Alternatives to squats?

[Squats_Girl]

Squats are good and have done a lot to shape my legs and behind, however, I have a natural arch in my lower back and squats hurt my back. Any advice for alternatives that would just as affective for the glutes?

 

[bigdaddyo1617]

There hack squats and leg presses, when my knee are acting up i stop doing squats in all and do alot of leg presses.

 

[dorian123]

There hack squats and leg presses, when my knee are acting up i stop doing squats in all and do alot of leg presses.

stick with the leg presses-hack squats will mess with your kness

not sure why-think it has something to do with the angle

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leg press, leg extensions, curls and that about covers it...

 

[Millennial Monster]

Deadlifts will work the backs of the legs and give you a heck of a workout.

 

[IronJulius]

Squats are good and have done a lot to shape my legs and behind, however, I have a natural arch in my lower back and squats hurt my back. Any advice for alternatives that would just as affective for the glutes?

I need to see pics of the lower back arch and behind

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Oh and try everything mentioned above

 

[Millennial Monster]

Yeah you can't take free advice and not give picks it's against forum policy.....for girls.....that is....don't look it up, trust me. Oh and leg presses off the heels work the butt more. Going off the toes works the quads more.

 

[IronJulius]

you could do more lighter weight higher reps. have you ever used smith machine? my fiance does all kinds of leg exercises i dont know the names of half of them but sure you can youtube female leg exercises. here is a link to a girl with sexy body doing light weight

Women's Big Butt Building Workout in the GYM!! Part 1 - YouTube

 

[Zao]

Body weight squat, high reps. I build my legs with and the result is not bad !

 

[Buffalo]

leg press, change your foot placing. Also if you have a vertical leg press, even better. If you don't, use a Smith Machine with someone watching your feet don't slip off.

 

[Squats_Girl]

good idea, forgot about using body weight

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so you think the leg press will do Just as good?

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great link! thanks!

 

[akn]

I also have a really stiff back and back squats always hurts my back , I shifted to front squats it will hit quads more than glutes though but no back issues after that , give it a try

 

[THASHIZ]

Stiff legged deadlifts are great for hams and glutes....lunges too

 

[futuremro]

if your gym has a squat press, those are great

 

[gojumac]

I was having some back pain while squating a while ago. I switched to sumo style and did box squats. Back pain went away and I'm now able to go heavy (for me) completely back pain free!

 

[teedubgee]

I really only do squats from time to time just to make sure I could still hit certain numbers. Other than that, I've built some pretty decent wheels on various leg press machines. Personally, when I'm finished with squats, front squats, or smith machine squats, I feel like shit overall, nauseated, and want to barf. However, I usually can't walk after I murder my legs with pressing machines. Varying foot placement, range of motion, tempo, and rep ranges on leg presses are great alternatives to plain squats.

 

[Presser]

moving to the main forum

 

[EMW14]

I agree with all the advice above. My wife does all kinds of things on the Smith machine as well. Squats included, but with feet much farther forward than conventional squats. Makes it similar to a hack squat, I think, but no knee pain. Also one legged squats on Smith mach. Pretty much like lunges but not walking. Then there are walking lunges, which will put a serious hurting on my legs with a fraction of the weight I use squatting. I also tend to swith off squats for heavy leg presses. I can do a lot more leg presses than I can squats but I like the "whole body" and core strength benefits of squats, which is why I keep doing them.

 

[Masher59]

Smith machine or body weight and high reps. Also strap up some DBs and try squatting with them in your hands. It's how I do my lunges.