Big Legs without SQUATS?

[airpendleton23]

Is this even possible?

Due to several years of competitve basketball I have been left with the cartilage of a 90 year old man in my left knee, no joke. Doctors have advised that I should never do lower body weight training.... riiiiiiight haha.

Anyway, I try to stay away from squatting as it is incredibly painful. Yet I can leg press about 1400 pounds in a slow controlled fashion, can rack any leg extension machine, again while focusing on flexing the quads and not using momentum. Still, my legs are pathetic.

I usually train legs once a week but just don't seem to be making progress size wise. Anyone have any advice on this? Even hack squats are fairly excruciating.

 

[tatteredxangelx]

try trap bar deadlifts ...

 

[Blenderate]

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[Swifto]

Yates didnt squat. Look at his legs!

 

[Shelby]

yates

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KFY/is_5_22/ai_n6093081

 

[airpendleton23]

I don't understand how any of the exercises you've listed could be any less stressful to your knees. Hack squats and leg extensions can definitely get my knees to ache, but squats never do.

Are you using a full ROM on the leg presses? Low, close foot placement to emphasize quads?

Have you tried front squats, safety bar squats, cambered bar, manta ray, box squats? Any of these variations might be easier on your joints. Give them a try and see.

I think one issue might be that I am 6' 4" and being that tall, it is damn near impossible to keep my knees behind my toes when I squat. It is easy to place my feet at the very top of the platform while doing leg press and thus, push with my heels and keep my knees from popping out in front of my toes.

I have tried the manta ray and box squats but have never used a cambered bar or spent much time with front squats. I will give both of these a try. thanks for the input.

 

[airpendleton23]

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KFY/is_5_22/ai_n6093081

Thanks for the link bro. I didn't know that Yates didn't squat.

 

[Blenderate]

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[jfunk316]

Lunges

I have a buddy that has large quads and hams and he never squats heavy only uses them as a warm up. He does working sets of Smith Machine lunges (Goes heavy and does 8-12 reps per side) and heavy leg presses. I started doing the smith lunges a few months ago after my squat sets and have gained some good mass in my legs which have always had trouble growing.

 

[airpendleton23]

I have a buddy that has large quads and hams and he never squats heavy only uses them as a warm up. He does working sets of Smith Machine lunges (Goes heavy and does 8-12 reps per side) and heavy leg presses. I started doing the smith lunges a few months ago after my squat sets and have gained some good mass in my legs which have always had trouble growing.

For some reason I never even think of lunges for quads. Would you recommend backward or forward lunges?

 

[brook]

For some reason I never even think of lunges for quads. Would you recommend backward or forward lunges?

I believe when the lunge is stationary as has to be the case when using a smith they are called split squats.

Try holding onto the smith bar and stepping forward or backward! It is impossible.. The point is it is neither a forward or backward lunge, it is a split squat and you get into position then simply move up and down (like in a lunge of course) rather than step into position with a full free lunge.



Brook

 

[tbone01]

I also have no cartilage in my knee as well as no ACL. I had an operation to try and repair the ACL and relieve pain from lack of cartilage which ened up badly. I still leg press and do the extentions and hamstring work. I have to add that I picked up doing the abductor machines and have noticed a great differance in leg thickness so you may want to give them a try,Good luck,Peace T

 

[airpendleton23]

I also have no cartilage in my knee as well as no ACL. I had an operation to try and repair the ACL and relieve pain from lack of cartilage which ened up badly. I still leg press and do the extentions and hamstring work. I have to add that I picked up doing the abductor machines and have noticed a great differance in leg thickness so you may want to give them a try,Good luck,Peace T

Thanks man, I appreciate that. I will give those machines a try. I have always been after more thickness, but the little progress I have made seem to just make my quads pop out more in the front.

Sorry to hear about your injury man, I know how that goes better than just about anyone.

 

[tbone01]

Thanks Bro. I'm just one of the unlucky ones that the operation didnt work.I've been told the only option left is a total replacement but with my job and age they want me to avoid it as long as possible.Alot of people are worse off so I just wear my brace suck it up and hit the gym,Good Luck Bro,Peace T

 

[Ashop]

Yates didnt squat. Look at his legs!

Good point.

 

[oldfella]

I think one issue might be that I am 6' 4" and being that tall, it is damn near impossible to keep my knees behind my toes when I squat. It is easy to place my feet at the very top of the platform while doing leg press and thus, push with my heels and keep my knees from popping out in front of my toes.

I have tried the manta ray and box squats but have never used a cambered bar or spent much time with front squats. I will give both of these a try. thanks for the input.

Trying to keep your knees behind your toes is one sure wy to get sore knees and place more stress on your lower back. Do not restrict your knee movement in squats. It is not natural to do so. If our knees were not supposed to go beyond our toes when we squat down then they wouldn't. It os as simple as that. Squat to parallel and allow your knees and hips to do their job. Knees over toes is correct form. And yes all the fitness trainers do parrott the knees behind toes form and I have a fitness magazine that actually apologizes to everyone for preaching this in one article and retracts it in the following months publication for getting it wrong.

 

[vadim_b1]

Yates didnt squat. Look at his legs!

he most definitely squatted to build his mass.
Over 660 for reps too...

OP i cant imagine how youre leg pressing 1400 but cant do moderate weight front squats.

Range of motion?

 

[buselmo]

Is this even possible?

Due to several years of competitve basketball I have been left with the cartilage of a 90 year old man in my left knee, no joke. Doctors have advised that I should never do lower body weight training.... riiiiiiight haha.

Anyway, I try to stay away from squatting as it is incredibly painful. Yet I can leg press about 1400 pounds in a slow controlled fashion, can rack any leg extension machine, again while focusing on flexing the quads and not using momentum. Still, my legs are pathetic.

I usually train legs once a week but just don't seem to be making progress size wise. Anyone have any advice on this? Even hack squats are fairly excruciating.

are you eating above maintenance calories? is your whole body growing and you're adding inches to your arms, chest and back but not your legs? do you have progress pics?

I have a client who gained 4 inches on his quads in a year... but because he was training for 9 years and never touched his legs (lightbulb syndrome) his legs always looked way behind. his whole body kept growing but his legs were growing faster, yet he didn't notice because his whole upper body was completely developed and was growing also.

pics would be good to judge... especially if you have 1 year progress pics

 

[airpendleton23]

are you eating above maintenance calories? is your whole body growing and you're adding inches to your arms, chest and back but not your legs? do you have progress pics?

I have a client who gained 4 inches on his quads in a year... but because he was training for 9 years and never touched his legs (lightbulb syndrome) his legs always looked way behind. his whole body kept growing but his legs were growing faster, yet he didn't notice because his whole upper body was completely developed and was growing also.

pics would be good to judge... especially if you have 1 year progress pics

I will get some pics on here. I have only been bodybuilding for about 2.5 years and I have made tremendous progress upper body wise. I have gone from 185 to about 240 (like I stated I'm about 6' 3" so 240 isnt as big as it sounds). The first 9-10 months I didn't train legs at all because I was recovering from a broken fibula and fractured tibia. They are definitely behind. Yet I still seem to be growing upper body wise just fine still. My arms are getting bigger, chest is filling out nicely, back is getting wider, etc.

If I could figure out how to get a video onto youtube I will gladly post one of me doing the leg press. I think I just need a better video camera. I was in no way trying to brag about the amount of weight. Just curious about why I can push so much but experience so much pain when I squat. I have never tried front squats as I assumed it would be just as bad.

Coach John Thrush who is an olympic weight lifting coach from the Seattle area is the one who told me to keep shin perpendicular to the floor (or knees above toes, however you want to look at it). I will definitely try squatting without doing so to see if the pain subsides.

I appreciate everyone's input so far.

 

[brook]

I will get some pics on here. I have only been bodybuilding for about 2.5 years and I have made tremendous progress upper body wise. I have gone from 185 to about 240 (like I stated I'm about 6' 3" so 240 isnt as big as it sounds). The first 9-10 months I didn't train legs at all because I was recovering from a broken fibula and fractured tibia. They are definitely behind. Yet I still seem to be growing upper body wise just fine still. My arms are getting bigger, chest is filling out nicely, back is getting wider, etc.

If I could figure out how to get a video onto youtube I will gladly post one of me doing the leg press. I think I just need a better video camera. I was in no way trying to brag about the amount of weight. Just curious about why I can push so much but experience so much pain when I squat. I have never tried front squats as I assumed it would be just as bad.

Coach John Thrush who is an olympic weight lifting coach from the Seattle area is the one who told me to keep shin perpendicular to the floor (or knees above toes, however you want to look at it). I will definitely try squatting without doing so to see if the pain subsides.

I appreciate everyone's input so far.

The reason he and many others suggest to use that form/technique is not so much because it is the way to squat perfectly directly, but indirectly.

What i mean to say is that keeping the knees back and in line with the feet is going to force you to sit back.. rather than lean forward, which IS the proper squatting form, and those who are considered good squatters sit back.

The actual best way to learn this form is by incorporating Box Squats into your program and re-learning the squat movement, and by learning to do the thrid world squat too.. which is simply the movement that should be possible when all the muscles and tendons have enough ROM to perform a squat with perfect form ie. No tail under, no leaning forward excessively... HOWEVER when one does squat correctly - meaning below parallel (remember even PL's have to get 1" below parallel to get a green), the knees in the majority will move beyond the toes.
By this time though it is no longer important as perfect form has been achieved.

Brook