Squat alternatives?

T-Bar

Member
I can't seem to do squats without feeling them more in my lower-back than my quads. I tried doing front squats, but that didn't help either. My gym doesn't have a trap bar...
 
Well if leg presses are good enough for Jay Cutler than they should be good enough for everyone else.
 
Originally posted by theSCHICK
Try some hack squats, should took off some pressure of your back.
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are'nt those bad news for the knees? Right now I do extensions, some type of pathetic attempt at squats, and then leg presses.

 

 
 
Well, Sissy Squats aren't an alternative to squats per se, but they sure will work your anterior quad quite thoroughly.

Are you sure you are using proper form on the squat? Do you make sure you keep the weight on your heel all the time?

Funny thought about leg presses : I use ALL the plates on the upper floor of my tiny gim to do them... I wonder if I'll have to write down in my routine "carrying plates up-and-down the stairs"... Do two sets to failure? ;)

EDIT : Oh, yeah, I wanted to mention this error that I did for a good long while and do see others do while squatting : I the hands should be placed close to the shoulders and the elbows should be kept so that they point DOWN vertically. I used to keep my elbows back, which force my back to round... That didn't feel too good.
 
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Try elevating your heels when you squat. Elevating your heels while keeping the wieght over them will force you to be in a more upright position.

You could also try opening up your stance a little. I used to have the same problem. For me it comes from having a long torso and fairly short legs in comparison.

If you have to, drop the wieght down and dont sacrifice form. In the meantime until you can get good weight on your shoulders use leg presses or maybe even pre fatigue your quads with leg extensions before moving onto squats.

Hi, first Post. Im TooL
 
Use lighter weight and get the form down. THere reallly should be no reason an athletic individual cannot do squats...except lack of effort. If squats are a problem....how are deadlifts? And if your not doing deadlifts...thats your problem right there.....do a couple weeks on back extension to help strengthen lower back...then hit deadlift hard.

Hell...I hit squats, front squats and deadlifts on a mon/wed/fri basis and my back is fine.
 
Also, keep your abs tight. Usually those who experience back discomfort are not keeping their abdominals tight.

Even so, lunges are another good alternative.
 
bow said:
Also, keep your abs tight. Usually those who experience back discomfort are not keeping their abdominals tight.
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good point. i do this for a lot of exercises. my abs are def. getting noticeably bigger. and i dont even work them at all.

put a very, very slight arc in ur back w/ ur chest out, not ur back. perform slowly and keep that exact form throughout the movement.

if ur back hurts then ur goin to heavy. form is always the most important part, esp. an exercise that can really hurt u if u mess up, such as the squat.
 
Heh, nice to say that, Jergo. This is a little off-topic, but my hormones are playing with me so I guess I just need to SHARE :D

Ten years ago I was starting to do squats and I didn't stretch anything, didn't know proper form, nothing. But I trained hard. At some point, I'm trying to up the bar and my torso rises but my butt sticks waaaay out behind. My back is just tooooo arched. Then I got this strange little pinching sensation, and pain.

I put the bar back. PAIN. It just keeps growing. For the first week I could barely move. I couldn't tie my shoes for 3 weeks. The doc said something like "You touch a weight again in your life, young man, and you just may never walk again." Yep, a good old lumbar hernia, and a BAD one at that.

BE CAREFUL
 
Originally posted by Scottyo
Use lighter weight and get the form down. THere reallly should be no reason an athletic individual cannot do squats...except lack of effort. If squats are a problem....how are deadlifts? And if your not doing deadlifts...thats your problem right there.....do a couple weeks on back extension to help strengthen lower back...then hit deadlift hard.

Hell...I hit squats, front squats and deadlifts on a mon/wed/fri basis and my back is fine.
Click to expand...

 

Squats don't hurt my back, but I can feel my lower back muscles working, and since I don't want to hit my lower back twice every 5 days it's kind of a problem. Tomorrow I'm going to go with a wider stance and maybe try elevating the heels. Thanks guys.
 
There is nothing wrong with working your lower back, twice, three times..whatever a week as long as its not being overtrained. Anyone who does arms separately from chest is hitting tri's twice a week...and same thing with bi's and back. Only you know your body bro....but currently Im either directly or indirectly hitting my "core" 3 times a week.
 
Much good advice given above. I would also say to try doing squats with dumbells. By holding the dumbells at your sides and squatting down, thus taking some of the stress of a bar loaded on your (high) back and keep a lower cener of gravity with the DB's at your sides.

Also try squatting with light weight, as mentioned above....try 20 rep squats with low weight to avoid injury. good luck.
 
I tried pretty much all the advice in this thread last leg day, and pretty much just ended up with an extra lower-back workout, which didn't do me any good today (back day). I did manage to get a really good quad workout doing leg-presses real heavy and slowing down the reps. I think I'm gonna stick with this.
 
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