Legs without free squats?

[vinylgroover]

I blew my back out for the umpteenth time doing squats a couple of days ago and i am now seriously contemplating dropping them from my workout entirely. I'm totally frustrated with having to put up with the injuries.

Anyone here have effective results without squatting or a suggest a squat free routine that produces results.

 

[rnch]

i sympathise. vinyl, free squats are hard on my back.

have you tried squats on a smith machine? it's the only way i can do squats.

 

[spatts]

Barring prior injury, have you considered building a stronger back to support your squat?

What's your form like rnch? Does the bar move in a straight line when you free squat?

 

[rnch]

Barring prior injury, have you considered building a stronger back to support your squat?

What's your form like rnch? Does the bar move in a straight line when you free squat?

my form is ok, until i stumble and/or loose balance; that's when i get hurt.........i'm just unnaturally clumsy! a smith machine helps me steady up and avoid my worst tendacies to hurt myself.

 

[bignate73]

youll still yield results by training your legs without squats. its just squats are very effective. thats not to say you wont get any growth from leg presses, quite the contrary, you will get alot of growth from leg presses. an idea (for a while) might be to really drop the weight on squats for a while so your back can get better and stronger. start incorporating some light lower back work and progress up to where you feel comfortable. work a bit on some ab and lower back work with rotation (slight rotation) and maybe some unilateral leg work (lunges, single leg squats, etc) just so you are stable throughout your trunk under varying conditions.

possible combination:

leg presses (heavier)
reverse, stationary or walking lunges (weighted if you feel up to it)
hyperextensions (not weighted for now)
leg extensions (finish up the quads)
seated or lying leg curls

etc...

then as your back gets back into the groove, throw some light back or front squats, maybe some dbell romanian deadlifts for hammies etc.

hope that helps.

 

[vinylgroover]

Barring prior injury, have you considered building a stronger back to support your squat?

What's your form like rnch? Does the bar move in a straight line when you free squat?

I have an imbalance in my lower left lumbar Spatts, a recurring problem from when i used to play rugby. I have always deadlifted which has strenghtened my lower back and funnily enough, i never have problems through deadlifting, only squatting.

I'm not a fan of the smith machine rnch

 

[spatts]

I thought you had mentioned something about that , VG. We were just talking about that in another thread, I think.

Clumsy...that's funny. That's about the ONLY reason good enough to warrant the Smith Machine.

 

[vinylgroover]

youll still yield results by training your legs without squats. its just squats are very effective. thats not to say you wont get any growth from leg presses, quite the contrary, you will get alot of growth from leg presses. an idea (for a while) might be to really drop the weight on squats for a while so your back can get better and stronger. start incorporating some light lower back work and progress up to where you feel comfortable. work a bit on some ab and lower back work with rotation (slight rotation) and maybe some unilateral leg work (lunges, single leg squats, etc) just so you are stable throughout your trunk under varying conditions.

possible combination:

leg presses (heavier)
reverse, stationary or walking lunges (weighted if you feel up to it)
hyperextensions (not weighted for now)
leg extensions (finish up the quads)
seated or lying leg curls

etc...

then as your back gets back into the groove, throw some light back or front squats, maybe some dbell romanian deadlifts for hammies etc.

hope that helps.

Thanks nate;

What about doing them last in my workout?. That way, i won't be forced to use as much weight or is the risk of injury even greater because my back will be at it's most fatigued at the end of the workout. Do you guys think squats are really that effective if you're not hitting them hard and heavy?

My legs have always been a problem area so i have always hit them with squats as i believe they are without question the best mass builder......but the risk is starting to outweight the return.

 

[louden_swain]

Well, squats are indeed the best muscle builder. Are you 100 percent sure that you can no longer perfrom squats? Maybe your form is lacking and what has caused injury. If you are going to drop the exercise, here is a good routine that you can follow:

Leg Presses - 7 x 15,12,12,10,10,8,8
Leg Extensions - 4 x 15,12,10,8
Lying Leg Curls - 6 x 15,12,10,8,8

This should really blast your quads and hamstrings. It is better to train smart instead of permanently damaging your body. I wish you luck towards recovery and training.

 

[Lord_Suston]

What about doing them last in my workout?. That way, i won't be forced to use as much weight or is the risk of injury even greater because my back will be at it's most fatigued at the end of the workout. Do you guys think squats are really that effective if you're not hitting them hard and heavy?

My best suggestion is to drop the wieght dramatically and start doing higher rep breathing squats, aroun 15-20 reps the weight you will use should be no problem for your back but really work the legs. Then after that I suggest going to hack squats and doing therm with lower reps since your back is supported, burn out with leg curls and extensions