Friday Terminology


I have noticed the term "quad dominant" being used lately. Anyone know the origin of this term or care to take a stab at a definition?

(Yukio jerks 189 kg @ 77kg bw at the 2007 Arnold.)

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm not sure of the origin, but I know that the first time I saw the term "quad dominant" was in Sep 1999. It was in an article entitled "Twelve Weeks of Pain, Part II: Limping Into October" written by Ian King and online at T-Nation.

In that article he had the following definition: "I refer to muscles or workouts that are predominantly anterior thigh as being quad dominant, and those that are predominantly posterior thigh as being hip dominant."
9:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Use it in context? i've heard similar terms for activities like running and biking, vs. olympic lifts and kettlebells.

I'll bet the people you've heard use it are also the ones who emphasize "heels" -- yes?
3:14 AM
Anonymous said…
um. Go take a look at this picture http://www.velonews.com/photo/37967
That's what I always think of when I hear the words "quad dominant". Or dunlops disease (the quad dun lop over der knee!)

ha, ha
carla
5:54 AM
Arien Malec said…
Also refers to people who can't/don't fire their glutes/hamstrings effectively, and thereby move most of their weight anteriorly.
9:12 AM
Jerimiah said…
I have also heard it a lot, and yes mostly from people that talk about heels. My impression has always been that it referred to exercise like knee ext, leg press, and wall or quarter squats that focused on the quads while nearly forgot the glutes and hams. Again, I believe you have picked up a phrase that was probably taken out of context and overused by people trying to sound trendy.
4:53 PM
Unknown said…
I use the term a lot and it often is linked to the cue "heels down."

I don't know where it originated, but the term "quad dominant" to ME describes a faulty movement pattern. If the lifter is lifting properly, the hip extensors (i.e. hams & glutes) are doing most of the work and that happens when the lifter keeps their heels down. Lifters that haven't learned to use their hip extensors properly rely on the quads too much. It means their hip function is "muted."

Lifters that are quad dominant tend to rise onto their toes and tuck their tails and keep their hips open thus negating any contribution of the hip extensors.

Quad dominant people tend to look okay doing front squats and movements where their torso must remain vertical. However, quad dominant lifters perform poorly on deadlifts, kettlebell swings and olympic lifts which require use of the posterior chain. Furthermore, you'll encounter a lot of quad dominant people with knee and lower back injuries.
5:05 AM
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