Experienced weightlifter here: There is a balance here though. If you do powerlifting style training (ie alot of heavy single, doubles and triples) you actually won't build much leg size. Instead you will end up with very dense legs. This has happened to me, I've weight trained for years and focus on strength and heavy sets. This makes you strong and very dense (I've had people comment on this, saying I felt different than I looked). If you want bigger, plumper looking muscles you'd want to do a lot of weight training in the mid to upper rep range (8-15 reps per set). Again, there is no black and white here, just my own experience.

I have to laugh as I posted that in 2008. But I have to agree with everything Wiggle said.

People who use steroids, in my experience, are the least lazy of all weightlifters. These are generally the people who want to train at a rate faster than their bodies can currently recover from and already have sound nutrition and workout plans. Not all of them certainly, but most of them in my experience. In comparison, I don't or want to use steroids. I have no objection to them, I just taking weightlifting more casually. I'm stronger than 75% of men in the gym (bench, deadlift, squat total is about 800 currently) and 90% in the general population and I'm not too worried about closing that final gap.

Haha well it's something I believed for a while too. But then noticed that all the really strong guys were the guys who looked pretty normal but did alot of powerlifting stuff and the huge swole guys are usually not as strong as they look due to more focus on higher reps.

After three years my legs are bigger than I want. I can exceed the tolerance of my tendons so its fairly pointless. Big myscles I can't fully utilize.

I agree that people who use are typically working a lot harder than the natural guys.

Most people in the gym don't even bother with squats and deadlifts sadly. I think they're the foundation for being strong.

Unless you're squatting 1000 pounds, I don't think you're exceeding the tolerance of your tendons......
I don't know any people who are incredibly strong yet their tendons are holding them back unless they've been injured in the past. :twitchy:

I once asked a guy at our gym who was doing calf raises with 1000 lbs. why he used to much weight. He said, "Gotta stimulate 'em." So true.

Tell that to my knees and ankles if I try to power up a hill. I can, but I pay for it big time.

I can see that. But I wouldn't really refer to pedaling up a hill, and getting sore knees, as having strong legs that you can't use.
That's typically not maximal strength I'd say it's more strength endurance.

Specifically how do your knees hurt? Do you have a diagnosed condition?

I have chronic patellar tendonitis in my knees. (It's currently dormant and I can generally do what I want to without pain, but certain things can trigger its return). I've found that cranking at high power and low cadence too much aggravates this condition. However, increasing muscular stength seems to protect against this happening, both in my personal experience and what I have heard/read. Strengthening my legs through squats and other exercises, as prescribed by my PT, was a key part of recovery. I also did, and continue to do, a lot of quad and hamstring stretches. Based on this experience, I don't think having strong muscles causes tendon pain. It can be caused by having tight muscles, or biomechanical issues.

Cyclist and triathletes do so much endurance and cardio that it's almost impossible to pack on a lot of mass and get too big, no matter how much weights they lift. Strength training is very beneficial and I think everybody should be doing it. No need to be scared of lifting weights.

Has anyone tried a HIIT style of training before for leg strength? Didn't see that mentioned in this thread yet..

Usually a dull ache leading a sharp pain centraluzed on the top ofvthe knee cap. Ankles simlly refuse to function after really being pushed. As an collapsing.

It couldn't hurt to do some regular stretching for the knee pain. I didn't mention it before, but I did have some pain in the quadriceps tendon as well, but more in the patellar tendon. I was instructed to do a session of 3 x (30 sec quad stretch + 30 sec hamstring stretch) multiple times per day when I was having regular pain. Now I do it once or twice a day unless I'm feeling some pain (unusual) or my muscles just feel really tight. I have no experience with ankles, but if it's really tendon pain then stretching calves/shins might help.

Foam roll!! I can't stress that enough. It's so painful, but it's a 'hurts so good' type of pain.

+1 on foam rolling
I only do it when I feel that I need it. If my quads, hip flexors, or IT band get overly tight and sore, it translates into knee pain.

I foam roll for my hip flexors and it's quite effective at that. The key is to fully relax on the roller, don't fight it. It hurts but will breakdown all kinds of problem areas.

Plus 1.

Check out Starting Strength for a program.