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Welcome to The BarBend Newsletter! Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• 8 exercises for massive quads (other than the leg extension)

• Fixes for common bodybuilding weak points

• How to use accommodating resistance for bigger gains

Leg Training

For the Quintessential Quads

Nobody will blame you for wanting to sit down and take a break during leg day. Hell, maybe you’ll keep your seat for the entire session as an excuse to blast the leg extension machine for an hour.

But what happens if someone else beats you to your gym's lone leg extension machine? Are you really going to take your earbuds out, get off your phone, and talk to another human being about sharing? In 2025? We didn’t think so. Instead of relearning 10,000 years of human socialization, use these eight quad-centric leg exercises and focus your time and energy where it really counts.

There is an entire world of quad hypertrophy available without using the leg extension machine, from the much-reviled Bulgarian split squat to the pettily named sissy squat (each has been used by people with legs far bigger than yours).

If you’re too dependent on the leg extension, step up your training (literally; use the step-up — it’s great) by reading all about these other quad exercises.

A Message From Reebok

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Now's the time to snag a pair (or two) of Reebok Nano X4s for your spring training.

But the shopping spree doesn't have to stop there.

You'll find discounts up to 60% off on not only the X4s, but also the Legacy Lifters and apparel like hoodies, tees, tanks, leggings, and more.

Lots of colorways and sizes are still available, but won't be for long, so grab that credit card and get shopping.

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Hypertrophy

Weakness Leaving the Body

Bodybuilding is a fickle form of training. Just when you think you’ve improved in one area, you’ve gone and made your weak points even more glaring. Nothing is worse than finally growing your chest, only to have it overshadow your subpar shoulders.

While the quest for the perfect body is forever ongoing, the six weak spots in the article below are the most common among regular gym-goers. 

It should come as no surprise that calves rank near the top of our list. These stubborn muscles are the bane of countless athletes, but we’ve got a few tips for adding some much-needed muscle. Same goes for your upper chest and the V-taper look you’ve been after. 

The first step toward improving your physique is recognizing your weak points. The second step is coming up with a plan of attack. We’ve got both right here:

Strength Training

Chain of Events

You might think people train with chains just to look cool. Admittedly, it both looks and sounds pretty awesome when a pile of huge links crashes down on a platform — but this training hack is about more than just aesthetics.

Chains actually do a great job of increasing the accommodating resistance on a barbell, and this article is all about how you can leverage this complicated-sounding technique in a strategic (but no less cool-looking) way. 

For starters, “accommodating resistance” is a simple principle. Basically, it’s when you make a movement either more difficult or easier during different phases of an exercise, typically with the use of resistance bands or chains.

By accommodating the load to the strength curve, you can keep constant tension on the bar through the lift instead of struggling at the bottom of a deadlift and breezing through the lockout. Bodybuilders like John Meadows have even used this technique as a time-under-tension tool rather than a method of increasing force production. 

Instead of throwing on another plate, read this article and see if you have a better chance of busting your next plateau by using an accommodating load.

Quick Hits

💪 Dry This: With all the gadgets available to stuff in your gym bag, you might be overlooking the most obvious grip training tool: a towel. Learn to use the hitchhiker’s most essential tool in this list of (sadly not of 42) towel-assisted exercises.

🔨 Get a Grip: When you're done rowing with the towel, you can turn your wrist up, grab any nearby load, and start working on forearm hypertrophy to really hammer home the point that your body will not let go of anything ever again. Wrist curls make the perfect finisher for grip-centric days, or even on arm days.

🎥 Peruse This: Sam Sulek and Coop over at Garage Gym Reviews are two of the biggest revelations in the YouTube fitness world. Well, the two of them (sort of) came together with Coop's review of Sulek's (admittedly not very sparse) "home" gym.

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