Cybex Leg Press vs Squat

[Chemist63]

How close does the Cybex Leg Press compare to doing actual squats? I can press a lot more than I can squat. Can I just do them in place of squats?

[Nate Dawg]

There is no comaparison, squats are way harder. You can do them instead if you want, but if you want to get as strong and as much development as possible do the squat. The easiest way to learn to squat correctly is to start box squatting, it is hard as hell, but after a couple of months you will be much stronger. Leg press is for weenies lol.

[Lean One]

Nate dawg is right. what I did was strip the bar, go ass to ground and work up from there. Best thing I ever did for legs.

[natedogg]

Leg Presses have their place, but there is no replacement for squats.

[exnihilo]

No way man, leg presses all the way!~

just kidding. The only leg press machine I would advocate is the sled style, and only for people who are trying to bring up lagging quads (proper squatting isn't a huge quad lift - if you are primarily using your quads you are damaging your knees) or if you have a lower back injury that squats aggrevate.

[rjones]

If you are also trying to avoid working your glutes, then go with heavy leg presses. It's not a bessing to have your ass be your fastest growing muscle.

[exnihilo]

Hey man, if you have the genes for black bubble booty, go with it

[hypo]

I can definately feel squats working my whole core. Exnihilo is right when he says quads are not the only part work. Balancing the weight bringing it up requires your whole body pretty much. Leg press has it's place if you are injured for squats or you're just a *****, but try to stick to the major compound freeweights whenever possible!

[ironviking]

Me personally I use the cybex to go heavy and pre-exhaust the legs. Then I do low weight squats. I have a lot of missing cartilage in my back and a turn any wrong way on squats and Im out for atleast a week. I got no plans to be a powerlifter and I grow better when not injured so I see nothing wrong with swapping the two as long as you do some exercises to help strengthen the core.

[jweave23]

I'm hating the fact that I'm going to have to go to the leg press We have several different types at my gym though (different styles, hack squats, sled types, angles, etc). I injured my lower back 2 weeks ago and haven't been lifting since. It was the end of an HST cycle, and I injured it doing squats, went back a week later and did shrugs and hurt it again, so next week I may start back again with the leg press.

With that all said, it should imply that squats are the way to go if you can!! You don't "have" to do them, but given the choice I will always pick squats if possible, they have yielded MUCH better leg development for me than other exercises (just leg extensions or presses, etc).

[ironviking]

Not so sure about the whole "squats are the way to go if you can". If we were all powerlifters or played sports I would say always choose squats but we're not. The main reason most of us here lift weights is either health or vanity reasons and not sport specific. I think it was Dorian Yates who actually quit doing squats in favor of leg presses. Dont get me wrong I think squats are an excellent exercise but I just dont see a need for a bodybuilder who does other core exercises such as deads for them to be the base of your leg routine. There risk of injury is greatly reduced while more weight can be added.

[hypo]

ironviking: "There risk of injury is greatly reduced while more weight can be added."

This is true, but IMHO it is like comparing smith bench presses (ego trip) with freeweight bench. The added weight doesn't really mean anything since it's not even the same exercise, and injury can be avoided with squats with the proper form and knowing your limits with the weight and raising it responsibly.

I lift for vanity as mentioned before, but I figure as long as I'm putting all this work into bodybuilding I might as well have a functional physique too. What good is being able to lift a bunch of weight on a machine if you can't do this same motion in real life without getting injured because your supporting muscles aren't developed?

[jweave23]

ironviking: "There risk of injury is greatly reduced while more weight can be added."

This is true, but IMHO it is like comparing smith bench presses (ego trip) with freeweight bench. The added weight doesn't really mean anything since it's not even the same exercise, and injury can be avoided with squats with the proper form and knowing your limits with the weight and raising it responsibly.

I lift for vanity as mentioned before, but I figure as long as I'm putting all this work into bodybuilding I might as well have a functional physique too. What good is being able to lift a bunch of weight on a machine if you can't do this same motion in real life without getting injured because your supporting muscles aren't developed?

This I agree with. The additonal "risk" of squats can be avoided if proper form is used. It is more than likely the only reason I injured my lower back is because I was not using proper form with heavy weight.

I agree we do not "need" squats in a BB'ing program. I do, however, stand by the fact that they will be a better choice than leg press if no complications interfere.

[ironviking]

Wait a sec I emphasized working the core muscles as well. The cybex leg press works on a cam so the movement does work some of the supporting muscles as well such as the IT Band, and the sartorius, as well as the glutes, hams, and quads. This only applies if you do full ROM same as with the squat and alot of people can actually gauage their ROM better on the leg press than the squat.

Now lets talk real world
say your in a car crash and the doors are stuck closed and you need to kick the windshield out - leg press movement

your cruising around on your ATV and it flips over on you, you need to kick it off - leg press movement

your breaking into a house and they got a deadbolt, you need to kick in the door - leg press movement

Only joking on that last one. But seriously I'm not puting down squats at all but for our purposes why cant leg presses be the base of the leg routine and squats be an ancillary.

[jweave23]

leg presses certainly can be the base of a leg routine IMO, but I would not opt for that first choice, that's what I'm stressing

as for ROM.... if we are talking "real-world".... cmon' man, most people's ROM on leg presses is utter ****. The same can hold true for squats, but leg presses I've seen many guys go as low as 6" or so

[rjones]

leg presses certainly can be the base of a leg routine IMO, but I would not opt for that first choice, that's what I'm stressing

as for ROM.... if we are talking "real-world".... cmon' man, most people's ROM on leg presses is utter ****. The same can hold true for squats, but leg presses I've seen many guys go as low as 6" or so

Yeah, but you sure look like a stud if you're leg pressing all the weight that will fit on the press, even if you're only slightly nudging it around. I think we've all seen "this guy" too.

[ironviking]

True most guys dont train legs with proper form on any machine but I would rather do full ROM on leg presses (knees into the armpits) than 1/4 squats any day. I was up to over 400 on squats and my left knee and back weren't happy about it, I can go up over 1000lbs on the cybex with no knee or back probs and that is with full ROM. If I go heavy on squats now it seems I'm more worried about hurting myself than going all out on the set. For some people I just dont think the body mechanics are there for the squat and for these people the leg press is a much better choice. IMHO

[Nate Dawg]

Now lets talk real world
say your in a car crash and the doors are stuck closed and you need to kick the windshield out - leg press movement

your cruising around on your ATV and it flips over on you, you need to kick it off - leg press movement

your breaking into a house and they got a deadbolt, you need to kick in the door - leg press movement.

You dont want to look like a wussy and be a real man - Squat (J/K)

I understand what you guys are saying about the injuries and the leg press making it easier and less aggravating to those injuries, then you should probably leg press if squat hurts so bad. Although, lots of people make the excuse that it hurts them to squat, because the squat is just such a hard lift, if it was easy more people would be doing it. It really shouldnt be that hard to learn proper squatting technique as long as you have a box to squat to and do some research, having someone that knows how to squat properly would help to. Box squatting is the fastest way to learn good form. The leg press does have its place in leg hypertrophy, but if it comes down to which one is overall the better leg exercise, and the person is capable of squatting, squatting is the way to go.

BTW, ironviking, are you sure that your location is "in the squat rack about to puke"....did you just get done with a really hard set of leg presses or what? Sorry man, just giving you a hard time, I saw it and had to say it.

[ironviking]

LOL that is funny. Thats when I was actually doing some heavy squating, when my back and knee could handle it. I think my problem is I've gone past the point of squats being uncomfortable and them actually causing pain and injury, yes the injury is probably caused by things other than squats but hey you work with what you got.

[exnihilo]

Heh, if you can't do squats for whatever reason that's cool, but why you would choose an exercise that works much less muscle and doesn't develop stabilizers if you had the choice is beyond me. My 2 cents.