Quads without squats?

What do you guys think? Before I got hurt I would squat at least once a month and my quads were a strong bodypart. It's been over 3 years and I've done some really intense quad training, but there is no doubt my quads are considerably smaller... It's getting to the point where I'm actually a little embarrassed of them. I train mainly in the 12-20 range since anything heavier and I pull something. I do it all. I even occassionally use the Hammer Strength squat machine even though it really messes up my lower back for a few days after due to my Spondolysthesis. I'm starting to wonder if it's the lack of squats or maybe a nerve thing, but my strength is pretty good. Any of you guys have quad growth without squats?

It's lack of squats in my book, there is no replacement for them to me. Even if you have to go super light then crank up the amplitude with super slow and deep reps.

I use leg presses a lot with variations in foot placement and timebunder tension

sent from a remote bunker while banging a Terminator Model T-X

I've seen a few guys say they never squat, due to medical reasons, and they have good thighs. One said he just does presses, lunges, and extensions, and his legs are huge. But he also has great genetics.

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Bro I bust my ass... I can't do lunges or anything one leg at a time due to my nerve damage in my neck and back. All they keep doing is getting smaller. You can actually see the muscle atrophy at different rates. I even do the Hammer Strength squats and I've done 5 plates a side for reps and man its just not cutting it. I have seen other guys with freakish quads that don't squat. I wonder if it's just a cumulative effect from the nerve damage. Adding in all the IGF certainly bought me alot of time, but I guess there is no winning against a degenerative condition. My quads have started to look lumpy and weird. Sucks cause my ass and quads used to look killer in a set of board shorts.

That sucks dude! You had some killer legs.

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Arnoldgate said:

I've seen a few guys say they never squat, due to medical reasons, and they have good thighs. One said he just does presses, lunges, and extensions, and his legs are huge. But he also has great genetics.
I am one of them, I also never squat cause I have problems with my knees.

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yeah I do not squat anymore either due to two bad knees, and so long as you put the time into your legs with squats early on in your years of training , then you can or at least i have been able to maintain my legs without squatting, loads of guys are this way, especially the bigger guys as we use to squat like morons lol, and it caught up with us

I have some nerve damage on my left side. My left quad has what I can only describe as large-ish ripples in it. My right quad is fine.

BEASTZ6 said:

I have some nerve damage on my left side. My left quad has what I can only describe as large-ish ripples in it. My right quad is fine.

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That's exactly what I'm talking about! The muscles look funny and just don't look balanced

Do front squats make a difference or does it still mess you up? I'm unfamiliar with your condition, could you explain it a little better.

Step Ups with heavy resistance will take quads to a next level. You can increase the height you are stepping and the weight. Also my quads were never bigger and more cut than when I ran the 400m in school. Just my 2 cents .

Not to mention hack squats and front squats as well

I'm one of those guys who swore for years that you can not grow legs without squats. Then I blew out two discs in my lower back and damaged two more in my neck. A few months later I broke my foot and tore a ligament off the bottom playing soccer. I was told no more squats without serious & permanent damage.

I switched to leg press, but could only do them if I had my heels up near the top of the plate. I was sure I was only training hams and glutes, but it's all I could do so I threw myself into it. The first thing I did was change my outlook on training legs. I decided I was going to go for high weight and high reps on leg press to get the most out of what I always considered a worthless exercise. I also started training legs far more.

Monthly Leg Training
Week 1........ 3x a week
Week 2........ 2x a week
Week 3........ 2x a week
Week 4........ 2x a week
Repeat

My workouts started with 4 plates on each side for 50 reps. Here's what I did;

Total 45lb Plates x total reps
* 8 plates x 50
* 10 plates x 50
* 12 plates x 40
* 14 plates x 40
* 16 plates x 30
* 18 plates x 30
* 20 plates x 20
* 22 plates x 20

Then I throw in leg extentions and leg curls.

Here's the part that kills me. I've seen more growth and better results doing this workout for one year than I did in 25 years of doing squats. It goes against everything I've ever known or read. Makes no sense, but it's working and I'm loving it.

Why do you think it is working better?

Dean Destructo said:

Why do you think it is working better?

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There's two ways for me to take your question.
1. Why as in what do I believe is causing me to respond better?
2. What makes me think I'm getting better results?

Let me answer them both just in case.

1. I believe a muscle needs to be trained in intensity and weight based on the size of the muscle. Larger muscles should receive both higher reps and higher weight than smaller muscles in order to work them as effectively.

2. In the last 6 months I've added another 2" to my legs. I haven't seen growth like that in ages.

If you are doing 10 plates a side for 50 reps as then later doing 22 plates a side for 20 reps you are on an entirely different level. That workout must take you 3 hours.

The Dude said:

If you are doing 10 plates a side for 50 reps as then later doing 22 plates a side for 20 reps you are on an entirely different level. That workout must take you 3 hours.

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It's so much more difficult to make this stuff clear when writing then it is when talking with someone. When you look at the chart I wrote, keep in mind that's talking about total plates. I start with 50 reps using 8 plates. That's only 4 plates a side. Doing 50 reps doesn't take any time at all, even when you go slow and controlled. I wish to hell I was doing 22 plates on each side. Although my butt hole is probably appreciative that I'm not. The best I can do right now is 12 plates on each side for 12 reps, although I can do 11 plates on each side for 20 reps. By the time I get there it feels like a house.

Total 45lb Plates x total reps
* 8 plates x 50
* 10 plates x 50
* 12 plates x 40
* 14 plates x 40
* 16 plates x 30
* 18 plates x 30
* 20 plates x 20
* 22 plates x 20

- - - Updated - - -

The Dude said:

If you are doing 10 plates a side for 50 reps as then later doing 22 plates a side for 20 reps you are on an entirely different level. That workout must take you 3 hours.

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It's so much more difficult to make this stuff clear when writing then it is when talking with someone. When you look at the chart I wrote, keep in mind that's talking about total plates. I start with 50 reps using 8 plates. That's only 4 plates a side. Doing 50 reps doesn't take any time at all, even when you go slow and controlled. I wish to hell I was doing 22 plates on each side. Although my butt hole is probably appreciative that I'm not. The best I can do right now is 12 plates on each side for 12 reps, although I can do 11 plates on each side for 20 reps. As you can see, that's only 8 sets for my workout, but by the time I get to the last set it feels like I'm lifting a house.

Total 45lb Plates x total reps
* 8 plates x 50
* 10 plates x 50
* 12 plates x 40
* 14 plates x 40
* 16 plates x 30
* 18 plates x 30
* 20 plates x 20
* 22 plates x 20

I haven't quite figured out the style of this board yet when it comes to editing. I tried to clean up my last paragraph so it would be easier to understand, but all it did was make a double post. Go figure.

I also can't figure out the search button. I would love to be able to click something that tells me any new comments that have been made since my last visit, or any comments made specifically to threads I commented on since my last visit. Am I missing something somewhere? Does this already exist?

T-bar said:

I haven't quite figured out the style of this board yet when it comes to editing. I tried to clean up my last paragraph so it would be easier to understand, but all it did was make a double post. Go figure.

I also can't figure out the search button. I would love to be able to click something that tells me any new comments that have been made since my last visit, or any comments made specifically to threads I commented on since my last visit. Am I missing something somewhere? Does this already exist?

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There is a subscribe feature for the new post notificatuon.... at least on tapatalk

I don't remember how I set mine up, but it automatically sends me notifications when a thread I've replied to gets another reply... maybe 30% of the time lol.. I don't get anything and then 5 days later I get 50 notifications.
I've noticed there is so much variation in leg press machines. When I was younger I could load up 14 plates a side and do quite a bit.. then I stayed with squats for a while... then I got hurt... then got back into it once I sort of healed.. on the Cyber machine before I had my first surgery I got up to 11 plates a side for 20. Now I use a Hammer Strength leg press, but either way I'm all messed up. I normally start my working sets with 5 or 6 plates a side total and do 30 reps then I'll go up.. if I can. I may have done 8 plates a side for 20 on this machine... but I definitely couldn't do more. It seems weak compared to what I have done, but I go to a VERY well known gym with alot of competitors and Pro's and I've never seen anyone else do 8 plates. Either way my legs have shrunk especially around the knee. I'm going to set up my inversion table again and see if that helps. I know it nerves. I've got another surgery in about 8 weeks so I'd like to get as much stimulus going before the lay off as possible
How many of your sets are at or super close to failure?