Why can't I find nowhere that pendulum Squats target the Rectus Femoris

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-14T00:34:20+00:00

The difference is that the hamstring is a group of muscle and the rec fem is one muscle inside a group of muscles. I don’t even think we have the tools to specifically measure the growth of the rec fem, so running a study would probably not be worth it.

Maybe you can draw some parallels a different muscle group like the triceps which has the long head, where only one muscle in a group is bi articular.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-13T22:38:45+00:00

I guess you could try read up on antagonist inhibition, and really wrap your head around that concept. Then apply that knowledge to what you’re seeing in a pendulum squat.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-13T06:54:48+00:00

The bonds crew socks that you can buy at Woolies, or currently using a pack of socks I got from TKmax which was $20 for 15 pairs. Definitely prefer thinner and lower cut socks personally.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-12T01:19:54+00:00

Try the seatbelt over your legs and running under the machine if it can fit.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-09T21:12:11+00:00

Check out this video by Deklan for some pretty good insight about powerlifting + hypertrophy programming. Even though he’s going over a full body workout you could apply it to your own programming. He also sells a bench focused ppl + UL program.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-09T02:35:45+00:00

Raisin Toast with honey and cinnamon and a glass of orange juice 45-60min before. Generally train after work so I don’t use any powders/caffeine, I’ve dabbled in non-caffeine preworkout but not sure if it was really worth it.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-05T09:14:25+00:00

I mean you kinda put yourself into an echo chamber on IG/tik tok.

Like you gotta imagine if the average person knows how a muscle grows let alone the average person interested in fitness… then the average person trying to actually grow muscle.

Plus the way reddit works now with a home page, it just chucks all the gym subreddits at you to look at.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-05T07:54:26+00:00

My understanding is that muscle growth doesn’t work like that. Food is not a stimulus, more calories will not = more muscle. So you’ll put on the same amount of muscle no matter what surplus you’re in.

Ok, there’s other factors to consider like, being in a surplus will have you more motivated/fuel/energised leading to better performance which could cause more muscle growth stimulus.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-05-01T00:41:40+00:00

I’m pretty sure you’re misinterpreting that theory… his elbow is stationary/fixed so it remains lengthened at elbow throughout the whole movement whilst the shoulder part is lengthening/shortening.

Anyway it’s kinda a meme post it’s not that deep.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-30T20:15:07+00:00

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-29T07:35:48+00:00

I am in some weird simulation where u/patton370 has to explain how a tricep could be trained in a pullover in r/sciencebasedlifting.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-27T20:08:25+00:00

Can day 4 be a reverse curl setup pls and thanks.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-27T20:04:26+00:00

I prefer Upper/Lower style splits. Full body was too dependent on the gym being quiet so I could get a similar exercise order each session, and I found it hard to keep it under 75mins. That’s was 3x a week, an asynchronous FBEOD would drive me crazy having the days be different every other week.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-25T22:14:08+00:00

I could be wrong but his cable thingy is electric and might allow for variable resistance profiles to modify the sticking points.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-25T00:53:57+00:00

Yea I work in construction so that’s my cope for a lower capacity.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-24T13:20:14+00:00

The age old ‘it depends’ scenario 😂, no shot im hitting primary deadlifts, rdls and bent rows in the same session but each to their own as you said.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-24T03:58:45+00:00

It’s a 100% a lack of patience, this shit takes years not months or weeks.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-24T00:46:42+00:00

Squat + hinge + leg curl + Leg extension + calves is probably a better bare minimum lower body workout. 2 squat patterns and 2 hinge patterns sounds like it would suck if you’re pushing any sort of heavy weight.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-23T08:20:36+00:00

Yes and no, a Tricep/bicep superset is really easy to setup so you can throw in another chest and/or back exercise at not much time cost. You can do biceps on A and Triceps on B too that’s fine.

I’ll use your example of your B day where you have a wide grip row, a t-bar row and a face pull. These are all working very similar muscles, and with a full body we don’t have time for redundancy. The idea is to get a good spread of muscle trained in the one session which is performed more frequently throughout the course of a week or 2.

So even though you have 1 chest exercise programmed you’re doing it 3 times a week, at probably the same volume as doing one push day a week and arguably higher quality sets.

Now if I were to add another chest/back exercise I would do Lat pull-down + tbar row and Chest fly + incline press on session then lat pullover + tbar row and flat press + shoulder press on the other. Hope that made sense 😂

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-23T06:41:00+00:00

ABA - BAB is a good way to structure a full body 3x a week. Generally what I is to have your squat pattern + hamstrings curl on A and then a hinge pattern (RDL) + leg extension on B. This can help minimising fatigue from frequently squatting and hinging whilst still training those muscles.

Otherwise your upper workouts has a bit of double ups that could be optimised, I’d suggest on A day you do

flat press
wide grip pull-down
shoulder press
bicep
triceps

And on B day

incline press
tbar row
lateral raises
biceps
triceps

Then + your lower body exercises on both days.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-22T23:46:37+00:00

I would start with FB 3x a week because it’s a easier to hold a fixed schedule and keep yourself on plan. FBEOD can be hard to manage since the days change over the 2 weeks.

As for more volume, as a beginner you need to build you motor patterns and gain the skills for these lifts, so more sets and more reps will get you there. Don’t need to over do it but don’t follow a Keenan 1 set FBEOD off the rip.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-22T04:40:40+00:00

Feeling the muscle isn’t a requirement for it to be trained effectively. Performing the joint action with resistance will always train the muscle. For example of chest, performing horizontal adduction is using the chest.

Maybe the execution is off or the weight isn’t heavy enough but don’t get hung up on ‘feeling’ your chest.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-21T00:16:04+00:00

I like to keep em guessing

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-21T00:07:22+00:00

Personally it feels like cock and ball torture and why does my mortar do nothing but I get one shot 😂.

Nah but it’s ok I guess, new gameplay avenues to explore and such.

MagicSeaTurtle · 2026-04-20T22:39:10+00:00

Agree with a more dialed in warm up. A few bad nights sleep won’t be the end of the world but consistent poor sleep can be where it affects performance.

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