Push yourself back up to starting position through the balls of your feet.

Bend at the knees then tilt your body backwards lowering into a squat as far as you can go without losing balance.

Raise up onto your toes pointing forward and put your hands on a prop to help with stability.

Push through your heels until you reach starting position.

Release safety handles and slowly lower by bending at the knees until they're bent at 90 degrees.

Get into position on the hack squat machine with your feet hip width apart.

Push off through your front footвЂ™s heel to stand up to starting position.

Lower to a position where both knees are at 90 degrees and your back knee is just above the ground.

Step forward with one leg while bending the front knee.

Grab dumbbells with both hands using a neutral grip.

7 Leg Press Foot Placements & Muscles Worked.

Note: Keep your toes off the platform the entire movement to really target the vastus lateralis.

Press through your heels into the platform until your legs are almost fully extended.

Place your feet on the platform a little closer than hip width apart.

Related: Best Leg Extensions Alternatives 2.

Sit down on the leg extension machine, positioning the pad over your ankles.

Keep this quick tip in mind when doing exercises to hit the vastus lateralis.ДЇocus on pushing your knees inwards when doing pushing leg exercises like front squat or leg press. We put together some of the best vastus lateralis exercises that should become part of your training program. It's necessary to target the vastus lateralis muscle during leg days because often we focus to much on the other quad muscles like the rectus femoris and vastus medialis. 7 Best Vastus Lateralis Exercises to Build Outer Quad Sweep Another tip to target the vastus lateralis is point your toes inwards when doing exercises like leg extensions which puts more stress on the outer thighs. To hit the vastus lateralis muscle better during various pressing exercises itвЂ™s important to keep your knees closer together and push inwards during the movement while trying to focus on not letting your knees open up. However, there are tips and tricks that you can do to target the vastus lateralis muscle. ItвЂ™s not exactly possible to only target and isolate the vastus lateralis when doing leg exercises. We rely on our legs to carry us around day in and day out so it only makes sense that you properly exercise and stretch the largest muscle in the quads. Strong and healthy leg muscles have numerous benefits, the vastus lateralis is no exception. The quad outer sweep is a highly sought-after look especially in the sport of bodybuilding where this curved and defined quad can make a big difference in the appearance of the lower body musculature.

Outer quad sweep simply refers to the shape of the quadriceps but more specifically the vastus lateralis muscle on the outer thigh. When these two muscles are imbalanced or out of whack knee pain can arise causing patellofemoral stress syndrome (PFSS). These two muscles work in tandem to stabilize the position of the patella in the femoral groove of the thigh bone. The vastus lateralis on the outer thigh is opposed by the vastus medialis located on the inner thigh.

Besides providing immense power to the legs the vastus lateralis aids in absorbing impact from movements like walking, running and jumping. This muscle also helps to stabilize the knee joint and is vital in enabling the body to rise up from a squatting position. The main function of the vastus lateralis is to extend the knee, moving the lower leg forward. The vastus lateralis forms the lateral wall of the thigh in conjunction with the iliotibial band. It comes together with the other quadriceps muscles in the quadriceps tendon which then stretches over the knee, connecting them to the tibia. The vastus lateralis muscle starts from flat, wide tendons that are attached to the femur then is affixed to the outside side of the patella. The vastus lateralis muscle is the largest muscle in the quadriceps femoris that produces the most power. The vastus lateralis muscle gets its name from the Latin words Vastus meaning great and Lateralis meaning lateral side. One of the four muscles that comprise the quadriceps, the vastus lateralis is the muscle found on the outer thigh area.

Quad sweep