Workout without spotter + something else about legs

[heinisuo]

I'm usually training alone. Of course sometimes I can ask some other trainer at the gym to be my spotter. But sometimes there aren't anyone else at the gym, so give some advice to some workouts. (I sometimes train at my school's gym, and there isn't always somebody...)
What comes to bench press (which I don't even like that much) I usually do that with dumpbells, so spotting isn't problem there. Or then I just try to do my chest and tricep-workout with other ways....
What about in squats or leg-press? How can I really push my leg-training without a spotter? I sometimes do those squats (which I really have to learn to do better and do them MORE) or leg-press first and try to "finish" my legs with leg-extensions, squatting (very) fast without any extra-weight or something like that, but I would like to do presses/squats to the finish!
Of course leg press stops at the low position, but anyway, it comes so low, that isn't great if it's falling and messing up my legs... Or then again, if I can't do anymore squats I can always try to fall back at the low-position or something...?

P.S.
One nice leg-workout without any extra weight is one-legged-squats. Lift your other leg and then go down and up with another. It might be a bit difficult depending your ankle joint. (Whether or not it's flexible enough.) You get some "extra difficulty" by extending that "raised" leg straight and keeping it parallel to floor all the time.

 

[The One]

My suggestion

Do dumbell lunges, hack squats, high rep squat at light to medium weight (30 reps 50 if you can make it).This will help with seeing that muscle seperation in the leg.
I do agree with finishing with leg extension. Oh yeah do some standing one leg curls as well must build those hamstrings.

 

[edgecrusher]

If you have one try using a powercage. If worse comes to worse and you get stuck w/ the bar on your shoulders, you can always just drop the weight off your shoulders. Or you can always do front squats (just let the bar go.) Or even give barbell hacks a shot.

 

[heinisuo]

There's no hack squat thingie at that Gym. High reps would be ok, except I need more muscles/strength and low reps "to the end" is the way to go!

 

[edgecrusher]

I didn't say hack machine, I said you could try barbell hacks. They are 2 very different movements, and the barbell version is very good for building quad mass.

 

[bigmag]

I'm not sure if someone has already suggested this becuase I don't feel like reading everything on here, but you could always do drop sets. Do your normal set like usuall and do it as many times as you can without feeling like you're going to drop it, when you do feel like that, take some of the weight off and give it another go. You could even do one more set dropping the weight again, but I wouldn't suggest it unless you're on your last set...in that case, I'd end with about 4 drop sets.

 

[heinisuo]

Drop sets are great!
I've used those sometimes for example in my shoulder workouts. But doing a drop sets in squats...? If I start to adjust the weights in the bar, the feeling is gone.

 

[bignate73]

strip sets are easy. load up the weight you want to finish with and just add 10s to it till you get to the top weight you want to start. ie. 135 on the bar. add 3 10's each side.....squat til it gets tough. rack run to the side, strip off 10....back in, squat. repeat til you get to 135 and then just burn it out. not something to do all the time, and i guarantee, the feeling wont go away for a while. hehehe.

 

[Iron Thrower]

If you have one try using a powercage. If worse comes to worse and you get stuck w/ the bar on your shoulders, you can always just drop the weight off your shoulders. Or you can always do front squats (just let the bar go.) Or even give barbell hacks a shot.

I agree, if you set up the safety bars properly, then if worse comes to worse and you need to bail, then just unload the bar onto the safety bar. That's the reason that thing was invented in the first place.

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

If you are training in a place with a solid floor, garage, basment, etc. you can dump squats off of your back - very easy to do. OR, you can put some sawhorses up and trim them to your required squat depth. Worked for me for years.