Does anyone else think that the leg press is a superior quad builder compared to conventional barbell squats?

[erenoth02]

@qpmomma13 I would really like someone else’s opinion on if this is equivalent to a leg press at all, but I sub a leg press for standing on a slant board and holding weights while squating that way. For me, it really hits the quads and takes a lot of other muscles out of it. Instead of having your torso angled as in a leg press, your heels are elevated by the slant board, kind of mimicking the angle of a leg press, hence why I sub it out since I also train in a garage gym with limited equipment.
Split squats are good, but I have shit balance, so I have to hold onto something and I’m not their biggest fan. And people will recommend front squats, but that doesn’t make sense to do right after squats if your already not feeling squats in your quads, you want a bit more isolation work.
Lastly, I would highly recommend either buying or making a pulley system that attaches to your rack and adding a low pulley that ties to the bottom leg of your rack and doing cable sissy squats with the slant board. I got the idea from Doug Brignole and I’ve never felt by quads quite like that before. It sounds kind of weird, but you have to find a video to see them in action.

 

[trumpeter2]

@jinxy Yes absolutely, and it's sad how loud the people are who read the 5x5 book. At the start it states something like barbell is best because...crickets... ehm they are best.

Also we have some studies showing how the leg press is better since years but the barbell dogma is too loud online.

 

[marisela]

@trumpeter2 Squats are great because it develops strength in quads, hammies, glutes, and core. It's absolutely beneficial for sports training, especially for younger people that just want to get bigger, stronger, and more athletic.

It just doesn't target certain muscles as well as a lot of other things.

 

[trumpeter2]

@marisela Agreed except for the hammies part

 

[marisela]

@trumpeter2 Yeah, honestly, not sure why I included those. Was between sets, and apparently not thinking straight haha.

 

[ronwarn]

@trumpeter2 Can confirm..been doing 5x5 for 8 years, quads are still visible only to the owner

 

[medifast]

@jinxy Depends on how you squat. You can easily alter your squat to target way more quads and it becomes a quad demolisher.

 

[karacolleen]

@jinxy Leg Press Squad where you at?

 

[mommy2two86]

@jinxy For general lower body and leg development, ideally you should have a free weight squat, a good squat machine that targets the quads more (hack squat, narrow stance smith squat), and a leg press. If you are comparing squats to leg presses, it depends on which exercise allows you to achieve better knee flexion (quad stretch under load) in the hole

 

[jimv]

@jinxy Just anecdotally, I just recently started working out again this last year after a layoff and I absolutely noticed after doing barbell squats I'd have real bad DOMS in my glutes and hamstrings but not too much in my quads.

I always do leg extensions to supplement my quads. I wish I had access to a good leg press machine, but the one at my gym sucks.

 

[trumpeter2]

@jimv Do you have a landmine press corner? You could perform belted squats.

 

[jimv]

@trumpeter2 I do. Does that focus more on quads? I'll have to buy a belt, but my half rack I bought for my garage does have a landmine attachment on it.

Thanks for the rec!

 

[brad2552]

@trumpeter2 how would a person do this? wouldn't the weight plates severely limit range of motion?

 

[trumpeter2]

@brad2552

 

[mpv2006]

@jinxy While both are staples in my regime I find front squats to give me an awesome quad pump that I just can't get with back squats.

 

[theadmiral]

@jinxy Surely the difference is that the leg press is a quad isolation whereas the back squat uses the whole body?

It makes sense that an isolation exercise would develop the muscle more, but depending on goals it may not be a replacement as a big leg press won't necessarily translate to a big squat in the same way that a big squat should translate to a big leg press

 

[katreniad]

@jinxy I stopped heavy squats due to being too stressed about my form and injuries... I am too old to get fucked by some spinal or joint injury. I do heavier one leg presses and finish leg day with goblet squats...maybe 30-40 kg dumbell and go deep. I still get squat mobility and the movement but I leave heavy part of it to the leg press.

My back never felt better and I got definitely bigger legs now. Once you get over certain weight treshold squats really become a disaster waiting to happen. Again when I was in my 20s I could not care less but nearing 50s you gotta think about longevituy and joint health rather than beating imaginary contest for biggest squat.

 

[ronwarn]

@katreniad That sounds like a good idea..lighter on squats to retain mobility, add leg press for heavy weight

 

[katreniad]

@ronwarn I do it for most exercises... like heavy seated low chest press machine and finish it off with cables or dumbbell press or maybe weighted dips. I know bench is king but really as I mentioned, I'm not in this to beat my PR or be the biggest guy in the gym. Want to be fit and lean and have the mobility of the movements.

 

[how2group]

@jinxy If you can get access to a pendulum squat machine, they are . They also allow you to go deep