# Anyone Dropped Squats From Their Routine ?



## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

Thinking of dropping squats and substituting them for leg press and hack squat machines,

just wondering if anyone else has done this and how did effected your training ?


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## RexEverthing (Apr 4, 2014)

Didn't @banzi say somewhere that squats aren't the best as you can't fully tax the legs due to stress on the back?

Or am I making that up?!


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## gearchange (Mar 19, 2010)

I don't squat due to a back issue and can say that you don't need them to keep good legs.I will say they are pretty much the best way to get big legs but not the only way. I do hacks and press with a few sissy squats.


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## Heavyassweights (Jan 18, 2014)

works the legs anyway you want

progressive overload my man


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## Big ape (May 5, 2011)

you don't NEED squats, there has been many people who haven't done squats due to back issues etc and still have fantastic legs.... if you enjoy them then do them, if you don't then dont lol simple


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## NorthernSoul (Nov 7, 2011)

Squats?


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

Big ape said:


> you don't NEED squats, there has been many people who haven't done squats due to back issues etc and still have fantastic legs.... if you enjoy them then do them, if you don't then dont lol simple


 This.

I don't do them and my legs are just fine.

I do Zane squats on the leg blaster as I have knee issues but that is it.

You can get them to grow from isolation like I did for years


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

RexEverthing said:


> Didn't @banzi say somewhere that squats aren't the best as you can't fully tax the legs due to stress on the back?
> 
> Or am I making that up?!


 Wear a lifting belt and try and do 20 reps rest paused with your 10 rep max using a lifting belt, trust me, your legs will start to fail first. People who can't Squat simply try to justify it. There is a way to make every exercise more optimal.


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## thecoms (Nov 1, 2010)

I squatted for years, it develops turnip thighs. Wide at top poor lower down. Do hacks and presses , extensions and lunges.

Hacks are great as can be varied with foot placement working different areas of leg. I pyramid weights up and back down , to get a good workout.


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## 195645855 (Jun 26, 2015)

Over the last 6 weeks I have put them at the end of my quad session.

After extensions, leg press and walking lunges my quads a pretty f*cked, so 4/5 sets of squats at about 60% of what I'd normally work at is safe and more than enough to finish my quads off.

But as has been said, if don't enjoy them or just fancy a change then drop them. Nothing wrong with that.


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## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

thanks guys, think im going to either drop them, adding in more leg press and hack squats or do higher reps with lower weight. Probably be able to do more deadlifting as well.


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## ausmaz (Jul 14, 2014)

Do front squats


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## JohhnyC (Mar 16, 2015)

Quackerz said:


> Wear a lifting belt and try and do 20 reps rest paused with your 10 rep max using a lifting belt, trust me, your legs will start to fail first.* People who can't Squat simply try to justify it.* There is a way to make every exercise more optimal.


 no offence mate but that's total crap, a lot of men can't squat due to back injuries


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## 19072 (Aug 11, 2010)

Do front squats! less strain on your back and still keeps squats in your routine. I Love squats but my back doesn't. injured myself few weeks back going light/moderate (120kg for reps) 9th rep in I got this shooting pain in my back and ditched the bar. bit of rest has cleared it up. I hit legs twice a week -

*Mon:* front squats / lunges / glute bridges / sldl / calves

*Thu:* leg press / back squats / leg ext / leg curls / calves

I do heavy leg presses before back squats to pre exhaust them as I no longer go heavy on back squats. (last week top set was 100kg)


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

JohhnyC said:


> no offence mate but that's total crap, a lot of men can't squat due to back injuries


 Some do, I think for most it is an excuse. The leg press is just an easier exercise. Need to justify doing it somehow. Half this board seem to not squat, I doubt 90% of them even have legitimate injury to stop them from performing the exercise.


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## JohhnyC (Mar 16, 2015)

Quackerz said:


> Some do, I think for most it is an excuse.


 fair enough, only reason I'd recommend for some people to avoid squats is that its to easy to make a cock of it. I see it every single day in the gym, especially with younger lads. They really a haven't a clue, feet position way off, curve right through the back, bar on their neck, knees too far forward, too much weight on the bar. That will catch up with them eventually no question. Its the one exercise that needs the most care in my view. Your average gym go-er can avoid them

Making a mess of other exercises will cause injuries but back / neck disk injuries can really effect your whole life. Once you get bad prolapsed disk that's it, your not going back to normal


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

JohhnyC said:


> fair enough, only reason I'd recommend for some people to avoid squats is that its to easy to make a cock of it. I see it every single day in the gym, especially with younger lads. They really a haven't a clue, feet position way off, curve right through the back, bar on their neck, knees too far forward, too much weight on the bar. That will catch up with them eventually no question. Its the one exercise that needs the most care in my view. Your average gym go-er can avoid them
> 
> Making a mess of other exercises will cause injuries but back / neck disk injuries can really effect your whole life. Once you get bad prolapsed disk that's it, your not going back to normal


 Some good points mate. My gym is practically nothing but racks, dumbbells, strongman equipment etc. and there are trained staff to coach people how to perform the lifts properly. This would more than likely not be the case regarding the average gym where the staff are practically retarded.


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Try different stuff out, see how you respond. Only way you'll know if anything is any good for you or not.


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## DLTBB (Jan 26, 2015)

I dropped them for ages and made good gains doing high volume and focusing on machine hack squats instead, do them occasionally now but only because I like to, not because I feel they are optimal for building good legs.


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

Quackerz said:


> Wear a lifting belt and try and do 20 reps rest paused with your 10 rep max using a lifting belt, trust me, your legs will start to fail first. People who can't Squat simply try to justify it. There is a way to make every exercise more optimal.


 I love squats & have relied on them as my main (often only) leg exercise for years, but I can see me dropping them soon because of my creaky old back.

It's stressing me out a bit - I've been trying to work up to a 400lb squat for a while now, but every time I get close, my lumbar region starts to grumble big-time. Daft really, because my legs don't really need to be any bigger.


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

Quackerz said:


> Wear a lifting belt and try and do 20 reps rest paused with your 10 rep max using a lifting belt, trust me, your legs will start to fail first. P*eople who can't Squat simply try to justify it. There is a way to make every exercise more optimal. *


 Complete rubbish!

Would you be up for comparing my legs to yours? I don't squat.

Post a picture and we will see who has the better legs.


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## GCMAX (Dec 31, 2013)

I've been squatting for a while, had one injury so far in the lower back, just a twinge, nothing serious. I like to go deep to activate the glutes and this means also lower back coming into play. After a few sets on heavier weights my lower back starts to ache quite badly. I think it's time I tried front squats instead as @herc said to take as much back out of equation as possible and focus on quad development.

As far as exercises go, squats are a staple ingredient to strength building and shouldn't be missed unless you have physical limitations which prevent you from doing them. On a side note, the famous "don't skip leg day" phrase imo was mainly created due to the experiences of people who primarily train top-half and who once ventured into squatting for a single session and the crippling ache afterwards put them off so much they never touched them again.


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

BoomTime said:


> Complete rubbish!
> 
> Would you be up for comparing my legs to yours? I don't squat.
> 
> Post a picture and we will see who has the better legs.


 And I don't train for physique..... so you will probably have me beat, something I don't really care too much about. I never said you could not build legs without Squats, which is what you seem to be implying, just that you can optimise them without compensating your lower back as a result. Never the less here you go considering you asked, never done a leg exercise except a squat or deadlift variation. Not bad considering I am 6'' and my legs are relatively long.....

View attachment IMG_0539 (1).JPG




Major Eyeswater said:


> I love squats & have relied on them as my main (often only) leg exercise for years, but I can see me dropping them soon because of my creaky old back.
> 
> It's stressing me out a bit - I've been trying to work up to a 400lb squat for a while now, but every time I get close, my lumbar region starts to grumble big-time. Daft really, because my legs don't really need to be any bigger.


 You tried switching to front squats?


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

Quackerz said:


> And I don't train for physique..... so you will probably have me beat, something I don't really care too much about. I never said you could not build legs without Squats, which is what you seem to be implying, just that you can optimise them without compensating your lower back as a result. Never the less here you go considering you asked, never done a leg exercise except a squat or deadlift variation. Not bad considering I am 6'' and my legs are relatively long.....
> 
> View attachment 124270
> 
> ...









View attachment 124197
View attachment 124199


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## 19072 (Aug 11, 2010)

BoomTime said:


> Complete rubbish!
> 
> Would you be up for comparing my legs to yours? I don't squat.
> 
> Post a picture and we will see who has the better legs.


 I must admit @BoomTime has a great set of pins for someone that doesn't squat.

For me its a love/hate - and I love squats just my back doesn't. They have always been a staple in my programme and always will be. They have just been pushed down the line in regards of when i hit them. This prevents me from going heavy and risking injury. I did back squats the other day and started at 60kg worked up to 100kg no pause between reps just constant TUT and my legs were on fire as appossed to throwing 140kg+ on for 5reps with big pauses between reps.


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

View attachment 124198


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## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

BoomTime said:


> View attachment 124198


 @Quackerz


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

Quackerz said:


> You tried switching to front squats?


 Did my first lot of front squats on Sunday. 3 sets of 12 with just 50kg, done really strict & heels on a block.

I've done them before & never really got on with them, but I found them less unpleasant than I remember.


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## bigchickenlover (Jul 16, 2013)

BoomTime said:


> View attachment 119741
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> View attachment 124197
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 nice arse


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

bigchickenlover said:


> nice arse


 Thanks.

Squats are not needed for glutes either then


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## Heavyassweights (Jan 18, 2014)

BoomTime said:


> View attachment 124198


 are they boxers?

they must be for a 8yr old . Can you confirm @duranman


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## FuqOutDaWhey (Apr 29, 2015)

BoomTime said:


> View attachment 124198


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

BoomTime said:


> View attachment 119741
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> View attachment 124197
> View attachment 124199


 And does a pissing match in leg size has what to do with what I stated? Not really.....


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## S1dhu82 (Dec 30, 2015)

I think it's good to take them out to give your body a break I do the same with deadlifts and flat bench as my joints start to hurt. So don't mind changing it up.


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

Quackerz said:


> And does a pissing match in leg size has what to do with what I stated? Not really.....


 It has everything to do with it when you claim that it was just an excuse for people not to do them

I don't do them because they are not optimal for leg growth and are not needed. Not because I am lazy.

I was proving a point.


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

BoomTime said:


> It has everything to do with it when you claim that it was just an excuse for people not to do them
> 
> I don't do them because they are not optimal for leg growth and are not needed. Not because I am lazy.
> 
> I was proving a point.


 And my point is you CAN make them optimal.......


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## bigchickenlover (Jul 16, 2013)

BoomTime said:


> Thanks.
> 
> Squats are not needed for glutes either then


 Calves you have!


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

Quackerz said:


> And my point is you CAN make them optimal.......


 Can you expand on this please. How?


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

If you are a powerlifter/weightlifter then you need to squat. If you're just looking for appearance then they're not so important. @Pscarb has built first class legs without squatting, although I believe he used to squat before his injury.


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## PaulB (Jun 6, 2010)

I'm fairly sure that @Pscarb didn't squat for a long time due to back injury. Didn't do him any harm.


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## NorthPaul (Apr 11, 2016)

Personally i love squats.

OP if you dont have back issues, why dropping them? Do more reps with less weight.

Even if your back hurts, there are front squats


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

BoomTime said:


> Can you expand on this please. How?


 As stated, high reps with a belt.


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## Jj1 (Dec 3, 2015)

surely @Quackerz point was most people say they can't squat when actually they mean they can't be arsed, and would find it easier with correct technique and form or as quackerz put it optimally. Wicked set of legs though mr boomtime


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

Major Eyeswater said:


> Did my first lot of front squats on Sunday. 3 sets of 12 with just 50kg, done really strict & heels on a block.
> 
> I've done them before & never really got on with them, but I found them less unpleasant than I remember.


 Thought about getting oly shoes? Should not need the plates then......


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

Jj1 said:


> surely @Quackerz point was most people say they can't squat when actually they mean they can't be arsed, and would find it easier with correct technique and form or as quackerz put it optimally. Wicked set of legs though mr boomtime


 Pretty much. It is a great exercise when performed correctly.


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

Quackerz said:


> Thought about getting oly shoes? Should not need the plates then......


 It's a wedge-shaped wooden block that I made for my wife. I've got her on a lifting program, but she's one of those people with really long thigh bones who simply can't squat flat footed without coming up ar5e-first with her head between her knees. I planed a piece of 4-by-2 down to lift her heels up, and it works well for her. Seemed to make the front squats much more comfortable for me too.


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## Mogadishu (Aug 29, 2014)

One of the most overrated ex along with bench.


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## andyboro (Oct 1, 2006)

I still squat, but last after ham training and leg press.. There's a lot to be said for training supporting muscles IMO but not to the detriment of quads... this way it's the best of both worlds.


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## TITO (Nov 11, 2008)

BoomTime said:


> View attachment 119741
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> View attachment 124197
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 Has your fake tan run on your legs in top pic? Seem patchy?


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

Major Eyeswater said:


> It's a wedge-shaped wooden block that I made for my wife. I've got her on a lifting program, but she's one of those people with really long thigh bones who simply can't squat flat footed without coming up ar5e-first with her head between her knees. I planed a piece of 4-by-2 down to lift her heels up, and it works well for her. Seemed to make the front squats much more comfortable for me too.


 Have you got her doing mobility and stretching drills for her hips and dorsiflexion at the ankles? This is usually where most problems occur. That and hamstring flexibility. Should help a lot.


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## JohhnyC (Mar 16, 2015)

Major Eyeswater said:


> It's a wedge-shaped wooden block that I made for my wife. I've got her on a lifting program, but she's one of those people with really long thigh bones who simply can't squat flat footed without coming up ar5e-first with her head between her knees. I planed a piece of 4-by-2 down to lift her heels up, and it works well for her. Seemed to make the front squats much more comfortable for me too.


 I had that issue too just never had the flexibility in the ankles and throws form way off. Heal board always helped and use to carry it with me to the gym. Much more comfortable than heals two plates.


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## freddee (Mar 2, 2009)

I have stopped squatting, don't have one major reason, well i'm nearer 55 than 54, I feel better going heavier on leg press, I have done some light squats but nothing real.


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

Quackerz said:


> Have you got her doing mobility and stretching drills for her hips and dorsiflexion at the ankles? This is usually where most problems occur. That and hamstring flexibility. Should help a lot.


 Her flexibility is really good - she can bend over knees locked & put her hands flat on the floor - something I can't do despite having short legs and arms like a bloody gibbon. She's got really long legs - she's four inches shorter than me, but if we stand next to each other her pelvis is higher than mine (and her knees lower). The longer thigh-bone means her backside is pushed back to keep the bar over her feet. Raising the heels effectively lengthens the shin bones, allowing the knees to go further forward instead.

This is what's behind the 'tall people struggle to squat' idea. It's not the person's actual height that's the problem - lots of strongmen are tall and good squatters. It's because tall people tend to have legs that are longer in relation to their torso than shorter people, and particularly thighs.


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## Todai (Jul 18, 2010)

I dropped squats - because they kill my lower back. i lack flexibility - can't even touch my toes haha


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

PaulB said:


> I'm fairly sure that @Pscarb didn't squat for a long time due to back injury. Didn't do him any harm.





Mingster said:


> If you are a powerlifter/weightlifter then you need to squat. If you're just looking for appearance then they're not so important. @Pscarb has built first class legs without squatting, although I believe he used to squat before his injury.


 i haven't squatted properly (done some box squats and the odd smith front squat but not more than once in a blue moon) since 1996, before that i front squatted mainly i have built my legs with Leg press mainly and not done a bad job if i do say so myself.....these days even the leg press aggravates my lower back if i go heavier than 200kg......

Do you have to do squats to build good legs....NO Dorian himself didn't after he found he was not suited to the movement and predominately did leg press.......

View attachment IMG_1932.JPG


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## ausmaz (Jul 14, 2014)

Major Eyeswater said:


> Her flexibility is really good - she can bend over knees locked & put her hands flat on the floor - something I can't do despite having short legs and arms like a bloody gibbon. She's got really long legs - she's four inches shorter than me, but if we stand next to each other her pelvis is higher than mine (and her knees lower). The longer thigh-bone means her backside is pushed back to keep the bar over her feet. Raising the heels effectively lengthens the shin bones, allowing the knees to go further forward instead.
> 
> This is what's behind the 'tall people struggle to squat' idea. It's not the person's actual height that's the problem - lots of strongmen are tall and good squatters. It's because tall people tend to have legs that are longer in relation to their torso than shorter people, and particularly thighs.


 Very true... im 6'3 and out of all the lifts im actually not a bad squatter (200kg p.r) .....however my deadlift sucks


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## MickeyE (Sep 17, 2015)

ILLBehaviour said:


> Thinking of dropping squats and substituting them for leg press and hack squat machines,
> 
> just wondering if anyone else has done this and how did effected your training ?


 I did exactly that. Dropped barbell squats and did hack squats and leg press. I used to only do 4 heavy sets of barbell squat and 3 sets of leg extensions for quads. I changed to 4 sets hack squat / 4 sets leg press / 3 sets leg extension....So thought the extra volume would would at least compensate for dropping barbell squats.

But I've noticed my legs have definitely regressed after about 12 months without BB squats. I was looking at some holiday pics a couple weeks back, some from 2014 when BB squatting and one from end of 2015 when dropped them, and there's a definite decline. I have since put BB squats back in. You realise how hard work squatting is when you haven't done it for a while! But like with most things, the things that are the hardest to do reap the best results.


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## andyboro (Oct 1, 2006)

Surely the issue with relying on squats for leg development is always going to be that you are limited by the ability of the smaller supporting muscles?

I cant imagine there being an 'optimal' anything to get around that problem.


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

andyboro said:


> Surely the issue with relying on squats for leg development is always going to be that you are limited by the ability of the smaller supporting muscles?
> 
> I cant imagine there being an 'optimal' anything to get around that problem.


 High reps with a lifting Belt. My legs have always failed first when I have tried this.

I think I am biased though, squats and deadlifts are my favourite exercises.......


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## andyboro (Oct 1, 2006)

Quackerz said:


> High reps with a lifting Belt. My legs have always failed first when I have tried this.
> 
> I think I am biased though, squats and deadlifts are my favourite exercises.......


 Id still question whether thats more effective than hammering quads and hams first and then squatting.

each to their own though - so long as stuff is growing


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