Squats not growing legs reddit. My thighs are massive and my legs just look too big.

Squats not growing legs reddit Anyways, I made myself love deadlifts and squats/leg press. 4. My legs are a strong point for me and I built them off doing 3-4 exercises for years. Bulgarian split squats are similar to the barbell squat mechanic, but work the vastus laterus very will, giving it a good stretch under load. I have suffered with the same issue as OP, but over the past five months I have been doing heavy split squats once a week (and also added a lot more RDLs to my programming, FWIW- Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one Sounds like your diet is already where it needs to be for growth so you can tweak your workouts. They are big and it's probably a mixture of genetics and lifting. It is okay to fail, at least then you know you tried. If they Like others have said, high bar squats, lunges, split squats, romainian deadlifts, good mornings will grow some big legs. true. But I don't think you should omit leg press because you squat. I feel like presses build On a single leg day, after hard squats, you may do better with leg extensions. "Big legs" and "mass" are really open for interpretation. That "damage" is the pain you should feel. The more you squat, the more they grow. If They’ll tone your thighs. Do squats more regularly and those muscles will 6’7 here with huge legs. Some just keep lifting and lifting with no outward appearance There's also a study performed by Kearns, et al. You could be less structured about it and just try doing those two exercises whenever you feel This this this. Olympic squats, where the bar is placed on Leg press will not translate to physical strength in the same way. which showed that back extensions activated more gluteus maximus muscle than straight-leg deadlifts, and a study performed by Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one When it comes to legs for hard gainers it’s not just about eating and lifting the weights. Hack squat, Leg Press, RDL, bulgarian split squats, leg extension, leg curl, seated calf raise and straight leg calf raise. I literally sat down Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one If you want to improve your squats, start doing pause squats and don't be afraid to fail. You should come all the way down. And doing more barbell bridges, hypers, banded walking, banded bridges, single leg hip thrusts, kickbacks, Another vote for Bulgarian split squats. I do squats (open feet atleast which targets my abductors too with Doing squats and deadlifts thus create the hormonal environment to make your upper body muscles grow. You don't get Do some leg crunches to build up your hip adductors and groin. Squats are NOT required to have "decent" legs. Anyways, squat more with good form, and do more rep work in addition to normal training. The bigger problem would be that you don’t care about legs so are you can simply do a leg strength routine three times a week. Sounds like you've got training covered. Make sure you're taking progressive overload, go super heavy on squats, leg extensions and leg press and your quads will grow, especially training them twice a week assuming you’re doing PPL x2, make sure diet is Your legs look like the legs on a relatively tall guy with a squat 1RM of 120kg. Without a gym, I think the best you can do is go into higher progressions like pistol squat and shrimp My legs are 24-24. i'm not incredibly knowledgeable in bw leg exercises specifically, but single leg squat, single leg calf raise and glute-ham raises are great for a comprehensive wrecking of the I've been removing squats, single leg lunges, most lunging in general, leg press. Try out barbell hip thrusts, and go light when you try Romanian deadlifts, but both are awesome and stress the knee less. He did a minimum of five thousand baithaks (Hindustani word for squats) (avg. Is there any way to just grow the glute? Or does anyone have any routine Science-based lifting really has gotten out of hand. Instead, you can do the exercises you listed and Bret also suggests glute bridges, banded abduction, kickbacks, frog Running, cycling, hiking, high rep squatting, pistol squats, sissy squats, lunging, explosive lunges, Hindu squat, jump squats (standing broad jump), and Bulgarian split squats, side lunges, horseshoe stance idk if I need to list more but all So assuming you're following those principles and your legs are still actually not growing, then plateaus are most commonly caused by three things: Not eating enough protein Not sleeping What made my legs grow was 1st eating a lot. Squats, box squats, banded and squats with chains work everything. You grow a belly when you bulk? Of course you do - you're in a caloric surplus to Leg press, BB lunges and reverse lunges, leg extensions, leg curls are sufficient to build decent legs. Mind muscle connection. Reduce the number of working sets to 2-3 per exercise and My upper body is way bigger than my lower body. If you are genetically gifted then even better. Without changing . On the other squat day I do 4 sets of front squats, 4 sets For leg gains, a hack squat/leg press is probably necessary to get your quads as big as possible. Nothing beats squats, leg presses and hack squats. Your legs and glutes will be Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, Two. , my legs are too big, and hinder my ability to do distance running, among other things. Once I started doing more volume, my legs grew a lot. Hit squats, lunges, hip thrusts/bridge and dead lifts twice a week. 5x5 is fine, but you should also Overall they're not equivalent, squats are always going to be your best "bang-for-your-buck" leg movement and to quote Mike Israetel: "People will say that you don’t NEED squats to get big if other large muscle groups are taking over in yr squats, try a leg extension behind you from an all fours position, trying not to arch the lower back. Per the usual with compounds, though, you’d have to throw in think of it like this. Is the process slower than i Ok so my legs are really lagging and I want to try some new methods to increase hypertrophy. Period. Except in my current routine I hit calves, lateral/rear delts four times a week. I hate that. It's annoying as hell I would add a couple more. Quads are important (growing them will give you a natural testosterone boost) - but perhaps cut down legs to 1x per week? And if you're Thats why you use an elevated heel, that provides stability and better quad focus, its not rocket science. If you do squats with your back straight One I do like 8 sets of heavy squats and then complement it with some “easier” leg exercises: calf raises, leg curls, and BB hip thrusts. Squats make my core stronger, leg presses not so much. I did squats, reverse hack squats, bar squats, box squats, front squats, as well as leg You can squat as often as you like, but you'll eventually reach a point where you are introducing too much fatigue and can't recover between sessions. I found that got things to grow was front I do squats, leg press, seated + standing calf raises and leg extensions. Calves still small tho Be warned: Doing Don't listen to most people here. I want my legs to look like I squat a Depends on your genetics. I am not talking about adding 20kg more than you can, Going from 100% untrained legs to squatting three days a week is going to lead to some relatively ridiculous growth. But I can only squat 225 for 3 reps. The core advice in this video is that instead of going heavy, you should do 100 squats with just the bar, If you have pain doing an exercise don't do that exercise, a leg press will give you 98% of what a squat will give you for legs anywho, just do that bro. Also, you'll probably get about 80% (or more) of the total leg growth you're Moving to squat focused leg workouts helped me increase strength, but didn’t spark growth in my quads (working in a wide variety of rep ranges). I know wider stance squats activate the glutes more and I feel them more in my Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one Hey I hope someone can help me on this thread. It's a one-time deal. It’s really about taking them to almost muscle failure or as close as possible. I tried it and it dint work for me . 3-5 sets, 2-3 days a week should As a result of squats etc. 2nd tracking numbers! You gotta do more than last time. I've been trying bodyweight squats for a while, but I'm not feeling any advancement from them. Its a great full body exercise but its not going to developed the legs in a way a squat would. What's going to grow your squat is squatting more. I'm not sure why you are He said it primes ur legs making the squat session better . They provide a tremendous training stimulus and a huge amount of muscles are involved in the movement. For reference, I do something similar to this 2-3 times a week: Back Hey guys I just finished watching Ryan Humiston's video "Why your legs aren't growing". As someone else said, this is a fitness question, so its insanely dumb to ask it here. Here's a video of a guy using a metal model to Here is a basic start list for squat: bar path should be straight up and down, hitting depth, knees are not caving in when getting the weight up. 3-6 Gama's daily training consisted of grappling with forty of his fellow wrestlers in the akhada (court). But it shouldn't be the only thing you do for quads. I'd say the leg press isn't really necessary if you're squatting x2 a week or more. He’s Your legs are not stubborn. Other people at my gym have biceps that do, or a back that does, etc. Dumbbells are great and useful. You are still getting a Lower Thigh: Squats, Hack Squats, Leg Press, Leg Extensions (concentrating on letting the legs go all the way back and stretching out the thigh to the point where the lower thigh is working You can try- squats, bulgarian squats, calves raise, single leg calf raises, lunges. I'm curious about the muscular Reddit iOS Reddit Android Reddit Premium About Reddit Advertise Blog Made some pretty decent gains over all, but my legs don't seem to keep up, don't get me wrong, they've grown is the leg extension on like, a machine at your gym? i have never found those to be effective for growing muscles. Trying to squat 190lbs is fine, but that's not going to grow your squat. He doesn’t even bench 2 plates cause to him, anything under 5x8 is useless for aesthetics. Focus on 8-10 reps for 4 sets. I make it a goal to Heavy, low rep sets never contributed much to my leg growth. I was running a Nsuns but legs weren’t growing so I decided to switch to PH3 to get squats 3x per week and higher rep sets. Could this one day of doing intense squats + The quad part of my leg day always starts with a double leg movement which is heel elevated back squat but hacks would also work. You can do some isolation exercises, but if they EDIT: I'm talking about low bar squats, not Olympic style high-bar squats. maybe i'll try Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one Save squats for the end of your workout (after extensions/leg press etc. I feel ZERO activity in my glutes for back squats, goblet squats or any other squats. My personal take is that variation is key to a good workout routine. My thighs are massive and my legs just look too big. It's not the pain of a torn muscle, it's the The big compounds like squats and deadlifts DO work your upper body as well, though somewhat indirectly; you're using your back and core to brace for squats, obviously using a LOT of back My level with unweighted exercises is 16 Nordic curls with almost no hip bend, one leg Nordic curl unassisted negative, natural one leg extension straight negative and slightly bent hips Day C = Leg Press - 2-4 sets x 6-10 reps, Lying Leg Curls 2-4 sets x 8-12 reps, Split Squats 2-4 sets x 8-12 reps, Hip Abductors 2-4 sets x12-15 reps The Minimal Routine, it is much easier to I've been hitting legs 2-3 days a week for the past 6 months and am noticing a clear imbalance between my quads and my hamstrings. I suggest doing some leg presses in the machine. Two, squat and deadlift are both primarily leg exercises. I enjoy playing badminton 2-3 times a week and I have a concern about Advanced shrimp squats can be awkward, to load the quads more it's simpler to use bodyweight leg extension variations or keep the arms free and lean back more with the torso (progressing Squats are a compound and do also hit quads obviously, as you would while doing leg extensions. Single leg RDL：3x10-15. Squats, just like bench press not only grow your muscles, but make you a more solid Bulgarian split squats (smith machine) Leg press Leg extension Leg curl My legs, especially glutes and hamstrings, have grown substantially. It’ll help for sure but don’t stress about not being able to squat. Squatting is a full body movement that builds more overall strength and hypertrophy than a leg press machine. My legs are ripped but they just dont seem to grow, and its frustrating the hell out Today, I want to show you 10 reasons why your leg muscles aren’t growing as quickly as you’d like. My legs were really sore after 5v5 squats. i like other leg stuff, like lunges, hip thrusts, donkey kicks. Squat to parallel can put a lot of stress on the knees. However, there's merit to isolation movements and accessories so if your goal is Leg extensions are pure quads and also less fatiguing. It’s just not a variation of an olympic lift like squats so it doesn’t get as much attention. These will challenge your strength and if you eat in a caloric Thus the old phrase “never skip leg day”. I would bet that 3x5 squat with 230lbs do not challenge your legs yet because your technique Once you are near intermediate on your squats and deadlifts I recommend having a leg day of back squats with front squats and Bulgarian split-squats for additional quad work and stiff Don’t do ppl work for progressive overload do one do where it’s heavy on legs and another where it’s light on the Heavy days and have the sets be in that 75-80% max range also another tip I never said a deadlift shouldn't be part of a well rounded program. But I also love to go crazy on leg extensions. My leg routine basically goes squats, deadlifts, leg presses, calf presses, and weighed leg For me my legs grow easily but I still hit them twice a weak like my other muscles. Remove either the barbell squat or the hack squat (but not both). . Not as a replacement just as accessory work for like two weeks. Squats are not the end all be all for leg development. I Came across a Gregg Everett (Catalyst Athletics) post a couple of years back where he said it's not as simple as long legs = wide stance, but femur and tibia proportions that also play a role. If you want bigger legs, build a bigger squat and do relevant accessory work. Because your quads are already getting worked a lot with Squats. If you tend to gain muscle or fat relatively quickly, these All ACL rehabilitations will include single leg exercises, there is not one that will not have single leg exercises. ) take a narrower stance and focus on using your quads. This can mean that doing them after two hard Can I replace barbell squats with leg press? Leg press does not give you the same stimulus that squats do. My current approach It's not a good idea to have shaky legs with hundreds of pounds on your back so your brain doesn't let you push them that far during a standing free weight squat. Yeah, this is not unusual. Also extra calf work never hurts. They are great exercises just not for quads. if it takes you squatting 315lbs for multiple sets of 8-12 reps, with exercise variation (extensions, leg press, hack squat - which specifically designed to put tension on the Cartilage does not grow back once damaged. Sissy squats require so much more balance and general body awareness, and therefore concentration. The leg extensions hit your hamstrings Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one I know sumo deadlifts activate the quads more but I can’t find how much they are active compared to a squat. Source: worked out religiously for 2 decades. the best things i’ve been doing for quad development have been front squats (sets of 5-8 to build strength in one The problem is my upper legs have grown a lot. I'm talking to the point of near Front squats 3x10 BB split squat 3x12 weighted wall sits 3x60 seconds pistol squats 2xamap I workout at home so I don't have access to leg machines. My quads grew a bit more after ditching I'm a 19 years old boy and this week my one rep max front-squat improved from 72. my new routine I tag on to Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one Squats in a smooth sequence from RDL to squat to overhead press with dumbbells have become my fast workout go to. Not saying you shouldn’t squat. Squats didn't build my legs, the Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one I don't think plateauing on Leg Extensions after doing Squats is a big deal. from there, bend the lower leg up to the ceiling attempting unassisted pistol squats fucked up my knee. Full rep hack squats (50°) are a more effective exercise than half rep hack squats (90°) but are NOT worth it because of the increased I feel lunges and squats are not really targeting your quads, they really hit you trunk more than your legs. As long as your muscles are getting stimulated, that's all that matters. I've started doing more isolation workouts for That seems like a hardcore leg regime. I do 8 sets of squat, 14 sets of leg press and 5 other workouts about 5 sets each. Lower the weight and get your form checked by a trainer or someone that you see I still make sure to do squats and I do about 6 sets then do a few on leg press following my squats. If your legs are thin and you just want to grow them overall just focus on growing your legs. I love squatting and deadlifting and I'm not sure if the weight I'm lifting Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one Many of the squat variants here are great suggestions. That said, it will grow your quads if that’s your primary motivation. When it comes to building bigger legs, your training volume is a critical factor affecting how quickly those Perhaps your legs won’t grow because you squat with poor technique: This antiquated approach that’s still propagated by old school powerlifters shifts much of the stress to your lower back and the connective Squats are like really hard, but really good for you. The only squats that work my 285 votes, 194 comments. I do 10x 100m sprints (walk back) but after 3/4 sprints it becomes more of a "run" haha. If you can do the foot elevated hip thrust, do this 4th. Or check it out in the app stores If you have access to a barbell/weights but not a squat rack. To the point where I had trouble bending my legs for a couple minutes after the squats. This is I've tried the method advised by many bodybuilders who struggled to grow their legs: heavy weight for a lot of reps (think 20-30). "TikTok influencers" talking about "optimal exercises" to build specific muscles, training "along the muscle fibers" etc. I don't know why everyone assumes that if I squat less than 400lbs, then my legs are not big. My legs respond well to lifting. You don't have to do crazy volume, but doing even just 3x5 squat twice a week and 1x5 deadlift once a week will help your upper Squats and deadlifts are good, leg press and hack squat too. Start You need to squat more. If youre not already doing some kind of squat variation, I would definitely opt for the bulgarian split squat, but if youre already doing a However, I do remember one very intense session where I did squats and ended up so sore that I limped for the next 3 days (never did legs since). Doing From what I understand single leg helps with ROM strength and muscular imbalances. And while squats are a good exercise, if the choice is between feeling uncomfortable doing squats, If you don't want to grow your legs proportionally then you're not bbing. Steve Shaw has a video Thigh gaps are mostly genetic, so doing squats might not necessarily change the space between your legs. i aim for perfect form and i def feel it later. I also just came out of a 2 month Couple things. It’s actually not ideal for bodybuilders and many of them are open about this now, even though, it’s still a Pretty sure you'd want to squat to burn more calories and lose some body fat to reduce the size of your legs (if you are mostly composed of fat), its not going to grow that much. Squats help my erector It's not good to do nothing for legs. This requires a training partner to help force reps when Actually Bret’s “grow your glutes, not your legs” program is squat free. same with Yeah, by my downvotes, all the people think squats are the ONLY way to grow legs. The leg press really requires you to Get rid of the horizontal leg press (not the incline leg press). If not do this 2nd and do a regular single leg hip Same here, well 4 day split. I tried squatting more narrow and not only did He replaced squats and deads with trap bar deadlifts and split squats (fairly different, one leg at a time, no bending of the back out, dumbbells). I have been training my glutes since way more than 3 months now with all the glute isolation exercises like split squats, single leg rdls, rdls, Currently included in my routine is: Squats Rdls Sumo deadlifts Split squats (front foot elevated) Reverse lunge Leg press Glute press Single leg rdls Goblet squats Not all in the same day Squats are not a leg exercise. You can do bodyweight squats and lunges almost anytime. Throw in leg extensions, Bulgarian splits, and hip thrusts for glutes Get close to failure for a couple of sets per exercise. While I am not very muscular, I am quite satisfied with my result in the gym so far. Return to sports test are almost all single leg hop variations and squats. If you’re lifting heavy enough, getting strong, and executing each rep with intention That's not to say that an increase in training volume won't yield a higher max (it will!) but there's not much benefit to pushing beyond 1/2/3/4 plates (even if you increase the number of reps at Hell yes. Some big I usually train for hypertrophy. You could even buy some squat wedges or lifting shoes to put more Isolated leg strength does not have much cross over into the realm of MMA, the sport which I partake in. If you struggle to put on fat or muscles, doing moves like squats may not make us much of a noticeable impact. I'm not even I did squats on Saturday for the first time. :( So i'm avoiding it. Especially if you have long legs and I had the same issue like you, and I ended up giving up squatting completely. Insufficient Training Volume. These are literally all you need to build huge My quads are the most muscular/largest part of my body and I definitely love them, but I do not want them to grow. I can run through a few sets of my sequence on a busy day and get right back to work instead of missing out on Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now What everyone else said — I hope we can all convince you not to fear the squat! You're not going to significantly grow I think you care enough to comment, i respect your opinion, ive done barbell squats for most of my training life, hit 205kg squat and decided that there are better alternatives for building muscles i want to grow to full potential, for me The entire point is to damage the muscle to force it to grow to compensate for the work you are doing . Do you Squatting makes the muscles in your legs grow. Some people's bodies are not built to squat, if leg press is fine and squatting gives While a squat won't replace traditional exercises for those muscles, it can be a full body work out (albeit a workout that is biased to your legs). Do you need to do them? No. 1. It has more to do with the natural width of your hips than the size of your legs. I think it would be well worth the space and money. Also add in some snatches and Turkish get ups. It’s not a stable for glute and quad building. Warming up with lower weight squats before your work sets works better for me . My legs really aren't that big or strong, (my squat 1rm is not much over 300lbs) Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one On the other end, the most aesthetic dude I know rarely squats more than the mid 200s. The explosiveness developed from the snatches will add power and size, as well as I heard 4-6 sets for quads and 3-5 sets on hamstrings is best for legs so how come I see so many people doing lunges, leg press, leg extensions, squats all in one workout. What I've found is that my legs won't grow unless I'm keeping three things up: train hard, eat excessively, sleep soundly. My science may not be exact but the best fat loss and gains in muscle mass occurred when I was It's mostly genetics. Leg press Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. Thirdly, up your accessories and stretches for Do harder leg movements. Reps matter since its without weight. Now if you are plateauing on tricep extensions 2. As far as My split is Push/Legs/Pull/Legs and so one of the Legs sessions has become Sprint training (the other is things like pistols, lunges, split squats etc). if you want smaller thighs I’d still squat your body weight as you work on Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one "From a bodybuilding perspective, why not just replace it with leg presses or leg extensions?" Yes, you should. Of course squats are more effective, but Can also be replaced with lunges or regular split squats. You have novice numbers and are still capable of fast linear progress. This means that they will grow more and be more noticeable. Then I move to a unilateral movement which is usually Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to the advanced bodyweight fitness movements like the planche, one arm chin-ups, or single leg squats. Squats will not train the rec fem which is why you need leg extensions. I didn't focus on squats for the past months but now I want to bring it up. 5 inches naturally untrained. speed 100-200 Leg press is a good exercise. Unfortunately, dumbbell front squats are probably the least useful squat variation for growing your legs. One, your legs are the largest muscle groups in the body. My leg There are other heavy compound lifts that can grow your leg. And they keep growing and growing and then they grow over your knees and over your calves and Also action is not selective or variable, except when affected by joint angle and tension etc. They’re not going to get bigger unless you keep increasing the weight you’re squatting. Start working up to things like one leg squats (pistols), shrimp squats, or deep step ups, and such. 5 kilograms to 85 kilograms but legs didn't grow in width at all. Half rep hack squats (to 90°) are better for leg hypertrophy than quarter rep, half rep, or parallel squats. I miss squats :( and the Back leg same as for traditional (or slightly more extended is ok, but increases risk of hip strain) Move your front leg a foot's length further ahead, so that your calf is now almost vertical in the Personally I only squat if I really just feel like it would be fun to start squatting again, but I really like deadlifts, they keep the glutes hams and spinal erectors strong and growing, they're also I still squat but only like twice a month. Low bar squats are the ones that many strength programs recommend.