Can I do leg presses in place of squats?
- Thread starter DerickVonD
- Start date
fritzer
Active member
if you dont have any injuries or pain then you should be squatting
you can do leg presses and hacks and get results just look at dorian yates
but i think for overall body development, squats are the king. also, hacks can be terrible on the knees. put it this way, you can walk into the gym and do a couple sets of squats a couple sets of straight leg deadlifts and leave and eventually have massive legs. no way you could do this with hacks or leg presses.
you can do leg presses and hacks and get results just look at dorian yates
but i think for overall body development, squats are the king. also, hacks can be terrible on the knees. put it this way, you can walk into the gym and do a couple sets of squats a couple sets of straight leg deadlifts and leave and eventually have massive legs. no way you could do this with hacks or leg presses.
jcp2
Active member
My overall quad development is much better from hacks than from squats. When i was doing this i was squatting after hacks, but if i had to do it again, i would probably focus on the box to maixmize glute and hamstrings activation while still hitting the quads. I am not a quad squatter so thierfor expecting to build my quads from squats is not going to happen. I do agree for overall body development squats are about as good as it gets and definately you should be doing them while you are a beginner as they are going to help you put on size everywhere.
shortstop1616
Member
You can do leg press but there are definitely more benefits from back squats. They review exercise technique at Invalid Link Removed
And its free.... thats whats up
And its free.... thats whats up
hvylifter
Member
Ok homie, I read some of the above and it looks as most feel as I do. Leg presses are a good workout. They are. Executed properly they can work your quads and make you grow. Squats however, to me, are Tha bomb of mass builders. Excuted properly and done with extreme animal ferocity, it will raise natural test, and just works so many muscles. You will miss out if you don't do them. You gotta remember, this game isn't about feeling good, well sometimes lol, but its about being able ta drag a car with four flats uphill in the snow. For some its being massively ripped and huge. For all, reguardless of their ultimate goal, you have to deal with aches and pains. Some will definitely be worse than others. Does your knees quit hurting later? Is it all the time? How long does it last? Can you walk? Any other info?
Basically man, if ya wanna get huge, squats are gonna be a BIG help. Unless its gonna put you in a wheelchair, do them.
I was also wondering, are you still doing them all on the same day, deads, squats and front squats, and still doing them every 48 hours??? That right there is gonna be a biggggg azzzz cause of EXTRA pain. Not only do your muscles have to recouperate, but so do your tendons and ligaments. I know its hard to get into your mind that less is more on that, but it is.
When I was 11 and just starting, I bought a low dollar bench with a few attachments at walmart and didn't know shyt. I was totally lost. For the first 6 months or so, I not only worked every muscle I could, I did it several times a day, thinking more was, MORE. Look here's my general workout. Things change, but this is my run of the mill, based around the three main lifts at a meet.
Day 1
Squats- several warmups, then I work up or warmup a little more and work from heavy down. Total working sets range from 4 ta 7ish and singles ta sets of 10. All to failure.
leg extensions- 3-6 sets changing weights a little less, maybe twice, getting 8 to 5 reps, all going to failure and cheat reps. Maybe a few more light reps too.
leg curls- same as extensions. Failure and cheating as much as possible at the end for more reps.
If my back isn't dead, I do stiff leg deads, light weight, till I wanna puke.
day 2 off
day 3 calves 4-6 sets 6 ta 10 reps ta failure and cheat reps.
shins same as calves
abs, I mix it up, but I do crunches with a 25 on my forehead first generally, and spin off from there, generally end up with 6 ta 8 sets including several sets targeting obliques.
forearms, I do a couple different curling and twisting etc routines, till they won't move. basically about 4 sets each way to failure and cheat reps.
Day 4 off
Day 5 Upper back, I do bent rows or dumbell rows or I do narrow pulldowns and lat pulls I do about 4 to 5 sets of each, after warmup of course. failure and cheat reps. Plus normally 4 ta 8 reps.
Shrugs I do 4 to 6 sets normally and bang it till it don't work. 4 ta 8 reps again normally with failure and cheating at end. Remember, Form stays solid. When I say cheat reps, I'm keeping my form, I'm just using other body parts or movements to do partials, maybe full reps etc and kill it. KEEP YOUR FORM.
Biceps get around 4 sets after my back and they are already almost dead, but 6 ta 8 rep range normally all to failure and cheats.
Finally I do some rear delt flys to finish it all off 4 sets or so till my wings just won't flap no more...
Day 6 off
Day 7 Bench
I do several warmups and fly into working up or down. Generally 4 to 6 or 7 working sets all to failure. Rep range goes from singles up to 8 ta 10 reps, more if I'm burning it out.
Close grips I will do 4 sets or so and it totally blasts me, all to failure and usually 6 to 8 reps.
Shoulder flys or presses, db or bb. Blast it hard and heavy as I can, generally 5 ta 10 reps for 4 sets or so.
Then I put a 25 on my face and work my way around stretching and working my neck, just one set to failure each way.
day 8 off.
Start back over but doing Deads, basically same workout as squats sets and reps.
Then I do sissy squats 4 ta 6 sets to failure and cheats.
I do leg curls as with squats.
Then If my back isn't spazing out, I will do a few more sets to kill it of stiff deads.
Granted my workouts do change, exercises change, etc, but this is my foundation.
Basically man, if ya wanna get huge, squats are gonna be a BIG help. Unless its gonna put you in a wheelchair, do them.
I was also wondering, are you still doing them all on the same day, deads, squats and front squats, and still doing them every 48 hours??? That right there is gonna be a biggggg azzzz cause of EXTRA pain. Not only do your muscles have to recouperate, but so do your tendons and ligaments. I know its hard to get into your mind that less is more on that, but it is.
When I was 11 and just starting, I bought a low dollar bench with a few attachments at walmart and didn't know shyt. I was totally lost. For the first 6 months or so, I not only worked every muscle I could, I did it several times a day, thinking more was, MORE. Look here's my general workout. Things change, but this is my run of the mill, based around the three main lifts at a meet.
Day 1
Squats- several warmups, then I work up or warmup a little more and work from heavy down. Total working sets range from 4 ta 7ish and singles ta sets of 10. All to failure.
leg extensions- 3-6 sets changing weights a little less, maybe twice, getting 8 to 5 reps, all going to failure and cheat reps. Maybe a few more light reps too.
leg curls- same as extensions. Failure and cheating as much as possible at the end for more reps.
If my back isn't dead, I do stiff leg deads, light weight, till I wanna puke.
day 2 off
day 3 calves 4-6 sets 6 ta 10 reps ta failure and cheat reps.
shins same as calves
abs, I mix it up, but I do crunches with a 25 on my forehead first generally, and spin off from there, generally end up with 6 ta 8 sets including several sets targeting obliques.
forearms, I do a couple different curling and twisting etc routines, till they won't move. basically about 4 sets each way to failure and cheat reps.
Day 4 off
Day 5 Upper back, I do bent rows or dumbell rows or I do narrow pulldowns and lat pulls I do about 4 to 5 sets of each, after warmup of course. failure and cheat reps. Plus normally 4 ta 8 reps.
Shrugs I do 4 to 6 sets normally and bang it till it don't work. 4 ta 8 reps again normally with failure and cheating at end. Remember, Form stays solid. When I say cheat reps, I'm keeping my form, I'm just using other body parts or movements to do partials, maybe full reps etc and kill it. KEEP YOUR FORM.
Biceps get around 4 sets after my back and they are already almost dead, but 6 ta 8 rep range normally all to failure and cheats.
Finally I do some rear delt flys to finish it all off 4 sets or so till my wings just won't flap no more...
Day 6 off
Day 7 Bench
I do several warmups and fly into working up or down. Generally 4 to 6 or 7 working sets all to failure. Rep range goes from singles up to 8 ta 10 reps, more if I'm burning it out.
Close grips I will do 4 sets or so and it totally blasts me, all to failure and usually 6 to 8 reps.
Shoulder flys or presses, db or bb. Blast it hard and heavy as I can, generally 5 ta 10 reps for 4 sets or so.
Then I put a 25 on my face and work my way around stretching and working my neck, just one set to failure each way.
day 8 off.
Start back over but doing Deads, basically same workout as squats sets and reps.
Then I do sissy squats 4 ta 6 sets to failure and cheats.
I do leg curls as with squats.
Then If my back isn't spazing out, I will do a few more sets to kill it of stiff deads.
Granted my workouts do change, exercises change, etc, but this is my foundation.
Last edited:
DerickVonD
Well-known member
The knee pain is gone for the most part and I am doing squats again, correctly this time. Right now I am doing squats and deads on the same day, but I alternate squats and front squats. I do good mornings, calf raises, reverse calf raises(with one leg at a time), deads and squats or front squats. I do this 3 days a week and work my upper body on the days I don't work my lower body. I usually never get sore after working my chest, arms, or shoulders and I have made gains with them, except for military press since I was doing it wrong. I up the weight by 10lb(5lb if added to dumbbells) ever 2-4 weeks. I do rest 3-4 minutes between sets
