Battle: leg press versus squat for quad growth

[The Answ3r]

I’ve completely dropped barbell squats and now stick mostly to leg press and hack squats - in my opinion, some of the best leg builders out there. If your gym has a belt squat, definitely give it a try. It takes all the pressure off your lower back, so you can really focus on pushing your legs without worrying about your spine, which makes it a better option than traditional squats for me.

 

[Eddie.]

Tell that to Tom Platz. Or anyone, ever, who did old school "20 rep squats" which were take your 10rm and do 20 reps with however much pausing at the top you needed to finish. Lots of body builders did 20 reppers back in the day

If you really believe that Platz achieved this leg development because of the high reps then i think you know so little about bodybuilding and growth in general. Arnold was also doing high rep squats and he had worse quads than todays good natties. Lee Haney said also he was doing lots of reps and his legs were behind.

There are much more to be discussed for quad growth besides high/low reps. Also as i've already stated i'm not opposed to higher reps for legs, just not on squats. The fatigue and overall strain on body is much more than actual quad growth.

 

[eery]

No one does 15-25 reps squat to failure, at least no one with a brain lol. 8-10 is great with 1-2 RIR. Then you can do high rep leg press and leg extensions.

lots of people do and have done that.

i would keep a squat variation, a legpress and a leg extension variation in my quad routine(s).

Which variation fits you and your current situation the best? choose that.

 

[The Answ3r]

I had a phase where I did squats for 15–25 reps, and honestly, that’s more torture than progress. Leg press in that range? Fine. Hack squats? Sure. But regular barbell squats like that? No thanks - I don’t need that kind of hell in my life anymore.

Squatting that many reps feels less like training legs and more like bargaining with God mid-set, wondering what life choices brought me here. Never again.

 

[AlexDavis43]

I hate squats but my quads grow best going to failure (or painfully close) in the 10 rep range

And since I was also cursed by the Gods, it has to be full depth squats