Leg press instead of squat

[kingpeon]

What about front squats? I may try these, I remember them being a little easier on low back, at least for me. Something about just slightly moving where that weight sits helps me not lean forward so much.

Front squats are incredible thigh mass and core builders. Just learn how to hold the bar correctly so you don't choke the crap outta yourself

 

[kingpeon]

What about front squats? I may try these, I remember them being a little easier on low back, at least for me. Something about just slightly moving where that weight sits helps me not lean forward so much.

And don't forget your Olympic weightlifting shoes, makes a huge difference in squatting for thigh mass!

 

[nidnoy]

Not exactly sure what those are, does elevating back of foot on plate or board accomplish same thing?

 

[Anabolic_Beast]

What about front squats? I may try these, I remember them being a little easier on low back, at least for me. Something about just slightly moving where that weight sits helps me not lean forward so much.

Front squats are my bread and butter for leg day. It's absolutely PERFECT for me because it forces me to utilize the most strictest form and doesn't allow me to cheat in any way whatsoever (otherwise the bar will fall right off of you lol). I find if I go all the way down as far down as I can with them and use 100% full range of continuous motion (None of that resting on the top and breathing) you will feel incredibly sore in every single leg muscle, ab muscle, hips, ass, the whole 9 the next 4-5 days..even calves and biceps get sore from it.
With leg presses which I do off and on..we have a simple machine for that but I always find that the angle does not agree with my knees..and I always feel bad knee pain with the leg presses (As if I pushed the cap out of place)..but never any knee or back pain with front squats ever..

 

[method2madness]

What have you found to be the best foot position ?

There are two that work well for me regardless of what I'm trying to achieve. The first is feet touching and dead center of the plate from top to bottom and side to side. THis will accentuate the lateral quad "sweep". THe next is shoulder width feet at 45 degrees. THis is a power move and is less targeted and is what I do for overall mass. On both of these positions your knees should align with your toeas at all times and you should push from your toes more than your heels without allowing knees to go too far over your toes. THis safely manipulates the angle of pressure. Try it out and see how it works for you. Best luck to you brother!

 

[kingpeon]

Not exactly sure what those are, does elevating back of foot on plate or board accomplish same thing?

Yes, it does but personally I feel it's as inferior to proper Olympic shoes as leg press is to squats and not nearly as stable. I like my feet to be locked into position with straps across top, ankle support, the whole business. Everything from tip toes to ankle top is tight and secure and I can focus 100% on blasting thighs and not balancing on the balls of my feet!

 

[bigdog123]

There is no way in the world I'm lunging or doing front squats anytime soon!
Leg press will have to be the one ... I'm at 200kg for 15 rwps.. I'll just work up slowly

 

[Elvia1023]

What have you found to be the best foot position ?

Firstly leg press is a great movement. Plus if some movements are out of the question for whatever reason then sometimes it becomes more a necessity as opposed to a preference. So I do think people can build impressive legs without squatting and having the leg press as their main leg movement obviously with various other movements in place as well. There are no concrete right answers when it comes to setting up in many ways because we are built differently and there are 101 different leg press machines. Although for most for quads you want your feet placed fairly low down (or as low as possible on many machines) on the platform. For optimal results you want to go as deep as possible as long as it's safe to do that. If guys struggle then they need to work on their mobility (particularly hip mobility).

I love a 45 degree or a horizontal (or vertical) leg press and often rotate between them. I would personally recommend 1 working set with your feet low and wide so you can go as deep as possible. Then a 2nd working set (in that order) with your feet low but closer to together with a shorter rom but constant rep speed. The most important thing is everything feels good (safe) and if that means moving up in weight very slowly (especially with the extra deep reps) do exactly that.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

leg press weight compared to squat weight,
sin 45° = sin (pi/4) = about 0.707.
so 200kg leg press is roughly 141kg squat. assuming the leg press is a 45 angle.

Good equation, but don't forget to factor in that you are not lifting your bodyweight.

 

[nidnoy]

Did leg extension super set with front squats. Front squats done with narrow stance, heals elevated on 25lb plate, full range of motion. Did 4 sets of this, with about a minute rest in between, reps in 20-30 for leg extensions and about 15 for the front squats. Weights had to vary to stay in those two ranges with shorter rest time. Was definitely tired and nice pump after that.

Finishing legs I played around on leg press, it is not exactly horizontal, but close, one of those leg press machines. I found if I put my feet at bottom, heals hanging off edge of platform, narrow stance, could get nice range of motion, good burn, reminded me somewhat of a sissy squat type of motion, though not as intense. Not great on knees probably but felt no pressure on lower back.

 

[BigGame]

Anybody ever try vertical leg press? I like it a lot. My gym has this machine but a lot of gyms don’t.

 

[alfresco]

I had one years ago. This exact one, the Super Duty version. I had three 'problems'
with it or me.

One; I have had two people nearly pass out doing high reps on it.

Two; it bothered my lower back, my hips lifted of the back rest too much.

Three; it produced an ungodly burn in my calves when used for toe presses. Maybe
it had something to do with circulation. And no measurable growth.

Your mileage may vary.

I end up selling selling it to a local gym owner I knew.

 

[lookslikesausage]

What do you guys think of those horizontal machine leg press? I know less ideal than the plate loaded ones but how much less? I have chronic back problems and struggle squatting. Even lower weight higher reps is a flare up waiting to happen. Have been frustrated for a while now and the horizontal leg press is all my gym has.

in the same boat but 45 degree leg press is actually worse for me than squats. something about the bottom position and the compression that takes place. horizontal isn't as bad for me but between the rom being greatly reduced and using light weight to avoid the heavy compression it doesn't get me anywhere in terms of really stimulating my quads (and hams to some degree). Lunges, bodyweight and goblet squat variations, sissy squats, Bulgarian split squats, and good hack squat machine (Flex, Aresenal, and Atlantis make the best i've used) have been the best for me and my back. Belt Squats are ok too but i get less quad activation than the others mentioned b/c of the force curve on most of them and how the hips are forced back in the movement. I used to own a Pendulum Squat machine but that too would aggravate my back in the bottom position but a wonderful machine in terms of quad activation.

 

[luki7788]

A 45 degree leg press is a basic quad exercise for me. For years I have been training powerlifting and for several years I have been struggling with tendonis in both knees, squats in any form cause a lot of pain and after such a session I cannot train quads normally for the next 2-3 weeks, so squats are pointless for me. The only power squat I can do is face-to-back power squat, but I don't have this machine in the gym and neither do any hack machines. So I do leg press, but differently than most - I lower the backrest all the way down and go very low with my legs - this is the way I make the quads really hard, leg extensions, horizontal leg press and Bulgarian squats

 

[hawkmoon]

I had one years ago. This exact one, the Super Duty version. I had three 'problems'
with it or me.

One; I have had two people nearly pass out doing high reps on it.

Two; it bothered my lower back, my hips lifted of the back rest too much.

Three; it produced an ungodly burn in my calves when used for toe presses. Maybe
it had something to do with circulation. And no measurable growth.

Your mileage may vary.

I end up selling selling it to a local gym owner I knew.

These were the machines that everyone back in the day said were responsible for Jeff King's quad sweep.
We called them the "duck press"...no idea why...maybe they were good for squashing water fowl...

 

[hawkmoon]

I have totally given up squats due to my hernia and diastatis recti issues.
I can still press OK with better abdominal control, but no crazy weights.

I no longer want big legs, but I can tell you that a good leg press, with feet at the very bottom feel comparable to squats for me in quad activation.

 

[Love_to_Bodybuild]

try cable squats , I stopped barbell squatting six years ago , and glad I did , too much wear on the sprine, this exercise takes out a lot of risk, and gives great stimulation to quads, i go all the way down usually , seriously its an injury saver

 

[lookslikesausage]

Not exactly sure what those are, does elevating back of foot on plate or board accomplish same thing?

yes, although weightlifting shoes are a bit more comfortable. even though i no longer do any bar squats i still wear my WL shoes for most exercises (lunges, belt squats, hack squats, etc.).

Another great thigh builder not mentioned is the Snatch Grip Deadlift. Again, to do these properly, most will need to elevate the heel to maintain a very upright torso and this key element will allow the quads to really get activation. Great back builder too. I've seen many people butcher this exercise though. To make it work for the quads it's important to elevate the heels and keep torso upright.

 

[nidnoy]

try cable squats , I stopped barbell squatting six years ago , and glad I did , too much wear on the sprine, this exercise takes out a lot of risk, and gives great stimulation to quads, i go all the way down usually , seriously its an injury saver

That is interesting, thanks, will probably give those a shot also next leg workout. My quads are pretty sore today so yesterday appears to have worked but back is also a bit stiff. Not bad but it’s there.

 

[USMuscle9403]

try cable squats , I stopped barbell squatting six years ago , and glad I did , too much wear on the sprine, this exercise takes out a lot of risk, and gives great stimulation to quads, i go all the way down usually , seriously its an injury saver

Leg day is tomorrow and need a new exercise, thanks.

Haven't squatted in years. It's been variations of leg press, lunges and extensions. I am a good squatter but they don't provide much in the way of quad development for me.