Lack of Vastus Medialis activation.

[vmo4A]

Hi folks,

If there's one body part that will not respond to anything, it's my Vastus Medialis teardrops. I've been trying to get them to budge for nearly 6 years and they're simply not interested. They are naturally small but all I want is some IMPROVEMENT here.

I train naturally and I've had improvements everywhere else over the years. I'm 61 and still making gains but the areas above my knees are very poorly developed. There is a slight outward flare from the Vastus Lateralis but that's not exactly brilliant either.

I've tried sissy squats, VMO squats with a slant board, regular squats, Smith Machine squats, all kinds of leg press feet positions, leg extensions with the feet outwards, lunges, step downs and wall sits. I can get them sore after a workout but with zero growth.

Do I really have to accept that my genetics in this area is so bad that there's no point in wasting any more time on this? This has become something of an obsession now and I still can't believe that there's nothing that will work.

I live in the UK. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Regards,

Jon

[radrd]

It's probably because you live in the UK. I would strongly consider emigrating.

[TheShadowMan]

Two things i've noticed when training legs: they respond particularly well to higher rep ranges, 12-16's a good one and maybe a little beyond up to 20-25 sometimes. The other thing is that while yeah the outer quads can be resistant to a lot of things, I noticed things started changing in the presence of sissy squats(I like the kneeling version, easier on the knees) or leg extensions with the feet pointed in(remember angles and emphasis on most areas - pointing out focuses the inner areas, pointing inward focuses outer areas, pointing straight gives an even amount of stress to both sides). Again, legs are tough as nails - moreso than the upper body so mid to high reps on your sets will be your friend here, volume volume volume! You may have to lower the weight to hit the higher reps but in the end, you'll feel it and see it too hopefully. Good luck mate.

[paulinkansas]

Do you have access to a friendly medium to large sized dog?

[SuicideGripMe]

Quads can be stubborn for some but most lack just overall muscle mass. I find the best way to develop the entire leg musculature is a mix of front squats (safety bar squats count too I'd argue), split squats, and hinge movements (RDL's and GM Variations) but done with high frequency (2-3x a week squat patterns need to be hit). Obviously, this sucks and can be boring but yeah, that's what I've found. Also, one-two sets of high rep hindu squats really seem to help as well as a finisher as they also building more mobility while also strengthening some weird areas.

[GeneralSerpant]

It's a muscle that stabilizes the knee joint. The type of squat isn't as important as the range of motion. The quads keep the thigh rigid while the hamstrings are lengthened at the bottom. It's that stress between the hamstrings and hip flexors that the quads generate the most strength, and the knee end has to work or "grip" harder the further down the squat goes.

Bilateral exercises would require more stability for the overall leg which would give more work to the medialus that it's already tasked to do, but still it's just how much you hinge resistance on the knee area with a deeper rom.

There's probably a bunch of things you can do here and there that can do that. Isometics is another thing that complicates the task of the muscle.

[Sequet111]

Hey Jon, frustrating! Try high reps (15-20) with lighter weight & focus mind-muscle connection during VMO isolation exercises. Consider consulting a UK-based trainer for personalized form checks. Don't give up man