Is using the leg press machine an alternative to doing squats?

[wrathchild281]

if you cant do squats then you sure as hell shouldnt do smith machine anything. if you cant squat, how can you sit down to eat let alone stand back up, how do you sit on the couch to watch more tv, how do you sit down to **** to make space for more food, how do you sit on the bed to go to sleep.

in other words squatting is something you do daily for many activities. so learn to squat. your knees will thank you. and front squats are a great way to learn how not to lean too far forward when squatting cause if you do you have to dump the weight.

My point here is ppl who claim they can't squat usually can really squat and don't want to. So if for whatever reason if they avoid barbell squats because there strenuous and a bit painful(like it should be) maybe than can find a home with the similar movements on the smith machine. It is technically easier since its on a straight fixed plane but if there not wanting to squat than smith machine is better than avoiding it all. I think ur exaderating about ur example of not squatting as I don't see a bed ridden weight lifter posting on this forum for variations of the squat when he can't "squat" out of bed

[Rodja]

My point here is ppl who claim they can't squat usually can really squat and don't want to. So if for whatever reason if they avoid barbell squats because there strenuous and a bit painful(like it should be) maybe than can find a home with the similar movements on the smith machine. It is technically easier since its on a straight fixed plane but if there not wanting to squat than smith machine is better than avoiding it all. I think ur exaderating about ur example of not squatting as I don't see a bed ridden weight lifter posting on this forum for variations of the squat when he can't "squat" out of bed

The Smith is a worse option because it is a fixed and unnatural plane of motion that would induce poor motor programming.

[bean5er]

I'm strictly curious as I agree that they are not replaceable. But my trainer told me to stop after a few times of consistently ****ing my back up. Anyway, I used to love deep squats and miss doing them. He claims that he doesn't squat anymore (back issues) after reading that Dorian Yates never squatted. My trainer competes nationally and has pretty sweet legs, size sweep, are they, being Yates and my trainer just genetically gifted or what? Just curious on your thoughts as you guys know a lot more than I do.

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[bean5er]

The Smith is a worse option because it is a fixed and unnatural plane of motion that would induce poor motor programming.

I wondered about that. Where I lift they do have a squat rack but the setup is either too short or too high so un racking the weight kills me, so I use the smith rack which is when I really started having problems. My lower back is weak compared to when I used to squat but I never used to hurt my back.
d:

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[Rodja]

I'm strictly curious as I agree that they are not replaceable. But my trainer told me to stop after a few times of consistently ****ing my back up. Anyway, I used to love deep squats and miss doing them. He claims that he doesn't squat anymore (back issues) after reading that Dorian Yates never squatted. My trainer competes nationally and has pretty sweet legs, size sweep, are they, being Yates and my trainer just genetically gifted or what? Just curious on your thoughts as you guys know a lot more than I do.

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It's a major misconception that Dorian did not squat; he did. Anyone that says that they can't squat is lying (unless they've had MAJOR back injuries) and they just don't know how to to squat properly.

[Gutterpump]

The main reason people don't like to squat is likely due to issues revolving around their own anterior pelvic tilt, aka hyper-lordosis, which makes the movement unstable and painful at times. People need to do maintenance on themselves, and all of these movements would become natural.

Subbing out any functional lift for a machine is ridiculous.

[JD261985]

People only hurt themselves because their ego tells them to do more weight than they can handle. I say if you aren't going ass to calves with a controlled motion then you should lower the weight. Always go below parallel

[TruthWalker]

Eventually you just have to man up and pop your squats.

[madlove122]

My point here is ppl who claim they can't squat usually can really squat and don't want to. So if for whatever reason if they avoid barbell squats because there strenuous and a bit painful(like it should be) maybe than can find a home with the similar movements on the smith machine. It is technically easier since its on a straight fixed plane but if there not wanting to squat than smith machine is better than avoiding it all. I think ur exaderating about ur example of not squatting as I don't see a bed ridden weight lifter posting on this forum for variations of the squat when he can't "squat" out of bed

No, the pain I feel when I tried to hack squat was because of the Osteoarthritis in my knee. I even feel this pain when I am on the treadmil. I can't seem to go all the way down on the hack squat machine and I really can't do lunges. But someone else said I should try squats without any weights at first and I think I will try that. Maybe then I can build up to putting waits on a bar and squating. From all that I have read here, squats seem to be REALLY important for overall leg development. Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate the advice.

[madlove122]

Eventually you just have to man up and pop your squats.

I know, but I want to pop my squats without popping my knee cap as I have Osteoarthritis in my left knee.

[Gutterpump]

You can try box jumps as well to help strengthen that knee. Should help a lot.
If you don't have knee wraps, I'd get some as well.