[The Bacon Man]

Do they build as much strength as squatting?

[Globemasta III]

bad for knees

[Kirko017]

Depends on what you mean by "building as much strength". If you can only doing 80lbs on leg extensions, do them for a month and you can do 100lbs now on leg extensions. You did build strength. If you only went up 5 lbs on squats in that month. Did you build as much strength on leg extensions as you did on squats?

[The Bacon Man]

Globemasta III, on 27 November 2012 - 09:13 PM, said:

bad for knees

Funny, I was going to start these because I don't have good knees. Squats are better?

[The Bacon Man]

Kirko017, on 28 November 2012 - 01:36 AM, said:

Depends on what you mean by "building as much strength". If you can only doing 80lbs on leg extensions, do them for a month and you can do 100lbs now on leg extensions. You did build strength. If you only went up 5 lbs on squats in that month. Did you build as much strength on leg extensions as you did on squats?

I mean just over all leg strength. Quads, calfs, any muscle waist down that helps me run faster and tackle harder.

So I'm asking if I worked out 3x a week with leg extensions and leg curls will it give me more/less strength than squatting 3x a week?

[Globemasta III]

The Bacon Man, on 28 November 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

Kirko017, on 28 November 2012 - 01:36 AM, said:

Depends on what you mean by "building as much strength". If you can only doing 80lbs on leg extensions, do them for a month and you can do 100lbs now on leg extensions. You did build strength. If you only went up 5 lbs on squats in that month. Did you build as much strength on leg extensions as you did on squats?

I mean just over all leg strength. Quads, calfs, any muscle waist down that helps me run faster and tackle harder.

So I'm asking if I worked out 3x a week with leg extensions and leg curls will it give me more/less strength than squatting 3x a week?

ya my weightlifting partner has knee problems and goes to therapy and he has a list of things that are and are not good for the knee.. the legpress is good for your knee though and deadlifts

[The Bacon Man]

Interesting, I thought squats were terrible for your knees. Learn something new everyday.

[Globemasta III]

The Bacon Man, on 28 November 2012 - 08:39 PM, said:

Interesting, I thought squats were terrible for your knees. Learn something new everyday.

squats are bad only when form is not perfect which is sooo easy

[The Bacon Man]

Yup. I have very tight hamstrings, I've been working on them and they are slowly getting better. I can't reach my ankles without bending my knees... So naturally squatting is hard.

[Kirko017]

The Bacon Man, on 28 November 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

Kirko017, on 28 November 2012 - 01:36 AM, said:

Depends on what you mean by "building as much strength". If you can only doing 80lbs on leg extensions, do them for a month and you can do 100lbs now on leg extensions. You did build strength. If you only went up 5 lbs on squats in that month. Did you build as much strength on leg extensions as you did on squats?

I mean just over all leg strength. Quads, calfs, any muscle waist down that helps me run faster and tackle harder.

So I'm asking if I worked out 3x a week with leg extensions and leg curls will it give me more/less strength than squatting 3x a week?

Well a squat is a compound movement that works all of those muscles. So yes. It will be better than leg extensions and leg curls simply because it includes all of the muscles of the lower body.. Is it going to hit your calves and hamstrings good? It will hit them, but not really well like calf raises or leg curls would. That's why people put together leg routines. And do a number of different exercises for lower body.

If you plan to just do Squats and that is it. You're not really contributing to your goal of running faster or tackling harder as much as you could with a leg routine where you hit all your muscles well.
Squats work your glutes and quads the most. When you perform the exercise you press through your heals which is why your calves and hamstrings are not worked that much. When you run, you run on the front of your foot and utilize your calves and hamstrings a lot, so not working them good during your workouts would be silly.

I would say do squats, add in leg curls, and calf raises for an overall leg development. And doing sprints always helps

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 29 November 2012 - 12:35 AM

[The Bacon Man]

Kirko017, on 29 November 2012 - 12:32 AM, said:

The Bacon Man, on 28 November 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

Kirko017, on 28 November 2012 - 01:36 AM, said:

Depends on what you mean by "building as much strength". If you can only doing 80lbs on leg extensions, do them for a month and you can do 100lbs now on leg extensions. You did build strength. If you only went up 5 lbs on squats in that month. Did you build as much strength on leg extensions as you did on squats?

I mean just over all leg strength. Quads, calfs, any muscle waist down that helps me run faster and tackle harder.

So I'm asking if I worked out 3x a week with leg extensions and leg curls will it give me more/less strength than squatting 3x a week?

Well a squat is a compound movement that works all of those muscles. So yes. It will be better than leg extensions and leg curls simply because it includes all of the muscles of the lower body.. Is it going to hit your calves and hamstrings good? It will hit them, but not really well like calf raises or leg curls would. That's why people put together leg routines. And do a number of different exercises for lower body.

If you plan to just do Squats and that is it. You're not really contributing to your goal of running faster or tackling harder as much as you could with a leg routine where you hit all your muscles well.
Squats work your glutes and quads the most. When you perform the exercise you press through your heals which is why your calves and hamstrings are not worked that much. When you run, you run on the front of your foot and utilize your calves and hamstrings a lot, so not working them good during your workouts would be silly.

I would say do squats, add in leg curls, and calf raises for an overall leg development. And doing sprints always helps

Thanks, helped a lot. Should I do weighted calf raises or body weight?

[TechPB-Mike]

one of the worst things you can do in my opinion

do medicine ball tosses -

Take a 20 pound medicine ball
Do a full squat
throw the medicine ball up 10 feet
repeat 50 to 150 times as fast as you can


Front squats, box jumps, back squats, sprints, these are all better for you than leg extensions and curls

You want to build these muscles using a function movement, not attempting to isolate them. It's not just the muscle, you need all the connective tissue to work properly as well. Isolation excersizes like extensions and curls will fuck your legs up, bad idea

[The Bacon Man]

Thanks. What about jumping squats? Those always make me sore.

[Kirko017]

The Bacon Man, on 30 November 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

Kirko017, on 29 November 2012 - 12:32 AM, said:

The Bacon Man, on 28 November 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

Kirko017, on 28 November 2012 - 01:36 AM, said:

Depends on what you mean by "building as much strength". If you can only doing 80lbs on leg extensions, do them for a month and you can do 100lbs now on leg extensions. You did build strength. If you only went up 5 lbs on squats in that month. Did you build as much strength on leg extensions as you did on squats?

I mean just over all leg strength. Quads, calfs, any muscle waist down that helps me run faster and tackle harder.

So I'm asking if I worked out 3x a week with leg extensions and leg curls will it give me more/less strength than squatting 3x a week?

Well a squat is a compound movement that works all of those muscles. So yes. It will be better than leg extensions and leg curls simply because it includes all of the muscles of the lower body.. Is it going to hit your calves and hamstrings good? It will hit them, but not really well like calf raises or leg curls would. That's why people put together leg routines. And do a number of different exercises for lower body.

If you plan to just do Squats and that is it. You're not really contributing to your goal of running faster or tackling harder as much as you could with a leg routine where you hit all your muscles well.
Squats work your glutes and quads the most. When you perform the exercise you press through your heals which is why your calves and hamstrings are not worked that much. When you run, you run on the front of your foot and utilize your calves and hamstrings a lot, so not working them good during your workouts would be silly.

I would say do squats, add in leg curls, and calf raises for an overall leg development. And doing sprints always helps

Thanks, helped a lot. Should I do weighted calf raises or body weight?

Weighted unless you just want to be able to reach the top cupboard in your kitchen easier

[dave_zok]

One of the first thing j learned taking nutrition/ PE classes for my minor and that leg extension are useless and bad for leg development. The last thing you want is overdeveloped quad and a weaker hamstring. That is an equation to pulled hamstrings, and for anyone who has had that before its fucking painfull.

So stick to squats and leg curls and your quads will develop naturally.

[Kirko017]

dave_zok, on 08 December 2012 - 10:40 AM, said:

One of the first thing j learned taking nutrition/ PE classes for my minor and that leg extension are useless and bad for leg development. The last thing you want is overdeveloped quad and a weaker hamstring. That is an equation to pulled hamstrings, and for anyone who has had that before its fucking painfull.

So stick to squats and leg curls and your quads will develop naturally.

Yeah, leg extensions are useless and bad for leg development. I can't think of any pro athletes or pro body builders that even do leg extensions. Just about every gym around the world doesn't even pay the thousands of dollars for those leg extension machines because they're useless....

Your quad is only going to over develop your hamstring if you do not do hamstring exercises.. Besides, your hamstring is naturally weaker and your quads are naturally bigger just like your triceps compared to your biceps. Don't be like the people who neglect their triceps and focus on their biceps. Work your quads and work your hamstrings optimally

[TechPB-Mike]

Kirko017, on 10 December 2012 - 10:25 PM, said:

Yeah, leg extensions are useless and bad for leg development. I can't think of any pro athletes or pro body builders that even do leg extensions. Just about every gym around the world doesn't even pay the thousands of dollars for those leg extension machines because they're useless....

The reason why they pay thousands of dollars for those machines is because the easiest way to sell someone something, is to just give them what they want

They don't want to do free squats, wall balls, box jumps, front squats, squat cleans, overhead squats, thrusters, or any of the dozens of other movements that are difficult that actually build muscle the correct way

They want to sit on their ass, stretch out and damage their ligaments in their knees using a machine that is terrible for them

If you look at someone doing a leg extension, look at terrible it is for their knee joint, that is one of the WORST things you can do to your knee joint. Look at how much stress, gets put on the joint, just awful


Some of the fastest, strongest and most physically fit people I know, have NEVER sat on a leg extension machine, or a leg curl machine.

It's your knees, you do whatever you want to do, but when you are actually on the machine, feel how your tendons and ligaments in your knee joint feel when you are using that machine. Nasty nasty stuff

[Kirko017]

TechPB-Mike, on 12 December 2012 - 01:43 PM, said:

Kirko017, on 10 December 2012 - 10:25 PM, said:

Yeah, leg extensions are useless and bad for leg development. I can't think of any pro athletes or pro body builders that even do leg extensions. Just about every gym around the world doesn't even pay the thousands of dollars for those leg extension machines because they're useless....

The reason why they pay thousands of dollars for those machines is because the easiest way to sell someone something, is to just give them what they want

They don't want to do free squats, wall balls, box jumps, front squats, squat cleans, overhead squats, thrusters, or any of the dozens of other movements that are difficult that actually build muscle the correct way

They want to sit on their ass, stretch out and damage their ligaments in their knees using a machine that is terrible for them

If you look at someone doing a leg extension, look at terrible it is for their knee joint, that is one of the WORST things you can do to your knee joint. Look at how much stress, gets put on the joint, just awful


Some of the fastest, strongest and most physically fit people I know, have NEVER sat on a leg extension machine, or a leg curl machine.

It's your knees, you do whatever you want to do, but when you are actually on the machine, feel how your tendons and ligaments in your knee joint feel when you are using that machine. Nasty nasty stuff

Squats and leg presses are not exactly good for your knees either which is why a lot of people choose to wear knee wraps.. I can say the same for Benching and triceps extensions for the elbows.. I personally don't think it is any worse on your knees than any other exercise where you're putting additional weight and stress to try and increase strength and growth by bending you're knees. It doesn't hurt my knees when I do knee extensions, but I don't try to smash my knee together or pull it so high up that my MCL is going to rip out. And especially when I do leg curls, I do not feel any pain at all in the knees..

We can argue about what is bad and good for joints all day. Honestly, if you do it and it hurts your knees, then just don't do it. I personally like the exercise, and it doesn't hurt me at all. It certaintly isn't useless nor bad for development. Knee extensions are a great isolation movement to focus on the quads just as leg curls are for your hamstrings, they provide a great stretch and contraction for them.

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 13 December 2012 - 04:23 AM

[Solowing]

dave_zok, on 08 December 2012 - 10:40 AM, said:

One of the first thing j learned taking nutrition/ PE classes for my minor and that leg extension are useless and bad for leg development. The last thing you want is overdeveloped quad and a weaker hamstring. That is an equation to pulled hamstrings, and for anyone who has had that before its fucking painfull.

So stick to squats and leg curls and your quads will develop naturally.

My leg day includes incline leg press, leg curls, and squats, but you need to make sure you go low or you work more of your squads.