type of hand-crusher. You are and become what you do!
And because of this, no one can ever dismiss single body-part training. (And yes, I know the benefits of the compound exercises)
Wonderful article Mike!
I always wondered what his workout was… then on one of the short track premiere nights, they interviewed him and showed his workout with the Olympic team in Salt Lake City. Band work and plyos definitely.
I found this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEtyPREIFk4
The male alpine skiers have an appr. Squat/BW ratio of 2,5 (at BWs around 100 kg) and are by far the strongest athletes in the winter olympics