Arnold's secret squat trick for massive leg muscle growth

Arnold Schwarzenegger, bodybuilding and fitness icon, recently shared a simple but highly effective tip in his newsletter "Arnold's Pump Club" on how to improve your squats for maximum strength and volume gains in your lower body muscles. His secret? Adding heavy chains to your squat routine.

Why chains?

According to Arnold, this method, known as variable resistance, produces much better results in explosive strength, jump height, and overall athletic performance compared to traditional squats. The advantage is that the chains change the load as the movement progresses. When you are in the bottom position of the squat, part of the chains are on the ground and the load is lower. As you rise, more of the chains lift off the ground and the load increases steadily. This forces your body to engage more stabilizing muscles and generate force throughout the range of motion.

Scientifically backed

The research to which Schwarzenegger refers has shown that although both traditional squats and chain squats lead to improvement, the latter option produces significantly better results in athletic performance. The study found that this technique prepares the nervous system for a phenomenon called post-activation potentiation (PAPE). This is a short-term "window" during which your muscles are able to deliver an even higher output after a heavy load.

How to incorporate this into your training?

Arnold advises replacing one set of your regular squats with a set of heavy chains once a week. For optimal results and to take full advantage of the PAPE effect, he recommends incorporating explosive exercises such as box jumps or short sprints 4 to 8 minutes after the chained series.

So if you're looking for a way to break the stagnation and take your leg training to the next level, try this proven trick from Arnold himself.

Source:FitnessVolt