# Squats vs legpress



## Juan-pierre (Mar 4, 2014)

Which is best squats or legpress? i only squat 200lbs for 12 reps, did some legpresses yesterday, was suprised i could do 440lbs easily(didnt do legpress before) should i add legpress to my workout? is it as effective as squats?


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## Iron1 (Mar 4, 2014)

Best for what exactly?

imo, squats and leg presses compliment each other very well.


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## Juan-pierre (Mar 4, 2014)

Yes i think i should add it to my legs day. i currently do backsquat, frontsquat, hacksquat, leg extentions and curls for upper legs


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## PillarofBalance (Mar 4, 2014)

Squatting is significantly better for overall mass. The will pile meat on your arms, all over your back, glutes, hams, calves, quads, toes you name it... Leg press isn't going to build your squat much IMO. Most squats fail because of technical issues or a weakness in the back.


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## amore169 (Mar 4, 2014)

Dorian Yates didn't do regular squats cause it bothered is lower back, he relied on leg presses for mass building his legs, while Tom Platz did every type of squats to build one of the most amazing legs in history. My opinion is that squats needs time to perfect cause it's a difficult exercise and u can't load up in weight right away, while leg presses you can load up heavy weights almost immediately cause is a pretty simple exercise (you have to go low enough to actually work out your legs) my wife is leg pressing over 1000 pounds at a body weight of 125-130 pounds while she can only squat 225, my advise would be is that master the squat and then do some leg presses to compliment your leg workout.


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## mistah187 (Mar 4, 2014)

Agree with iron they compliment eachother. Also alot of people like to load up the legs press and do these, illl call them 1/4 reps, with alot of wieght. Ur knees should come  to ur chest. Unless ur fat then as far as ur belly will except the wieght. Tom platz would hit 30 reps on leg press and then super set that with 20 reps on squats. Tried this out good luck walking for a week.


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## DieYoungStrong (Mar 4, 2014)

mistah187 said:


> Agree with iron they compliment eachother. Also alot of people like to load up the legs press and do these, illl call them 1/4 reps, with alot of wieght. Ur knees should come  to ur chest. Unless ur fat then as far as ur belly will except the wieght. Tom platz would hit 30 reps on leg press and then super set that with 20 reps on squats. Tried this out good luck walking for a week.



Yup. I hate seeing half reps of anything.

I usually use the leg press for insane high reps after I do a squat workout. Last night I did my squats, and then went to the leg press, put 2 plates on each side, and cranked out 100 reps in 3 sets.


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## transcend2007 (Mar 4, 2014)

The answer is simple.  Which is harder to do?  Squats by a mile.  There's your answer.

If you are brand new to working out these 8 different compounds exercises would be great to start: squats, bench, dead lifts, military press, bent over row, upright row, pull over, and pull ups.

Dial in your diet.  Eat more protein and less sugar.

Be consistent.  A good body will not be built overnight.  Stay away from any performance enhancement drugs.  They will be of little benefit to you just getting started.


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## LeanHerm (Mar 4, 2014)

What's a leg press?? Never heard of it!!!


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## PillarofBalance (Mar 4, 2014)

BigHerm said:


> What's a leg press?? Never heard of it!!!



That's probably cause you don't train legs


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## DieYoungStrong (Mar 4, 2014)

PillarofBalance said:


> That's probably cause you don't train legs



BOOOM!!! Headshot.


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## AlphaD (Mar 4, 2014)

The leg press can put false pretense in your mind that you are a beast.  I hate to see the guys at the gym load up on leg press and think they are beasts, but yet have trouble squatting 185.  Imo, perfect the squat, even if you have to start at a lower then usual weight.  It will not only build mass but put power in your wheels. And as POB said build about everything else on your body.  Do I use leg press, sure I do.  I don't use it as my big lift in my leg routine, but more as DYS said above, some major burn sets after hardcore squatting session......


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## yeti (Mar 4, 2014)

I like using single leg leg presses after squats for 2-3 sets of 20 just to get some imbalances out.


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## jennerrator (Mar 4, 2014)

AlphaD said:


> The leg press can put false pretense in your mind that you are a beast.  I hate to see the guys at the gym load up on leg press and think they are beasts, but yet have trouble squatting 185.  Imo, perfect the squat, even if you have to start at a lower then usual weight.  It will not only build mass but put power in your wheels. And as POB said build about everything else on your body.  Do I use leg press, sure I do.  I don't use it as my big lift in my leg routine, but more as DYS said above, some major burn sets after hardcore squatting session......



These are the guys that only do half squats and press.........................I swear there is nothing that kills me more than peeps that look like they are doing a fuuking curtsy when they squat!


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## Seeker (Mar 4, 2014)

Those who know me know this about me.... SKEEEWATTTSS!!! IS KING... of everything!!! Now I won'y deny that I don't do Leg presses cause I do but like most exercises I don't lock out at the top  and i dont let it come down to far either. if that's considered a half press then so be it. I dont allow my lower back to roll off the pad.


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## jennerrator (Mar 4, 2014)

Seeker said:


> Those who know me know this about me.... SKEEEWATTTSS!!! IS KING... of everything!!! Now I won'y deny that I don't do Leg presses cause I do but like most exercises I don't lock out at the top  and i dont let it come down to far either. if that's considered a half press then so be it. I dont allow my lower back to roll off the pad.



I don't think a lot of people lock out, I do and it can kick your ass!


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## Seeker (Mar 4, 2014)

Jenner said:


> I don't think a lot of people lock out, I do and it can kick your ass!



Yeah there is a method of a 3 second squeeze at the top and a 3 second squeeze at the bottom but I didn't like it very much. But you can kick my ass if you like.


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## jennerrator (Mar 4, 2014)

Seeker said:


> Yeah there is a method of a 3 second squeeze at the top and a 3 second squeeze at the bottom but I didn't like it very much. But you can kick my ass if you like.



lol, you would love that!!!


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## Pinkbear (Mar 4, 2014)

Squat till you can't stand then head to the leg press and do some high reps going all the way down.

Burns so good


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## Seeker (Mar 4, 2014)

Jenner said:


> lol, you would love that!!!



Yes, yes I would.


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## ECKSRATED (Mar 4, 2014)

Both are good. Squats are king tho. 

I did leg presses for a year with no squats and my legs grew pretty nice. It's just like everytjing else gotta find what works best for you. Some guys legs don't grow well with squats and vice versa.


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## Onrek (Mar 4, 2014)

I've always felt like the leg press "cradles" you too much after I focused on squats, then tried to hit the leg press again. I'd definitely do squats over the leg press as you engage more muscles, but a set or 2 on the leg press for a little more of an isolated feel can't hurt.


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## yeti (Mar 4, 2014)

To be honest, I feel like nothing grows quads like hack squats on the machine though...


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## heavydeads83 (Mar 4, 2014)

I think leg presses are for pussies and i've never gotten a damn thing out of them personally.  Just my opinion.  squat your ass off if you want to be a big strong manly man with an ass that all the ladies will love.  you're welcome in advance  and I don't think leg presses compliment squats at all.  it's a complete different plain.  when you get done back squatting do some front squats and narrow stance squats for accessories.


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## windycityamateur (Mar 4, 2014)

Squat low, squat heavy. Words to live by.


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## SFGiants (Mar 4, 2014)

Leg press is an accessory for the Deadlift.

Squats and Deadlifts are the mass builders.


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## SFGiants (Mar 4, 2014)

heavydeads83 said:


> I think leg presses are for pussies and i've never gotten a damn thing out of them personally.  Just my opinion.  squat your ass off if you want to be a big strong manly man with an ass that all the ladies will love.  you're welcome in advance  and I don't think leg presses compliment squats at all.  it's a complete different plain.  when you get done back squatting do some front squats and narrow stance squats for accessories.



They don't compliment squats they compliment the conventional pull.


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## SFGiants (Mar 4, 2014)

Brandon Lilly says he leg presses on off days to help his deadlift by working his quads.


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## Iron1 (Mar 4, 2014)

SFGiants said:


> They don't compliment squats they compliment the convectional pull.



I would assume it depends on how you perform the lift on the sled, no?
i.e. Wide stance getting more posterior chain.


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## Azog (Mar 5, 2014)

yeti said:


> To be honest, I feel like nothing grows quads like hack squats on the machine though...



Interesting you bring this up. I have been experimenting with this recently. I find hack squats destroy my quads waaaaay hard than squats. Go figure. I am gonna play with them for a bit and see what happens. Might just move squats to the end of my leg routine and alter the form to smash my quads more.


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## SFGiants (Mar 5, 2014)

Iron1 said:


> I would assume it depends on how you perform the lift on the sled, no?
> i.e. Wide stance getting more posterior chain.



Then it becomes more sumo possibly, I have only really seen and heard about close stance squats and leg presses for conventional pulls, Brandon Lilly uses the leg press Dan Green Front Squats.

One of the things taught to a conventional puller is to drive the legs like a leg press, thus when I see people not using the heels to press on a leg press I wonder about them.


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## SFGiants (Mar 5, 2014)

Azog said:


> Interesting you bring this up. I have been experimenting with this recently. I find hack squats destroy my quads waaaaay hard than squats. Go figure. I am gonna play with them for a bit and see what happens. Might just move squats to the end of my leg routine and alter the form to smash my quads more.



It can be due to the fact your isolating the quads more by removing stabilizers.


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## Fsuphisig (Mar 5, 2014)

my squat continues to increase but my quads wont budge! my ass and hammies are huge, but i need some help developing a little quad mass, today i went to a machine leg press after squatting and put my feet low and close and busted out some slow reps to 12, any other suggestions?


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## Hero Swole (Mar 5, 2014)

I do leg press after paused squats or front squats. Legs low and narrow. I do them mostly for quads I'd rather do them instead of leg extensions. I feel like leg extension are a waste of time at least if your trying to get stronger.


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## Seeker (Mar 5, 2014)

I have been telling people this for years. If you want thighs like a bodybuilder you need to stop squatting like a powerlifter. They are two completely different forms of squatting.


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## JAXNY (Mar 5, 2014)

BigHerm said:


> What's a leg press?? Never heard of it!!!


It's where you press  a girls legs behind her head.


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## JAXNY (Mar 5, 2014)

Azog said:


> Interesting you bring this up. I have been experimenting with this recently. I find hack squats destroy my quads waaaaay hard than squats. Go figure. I am gonna play with them for a bit and see what happens. Might just move squats to the end of my leg routine and alter the form to smash my quads more.


Absolutely, Hack squats are great. 
I warm up with leg extensions then Squats then Hack squats, leg press and leg curls. 
squats are the best though and they other parts of the body.


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## heavydeads83 (Mar 5, 2014)

SFGiants said:


> Brandon Lilly says he leg presses on off days to help his deadlift by working his quads.



Lilly knows much more than I do but I don't think they compliment shit.  like you said no one does them on their heels anyway.  I'd rather do hack squats than leg presses any day if i'm gonna use a machine.  and the reason I still prefer front squats over anything else for quads is because with any kind of free squat with a barbell you're still having to use other muscles to control the weight that you're supporting.  unlike a gay ass leg press where you have handles to hold on to and just push like a little sissy lol.


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## ECKSRATED (Mar 5, 2014)

Fsuphisig said:


> my squat continues to increase but my quads wont budge! my ass and hammies are huge, but i need some help developing a little quad mass, today i went to a machine leg press after squatting and put my feet low and close and busted out some slow reps to 12, any other suggestions?



I'm the same way man. Hamstring dominant on squatting. Brought my stance in a lot closer and quads started to grow.


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## JAXNY (Mar 5, 2014)

Fsuphisig said:


> my squat continues to increase but my quads wont budge! my ass and hammies are huge, but i need some help developing a little quad mass, today i went to a machine leg press after squatting and put my feet low and close and busted out some slow reps to 12, any other suggestions?


Yeah stop using leg machines and use heavy free weights. Leg press shoulder width and a tad lower will target your quads. hack squats are great for quads also. You need to go heavy to get them to grow. Throw some drop sets in there as well.


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## ECKSRATED (Mar 5, 2014)

I wouldn't go as far as calling leg press gay. Some of the biggest legs out their were built with leg presses. U use nothing but legs so it should be in everyone's leg routine if your worried about hypertrophy more than strength.


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## heavydeads83 (Mar 5, 2014)

SFG,  on a side note,  I wasn't the one that said leg presses complimented squats.  It was Iron1 that said that.  I was politely giving him my 2 cents lol.


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## heavydeads83 (Mar 5, 2014)

ECKSRATED said:


> I wouldn't go as far as calling leg press gay. Some of the biggest legs out their were built with leg presses. U use nothing but legs so it should be in everyone's leg routine if your worried about hypertrophy more than strength.



That depends on if you're bodybuilding or powerlifting IMO.


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## heavydeads83 (Mar 5, 2014)

this shit will make a man out of you boys -


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## JAXNY (Mar 5, 2014)

heavydeads83 said:


> this shit will make a man out of you boys -



This guy is going to be a monster in a few months. WTF...LOL.  must be a planet fitness member.


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## ECKSRATED (Mar 5, 2014)

heavydeads83 said:


> That depends on if you're bodybuilding or powerlifting IMO.


Exactly what I just said.


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## yeti (Mar 5, 2014)

Azog said:


> Interesting you bring this up. I have been experimenting with this recently. I find hack squats destroy my quads waaaaay hard than squats. Go figure. I am gonna play with them for a bit and see what happens. Might just move squats to the end of my leg routine and alter the form to smash my quads more.



I think it's the lack of stabilizers as well as the fact that you're pushing back and up as opposed to the squat there you're pushing through with the hips. In addition, the hack squat lets you put your feet wide, close, higher up the platform, lower to hit the teardrop, etc etc. And for most hack machines, I find that the weight is directly in line with the quads and knees, so maybe there's something there. 
Favorite brutal way to hit quads on hack is to have feet low and close together for 20 reps, then bring it to the middle and slightly wider for anther 20, then a final 20 with my feet high and wider... this kills... 

Something I noticed yesterday though was that the manta ray squat gave almost a mix of the hack and front squat. Felt great. AND it will hopefully transfer to my low bar...


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## SFGiants (Mar 5, 2014)

yeti said:


> I think it's the lack of stabilizers as well as the fact that you're pushing back and up as opposed to the squat there you're pushing through with the hips. In addition, the hack squat lets you put your feet wide, close, higher up the platform, lower to hit the teardrop, etc etc. And for most hack machines, I find that the weight is directly in line with the quads and knees, so maybe there's something there.
> Favorite brutal way to hit quads on hack is to have feet low and close together for 20 reps, then bring it to the middle and slightly wider for anther 20, then a final 20 with my feet high and wider... this kills...
> 
> Something I noticed yesterday though was that the* manta ray squat* gave almost a mix of the hack and front squat. Felt great. AND it will hopefully transfer to my low bar...




You new guys just keep on disappointing don't you lol?:32 (17):


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## yeti (Mar 5, 2014)

SFGiants said:


> You new guys just keep on disappointing don't you lol?:32 (17):



LOLLLL 
In my defense, I did it AFTER my low bar squats. And hey, I can kind of take a break after smolov LOLLL


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## Fsuphisig (Mar 5, 2014)

JAXNY said:


> Yeah stop using leg machines and use heavy free weights. Leg press shoulder width and a tad lower will target your quads. hack squats are great for quads also. You need to go heavy to get them to grow. Throw some drop sets in there as well.



so maybe some heavy narrow hack squats after my regular squats ?


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## Hero Swole (Mar 5, 2014)

Seeker said:


> I have been telling people this for years. If you want thighs like a bodybuilder you need to stop squatting like a powerlifter. They are two completely different forms of squatting.






seek, I have seen my best leg development from pl training. My legs seem to respond to that kind of training.


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## Seeker (Mar 5, 2014)

Hero Swole said:


> seek, I have seen my best leg development from pl training. My legs seem to respond to that kind of training.



You'll get thick upper quads and you'll put on some mass around the hip area. I've seen POB's legs explode the last couple of years from his squats and dead Lifts. Powerlifters main concern is completing the lift. As you know this is done  by incorporating the hips, back, hams, glutes and legs too. Bodybuilders are focused on quad site specific. This is done by just using your thighs only to drive up the weight with no pauses in between reps and no lockout rest at the top.. no spreading the floor, no heels only,  closer stance mostly though you can widen it a bit sometimes. bodybuilders don't want thick hips! Lol they want a sweeping thigh that starts from the hip and goes down to the knee. The development is different from a pl'r to a bb'r. 

Personally I love working on my squat strength, but when I do I change my whole approach to the rack.


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## Azog (Mar 6, 2014)

Seeker said:


> You'll get thick upper quads and you'll put on some mass around the hip area. I've seen POB's legs explode the last couple of years from his squats and dead Lifts. Powerlifters main concern is completing the lift. As you know this is done  by incorporating the hips, back, hams, glutes and legs too. Bodybuilders are focused on quad site specific. This is done by just using your thighs only to drive up the weight with no pauses in between reps and no lockout rest at the top.. no spreading the floor, no heels only,  closer stance mostly though you can widen it a bit sometimes. bodybuilders don't want thick hips! Lol they want a sweeping thigh that starts from the hip and goes down to the knee. The development is different from a pl'r to a bb'r.
> 
> Personally I love working on my squat strength, but when I do I change my whole approach to the rack.



Got any good vids displaying your prefered technique? I'd love to keep regular squats in every workout, but **** me the hacks produced a noticeable change in two short weeks. My legs grew fast!


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## DocDePanda187123 (Mar 6, 2014)

Azog said:


> Got any good vids displaying your prefered technique? I'd love to keep regular squats in every workout, but **** me the hacks produced a noticeable change in two short weeks. My legs grew fast!



Are you targeting quads specifically? I'm assuming you've done your share of front squats since you've done olympic lifts lol. Box squats, front squats, toy around with mixing high bar and low bar, paused squats, etc. So many variations you could try. Currently I'm doing 3x/wk high bar squats with a medium stance (just outside shoulder width). Once progression starts stalking I'm going to add some box squats on my Thursday workout. Well torn between front squats and box squats as the front squats will help my cleans more and help with my flexibility issues in holding the rack position. When I tried front squats years ago for slightly higher reps (5-8) I found it to be a great stressor to drive growth and progress.


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## Seeker (Mar 6, 2014)

Azog said:


> Got any good vids displaying your prefered technique? I'd love to keep regular squats in every workout, but **** me the hacks produced a noticeable change in two short weeks. My legs grew fast!



No. Not of me personally but I'm sure they're out there. I love hacks! They are great for the tear drop. Dude maybe one day I'll meet up with you for a smash session!


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## Azog (Mar 6, 2014)

Thanks for the tips my dudes! I will play with it. I have done my share of squatting...I am just over thinking things. After I had to take a break from squats for a year to work on my hip issues, I lost all confidence in the movement and it's ****ed up my squat form/mojo/gains.


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## Juan-pierre (Mar 6, 2014)

update: the leg presses seem to have a good effect on me. i increased my backsquat by 20lbs for 8 good reps and did 8 500lbs legpress for 8 reps, but the last 3 reps wasnt nearly as low as i wouldve like it to be. but hey im happy, upper leg measurement increased bx 1/3 of an inch this. so my opinion is that legpresses do add strengh and size, atleast for me it does


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## f.r.a.n.k. (Mar 6, 2014)

Squat..........


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## Hero Swole (Mar 6, 2014)

yeti said:


> I think it's the lack of stabilizers as well as the fact that you're pushing back and up as opposed to the squat there you're pushing through with the hips. In addition, the hack squat lets you put your feet wide, close, higher up the platform, lower to hit the teardrop, etc etc. And for most hack machines, I find that the weight is directly in line with the quads and knees, so maybe there's something there.
> Favorite brutal way to hit quads on hack is to have feet low and close together for 20 reps, then bring it to the middle and slightly wider for anther 20, then a final 20 with my feet high and wider... this kills...
> 
> Something I noticed yesterday though was that the manta ray squat gave almost a mix of the hack and front squat. Felt great. AND it will hopefully transfer to my low bar...






Hack squats hurt my damn knees.


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## f.r.a.n.k. (Mar 6, 2014)

Hero Swole said:


> Hack squats hurt my damn knees.



Deca, hgh, glucosamine,  chondroitin, msm.
1 alieve twice a day


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## JAXNY (Mar 6, 2014)

Hero Swole said:


> I do leg press after paused squats or front squats. Legs low and narrow. I do them mostly for quads I'd rather do them instead of leg extensions. I feel like leg extension are a waste of time at least if your trying to get stronger.



Idk. ..,,I start out with these always mainly to get my legs warmed up for heavy squats. Its a whole different movement and you can develope power from them. I haven't  found a gym yet where I couldn't stack there leg extention machine. Apply that with some drop sets and you can develope some nice strength and size.


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## don draco (Mar 6, 2014)

Hero Swole said:


> Hack squats hurt my damn knees.



This.. Can't do hack squats without my knees popping / clicking.


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## JAXNY (Mar 6, 2014)

don draco said:


> This.. Can't do hack squats without my knees popping / clicking.


Have you tried wrapping your knees. I wrap mine when I get to a certain weight on hacks, squats or presses.


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## don draco (Mar 6, 2014)

JAXNY said:


> Have you tried wrapping your knees. I wrap mine when I get to a certain weight on hacks, squats or presses.



I've considered it but haven't tried it yet.   I've used knee wraps for heavy squats but that's it.  I'll try hacks again this weekend with the wraps.. I'll report back.


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## yeti (Mar 7, 2014)

don draco said:


> I've considered it but haven't tried it yet.   I've used knee wraps for heavy squats but that's it.  I'll try hacks again this weekend with the wraps.. I'll report back.



Try knee sleeves, either open or closed. I think Mueller or TK ones are good. 
I use the SBD sleeves from anderson PL, but that's more for powerlifting squats, not for much else LOL


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## ECKSRATED (Mar 7, 2014)

yeti said:


> Try knee sleeves, either open or closed. I think Mueller or TK ones are good.
> I use the SBD sleeves from anderson PL, but that's more for powerlifting squats, not for much else LOL


I use the tk sleeves. Def recommend them.


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