Functional fitness is what I started with and the concepts from this fitness philosophy have built Formosa Fitness into what it is today. But time and experience have clarified some things for me, one of those being quad dominance.
The idea is that people tend to favor the quads in leg movements and will unintentionally try to avoid using the hamstrings and glutes because those muscles aren’t firing due to underuse. Basically, almost everyone we see has glute and hamstring amnesia. Most people treat these muscles as cushions to sit on and nothing else. Since they tend to use the quads more, we call them quad-dominant.
But we’d be better of just calling these people weak and strengthening the whole leg, the quads included. Sure, they aren’t using the hamstrings and glutes but it’s not like their quads are actually strong. They’re stronger than the muscles they aren’t using but that’s only because their posterior chain is so weak. So bringing up someone’s posterior chain isn’t enough. We have to address quad weakness too because once they learn to start using the posterior chain, they often forget how to use the quads!
The idea is that no one untrained is intentionally using ANY muscle. Their bodies are simply using the path of least resistance. But once you start altering that path, you have to teach folks how to use ALL the muscle groups or people will develop imbalances.
So don’t leave quads out of your workouts and if you have for a while, emphasize them until they’re built back up. Don’t let a useful concept blind you to other possibilities!