so front squats or leg press?

[sum42]

Which one to chose for overal leg development...
Also im starting to think that leg press isnt rly a good choice after i injured my lower back.

[wisdommaster1]

front squats are my favorite

[j1akey]

Any squat is better than the leg press machine.

[SuicideGripMe]

Considering you have given no background information, your question is f*cking pointless.

[charles1997]

Leg press makes my knee creak like ****, I'd go with front squats..

[Killafornia805]

Squats

[Grailer]

Leg press is good but you need to sit back into the seat properly so your hips take the weight not your lower back

Squats put alot of strain on back and you need perfect form to lift heavy . Not with leg press , any newb can leg press .

[Garage Rat]

The problem with the leg press is most people round their lower backs when taking a deep rep which is not good.
The other thing is the complete opposite where guys will load it up with a ton of weight and do a quarter leg press with it or take a ride on the ego machine as i call it.When done properly and totally concentrating on your quads with quality reps the leg press is a good piece of equipment.
But in my competitve bodybuilding days the two best quad exercises for me personally were the front squat and hack squat machine.
Blast your quads with these two and you wont be sorry.
Also take a look at olympic lifters quads who primarily do front squats they always have good quads.

[DerekEt]

Do both....

[DeathBySquats]

Both have there place in a program just develop it in a way to hit both, usually i'll hit legs twice a week the first day being Heavy Back Squats with some other work (RDL's, Lunges, Step ups) and the 2nd day later in the week focusing on Heavy Front Squats with some other work (Leg Press, Leg Extensions, Leg Curls) I actually usually use both front squats and leg press on the same day but if I were to choose one I'd have to choose Front Squats for development not just in the legs but overall far better exercise then Leg Press.

[bevans100fitnes]

Front squats advantage is VMO activation (teardrop of the quad). Front squats also work upper back posture muscles and lower abs in a way that back squats do not.

The advantage of leg press is the stability given by the machine. It is less worthy as an indicator of progress than the squat, but because stability is guaranteed you can utilize dropsets, and come excruciating close to- or beyond failure, with the leg press.

I would say front squats for running speed, sports, strength, or as a general exercise to start your routine with.

I would say leg press if you are after quadriceps hypertrophy, because of the ability to do dropsets without endangering your life.

[BFJ]

people here have discussed enough pros and cons to where i think it'd pretty clear. both can have their place. it sounds like right now you're leary of leg press so maybe just do front squats. or maybe always include both, but periodize how heavy or with how much volume you hit each and so with that said, maybe right now is a time where you take it easy on the leg press and punish the front squat.

[Epilerik]

Front squat if you want to overemphasize your quads without focusing on your hips, butt and hamstrings

Leg press if you are just trying to build quad size without any actual strength increases than transfer to other movements and aren't worried about working out every other muscle a squat hits


Really you should be doing back squats, or do front squats along with some SLDLs or good mornings. Leg press only is a last resort type of thing that's only slightly better than nothing

[bevans100fitnes]

Front squat if you want to overemphasize your quads without focusing on your hips, butt and hamstrings

Leg press if you are just trying to build quad size without any actual strength increases than transfer to other movements and aren't worried about working out every other muscle a squat hits


Really you should be doing back squats, or do front squats along with some SLDLs or good mornings. Leg press only is a last resort type of thing that's only slightly better than nothing

Exactly my thoughts on front squats. Superior for the knee joint but massively inferior to back squat for the hips... But if you are pairing front squats with deadlifts you can sometimes end up with a better all around result, because the front squats torch your quads, but are light enough that you can approach deadlifts AFTERWARDS, while still being kindof "fresh", in a way you can't if you did backsquats first.

[Fbomb1990]

front squat all the way! I believe the leg press is one of the single most overrated (and most dangerous) workouts there is. Guys love the leg press, because they can do an enormous amount of weight, but they do the large amounts of weight lift their butt and back way off of the bench leading to injury. The front squat (if done properly) is a much better lift. it activates just about every lower body part and abs.

[garyandjessie]

But in my competitve bodybuilding days the two best quad exercises for me personally were the front squat and hack squat machine.Blast your quads with these two and you wont be sorry.
Also take a look at olympic lifters quads who primarily do front squats they always have good quads.

^^ I get the most out of front and hack too. Each seems to give me that whole lower body feel. Go as low as possible. Sometimes I will do all 3, leg press, front and hack but for overall development front and hack are my base. I am a noob though so take it with a heaping of personal opinion.

[IAVA31]

I really don't like the hip position that the leg press forces.

[frontsquatftw]

I do both. that being said, I would choose front squats if I HAD to choose.

[Micheal88]

Both, set of 10 on the leg press than set of 6-8 squat. Rinse and repeat.

Keep in mind I go to a small gym so very little contention for equipment

[sharkinfishtank]

vmo's! duh!

[sum42]

Thq for replies!
Tried both.
Front squats for sure work better for me than leg press.
Also i think leg press is abit dangerous.
I cant get the form right and dont want to injure my lower back again.

[sharkinfishtank]

how much can u front squat i bet i can front squat more

[traineeh]

hack squats (with barbell) are brutal as well

[Jfern689]

Leg Press? Is that that overrated Leg Machine which is clearly inferior to Squats?

[sharpieblet]

lmao at all the leg press hate i'm seeing. each exercise has their place. i've been wanting to really get my quads growing on this bulk so i've been doing leg press with narrow low foot placement FIRST, followed by low bar squats after. i get really good stimulation in the legs this way.

at the same time, i've spent months doing high bar squats, or low bar squats + rom. deads, front squats + low bar squats, etc.

they will all work as long as you're doing them correctly and aim for progression. no one move or set of moves is the end all be all.

[CaptainGorgeous]

Try them both out and see what works for you.

For me, leg press > squats for quad hypertrophy. I attribute this to having a short torso and relatively longer femurs--this causes my squat form to involve a lot of hip extension (less so with front squats), emphasizing the glutes. But because of the glute activation, squats are better for overall mass.