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just squats for legs

  • 21-02-2012 3:31am
    #1
    irish son
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,195 ✭✭✭


    just a simple straight question, how would doing just barbell squats at heavy weight only for legs once a week be for building my leg strength and what muscles in the legs would be most missing out?


Comments

  • #2
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 22,057 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    irish son wrote: »
    just a simple straight question, how would doing just barbell squats at heavy weight only for legs once a week be for building my leg strength and what muscles in the legs would be most missing out?

    Why woul you do only squats?

    they/them/theirs


    And so on, and so on …. - Slavoj Žižek




  • #3
    drdeadlift
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,189 ✭✭✭drdeadlift


    To keep it simple and as straight forward as possible,i call it meeting laziness half way..

    Im sure its worth a shot


  • #4
    BraziliaNZ
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 5,671 ✭✭✭BraziliaNZ


    that's all I do, and I have killer legs :)


  • #5
    Red_Wake
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭Red_Wake


    No, you'll naturally build up imbalances in your body, as the squat does not hit all muscles in the legs equally.

    This is the basic principle behind doing assistance work - making up for how every exercise neglects(relatively) some muscles.


  • #6
    aquaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 172 ✭✭aquaman


    Good question, I often wondered this myself.
    I am in no way qualified to give you advice on this but what I did for quite some time was only squats and stiff legged deadlifts for the lower body. Calves probably suffered because of it but my quads, hamstrings and glutes got stronger....


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  • #7
    irish son
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,195 ✭✭✭irish son


    briankeating wrote: »
    Why woul you do only squats?

    Well see iv had to cut back my sessions to 2-3 days a week from 4 so i just stick in the squats before i start another muscle group once or twice a week. Also i usually have football training the day after a gym session and i find if i do a full workout for legs they are very sore for at least a day and it makes training very hard but if i just do squats there not to bad. Think i may change up my routine a bit so from whats been said here, cut back a bit on upper body, il look on line and see what i find.


  • #8
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 22,057 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    irish son wrote: »
    briankeating wrote: »
    Why woul you do only squats?

    Well see iv had to cut back my sessions to 2-3 days a week from 4 so i just stick in the squats before i start another muscle group once or twice a week. Also i usually have football training the day after a gym session and i find if i do a full workout for legs they are very sore for at least a day and it makes training very hard but if i just do squats there not to bad. Think i may change up my routine a bit so from whats been said here, cut back a bit on upper body, il look on line and see what i find.

    Were you doing a body part split routine? Switch for 3 full body workouts a week, squat one day, deadlift another. Repeat.

    they/them/theirs


    And so on, and so on …. - Slavoj Žižek




  • #9
    kevpants
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,863 ✭✭✭kevpants


    Red_Wake wrote: »
    No, you'll naturally build up imbalances in your body, as the squat does not hit all muscles in the legs equally.

    Yes your awesomeness would overwhelm and completely imbalance your averageness. At a ratio of about 1000:1.


  • #10
    Red_Wake
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭Red_Wake


    kevpants wrote: »
    Yes your awesomeness would overwhelm and completely imbalance your averageness. At a ratio of about 1000:1.

    What part of my post do you disagree with?


  • #11
    Hanley
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 21,981 ✭✭✭✭Hanley


    Red_Wake wrote: »
    No, you'll naturally build up imbalances in your body, as the squat does not hit all muscles in the legs equally.

    This is the basic principle behind doing assistance work - making up for how every exercise neglects(relatively) some muscles.

    Aside from the calves, what muscles do a full range of motion squat neglect? And what exercises would you use to hit these muscles?


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  • #12
    The Davestator
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,542 ✭✭✭The Davestator


    Hanley wrote: »
    Aside from the calves, what muscles do a full range of motion squat neglect? And what exercises would you use to hit these muscles?

    A good tempo squat will hit the hamstrings but as we all know, eccentric training is neglected by most people and they'll just use gravity to lower themselves missing out on good hamstring work. Nothing some dead lifts, leg curls etc wouldn't sort out


  • #13
    irish son
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,195 ✭✭✭irish son


    briankeating wrote: »
    Were you doing a body part split routine? Switch for 3 full body workouts a week, squat one day, deadlift another. Repeat.

    Yeah was doin a 4 day split, chest and triceps, legs, shoulders, back and biceps with abs thrown in here or there, was training for hypertrophy. Yeah i think ill change to 3 full body workouts as i cant make the 4 a week anymore. I actually also deadlift on back day but i was counting that more as a back exercise than a leg one so didnt mention it.


  • #14
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 22,057 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    irish son wrote: »
    Yeah was doin a 4 day split, chest and triceps, legs, shoulders, back and biceps with abs thrown in here or there, was training for hypertrophy. Yeah i think ill change to 3 full body workouts as i cant make the 4 a week anymore. I actually also deadlift on back day but i was counting that more as a back exercise than a leg one so didnt mention it.

    There are plenty of of beginners programs that rely almost exclusively on the squat. Starting Strength, Stronglifts, Bill Starrs beginners 5x5 all include squatting 3 times a week with a small amount of deadlifting. Do any of them and you'll get a serious sets of legs, so no there's nothing wrong with only doing squats.

    I was just trying to get to the reason you wanted to only squat.


    Example:

    http://muscleandbrawn.com/bill-starrs-beginner-5x5-workout/

    Progressing to:

    http://stronglifts.com/madcow-5x5-training-programs/

    they/them/theirs


    And so on, and so on …. - Slavoj Žižek




  • #15
    ObviouslyJesus
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 94 ✭✭ObviouslyJesus


    i can never figure out the reason behind peoples refusals to do legs. i was speaking to a guy in the gym yesterday, was making small talk,says he does arms every day, i ask him what does he do for his legs day,looked at me as if i had two heads and replied ''sure who's gonna see my legs '' :eek:

    i do legs twice a week. squats one day, lunges the next. then i do supersets of presses and extensions and the other day a superset of calf raises, extensions and curls

    but if guys are happy to walk around the place with a big upper body and what resembles two pool cues for legs, then more power to them


  • #16
    HankScorpio1985
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 265 ✭✭HankScorpio1985


    Following on from this....is it ok to just do deadlifts for legs? I go to the gym twice a week and split it upper and lower. On the lower body day I start with deadlifts 5x5 increasing the weight and just being able to finish the last 5. I then do pistol squats (3x8 each leg) trying to work on form. Then I finish with bodyweight squats and lunges on a bosu ball and hamstring curls on a gym ball. All done one after the other, then a minute break and repeat twice.

    Cheers


  • #17
    Mack_1111
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 162 ✭✭Mack_1111


    Red_Wake wrote: »
    No, you'll naturally build up imbalances in your body, as the squat does not hit all muscles in the legs equally.

    This is the basic principle behind doing assistance work - making up for how every exercise neglects(relatively) some muscles.

    A squat will work all the muscles in your lower limb and will do so in the proportions that nature intended! You'll probably find that your Gluts do more work that your hammers or quads and that's what makes them the strongest muscles in the body. Will standing from a squatted position imbalance your legs or since that is such an essential movement for humans will they be perfectly balanced. Isolated muscles in exercises may build up imbalances in your legs.


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