Am I missing out if I dont squat ?

[saved1994]

@jayaraj If you purely only care about bodybuilding you don’t need to squat. If you care about any other aspect of fitness, squats are crucial. They take a lot of practice. Imo worth putting the time in

 

[mac64]

@jayaraj I'm assuming you mean traditional barbell squat whether it front or back squat and I would say no to those because there are other options that are just as good, if not better for hypertrophy. I do hack squats, sissy squats and sometimes just leg press which is similar. It's all not the same as a traditional bb squat but still damn good for hypertrophy.

 

[heartfire]

@jayaraj Squats are not at all necessary, especially with a good alternative. A good leg press works, but even better would be a hack, pendulum, or smith machine squat

 

[taxevader]

@jayaraj Depends really, if your maxing out and not making any strength progress then yeah stop for a bit, also stop if your bored.

The gyms all personal preference and the main goals to have fun!

 

[nanikeiki]

@jayaraj Hack squat, weighted llunges, leg extention. Belt squats are great if you have access. I always finish my quad day with 4 sets of 15 sissy squats - it really stretches quads at the knee and you finish with a good pump.

And the leg press sucks.

 

[crimsonking1]

@jayaraj Exercises are only good if they hit the targeted muscles very well and if you enjoy them - emphasis on if you enjoy them. Take the “less optimal” variant that you enjoy over the “optimal” movement if it means you’ll be consistent with it and push harder with it. In the case of squats, I don’t find it to be the best option

 

[dawn16]

@jayaraj For overall leg development squats aren't needed, but in everyday life they are. Squatting is a fundamental movement that you should be able to do in your daily life. Especially if you have children. You don't want to be the parent that can't squat down to pick up their child etc

 

[robd0123]

@jayaraj Probably not, squat is not the only leg builder. Personally, i only do them because of the dopamine hit when im hitting new PR after squatting and an excuse to blast music too.

 

[micky]

@jayaraj Tom Platz is crying. Do you want Tom Platz to cry?

 

[emilymcwey]

@jayaraj I would say and agree with most comments here that squats translate much better to day to day life in terms of athleticism, strength, etc.

But also if it's not for you then at the very least you're doing some hip hinge movement. Definitely try hack squats though!

 

[jcon1150]

@jayaraj My leg day looks like this :
1. Warm for 10 minutes trap bar deadlift ( 10 reps , 6 reps, 4 reps, 2 reps, 1 rep. Then I trap bar deadlift max 5-7 reps for 3 sets in 10 minutes . Then I do 3 sets front squats in 10 minutes. Then I do lunges 3 sets in 10 minutes . Then I do barbell step ups . And between each set you should get like 1.5 - 2.5 minutes rest . Then for my calves I run in the mountains .

I used to deadlift 315 when I was younger and I hurt my back so I can’t conventional deadlift and squatting is dangerous for the lower back so I replaced the deadlift and squat with the trap bar deadlift

 

[bulldogbrian]

@jayaraj I have terrible leverages for squats. I do leg press and hack squats instead, and compensate with a little more core work in other places.

 

[kalking1]

@jayaraj you can build great legs without doing squats if thats your prerogative

 

[nickyhmurray]

@jayaraj You can do whatever you want. The bottom line is that many exercises work so choose the ones you like and work for you.

I do a variety of quad exercises like barbell squats, single leg dumbbell squats and leg presses. I really dread doing barbell squats sometimes but I do them anyway because doing things that suck are good for me mentally. But that is just me. And I also love the idea that it trains my body as a system to get stronger. I also do all kinds of isolation work but the main compound lifts are the basics to me.

 

[marsoc81]

@jayaraj No you don't need Squats if your main goal is to build bigger legs.

Sure they are an amazing exercise, they are very athletic and bring a lot of benefits with them but what counts the most at the end of the day is that you are able to consistantly train with good intensity and progress over time. You won't do that, if squats make you dread leg days.

Also the whole "because they are so awfully hard, you have to do them" why? if you want to proof something to yourself sure, but other than that, why?
maybe come back to squatting at a later point in time, when your legs are bigger, when you feel stronger and want a new challenge, maybe suddenly you'll like them...

...but until then, push hard on your RDLs, Hacksquats and Legpresses

DB-Squats is another great tip: you don't need much weight, still have to do some balancing and you can use them really well as a finisher, whithout worrying about a barbell on your neck..

 

[neverbeenalone]

@jayaraj If anything, the increased testosterone from squats is so low that is has no effect at all.

I recently switched to leg press too, because of lower back problems and sometimes I get the feeling of missing out, too. But in contrast to you, I enjoyed them. Maybe work on form and video yourself?

I have seen some videos on this and people's thoughts on this are pretty similar: you can build decent legs without squats. Sean Nal and GVS have videos on this topic, might want to check them out.

Lastly I think from an athletic and general fitness standpoint squats are sure better. But most do other stuff anyway so this is already covered by other exercises.

 

[namibia]

@jayaraj Due to my previous career and some surgeries I don’t like squatting either. It causes a lot of neural pain for me.

You can get a great stimulus from hack squats, leg press, belt squats, most of the isolation machines, and unilateral movements. You can grow without squatting, just have to be creative. Good thing is a lot of people have already done it for us!

 

[reemal]

@jayaraj IMO yes, you're missing out if you don't squat. You don't have to do the squat in every training bloc, but in general it's good to have some variant of the squat (it can be front squat, high bar, low bar, etc.) in your training for most of the year. It provides a unique challenge to the major musculature of the lower body that leg presses just can't replicate.

I'll also add here that ROM is an important factor - on many exercises, such as leg presses and Bulgarian split squats, you're limited in the ROM you use: either your legs touch your body before you achieve maximum knee flexion (leg press), or your other knee touches the ground before you achieve maximum knee flexion (BSS, lunges), or the machine runs into limitations (frequent problem with hack squats). Of course, there are ways around this, e.g. using blocks under your feet when doing hack squats, but the simplest way to exercise your quads through a full ROM is by doing a high bar ATG squat.

 

[salpizo2011]

@jayaraj If you just want to grow your quads, and that's it. Yeah you don't need to do squats. However you could shift to low weight squats for reps/technique and try to make it very quad dominant with mindful practice.

 

[dawn6580]

@jayaraj Hi I'm a older lifter here, been lifting since 1989 and still a beginner in terms of size and strength (not particularly strong) so take that into consideration. However, I've had both great and terrible experiences with the BB Back Sqt.

TLDR, DO REPEATABLE, PROGRESSIVE SESSIONS. TRAIN BELOW RM's. ADD A LITTLE WT, REPEAT. YMMV.

TLDR, DON'T DO UNREPEATABLE, NON-PROGRESSIVE SESSIONS. RM's AREN'T REPEATABLE IF THEY'RE RM's. YMMV.

My first experience with the BBB Sqt. was terrible. I read that one should "take a 10 RM wt. and do 20 rest-pause breathing reps" to really grow bigger. I injured my back and that put an end to Squatting for a while. (TLDR, DON'T DO UNREPEATABLE, NON-PROGRESSIVE SESSIONS).

Later, I realized that "do 20 reps with a 10 RM" is just stupid. All I got was back pain for months.

Great experience, in 2000 (?) I was doing a lot of general exercise (martial arts 10-15 Hrs/week, and working in a weight room putting weights away). I tried to build slowly into a 5x5 workout starting with free Sqt.s/once a week. Adding 5-10 Lb.s when I could. I went from 3x5 free squats to 4x5 with 135 lb.s and the weight FELT the same all the time. My lower body really grew Like NEVER BEFORE. I did no other exercise while doing this (I quit MA, and did no formal lifting, still worked in Gym putting weights away). I wanted to return to MA and ended the cycle. (Take away for me, don't BBB Sqt. and do lots of other stuff and plan on growing. TLDR, DO REPEATABLE, PROGRESSIVE SESSIONS).

Later, I've tried to return the BBB Sqt. but had too many back injuries. However several months ago (2023) I did a session with testing my 5 RM on Goblet Sqt.s and had growth everywhere (arms, legs, shoulders, back), temporarily. Session (5 days later) and everything hurt, every joint, and I shrank mildly. (TLDR, DON'T DO UNREPEATABLE, NON-PROGRESSIVE SESSIONS).

Now I'm stuck doing KOT Lower body work until my knees heal. (ABOUT 1-2 YEARS FROM EXPERIENCE).