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Cutting out Squats makes me Stupid?

AlexParty

Yari Ka Daw!
My legs are getting too muscular, my jeans ain't fitting and it makes me look to big down there so I am cutting out all legs exercises and just upper body now, so am I dumb by doing this? It's not like I need leg mass I have that. I know Squats bursts size all over but I really need cut it out now. What do you guys think? :squat:
 
Keep the squats, and other leg exercises, but just do them with lower repetitions to build strength. You may still get a little size, but it will not be much and you can still take advantage of the hormonal shifts from doing these muscles. Try heavy singles, 8x3 6x4 etc. You could also just get some of those really big zuba pants that bodybuilders wear, then you wont look funny at all!
 
pmiller383 said:
Keep the squats, and other leg exercises, but just do them with lower repetitions to build strength. You may still get a little size, but it will not be much and you can still take advantage of the hormonal shifts from doing these muscles. Try heavy singles, 8x3 6x4 etc. You could also just get some of those really big zuba pants that bodybuilders wear, then you wont look funny at all!
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Lol I know it's just I play soccer on top of it and people are gonna think I'm juicing. Bigger jeans=skaters and gangstas and that aint my style. I like fitted jeans so it's tough choice. I might just squat low weight just for the hormonal shifts like you said. Thanks for the input :thumbsup:
 
I cut out squats a couple months ago, but that's because my left knee was hurting from it. I'm going to see my orthopaedist this week for a 6-month follow-up of my ankle injury from September, and I'm going to have him look at my knee as well.

I miss doing squats!! Once I can squat again, I'm going to ease back into it for a month or two, then try the 20-rep squat workout!
 
AM07 said:
I cut out squats a couple months ago, but that's because my left knee was hurting from it. I'm going to see my orthopaedist this week for a 6-month follow-up of my ankle injury from September, and I'm going to have him look at my knee as well.

I miss doing squats!! Once I can squat again, I'm going to ease back into it for a month or two, then try the 20-rep squat workout!
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Knee injuries definitely suck, thats another issue, had surgery because I fcuked my knee in a fight. Now when I do squats I always hear cracking lol.
 
pmiller383 said:
You could also just get some of those really big zuba pants that bodybuilders wear, then you wont look funny at all!
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pfft, you WISH your quads were big enough to wear zubaz.
Legion of Doom comin' atcha!
 

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I don't know I may be biased on the issue, but I physically can not do back squats correctly because of a club foot I was born with. I have forced myself to do front squats with blocks under my heals, and have been trying to get back squats down. I stretch my heal chords daily, practice different squat variations, read articles about correctly squatting and increasing mobility etc. I just hate seeing guys with the ability to do an exercise as beneficail as that not do it. I have always wanted to try power lifting competitively, but squats have always held me back. So take anything I say with a grain of salt, and on that note,
Dont Give Them Up Completely, but also listen to your body and if your knees are getting agitated from them then it may be time to hang up heavy squatting.
 
AlexParty said:
My legs are getting too muscular, my jeans ain't fitting and it makes me look to big down there so I am cutting out all legs exercises and just upper body now, so am I dumb by doing this? It's not like I need leg mass I have that. I know Squats bursts size all over but I really need cut it out now. What do you guys think? :squat:
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Biggest problem is squats dont just work your legs as you mentioned. Squats are believed to use over 200 different muscles, many being stabilizers and core muscles you never see. Plus the hormonal response is something you also dont want to miss out on.
As mentioned try reducing the reps and increasing the load focusing more on strength and less on mass. Try something like a 3x3 for a little while.
 
pmiller383 said:
I don't know I may be biased on the issue, but I physically can not do back squats correctly because of a club foot I was born with. I have forced myself to do front squats with blocks under my heals, and have been trying to get back squats down. I stretch my heal chords daily, practice different squat variations, read articles about correctly squatting and increasing mobility etc. I just hate seeing guys with the ability to do an exercise as beneficail as that not do it. I have always wanted to try power lifting competitively, but squats have always held me back. So take anything I say with a grain of salt, and on that note,
Dont Give Them Up Completely, but also listen to your body and if your knees are getting agitated from them then it may be time to hang up heavy squatting.
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Have you ever read the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe? It is loaded with different flexibility exercises for the hips, knees, ankles, and hams that help with squats. There might be something in there you can use.
 
AM07 said:
I cut out squats a couple months ago, but that's because my left knee was hurting from it. I'm going to see my orthopaedist this week for a 6-month follow-up of my ankle injury from September, and I'm going to have him look at my knee as well.

I miss doing squats!! Once I can squat again, I'm going to ease back into it for a month or two, then try the 20-rep squat workout!
Click to expand...
If squats are hurting your knees it is a form problem more than likely. I have had orthoscopic surgery on both my knees to repair tears from sports injuries and I still squat heavy 3x a week.
The 3 biggest form flaws that lead to knee pain with squats are foot placement, starting the movement at the knee instead of the hip, and stopping above parrallel.
Check you feet placement first. Feet should be shoulder width apart pointing outward at a 30degree angle. When you squat below parrallel your knees should move out to clear room for your torso. This puts you knees pointing out at an angle. You want your toes to point in the same direction as your knees. If your knees are at an angle and your feet are straight this puts a twist in your knee ligaments and leads to pain.

You also want to make sure you are initiating the lift by pushing your hips back and not by bending at the knees. This keeps the knees from moving out in front of your toes and limits the shear force on the knee. To see if your knees are coming forward you can stand in front of a wall with your toes against the wall, arms hanging down in front of you, now squat down. If you cant make it down with out your knees hitting the wall and pushing you back you are moving at the knee and not the hip. Imagine yourself setting back on a toilet, that is esstentially the squat movement. It takes some practice but try it and you will see what I am talking about.

The most obvious thing to check is are you going below parallel. Stopping above parallel shifts the shear force of the lift from the hips to the knee. The knee joint is strongest at it contracted position (below parallel) and weakest at the points in between. When you stop short of parallel you are not only cutting yourself short on range of motion and fiber recruitment but also introducing an enormous amount of unnatural force on the knee.

Check these and see if it doesnt help.
 
AlexParty said:
My legs are getting too muscular, my jeans ain't fitting and it makes me look to big down there so I am cutting out all legs exercises and just upper body now, so am I dumb by doing this? It's not like I need leg mass I have that. I know Squats bursts size all over but I really need cut it out now. What do you guys think? :squat:
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I hate having to get new jeans cause of upper leg problems. I say stick with machines for legs with low weight until you start looking unproportional with a huge upper body and skinny legs. Then you'll have to work up legs again unless you want to look dumb.
 
pmiller383 said:
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I don't see what's different about these guys...........

Ya'll ever seen the quads of powerlifters/olympic lifters?They do low reps...........Branch Warren was doing reps of 50-100 for a while cause he said heavier weight makes his legs grow too fast.He might still do them I just read about it a while ago in MD.
 
goslamacamel said:
I hate having to get new jeans cause of upper leg problems. I say stick with machines for legs with low weight until you start looking unproportional with a huge upper body and skinny legs. Then you'll have to work up legs again unless you want to look dumb.
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it is my opinion that this would be the last approach...just cut bk to onec a week and focus on strength rather than size routines and u'll be fine...if its injuries then focus on 8rep squats. also, big jeans do not make a gangster but the attitude of that person...clothes do not make the man...I'm living proof...I wear basketball jeseys but I'm a retail mngr and computer programmer...
 
plus baggy jeans on tree trunks wont look like baggy jeans on chicken legs.Just don't get the ones with huge pockets.I'm fixing to try out a pair of baggy jeans next time I buy a pair.I already went from regular to relaxed fit.Now it's time to move up again.I wear levi's and they make sme nice baggy jeans I see others wear that should look good on some built quads.
 
pantera101 said:
plus baggy jeans on tree trunks wont look like baggy jeans on chicken legs.Just don't get the ones with huge pockets.I'm fixing to try out a pair of baggy jeans next time I buy a pair.I already went from regular to relaxed fit.Now it's time to move up again.I wear levi's and they make sme nice baggy jeans I see others wear that should look good on some built quads.
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Well I bought a pair of jeans today and realised that levi's has 2 relaxed jeans.505 and 550.550's are bigger,Also their baggy jeans I see others wear are loose fit straight legged I believe.They don't carry them in black so I didn't even look,but they seemed to be it.
 
Squats are one of those cornerstone exercises. I've quit doing them before when I was running alot. During that time, I lost substantial muscle mass on my upper body too. I never realized how much squats did for my size and strength until I quit doing them.
 
AlexParty said:
My legs are getting too muscular, my jeans ain't fitting and it makes me look to big down there so I am cutting out all legs exercises and just upper body now, so am I dumb by doing this? It's not like I need leg mass I have that. I know Squats bursts size all over but I really need cut it out now. What do you guys think? :squat:
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the only jeans i can fit into are loose fit... not only do i have big thighs.. i have a big butt..(muscle)... just wanted to let u know i feel your pain....lookin good suks sometimes huh.
:drunk:

id cut back on the squating.... just me though..id skip legs once every two weeks
 
DreamOfWeight said:
the only jeans i can fit into are loose fit... not only do i have big thighs.. i have a big butt..(muscle)... just wanted to let u know i feel your pain....lookin good suks sometimes huh.
:drunk:

id cut back on the squating.... just me though..id skip legs once every two weeks
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Have you found black jens that are loose fit and look good.Levis are only blue and thats what I like to wear.I just realised yesterday That I have already been buying the 550's.Maybe I'll get a bigger waist on the next pair.
 
pantera101 said:
Have you found black jens that are loose fit and look good.Levis are only blue and thats what I like to wear.I just realised yesterday That I have already been buying the 550's.Maybe I'll get a bigger waist on the next pair.
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a while back i bought like 5 pairs of loose fit jeans from the gap.. they fit pertty good. Gap comes through for me every now and again...... my fav. jeans are from bannana republic, but they dont make them anymore..
 
DreamOfWeight said:
a while back i bought like 5 pairs of loose fit jeans from the gap.. they fit pertty good. Gap comes through for me every now and again...... my fav. jeans are from bannana republic, but they dont make them anymore..
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And they actually come in black?It seems the relaxed 550 levis are almost too big for my liking at first,then after wearing and washing they fit just right.Then after a while more they start getting too tight.I haven't even tried my new ones on yet.I will when I get out of the shower though.
 
pantera101 said:
And they actually come in black?It seems the relaxed 550 levis are almost too big for my liking at first,then after wearing and washing they fit just right.Then after a while more they start getting too tight.I haven't even tried my new ones on yet.I will when I get out of the shower though.
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yes sir... they should have a bunch in black... u should check it out,,
 
The one body part I have that grows fast is my legs. I have problems getting into fitted jeans as well. Higher Reps has helped maintain my leg mass while not putting on anymore. I have also stopped squatting and have been doing Hack Squats.
 
yeah I went through the same thing, its horrible sitting down when your pants are clinging to you. Some chicks can even think you are a little chunky which is bad news. Try more lunges, or hack squats. The squat is a great excercise but this seems to happen, i personally do them for high reps every 3rd or 4th leg day.
 
I'm sure it depends on the waist size as well, but I just picked up a couple pair of Wrangler Cargo pants the other day. My Relaxed fit were getting uncomfortably tight in the thigh (and groin), and wearing the hair off the front of my quads. Hmm, maybe they were tight because of too much hair?:afro: Anyway, these cargo pants are cut large and I am very happy with the fit - more room to grow now! Not sure I like the cargo pockets on the sides, but maybe I can fit a couple of protein shakes or something in there... LOL
 
jspillane08 said:
yeah I went through the same thing, its horrible sitting down when your pants are clinging to you. Some chicks can even think you are a little chunky which is bad news. Try more lunges, or hack squats. The squat is a great excercise but this seems to happen, i personally do them for high reps every 3rd or 4th leg day.
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I love sitting down and seeing my thick legs filling out my jeans!Or just while walking and looking down for that matter.If you aren't overweight and have muscles and a girl thinks you are chunky.............C'mon!
 
Jaidmaster said:
I'm sure it depends on the waist size as well, but I just picked up a couple pair of Wrangler Cargo pants the other day. My Relaxed fit were getting uncomfortably tight in the thigh (and groin), and wearing the hair off the front of my quads. Hmm, maybe they were tight because of too much hair?:afro: Anyway, these cargo pants are cut large and I am very happy with the fit - more room to grow now! Not sure I like the cargo pockets on the sides, but maybe I can fit a couple of protein shakes or something in there... LOL
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My next plan of attack is to buy jeans with a bigger waist.Then start wearing a belt like I have seen so many other bb'rs doing.I could never figure out why they had their waist folded over with a belt on....Now I know!
 
I just did squats today for the first time in two months because my legs were getting too big. After two months, they didn't really get much smaller or weaker, but I sure did put on some upper body mass with more time to devote to it. I think I'm finally balanced. People have been calling me tree trunks since middle school, long before I ever squatted. Good old genetics.
 
Kristofer68SS said:
quads too big.......yeah okay......quit doing squats......yeah okay

lucky bastards.

shut up:)

lol
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I my have naturally big legs, but not my upper body. Kids called me tree trunks because I looked like a bottom heavy awkward idiot. It's taken a lot of hard work to balance myself out.
 
I have said the same thing you said before, because I thought I was having similar problems. I wish I had never cut back my squatting momentum then, it is NEVER a good idea in my experience.

1) Post pics of your legs
2) What do you squat, using GOOD form?

I think most jeans are just undersized for people who squat, that's a fact. Would you be complaining if you were growing out of shirts? Of course not. Just find stuff that fits. Visually, huge legs will never unbalance your physique unless you want them to. You wear something over your quads all the time, it's just not going to unbalance your physique like bad posture or a huge belly or something.

I suspect you aren't quite as big legged as you think...I also think if you wish to grow, you need to take growth where you can get it until you stop getting it. Believe me, your legs won't grow forever. Keep hitting them hard and they will slow down soon.
 
Ya know, there's a kid who squats like 95 - when he does squat - and has bigger quads than me. His upper body is just average for a 20 year old guy, nothing bad nothing special. He doesn't look unbalanced whatsoever. If he wears shorts, he has freaky muscular legs...he has an average upper body.

If you look unbalanced it isn't a problem that your legs grow awesome, it's a problem that your upper body grows too slowly; since training your legs does help your upper body grow...just keep leg training the same and rethink upper body.
 
conwict said:
I have said the same thing you said before, because I thought I was having similar problems. I wish I had never cut back my squatting momentum then, it is NEVER a good idea in my experience.

1) Post pics of your legs
2) What do you squat, using GOOD form?

I think most jeans are just undersized for people who squat, that's a fact. Would you be complaining if you were growing out of shirts? Of course not. Just find stuff that fits. Visually, huge legs will never unbalance your physique unless you want them to. You wear something over your quads all the time, it's just not going to unbalance your physique like bad posture or a huge belly or something.

I suspect you aren't quite as big legged as you think...I also think if you wish to grow, you need to take growth where you can get it until you stop getting it. Believe me, your legs won't grow forever. Keep hitting them hard and they will slow down soon.
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well put. reps.
 
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