I'm swapping squats for leg press

blah88

I'v been doing full squats for years now. Used to do programs like starting strength and stronglifts 5x5. My best squat was 135 for 5x5 when I weighed about 85kg. Anyway, I never enjoyed squatting. I only did it because everyone said to do it. It left me extremely fatigued for the rest of my workout, particularly my lower back. I tried swapping to front squats. I gave them an honest chance for about 5 weeks, but they still felt awkward.

Today I read this article and have decided to swap out squats for leg press. I feel on the leg press I will be able to add weight progressively without worrying about losing form. In my current gym I'm afraid to go too heavy on squats. If I dropped a 140ish kg bar off my shoulders onto the ground people would be disgusted. I'm not a powerlifter. I'm not a bodybuilder. I just want strong legs for sports, and partly for aesthetic reasons. Can anyone give me a good reason not to eliminate squats from my workout?

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/squat-versus-leg-press-for-big-legs.html

eroo

Hip, knee and ankle extension are vital for sports! Squats(overhead, front, back), deadlifts, snatches, cleans use triple extension which allows for greater power in accelerating and sprinting. This is very important for field and court sports i.e. developing power

By all means use the leg press for variation but I would not abandon squats forever. Switch around every 4-6 weeks to keep the body, and the mind, fresh!

blah88

I see your point but, it's not like I will lose the ability to extend my hips and knees and whatever if I stop squatting heavy. I do a warmup before workouts/ training which consists of squats and lunges and other things.

Mellor

blah88 wrote: »

Can anyone give me a good reason not to eliminate squats from my workout?

Em, Squats are better than leg presses in all areas.
Leg presses get results, squats get more.


From your own link posted;

[The Squat] has arguably been responsible for more gains in strength and size than almost anything else.

blah88

Mellor wrote: »

Em, Squats are better than leg presses in all areas.
Leg presses get results, squats get more.

They also seem to cause a lot more fatigue in my lower back than in anywhere else. This affects the rest of my training, mostly deadlifts. I train 3x a week, doing either squats or deadlifts in each session and I feel like my lower back is never properly recovered. I'm cutting fat at the moment by the way, so don't suggest eating more.

Mellor

If you are more tired after them, that's because you are working harder. I do squats and DLs on the same day and my legs are jelly leaving the gym.

If you have discomforted in your lower back, then maybe your form is wrong. Maybe get it looked at.

blah88

I'm not one of those people who gauges progress based on how tired I feel. I want to put more weight on the bar week after week and with squats I feel it's hard to do that whilst keeping good form. I also have long legs and a short torso which is apparently the worst build for squatting.

Mellor

blah88 wrote: »

I'm not one of those people who gauges progress based on how tired I feel. I want to put more weight on the bar week after week and with squats I feel it's hard to do that whilst keeping good form. I also have long legs and a short torso which is apparently the worst build for squatting.

Who suggested progress if gauged on tiredness? How is that even possible?

You said that you are more fatigued after squats, I was pointing out that its simply a more fatiguing excercise. This is a really simple point.
I'm more fatigued after bench press than chest flys, should I switch to the Pec Deck machine on chest day, obviously not.

If you can't increase the weight, good form or otherwise, you simply aren't strong enough to move up a weight. After the initial period, you won't be able to add weight to the bar every week. It's silly to expect to do so.

Edwardius

Just try it for a few weeks and see what happens. If you're happy with the results after ditching squats and your back feels better then happy out. (Looks like I'll be banned from texas for making that statement).

If you decide to go back squatting, try backing off a bit and working back up or changing the rep scheme. Also, have you tried using a belt? have you had someone look at your squat technique to make sure you're not doing a good morning or losing the arch at the bottom? Both of these can cause lower back voodoo.

Brian?

blah88 wrote: »

I'v been doing full squats for years now. Used to do programs like starting strength and stronglifts 5x5. My best squat was 135 for 5x5 when I weighed about 85kg. Anyway, I never enjoyed squatting. I only did it because everyone said to do it. It left me extremely fatigued for the rest of my workout, particularly my lower back. I tried swapping to front squats. I gave them an honest chance for about 5 weeks, but they still felt awkward.

The simple explanation could be that you have problem with your squat technique. If your lower back is tiring it could be because it's rounding out in the bottom of the squat. What is your hamstring and glute flexibility like? Do you do any hip mobility drills? What kind of warmup do you do? Do you regurlarly foam roll and stretch?

blah88 wrote: »

Today I read this article and have decided to swap out squats for leg press. I feel on the leg press I will be able to add weight progressively without worrying about losing form. In my current gym I'm afraid to go too heavy on squats. If I dropped a 140ish kg bar off my shoulders onto the ground people would be disgusted. I'm not a powerlifter. I'm not a bodybuilder. I just want strong legs for sports, and partly for aesthetic reasons. Can anyone give me a good reason not to eliminate squats from my workout?

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/squat-versus-leg-press-for-big-legs.html

There are plenty of reasons to keep squatting. If you are ditching squats because you have poor mobility then you're ignoring the problem rather than addressing it.

SanoVitae

blah88 wrote: »

Anyway, I never enjoyed squatting.

Only masochists enjoy squatting.

It's the results people get from squatting that they enjoy.

Hanley

Guys c'moooon... read what the dude is saying!!!

Blah88, squatting should help with your sport, not impair performance. So do something to fix that. Stop squatting and deadlifting every time you train. That's why you feel fatigued.

If yuo're still doing 5x5's or putting in maximal efforts each training day, recovery is going to be an issue. I was reading a poliquin article about it recently and he was saying to stay around 80-85% 2x5 for most sports in season because you've too much on your plate to be recovering from, especially since you're dieting. Keeping the intensity low may allow you to squat multiple times per week as well.

I didn't open the link, but I'm guessing it's one for "muscular" legs? I read it months ago if I remember correctly. More muscular =/= stronger, especially in a sporting context. And when most people train leg press they do it thru an incomplete range of motion which places more emphasis on your quads creating an imbalance and potential knee stability issues.

AND even if you do get thru a full ROM on leg presses, your lower back willl potentially round out and there's a risk of injury to it even tho you're not loaded.

What sort of reps and sets are you doing currently? How hard are you pushing your squat and deadlift each time you train?!

And Eroo, squats and deadlifts have triple extenstion? Did you mean that or was I just reading it wrong?!

deadlybuzzman

if you want your training to help in sports then maybe you should have a look at trying explosive squats with a lighter weight-the heaviest you can handle without slowing down a whole lot. that way your legs are getting the most effective strength stimulus but the reducded load should take the strain off your back.
Squats and oly lifting are the cornerstone of many a athletes strenght programme. squats are good for strenght and power which carries over to speed, leg press is really a hypertrophy tool, will probably help get you bigger but not much else.
you could be just in need of a deload- then when you come back try ramping up to 1 max set-maybe throw in some back work too

kevpants

Oooh an interesting thread! No time to really post much now. Will be back later. Will leave you with this for the moment.

You aren't swapping squats for leg presses, you're stopping squatting and taking up leg pressing. You've issues with the squat and that's cool. You've just zoned in on the wrong solution.

WalterMitty

Step ups with a barbell on your back. Try it for 5-10 reps per leg. Spread leg work over week so not overdoing it on any given day and struggling to perform rest week. Mix it up also regularly.

kevpants

blah88 wrote: »

I'v been doing full squats for years now. Used to do programs like starting strength and stronglifts 5x5. My best squat was 135 for 5x5 when I weighed about 85kg.

That's good lifting. You'd never have gotten as strong as you are today if you'd been leg pressing.

Anyway, I never enjoyed squatting. I only did it because everyone said to do it.

I don't enjoy brocolli, but everyone tells me I need to eat it. I really want to swap to chips... and have

It left me extremely fatigued for the rest of my workout, particularly my lower back. I tried swapping to front squats. I gave them an honest chance for about 5 weeks, but they still felt awkward.

I hate front squats too. The fatigue thing I can cope with because the other stuff I'll do that day was never going to be as intense and was going to help make the bits cramping after squatting stop cramping after squatting.

Today I read this article and have decided to swap out squats for leg press. I feel on the leg press I will be able to add weight progressively without worrying about losing form.

You feel it will be easier because you know leg pressing is easier. There's no reason to say you'll add weight easier, unless you just keep reducing ROM.

In my current gym I'm afraid to go too heavy on squats. If I dropped a 140ish kg bar off my shoulders onto the ground people would be disgusted.

In the last 3 years of squatting multiple times a week and in 2/3 of cases in programs that call for ME (Max Effort: The heaviest single you can manage) I have missed exactly 1 squat. And that was pre-comp after a disastrous run of training and I was trying to test my limits. I also had about 10 of Ireland's best powerlifters within 5 yards of me

I'm not a powerlifter. I'm not a bodybuilder. I just want strong legs for sports, and partly for aesthetic reasons. Can anyone give me a good reason not to eliminate squats from my workout?

Your strength will regress from where you are now if you switch to leg pressing only. I think that's a good reason.

I mean you still want to do this, it's not like you came here to tell everyone you were swapping training for pizza and xbox. Knowing you will get worse is probably a good enough reason???

I'm not one of those people who gauges progress based on how tired I feel. I want to put more weight on the bar week after week and with squats I feel it's hard to do that whilst keeping good form.

You like reading. Look up RPE in relation to strength training. Mike Tuscherer in relation to squatting in particular.

They also seem to cause a lot more fatigue in my lower back than in anywhere else. This affects the rest of my training, mostly deadlifts. I train 3x a week, doing either squats or deadlifts in each session and I feel like my lower back is never properly recovered. I'm cutting fat at the moment by the way, so don't suggest eating more.

The shocking conclusion I'd draw from this is that because you're training squats and/or deadlifts 3x a week your lower back is never properly recovered:).

Not being a smartass by the way!

chadmustang

Just do a ME type Squat and Deadlift workout once a week... maxing out 3x week will kill you will it not?
And x2 about the leg press emphasizing quads and creating imbalances that won't happen with squats.
Leg presses will give you big legs, whereas squats will give you big, strong legs

eroo

Hanley wrote: »

And Eroo, squats and deadlifts have triple extenstion? Did you mean that or was I just reading it wrong?!

The joys of post work fatigue!:D

I meant hip and knee extension with other oly lifts complementing this with ankle extension(clean, snatch, jerk). Either way they are all vital for sporting performance.

Think I need more sleep in future:(