Muscle of the Month: The Quadriceps

Strength, balance, and their critical role in knee health

This month’s Muscle of the Month is the quadriceps — a powerful and often misunderstood muscle group.

The quads tend to get a bad reputation, especially in athletic populations, because they’re often overtrained. But the truth is more nuanced:👉 Strong quads aren’t the problem — imbalanced legs are.

Let’s break down the anatomy, function, and why quad strength is both essential and sometimes excessive, depending on the individual.

🎥 WATCH THE VIDEO

Want to skip straight to exercises?

👉 [CLICK HERE TO WATCH MY FAVORITE QUAD EXERCISES]

In this video, I demonstrate my go-to quad exercises and explain when and why strengthening the quads is appropriate — and how to do it without reinforcing faulty movement patterns.

(Keep reading below for the anatomy, biomechanics, and clinical reasoning.)

Basic Anatomy: The Quadriceps Femoris

The quadriceps are a group of four muscles located on the front of the thigh:

• Rectus femoris – crosses both the hip and knee

• Vastus lateralis – outer thigh

• Vastus medialis – inner thigh

• Vastus intermedius – deep, central quad muscle

Together, they converge into the quadriceps tendon, continue as the patellar tendon, and insert onto the tibia.

Primary Actions of the Quadriceps

The quadriceps are responsible for:

• Knee extension

• Shock absorption during gait, running, and stairs

• Deceleration of knee flexion (eccentric control)

• Patellar stabilization

The rectus femoris also assists with hip flexion, which becomes important when discussing compensation patterns.

The Quad-Dominant Problem (and Why It Happens)

In many active individuals — especially those who train predominantly in the sagittal plane — the quads become disproportionately strong.

This is especially common in:

• Runners

• Cyclists

• Swimmers

• Rowers

• Field and court athletes with linear training bias

These athletes often have strong:

• Quadriceps

• Hamstrings

…but weaker frontal-plane stabilizers, including:

• Hip abductors (gluteus medius)

• Hip adductors

• Deep lateral stabilizers

Why this matters

When frontal-plane control is lacking, the knee often becomes the “victim” of poor hip mechanics.

This imbalance can contribute to injuries such as:

• Patellofemoral pain syndrome

• Iliotibial band syndrome

• Piriformis-related pain patterns

• Hip and knee tracking dysfunction

This is why I talk so often about hip balance, not just quad or hamstring strength in isolation.

But… Quads Are Still Essential for Knee Stability

Despite their tendency to dominate, the quadriceps play a critical role in knee health.

In cases such as:

• Knee osteoarthritis

• Post–knee surgery (ACL, meniscus, TKA, etc.)

• Acute knee trauma

…the quads often become weak or neurologically inhibited due to pain, swelling, or joint trauma.

Without adequate quad strength, we see:

• Difficulty with stairs

• Poor shock absorption

• Altered gait mechanics

• Increased joint stress elsewhere

In these cases, quad strengthening is not optional — it’s essential.

The Role of the VMO and Terminal Knee Extension

The vastus medialis oblique (VMO) is the obliquely oriented portion of the vastus medialis muscle, located on the inner (medial) side of the thigh just above the knee, and inserts at an oblique angle into the patella. It deserves special attention because it plays an important role in:

• Terminal knee extension

• Patellar tracking and control

• End-range knee stability during gait

Why this matters:👉 Terminal knee extension is required for efficient, pain-free walking. If the VMO is weak or inhibited (as is often the case after a knee injury or surgery) it can become inefficient, leading to compensations at the hip, ankle, or low back. This is why targeted quad work — especially near terminal extension — is so important in rehabilitation and return-to-function programming.

The Takeaway: Strength AND Balance

The goal is not to eliminate quad training — it’s to train the quads appropriately, within a balanced system.

✔ Strengthen quads when they are weak or inhibited ✔ Avoid excessive quad dominance ✔ Pair quad work with frontal-plane hip strength ✔ Integrate functional, well-aligned movement patterns

When trained correctly, the quadriceps are powerful allies in knee health, gait efficiency, and long-term joint resilience.

🎥 Watch the Quad Exercise Video

👉 [CLICK HERE TO WATCH MY FAVORITE QUAD EXERCISES]

In this video, I show exercises I frequently use in both rehab and Pilates programming — focusing on proper alignment, control, and integration with the rest of the lower body.

What’s Next?

What muscle or movement would you like featured next? Reply, comment, or send me a message — your questions help guide future content.