Leg press instead of Squats? Opinions?

[RedSoxfan1978]

Well I have the issue of not being able to do squats. I have a bad right shoulder. It hurts badly to reach back enough to stabalize the bar for squats. I have been doing incline leg presses instead. Im wondering if this is okay instead of doing squats. Is it working the muscles the same as squats?

Thanks for any help here.

[Boridi]

db squats?

[brokenchair]

get the squat hip belt... no pressure on shoulders.

http://www6.mailordercentral.com/iro...sp?number=1220

Nothing replaces squats.

[cowboyathlete]

One product you could try in a last ditch effort before giving up on squats is a manta ray. I am not sure if that is the brand name or not. It is blue hard shell plastic, snaps right onto the bar for doing squats, and distributes the weight perfectly and evenly when it is on your neck and shoulder area. Of course, there is still the issue of the sheer weight of what you are squatting, plus a mantay ray can cost 50 smackers and have to get special ordered.

[brokenchair]

One product you could try in a last ditch effort before giving up on squats is a manta ray. I am not sure if that is the brand name or not. It is blue hard shell plastic, snaps right onto the bar for doing squats, and distributes the weight perfectly and evenly when it is on your neck and shoulder area. Of course, there is still the issue of the sheer weight of what you are squatting, plus a mantay ray can cost 50 smackers and have to get special ordered.

yeah they have one of those at my gym. maybe you can get the gym to buy one if you request it?

[Defiant1]

Well I have the issue of not being able to do squats. I have a bad right shoulder. It hurts badly to reach back enough to stabalize the bar for squats. I have been doing incline leg presses instead. Im wondering if this is okay instead of doing squats. Is it working the muscles the same as squats?

Thanks for any help here.

It would be better to do squats, but unless you are are going to compete at some level it probably won't make a practical difference. I wouldn't worry about it.

As food for thought, Stuart McRoberts (Brawn, Beyond Brawn, Hardgainer magazine) came out recently and said (shockingly as he is a MAJOR advocate of squats) that he believes some people aren't cut out for squatting and will get better results from leg pressing.

[EliteLifts]

I've seen many big guys who have neither squated or deadlifted. Just food for thought.

[DiamondDelts]

I've seen many big guys who have neither squated or deadlifted. Just food for thought.

Same here. Very good point.

[jotec]

i personally don't like squats but they are a great workout. It is easy to injure yourself performing them thats why i don't do them.

[SirSmokesAlot]

i personally don't like squats but they are a great workout. It is easy to injure yourself performing them thats why i don't do them.

Its easy to injure yourself doing any excercise if your form sucks...

Do front squats cause your shoulder pain? There are quite a few variations of the squat. I personally do not think leg press is a good replacement for squats because I think nothing replaces squats. Normally I wouldnt advocate the smith machine however you could try smith machine squats without using your hands, the bar isnt going to go anywhere and doesnt need to be stabilized it may take some getting used too, but probably better than never doing squats.

Also, these big guys youve seen who have never squatted or deadlifted do they have big legs and backs? If your going for the beach boy look than you never need to do a squat or a deadlift, but youll look like a retard to anyone who knows something about weightlifitng.

[EliteLifts]

Its easy to injure yourself doing any excercise if your form sucks...

Do front squats cause your shoulder pain? There are quite a few variations of the squat. I personally do not think leg press is a good replacement for squats because I think nothing replaces squats. Normally I wouldnt advocate the smith machine however you could try smith machine squats without using your hands, the bar isnt going to go anywhere and doesnt need to be stabilized it may take some getting used too, but probably better than never doing squats.

Also, these big guys youve seen who have never squatted or deadlifted do they have big legs and backs? If your going for the beach boy look than you never need to do a squat or a deadlift, but youll look like a retard to anyone who knows something about weightlifitng.

No, they just had big cocks.

Of course they had big legs. I wouldn't have made my post if they didn't as my point would otherwise be useless.

[MDogg]

I've seen many big guys who have neither squated or deadlifted. Just food for thought.

Ive seen big guys who don't even lift. The big guys that you see who don't squat or deadlift would be bigger guys if they did.

You should really try to do squats, IMO leg press doesn't compare. Squats are my favorite exercise by far. If you can't do them its not the end of the world, I suppose you could do some of the squat variations.

[LiftingIsLife]

Look. its simple. dont let anyone on this forum, or anywhere in the world for that matter convince you to do something that hurts. if it hurts, there's a reason. there is ALWAYS alternative exercises, or some combo thereof, that can make any specific muscle bigger. Follow your mind and do what works
without pain.

best,
lifer

[Revolver45]

You could try sumo squats, they work the inside of your legs pretty good, a pretty decent alternative to squats. I don't think there's anything that can completely replace squats but theyre totally not worth it if theyre going to hurt you so try to change it up a bit.

[KrazeKoz]

you must do squats to build legs up they are the primary mass builder followed by the leg press squats first

[dontmakemeflex]

McRobert states that it may be hard for tall long-legged, short torso people to squat due to their bodyshape, so the legpress may be more effective for them. He also said doing deadlifts will help hit the muscles that the squat hits but the legpress doesn't hit.

This is great news for me, as I've been trying to squat for a while now and I just can't do it well. Thankfully my gym has a leg press, and I can deadlift.

[HIT is best]

Well I have the issue of not being able to do squats. I have a bad right shoulder. It hurts badly to reach back enough to stabalize the bar for squats. I have been doing incline leg presses instead. Im wondering if this is okay instead of doing squats. Is it working the muscles the same as squats?

Thanks for any help here.

The fact you've said that it hurts badly to reach back enough to stabilise the bar for squats is indication enough that, for now, you shouldn't be doing them. In fact if your shoulder is hurting that bad it is probably best to forget about your training for a bit, and give yourself time to heal. Pushing through an injury will more than likely just make matters worse. Giving your training a miss for a few weeks (or even months) won't hurt your overall progress in the long term. Messing up your shoulder will. I speak from bitter experience that ignoring the signs of injury cause more harm than good - dont do it!

I suggest that you look for the reasons why your shoulder got hurt. If its to do with your training and not due to an accident, then prehaps the issue could be down to poor form and / or a lack of flexability.

With that said, the leg press can be a great tool for building your legs and getting your body into a more growth responsive state, similar to the squat. Does that mean it's just like a squat? No. But if you can't squat the comparison is irrelevant. The leg press will give you bigger legs however if you use it correctly and build up to using large weights. Thats what you should be concerned with. The Hip Belt squat is also an excellent alternative to the regular squat.

[EliteLifts]

I squat, infact it's my favorite exercise. But I am going to say this until I am blue in the face, you can get big legs without them. I've known many people who have.

I believe that people who think that you can't are the same people who probably think that if they miss just one lifting session for say an emergency, that their arms will fall off, their eyes will grow worms, and their fingernails will turn to sand.

Or something like that

[Uriel_da_man]

Same here. Very good point.

Yeah, so many people say that you won't get big unless you do the big compounds, and that is so not true. This guy at my gym never uses freeweights for his legs, the closest he ever comes to that is the smith (for smith squats) and he has like 30 inch quads.

[teewoods]

Look. its simple. dont let anyone on this forum, or anywhere in the world for that matter convince you to do something that hurts. if it hurts, there's a reason. there is ALWAYS alternative exercises, or some combo thereof, that can make any specific muscle bigger. Follow your mind and do what works
without pain.

best,
lifer

Great point! one should listen to their body... and not fall into the ego trap of doing squats. I dont see them any harder than exercisei dont do them either and i'm not easily influenced by views of its advocates. Listen to your body and not those who no nothing about your body.

[PowerSwede]

Look. its simple. dont let anyone on this forum, or anywhere in the world for that matter convince you to do something that hurts. if it hurts, there's a reason. there is ALWAYS alternative exercises, or some combo thereof, that can make any specific muscle bigger. Follow your mind and do what works
without pain.

best,
lifer

Excellent advice!

[PowerSwede]

Yeah, so many people say that you won't get big unless you do the big compounds, and that is so not true. This guy at my gym never uses freeweights for his legs, the closest he ever comes to that is the smith (for smith squats) and he has like 30 inch quads.

I'd say it's individual (excluding the juicers who will get big legs by power walking), for me, big compound exercises are the only exercises that really pack on any decent amount of mass. (except when i was on the juice, a long time ago, then i could do triceps kickbacks and my posterior delts would grow from it).

[Defiant1]

No, they just had big cocks.

Of course they had big legs. I wouldn't have made my post if they didn't as my point would otherwise be useless.

THAT's some funny ****.

[daninthemix]

Well if your shoulders hurt then they hurt...and unlike back pain we can't simply advise you to flick onto front squats

Leg press = better than nothing. But I've seen ppl leg pressing 500K and if I'd seen then in the street I wouldn't have necessarily been able to say that they even looked like they worked out.

Leg press is notorious for creating bigger egos than legs.

[UhhWhatever]

It sound like you just can't do back squats.

How about front squats, hack squats, zercher squats, dumbell squats, or any other variation that keeps your shoulder out of that particular position?

Or the leg press - doesn't matter much to me.

[Mpower.]

I have a question...
I love squats and do them once a week. My legs are relatively the smallest part of my body and I would like to give them more attention than the rest of my body for a few months. Would adding another squat session throughout the week be a good idea or is there a benefit found only with the legpress/extention that is not stimulated when doing squats alone?

Thanks

[tbomb]

Look. its simple. dont let anyone on this forum, or anywhere in the world for that matter convince you to do something that hurts. if it hurts, there's a reason. there is ALWAYS alternative exercises, or some combo thereof, that can make any specific muscle bigger. Follow your mind and do what works
without pain.

best,
lifer

excellent advice. repped

[Mpower.]

ttt

[Zensuji]

Well I have the issue of not being able to do squats. I have a bad right shoulder. It hurts badly to reach back enough to stabalize the bar for squats. I have been doing incline leg presses instead. Im wondering if this is okay instead of doing squats. Is it working the muscles the same as squats?

Thanks for any help here.

have you tried any squat variations?

[RedSoxfan1978]

Thanks for all the replies. I havent tried squat variations. I wasnt aware there were any to be honest. Im a newbie though.

I knew of the front squat only because arnold advocated it. Other than that I knew of no other squats to try out. I will try some variations and see what happens.