But What About The Wheels

[dutchpharma]

One of the most long standing bodybuilding debates is that of Squats being a necessity for those monster legs. As ive got older, I have come to appreciate simple compound movements, however the trade off is the natural strain put on the joint/s. For me, I have had bad knees for well over 10 yrs now and although I can squat, I always feel like the ends dont justify the means, in other words, for all the energy expelled and strain on the knees,my results have never been what I would consider over the top. Truth be told, I have found the leg press to be an all around much better tool for size of and shape of the complete upper leg.. (with far less strain on the knee)
Now I know there are some of you who are already waiting to pounce and I get it believe me, there are plenty of others who feel the same way about BB Bench Press versus DB Press but I get it, that message has been hammered into us since well forever.
My question is though, do any of you guys have some personal experiences with movements other than squats that packed on those slabs?

 

[Paulrockr]

A thread that I need to watch cause this has been a long pondering question I have my self


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[hwntime]

The problem is that the squat isn't being executed properly, thus causing the knee pain. I've had two knee surgeries and still squat ass to the grass till this day. It's imperative that proper squatting technique is employed to remove the undue stress on the knee. It's a misconception that squatting is bad for the knees. When properly squatting, your weight is shifted to the heels and your movement comes from a hip drive back, keeping the knees behind the toes and not causing any stress on the knees. People don't realize that a proper squat should activate the glutes and hams more so than the quads. If your posterior chain isn't aching and your quads are, most likely you're not properly squatting.

 

[hwntime]

Not to mention the overall benefits and musculararity/density through the entire body achieved by properly squatting that a leg press will not give you. I haven't worked my abs in over a decade yet I maintain a six pack by utilizing a bracing technique for my squats. The squat is so beneficial for overall development of the body. You can distinguish the physique of a "beach body" versus a power lifter/weightlifter by the density of their muscles. A lot of guys can get wide depending on the length of their clavicles, but they lack the depth (front to back) from big compound movements in the squat and deadlift. If you're not doing these two exercises, you're holding your progress back.

 

[hwntime]

I'm not a big guy 5'10" 195-198 but I do have a pretty dense frame from years of squats. I have shorter clavicles and small joints so I make the best of what I was given. I was a competitive powerlifter for 4 years at 74 kilos so I've made big strides in weight gain since retiring due to 2 knee surgeries and a shoulder surgery. I have a decent set of wheels from years of squatting and deadlifting that I do not believe I would've achieved with a leg press and hack squat.

 

[Kins]

The problem is that the squat isn't being executed properly, thus causing the knee pain. I've had two knee surgeries and still squat ass to the grass till this day. It's imperative that proper squatting technique is employed to remove the undue stress on the knee. It's a misconception that squatting is bad for the knees. When properly squatting, your weight is shifted to the heels and your movement comes from a hip drive back, keeping the knees behind the toes and not causing any stress on the knees. People don't realize that a proper squat should activate the glutes and hams more so than the quads. If your posterior chain isn't aching and your quads are, most likely you're not properly squatting.

Balance point is the mid foot and not the heels. You're right though about people "squatting" incorrectly. Squats, done correctly are actually good for your knees. I mean no offense to anyone but the majority of "bodybuilding bros" have no clue about training. Oh and the only reason to do a leg press if your too damn fat to actually squat.

http://startingstrength.com/article...il&utm_term=0_1b2b466284-891b7d0fda-177611193

 

[hwntime]

Balance point is the mid foot and not the heels. You're right though about people "squatting" incorrectly. Squats, done correctly are actually good for your knees. I mean no offense to anyone but the majority of "bodybuilding bros" have no clue about training. Oh and the only reason to do a leg press if your too damn fat to actually squat.

http://startingstrength.com/article...il&utm_term=0_1b2b466284-891b7d0fda-177611193

Yes, balance point is mid sole but drive is through heels. Always.

 

[Kins]

Yes, balance point is mid sole but drive is through heels. Always.

You don't shift your weight to your heels. You keep your weight over the mid-foot and have the bar lined up exactly with the mid foot also. Then you drive your hips straight up, don't lean forward or backward because otherwise you will be off balance and you change the mechanics of the lift.

 

[hwntime]

You don't shift your weight to your heels. You keep your weight over the mid-foot and have the bar lined up exactly with the mid foot also. Then you drive your hips straight up, don't lean forward or backward because otherwise you will be off balance and you change the mechanics of the lift.

Well I don't know about you, but I've trained under a world class power lifter who had a world record 802lbs squat (you can probably figure out who it was easily because we live in the same city). Shift was the wrong word but drive through heels is what we've all done forever. And yes, never lean forward or back.

if you want, you and have can both post vids of ourselves squatting to compare techniques. I'm two knee surgeries deep but still get ass to the grass with 405 for 6-8 reps depending on day. And this is high bar squatting. I can easily add another 10-15% if I go low bar.

 

[Kins]

Well I don't know about you, but I've trained under a world class power lifter who had a world record 802lbs squat (you can probably figure out who it was easily because we live in the same city). Shift was the wrong word but drive through heels is what we've all done forever. And yes, never lean forward or back.

if you want, you and have can both post vids of ourselves squatting to compare techniques. I'm two knee surgeries deep but still get ass to the grass with 405 for 6-8 reps depending on day. And this is high bar squatting. I can easily add another 10-15% if I go low bar.

I'm not questioning your strength. Obviously you're a pretty strong guy. We can both agree that squats are actually beneficial to the knees, and it's nice to see another guy post this.