When I started out lifting, I bought into the idea that the key to building big legs was simply to develop a strong squat. I started out with toothpick legs and an empty barbell and built up to around a 350 x 5 squat over the course of about 2-3 years. Whilst my legs certainly grew a lot, I still felt like my quads were pretty underdeveloped relative to my glutes and hamstrings, despite the fact that I always did high-bar squats.
It was only when I made the standard 45 degree leg press my primary quad movement that my quads actually starting blowing up. If I did leg press with strict form, used full ROM by taking the sledge all the way down, and pushed my sets to failure, I could really f*ck up my quads in a way that was hard to do with squats, as other muscles/cardio would always be the limiting factor.
I've noticed that quite a lot of guys who are primarily interested in bodybuilding have moved away from the "just squat" mantra in recent years, and many seem to be substituting barbell back squats for other movements, like hack squats or leg press. The thinking being that these movements allow you to stabilize yourself in a safe position and just focus purely on targeting the quads.
Does anyone else agree with this thought process? Or do you think that squats will always be king as far as building big legs go? I lift with my university powerlifting club from time to time, and whilst a lot of the members there have somewhat underdeveloped upper bodies, there's no denying they've all got amazing quads. And all they ever seem to do is squat... so I may well be wrong. But perhaps the results you get from squatting are in part determined by your body structure/height (e.g. the taller you are, the less your quads are activated during a squat)?
Thoughts?
It was only when I made the standard 45 degree leg press my primary quad movement that my quads actually starting blowing up. If I did leg press with strict form, used full ROM by taking the sledge all the way down, and pushed my sets to failure, I could really f*ck up my quads in a way that was hard to do with squats, as other muscles/cardio would always be the limiting factor.
I've noticed that quite a lot of guys who are primarily interested in bodybuilding have moved away from the "just squat" mantra in recent years, and many seem to be substituting barbell back squats for other movements, like hack squats or leg press. The thinking being that these movements allow you to stabilize yourself in a safe position and just focus purely on targeting the quads.
Does anyone else agree with this thought process? Or do you think that squats will always be king as far as building big legs go? I lift with my university powerlifting club from time to time, and whilst a lot of the members there have somewhat underdeveloped upper bodies, there's no denying they've all got amazing quads. And all they ever seem to do is squat... so I may well be wrong. But perhaps the results you get from squatting are in part determined by your body structure/height (e.g. the taller you are, the less your quads are activated during a squat)?
Thoughts?