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Rectus Femoris Muscle
Quadriceps or rectus femoris is perhaps one of the largest muscle groups in your body and should be trained with the same intensity as your biceps femoris or hamstrings. Quadriceps are extremely important for any athlete and should be trained in compound movements to maintain symmetry with your hamstrings.Function
The function of the quadriceps or Rectus Femoris are for knee extension and hip flexion.
Origin
The origin of the quadriceps attach onto the Illiac Spine of the Ilium and the lateral, anterior and medial surface of the femur.
Insertion
The quadriceps insert onto the patellar tendon of the Tibia.
Training
Training recommendations for the quadriceps should consist of many major compound exercises such as the squat, lunge, jump squat, and deadlift.
Exercises
| Picture | Name of Exercise | ||||
 | Snatch Begin the "Snatch" exercise by standing comfortably with bent knees, arms outside your knees, flat feet, back straight, head up, and the toes pointed slightly outward. Start... | ||||
 | Clean and Jerk Clean: Start in a bent over position with your knees slightly bent and feet shoulder width apart. Grip the bar just wider than shoulder width. Pull the bar off the ground keeping... | ||||
 | One Legged Smith Split Squat Stand underneath a smith machine with the bar lying against your trapezius muscles. With one leg behind your body on a bench or ball lower your body slowly using the front leg. N... | ||||
 | Walking Lunges To begin a walking lunge stand upright with or without weights in your hands. Now take a lunge forward while never letting your knee go 'over' your toe. Once at the bottom of the... | ||||
 | Squats (Elastic Band) Start with the band underneath your feet and the other ends over your shoulders with both hands gripping either end. Now slowly complete a squat by not letting your knees go over ... | ||||
 | Jump Squat To perform the dumbbell Jump Squat grab light dumbbells and put them at your side. Next, proceed into a squat position with your thighs level with the ground. Explode up pushing ... | ||||
 | Cable Bent-Leg Deadlift To begin the Cable Bent-Leg Deadlift stand with your feet shoulder width apart and while keeping your back straight bend at your knees to pick up the cable (with an alternate hand ... | ||||
 | Wide Stance Squats (Duck Squats) Take a wide stance with toes pointing out while holding a dumbbell with both hands. While keping your back straight and head up, bend at the knees until your thighs are parall... | ||||
 | Front Squats Rest a barbell over the front part of your shoulders by crossing your arms and holding the bar in place. Squat down, keeping your back straight and head up, until your thighs ... | ||||
 | Split Lunge on the Ball Start by standing tall and then putting one leg back on a ball. You may need support so have your spotter close by. Now while never letting your knee over your front toe lower yo... | ||||
 | Elastic Band Lunges Start with the band underneath your feet with one leg out in front and one leg behind you. Now without letting your knee go over your toe let your body come down and without letti... | ||||
 | Cable Squats To perform Cable Squats stand upright with the straight bar in a curled position. ... | ||||
 | Push Press This exercise is meant for overall power and strength. This exercise should only be performed if you are an advanced trainer or supervised by a spotter. Start by standing up with... | ||||
 | Leg Press Position yourself on the leg press machine comfortably. Put your feet up and hands on the grips at the side. While keeping your back pressed against the support and head straight... | ||||
 | Two Foot Long Jump To start the two foot long jump dip into a 45 degree squatting position and swing your arms backwards. Now lean forward and throw your arms infront of your body as you explode upw... | ||||
 | Leg Extension To perform the leg extension, sit comfortably in the leg extension machine. Keeping your back and head straight, raise the weight until it is straight (as shown). Then proceed to... | ||||
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Cardiovascular
| Picture | Name of Cardiovascular Exercise |
 | Swimming:Swimming is an excellent cardiovascular/muscular defining exercise. Swimming is a great rehab exerc... |
 | Football:American football is america's most popular sport and involves high intensity exercise for usually a... |
 | Golf:Golf is the most popular sport for people over the age of 40 and is growing rapidly. This social wa... |
 | Boxing:This is definitely one of the most intense cardiovascular exercises known to man. Boxing must be in... |
 | Aerobics:Aerobics is the most popular aerobic exercises performed mostly by women. There are many different... |
 | Hockey:Hockey is a great sport that can be played by just about anyone at any age. Performance recommendat... |
 | Skiing:Skiing is an incredible cardiovascular workout that is usually around 5-10 minutes of instense squat... |
 | Squash:Squash is a great anaerobic exercise that can be played by all ages. Here are some great squash lin... |
 | Yoga:Yoga isn't usually considered a cardio exercise but it does make you sweat and improves your flexibi... |
 | Stepper:This exercise was made popular by the popular myth of spot reducing (you cannot lose the fat ... |
 | Rowing Ergometer:This piece of equipment is an excellent back workout. However, proper form is required. ... |
 | Shuttle Run:To begin this exercise stand in the middle of two lines. In this example we will use the 0, 20 and ... |
 | Treadmill:This is the most popular cardiovascular exercise. Due to the impact on the knees and other joints, ... |
 | Running or Jogging:Jogging is probably one of the most popular exercises in the world and with good reason. It is as i... |
 | Biking or Cycling:Biking or cycling is a tremendous cardiovascular workout and requires very little equipment which mo... |
 | Walking:While intense walking is a good aerobic exercise it is probably more used as a weight loss tool than... |
 | Housework or Cleaning:While most people wouldn't call this a cardiovascular exercise, it certainly is one. Cleaning the h... |
 | Dancing:Dancing is an excellent cardio workout that can be done by anyone at any level.... |
 | Recumbent Bike:This exercise is very popular for people who do not want to jog and run. Make sure to adjust the se... |
 | Elliptical or Cross Trainer:This is the newest in cardiovascular equipment, and because of its low impact on the knees it will b... |
 | Cross-Country Skiing:Similar to the elliptical machine but this exercise is a sport. It is mostly performed at a slower ... |
 | Baseball:Baseball needs no introduction, this sport is known around the world as a moderate intensity (short ... |
 | Sprinting:Sprinting involves 100% intensity followed by a period of rest. This could be deemed a high intensit... |
 | Soccer:Soccer is the worlds sport as it is offically the most popular sport in the world. Usually this spo... |
Plyometric
Stretches and Flexibility
| Image | Name of Flexibility Exercise |
 | Hip Flexor Stretch: This stretch is important for running or any other type of aerobic activity that includes your lower... |
 | Thigh or Quad Stretch: Start by standing while grabbing one foot and putting it against your glut. While starting by holdi... |