Backwards Treadmill
Running and Walking To Develop the Quads and Stretch the Hip
Flexors
This exercise will
give you a quad burn and pump like you wouldn't believe. One
thing that holds back muscle development is lack of blood flow
to a muscle. The greater the blood flow you can force into the
muscle, the more nutrients will get into the muscle and the
more muscle you can build.
Set the treadmill
to a high incline and set it on a low speed. We'll start out
with walking on the treadmill for practice. Stand backwards
on the sides and hold on tight to the side railings. It's a
very different feeling than walking forwards. You can also turn
your hands backwards and set them on the front rails of the
treadmill if that feels better to you. The side rails will allow
you more easily keep your balance and jump off the tread if
you have to, though. That is the recommended technique.
Walk at this slower
speed, focusing on extending the thighs with each step. Each
step you take is like doing a leg extension. Go for as long
as you can, doing the walking continuously until the burn and
pump in the thighs forces you to stop. This forces a huge volume
of blood into the quads and works wonders on building them up
if they're stubborn. The massive influx of blood brings in a
ton of nutrients to help with growth.
When you're experienced
with walking, you can move to running...
BE VERY CAREFUL
WITH THIS ONE!!!
Just set the treadmill
at a higher speed than you used for walking but something that
is slower than you would run forwards with. Keep the incline
on the treadmill. Hold solidly onto the rails for balance as
you're running, so much so that you could support yourself INSTANTLY
if you needed to.
Try to stay on the
balls of your feet when running on the treadmill to keep better
balance and pop up with each quick step you take. It's preferable
to do this in interval fashion - if you go continuously, form
may break down and you may have trouble keeping your balance
and/or moving your feet fast enough.
