To some, the title of this article alone is blasphemous.\u00a0 The squat is the king of all exercises.\u00a0 It\u2019s what separates the men from the boys.\u00a0 If you want a hard time finding jeans at the store, squats are unsurpassed and superior to all.<\/p>\n

Truthfully\u2026..not necessarily.\u00a0 While I am not here to argue the efficacy of the squat, I am here to argue that you can build a great set of wheels without the use of a squat.\u00a0 I also feel it\u2019s necessary to mention that I am strictly speaking of the barbell squat here.<\/p>\n

Squats are great for many reasons.\u00a0 They do elicit some muscular hypertrophy, but more than that they tax the central nervous system.\u00a0 Squats actually have more of an anabolic effect on the body as a whole than they do on the legs, by helping to release growth hormone.<\/p>\n

Squats are also hard on the knee joints, especially to those with chronic knee pain or prior knee issues.\u00a0 Performing a squat with unequivocally flawless technique is also more of a skill; not everyone inherently possesses those skills.\u00a0 Squats are also very hard on the lower back and spine, as loading through the bar is transferred to the lumbar region of the back in a compressing manner.<\/p>\n

Say you cannot do squats (or don\u2019t want to do squats); how can you setup your training to build some decent mass in the legs?<\/p>\n

When it comes to muscular development and hypertrophy, squats are especially inferior when it comes to quadriceps development.\u00a0 Squats just do not put enough stress on the quads, as there are many better options to target this muscle group.<\/p>\n

Leg Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

The leg press is a great exercise to target the quads, especially because you can easily change angles and foot placement.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0By placing your feet lower on the platform, you put greater stress on the quads than any other area of the leg.\u00a0 Weight must be lowered to perform this movement safely, as the knees could be put into a precarious position the farther you stretch on the eccentric part of the movement.<\/p>\n

The leg press is also a great exercise because of the constant tension on the sled.\u00a0 At the bottom of the movement the quads should be in a completely stretched position, while at the top of the movement the quads should be completely flexed.<\/p>\n

Some plate loaded leg presses have two different pins to put weight on.\u00a0 This allows you to change where the greatest amount of load will be placed.\u00a0 Put the weight on the higher pin and it will be heaviest at the top of the movement; put the weight on the lower pin and the load will be greatest at the bottom.\u00a0 For the greatest amount of hypertrophy, work in a rep range that is moderate to high.\u00a0 Use a weight that is safe, but taxing; taking the quads to muscular failure.\u00a0 Come to a complete stretch at the bottom of the movement without your back side coming off the seat.<\/p>\n

Leg Extension<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to building quads and bringing out definition and detail, this exercise reigns supreme.\u00a0\u00a0Leg extensions have the distinct title of bring out the vastus medialus or \u201cteardrop.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0The teardrop is one of the most impressive muscles in the entire body, and helps stabilize the knee.<\/p>\n

Leg extensions get a bad rap as being hard on the knees, and this is true to a certain degree.\u00a0 Just as with any other exercise, flawless execution and proper form of the movement will keep the knee safe.\u00a0 Research has suggested that it is both a safe exercise and a dangerous exercise, so choose wisely.\u00a0 Personally, I have had two ACL reconstructions and I feel zero pain in my ligaments when performing this exercise.\u00a0 There are many other exercises that bother my knee more than a standard knee extension.\u00a0 The key is to not come to a complete 90 degree (or further) angle.\u00a0 By not coming completely down on the movement the tension is constantly placed on the quadriceps and takes the load off the ligaments.\u00a0 I do however think of the leg extension as an accessory exercise, and should either be used after compound exercises or to pre-fatigue the muscle.<\/p>\n

Stiff Leg Deadlift<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is my personal favorite when it comes to building hamstrings.\u00a0 Hamstring muscles are probably one of the most difficult to fully develop.\u00a0 For one, you cannot see them.\u00a0 Two, it\u2019s a difficult muscle for many people to flex because of its structure and placement on the back of the legs.\u00a0 Think of your hamstrings as the biceps of the legs.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to raise your arm up and flex your biceps in the mirror.\u00a0 It\u2019s more difficult to bring your leg to a 90 degree angle and flex your hamstrings.<\/p>\n

The stiff leg deadlift is a great exercise, because if performed correctly, it is impossible not to place the load on the hamstrings.\u00a0 As you come down on the eccentric part of the movement you should feel a very deep stretch.\u00a0 Use a relatively light weight and slow down the negative stretch; then explode back up engaging the glutes.\u00a0 This is the only exercise in existance where rounding the back slightly is acceptable.\u00a0 An important thing to remember when performing this exercise is to not use the lower back to lift the weight.<\/p>\n

Weighted Lunges<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my mind, this is the singular most difficult exercise in existence.\u00a0 Not the most difficult in application, but wait until the next two days when the delayed onset muscle soreness kicks in.\u00a0 While squats do truly work the entire leg muscles, so do lunges, but I believe they do so much more efficiently.\u00a0\u00a0Lunges work the muscle in both flexion and extension, so the stretch works the muscle equally as effective as the contraction.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Use a weight that is safe to use without putting too much load on the knee joint and patellar tendon region (front of the knee cap).\u00a0 When descending do not let the knee go beyond the toe; pause for a brief movement and gradually return back to the starting position.\u00a0 I like to bring the feet back to the starting position as opposed to performing constant reps in a manner that is similar to walking.\u00a0 This puts you in a much better position to safely perform the next rep.<\/p>\n

Hack Squat Machine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, I know the word squat is in the title of the exercise, but that is where the comparison to squats begins and ends when it comes to this exercise.\u00a0 For one, the load is not placed on the spine.\u00a0 The movement pattern is also fixed, meaning spinal stabilization is not required.\u00a0 It\u2019s much easier to keep the knees slightly bent at the top of the movement, keeping constant tension on the quads.<\/p>\n

The hack squat targets both the quads and hamstrings more balanced than a traditional back squat does.<\/em>\u00a0 On a back squat it seems that you either target one or the other more, but it\u2019s difficult to find that balance.\u00a0 Hack squats are also much safer to perform in a full range of motion, as there is much more room for error.<\/p>\n

Hip Adductor and Abduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

The same machines fitness girls are using to \u201ctone their butt\u201d are also great for building leg mass.\u00a0 Tom Platz is known as the \u201cQuadfather\u201d; building massive tree trunk legs over time with heavy squats with very high volume.\u00a0 Now look at his adductors, the muscles that make the two legs come together.\u00a0 They are huge, and have a lot to do with the overall mass of his legs.<\/p>\n

One of the main functions of the hip adductors is to externally rotate the hips and legs.\u00a0 They are responsible for flexibility and stabilize the hips, making other movements stronger and more efficient.\u00a0 For overall leg development adductor muscles are crucial.<\/p>\n

The abductors really are good for working the glutes, especially the outside region of the glute.\u00a0 While the hip abductor machine might not \u201ctone\u201d it does help to build thicker and denser glute muscles.<\/p>\n

Both adductor and abductor training should be done in a safe manner, as these are both vulnerable to injury with the groin and hips.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the areas I did not touch on is calf training, but I think it goes without saying proper calf training is important for overall leg development.\u00a0 Often considered \u201cgenetic\u201d muscles, it\u2019s still important to place some emphasis on these.\u00a0 Some great calf exercises would be standing calf raises, seated calf raises, and calf wall stretches.<\/p>\n

While yes, the squat is a great exercise especially for anyone new to training, legs can be built without the use of them.\u00a0 This article\u2019s intensions are not to diminish the efficacy of the squat, but rather to open up to the idea that legs can be built without the use of squats.<\/p>\n

As with any muscle group, progression will be key when building this large set of muscles.\u00a0 Mix up the rep tempo, ranges, and total volume.\u00a0 Pay attention to diet, rest, and proper supplementation and watch your quads explode out of your current wardrobe!<\/p>\n

-Daniel Henigsmith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To some, the title of this article alone is blasphemous.\u00a0 The squat is the king of all exercises.\u00a0 It\u2019s what separates the men from the boys.\u00a0 If you want a hard time finding jeans at the store, squats are unsurpassed and superior to all. Truthfully\u2026..not necessarily.\u00a0 While I am not here to argue the efficacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2339,3877,5,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4778"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4778"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4779,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4778\/revisions\/4779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}