Anybody built big legs without Squats?

[Jpmerr2021]

Unfortunately due to an injury I had to stop squatting years ago (same with deadlifts) but managed to build a lot of my leg size from them.

I still make great progress now without squatting which got me wondering if I could have built just as much mass without ever squatting.

I know it’s controversial to ask as some people act like training is completely pointless unless your squatting lol (which is just dumb) but has anybody else built big legs without squats?

For example, I know lots of people like to hate on the leg press but I have made some pretty decent gains with it.

 

[JesterBOB]

Read a lot of articles. Where athletes successfully built legs without squats. More often than not, it was like that at first a person squatted, then he got injured and had to refuse. And started working on legs without squats and progressed.

 

[JesterBOB]

Addendum to the post above. I very much doubt that without squatting you can make good legs if you start from scratch. I can be wrong. I think at the stage when a person is already experienced and already has legs and progress towards this is possible.

 

[Jpmerr2021]

Addendum to the post above. I very much doubt that without squatting you can make good legs if you start from scratch. I can be wrong. I think at the stage when a person is already experienced and already has legs and progress towards this is possible.

Yeah it’s just something I ponder on from time to time. My injury was partly related to squatting so looking back I wonder if I could have made as much progress without it AND avoided my injury.

I agree with you though, most seem to have built a solid base with squats. Mind you, I am sure I recall Dorian Yates saying that he only squatted for a very short period of time. Then again he was a fucking genetic specimen and trained like a maniac so prob built his base in about 5 minutes

 

[JesterBOB]

Yeah it’s just something I ponder on from time to time. My injury was partly related to squatting so looking back I wonder if I could have made as much progress without it AND avoided my injury.

I agree with you though, most seem to have built a solid base with squats. Mind you, I am sure I recall Dorian Yates saying that he only squatted for a very short period of time. Then again he was a fucking genetic specimen and trained like a maniac so prob built his base in about 5 minutes

Yes, many genetically gifted people have created legs thanks to a lot of work in squats and have already refined their form there, I think. It's just that we ordinary people need to pay more attention to technology and performance safety.

 

[Plate Smacker]

No Squats for 3 years, and Legs improved.
I can't directly load spine with weight across shoulder. Even hack squat machine is out of question. Compressed disk from 22 years of Infantry and multiple deployments.
I do rack pulls, both stiff and regular for hip hinge. As well as glute bridges and other Hamstring work. I do various torso angle and foot placement on Leg press. Walking lunges.
I really focus on staying tight, no momentum, and think of loading like a spring as I move to the bottom portion of the lift. I don't explode out, I just stay tight and controlled. I can make or light weight feel good by increasing time under tension and actually staying tight.
I know it sounds redundant... but staying tight is alot of work. It needs to be. It shouldn't be easy.

This will sound crazy, but I work Legs 2 days in a row. First day is Posterior emphasis, very strategic while taking consideration for movements that will be done the next day, which is Quad dominant day.
Some will say "well if you train Legs hard, even Posterior, you shouldn't even be able to do any type of Legs the next day." Yep, true, if you thrash yourself. But If you know you will get another dose the next day, DON'T go so crazy on the Posterior day with regards to quads. I don't squat soooo, that is another reason I can do this.
It's about exercise order, and selection.

I do a type of squat, but it's holding the handles of a deadlift lever arm machine. This loads the spine differently and does cause me any pain. I hold the handles, and squat down to parallel. Then back up. The path of handle is not straight up and down. As I go down the handles track slightly forward. I can change foot position fore and aft and make it a Posterior movement, or a Quad movement.

NOTE: On days I do this lever squat type movement, I will not do another leg day the next or following day. The movement is also sort of a rack pull, but squatting, so it's pretty balanced on Posterior and quads.

Some people are built for the squat. For some, it's not the best movement for overall leg development. The squat just makes my ass huge. Long femer shorter torso.
High bar not much difference.
Squats also load my lower back alot, so I had to be more careful on other days,, and limited on exercises so as to not over work lower back,,(no bent over stuff without chest support) because I still had a rack pull Posterior day that I rotated in.
I still squat with very light weight, high rep during warmup.

This is what works for me. It may not work for you.

The extra leg day gives my Biceps and forearms more time to heal also. My split is
Back
Chest and Shoulders
Arms
Legs Posterior
Off (sometimes)
Legs Quad

Since I have an arm day, Biceps get indirect hit on Back day, and directly on Arm Day. They need longer time to heal afterward so I don't get any tendinitis issue. It's only an issue with Biceps and forearms. Also because I rarely use straps.

Focus is Arms and Legs for the year. This split just gives more frequency, or doses of stimulation in a week.

I went off subject, but it's all relative to recovery.
I get alot of sleep, and I have consistent diet.
Team No Squat for quite some time.

 

[1tank1]

 

[Millard]

I've cut back on squats/deadlifts for similar reasons. And Ive found that cycling has preserved a lot of my leg size. Cycling for cardio, yes. But with lots of sprints and high intensity intervals

 

[Sven_Northman]

Back injury?

Big quads can be had using the leg press. Do various loads and rep schemes. Check out Seth Feroce and Mountain Dog vids on YT. Just to name a couple.

My low back flares up at times. We have a belt squat which takes the load off the spine. Find a gym with one if you can. I do those, reverse lunges, and heavy leg press. We have both a squat leg press (articulated ramp) and linear press that I do to really load up my quads and get the blood in there!

 

[Nerdrage_Hilmateam]

You can use tempo/stress and amplitude changes in the movement, use additional modifications in the movement. It is not always necessary to put a cross on the barbell.At this point, you can use other modifications and not in squats, if you carefully study the function of the muscle group that is important

 

[Eman]

I've cut back on squats/deadlifts for similar reasons. And Ive found that cycling has preserved a lot of my leg size. Cycling for cardio, yes. But with lots of sprints and high intensity intervals

I still do quite a bit of squatting but I also do an hour class of cycling 2-3 times per week. I've no doubt I could maintain my leg size with that alone, if not build some size in a surplus.

Edit:

Also, no... I don't think anyone needs any specific exercise/movement/lift to add mass to any muscle group. That said, short of injury reasons... squats are extremely beneficial in my eyes. If I can continue to squat reasonable weight proficiently into my older years I feel it'll allow me to move prevent other injuries or inabilities that typically come along with old age... falls, stairs, etc.

I also think the risks of squats/deadlifts are massively overblown. If you are conservative with weight, and can do both movements correctly... very little risk unless there's an underlying issue. There's something to be said for simply doing bodyweight squats even... there aren't that many folks that can even do that, even guys that regularly lift.

 

[MoeLittle]

I've had to scrap deadlift due to L5/S1 difficulties but have found that I've been able to return to high rep low weight on squats. My movements are very slow and focused on time under tension. Still getting progress when adding in isolated leg work (including calves. Don't forget these babies).

 

[Jericho]

I agree with eman on squatting being beneficial as you age, barring injury but what I've seen time and again is maxing or chasing weight leading to injuries. I do less weight with more sets as I've gotten older. Slow and focusing on control. Honestly that gets me more noticeable gains. Ideally I want to be able to sit in a catchers position feet flat on the ground for a couple of minutes in my 60's.

 

[Demondosage]

Squats are so overrated to me, I initially built my leg size with just leg press, I dabbled in squats for a few years because I was of the belief I had to do them for legs, my best squat ever was 405 x 24 reps (w/ knee wraps) and my quads are better now from leg presses than they were when I could squat with 405 for all those reps. You don’t need to do them at all

 

[EazyE]

Squats are so overrated to me, I initially built my leg size with just leg press, I dabbled in squats for a few years because I was of the belief I had to do them for legs, my best squat ever was 405 x 24 reps (w/ knee wraps) and my quads are better now from leg presses than they were when I could squat with 405 for all those reps. You don’t need to do them at all

Agreed that squats are not the only way to grow big legs. They are a good lift and for some people they are number 1. However Leg Presses allow you to really focus on the quads and really increase the intensity through extended sets and metabolic stress. They allow you to safely train with heavy weight and high reps. You can create so much time under tension with leg press to build crazy quad size like no other exercise.

 

[Deezznutzz]

I've cut back on squats/deadlifts for similar reasons. And Ive found that cycling has preserved a lot of my leg size. Cycling for cardio, yes. But with lots of sprints and high intensity intervals

I was just about to say cycling. I have been a lifetime cyclist and skateboarder. Before I started weight training people were always asking me how my calves and quads got so large. This was before I even tried to do squats. I don't even think I started doing squats until I was in my late 30s. You'd be surprised how big your legs can get from BMX, mountain biking, spin bike, and skateboarding.

 

[Rubicon500]

I haven’t squatted in few years , quads have improved as I do a lot cycling plus my back pack hunting trips. Not sure what you call “big” but I’m around 29.5” quads , 19” calves.

 

[Demondosage]

I was just about to say cycling. I have been a lifetime cyclist and skateboarder. Before I started weight training people were always asking me how my calves and quads got so large. This was before I even tried to do squats. I don't even think I started doing squats until I was in my late 30s. You'd be surprised how big your legs can get from BMX, mountain biking, spin bike, and skateboarding.

Exactly!! My calves are fucking monstrous and I attribute that to not just genetics but years of mountain biking before the weights took over

 

[JesterBOB]

I've cut back on squats/deadlifts for similar reasons. And Ive found that cycling has preserved a lot of my leg size. Cycling for cardio, yes. But with lots of sprints and high intensity intervals

I completely agree, interval cardio training is very good at maintaining muscle mass.

 

[JesterBOB]

I was just about to say cycling. I have been a lifetime cyclist and skateboarder. Before I started weight training people were always asking me how my calves and quads got so large. This was before I even tried to do squats. I don't even think I started doing squats until I was in my late 30s. You'd be surprised how big your legs can get from BMX, mountain biking, spin bike, and skateboarding.

My calves started to grow when I started sprinting up the sand hills.