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I finally did it!

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Arnold

Arnold

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After 4+ months of no squats, only leg press, I decided I could not stand it anymore, after 15 years of squatting I just cannot stop.

I started out with one plate on each side, did 3 sets, then moved up to 205lbs, did 2 sets of 10 and it felt like about 400lbs! :eek:

Needless to say I am very sore today. It helps me remember how squats incorporate practically the entire body! :yes:

The reason I stopped doing squats for 4 months was due to two nerve issues I had in my back over the past year. The first one was my brachial plexus nerve in my upper back, the second was my sciatic nerve in my lower back. I have been going to a chiropractor for the past 4 months as well.
 
Hey, I hear you one the squats Robert. I have a mechanical problem with them too - it just does not feel right. But we need that massive multi-muscle group stress to get the GH release later in the night. I think you can get a fair approximation and similar benefit by doing dead lifts though. But I found that I can get a pretty good squat effect by using the power squat machine facing toward the back rest. On this machine I find that I can get extremely heavy weights on my shoulders and I don't have to worry about getting locked down and being unable to duck out. I have been as high as 540 lbs of plates (no idea how much the apparatus weighs) and I can pretty much put different emphasis on quads or glutes depending on how I vector my thrust angle. Which is not bad for a guy who comes in at 190 lbs on a lean frame. I don't get any of the binding in the lower back that I do with the conventional squat rack. Try it you might like it.

OD
 
I do not feel that I have a mechanical problem with squats, I think it might just be old age. :)

I think maybe after 20 years of lifting weights, and 15 years of squats it is all just catching up with me so to speak. My chiropractor tells me I have a very healthy spine, but I do have one leg that it about 10mm shorter which puts my hips off balance and I have a slight curvature in my spine because of this. I now wear a heel lift, and I only see him once every two weeks for an adjustment, where as the first month I was seeing him 3 times per week.

I have had no pain or problems the past 4 months, and I felt really good doing the squats, I just felt weak. I think I will continue to do them, but I will probably never go above 225lbs.
 
I hear you on the age thing but I bet I am fairly older than you and feel like my best years are still ahead of me. In fact i did BB to alleviate the aches and pains and its been the best possible therapy for me - no longer do I get nagging hip pains like I use to. I am stronger now that I have ever been in my entire life - by far. I got a real late start in all this and really did not start any serious bb till after age 35 or so and then sporadically. I have been out of it now for 2 months due to hurricane situation here but will probably be starting back up again this Monday - not looking forward to the initial weeks of pain though as I get re-acclimated to it...

OD
 
4 months!? I haven't squatted in 4 years! And probably never will again. If I thought my leg development was suffering as a result, I would reconsider, but thats not the case.

Anyway, just be careful RD! :thumb:
 
gopro said:
4 months!? I haven't squatted in 4 years! And probably never will again. If I thought my leg development was suffering as a result, I would reconsider, but thats not the case.

Anyway, just be careful RD! :thumb:
Click to expand...


Why? Past injury?
 
P-funk said:
Why? Past injury?
Click to expand...

Every time I would go to sets of 400 + my lower back would begin to hurt...sometimes right while I was squatting and sometimes within a day. Yes, my form has always been textbook, and this was even while regularly doing deadlifts with 500 +, so my lower back was strong. Also, and even more importantly, squats NEVER felt that great to me. I never got soreness in my quads from squatting that was comparable to hacks or leg presses.

Basically, I feel that squats just aren't for me.
 
Robert DiMaggio

After 4+ months of no squats, only leg press, I decided I could not stand it anymore, after 15 years of squatting I just cannot stop.

I started out with one plate on each side, did 3 sets, then moved up to 205lbs, did 2 sets of 10 and it felt like about 400lbs!

Needless to say I am very sore today. It helps me remember how squats incorporate practically the entire body!

The reason I stopped doing squats for 4 months was due to two nerve issues I had in my back over the past year. The first one was my brachial plexus nerve in my upper back, the second was my sciatic nerve in my lower back. I have been going to a chiropractor for the past 4 months as well.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't f$ck around with your back.

You don't want back problems when you're older as once your back is shot, it's very hard to get it back to normal if you ever do.

There are ppl who can't even bend down to pick up a shoe box or something.
 
So does this mean the almighty squat is not one of those exercises-to-live-and-die by as professed by some?? :confused:

I have been told i am borderline for lower back problems. I have a similar hip misalignment situation as Robert DiMaggio, wherein one leg is a bit shorter than the other. And like gopro, i dont feel a great burn/pump doing them as i do with legpresses.

In the past i avoided them in order not to create any back probs(which is why i avoid deadlifts as well, but thats another discussion altogether), but have been advised in other threads that i should do them and hence a few months ago i started doing them. Of course i am not anywhere near you guys. I can do a max of 160 10reps in my 4th set (presently doing pyramid style), and sometimes my hips roll side to side and i dont like that.

Height 6'/165lb. So would you guys say it is ok to continue but keep the weights reasonable?
 
Johnnny said:
I wouldn't go near squats with back problems
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I dont have any back problems presently. I have been told that i am borderline for them.
 
Bulkmeup

If you're borderline for back problems why make them worse or cause back problems faster?

Not worth it IMO.
 
BulkMeUp said:
I dont have any back problems presently. I have been told that i am borderline for them.
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If you are uncomfortable with them and are going to be more worried about hurting yourself than focusing on your legs, then forget them and work hard on hacks, leg presses and lunges with dumbells. Incredible legs can be built with these exercises.
 
Injury in the lower back is still possible even if the exercise is done with perfect form?
 
I have done squats a few times but I also did not like the tension in certain areas. I have stuck to lunges, presses, extentions and curls and never felt my legs lagged in training. I also even felt the elliptical with heavy resistance and walks/jogs on hill terrain once in a blue gave my legs a nice wo :thumb:
 
Vieope said:
Injury in the lower back is still possible even if the exercise is done with perfect form?
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You can have perfect form, but if a stabilizing muscle is to weak you can hurt yourself. I don't think one should just start doing squats like most people do. What they do is they compensate for the weaker muscle by utilizing another muscle more than they would have to. Initially form looks ok, but over the course of time this will lead to a dysfunctional movement pattern that gets worse with continuation of the movement.


Hey RD, one of my legs is 10mm shorter than the others, the middle one. :D
 
Dale Mabry said:
You can have perfect form, but if a stabilizing muscle is to weak you can hurt yourself. I don't think one should just start doing squats like most people do. What they do is they compensate for the weaker muscle by utilizing another muscle more than they would have to. Initially form looks ok, but over the course of time this will lead to a dysfunctional movement pattern that gets worse with continuation of the movement.


Hey RD, one of my legs is 10mm shorter than the others, the middle one. :D
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:eek: A picture is needed to fully figure out what the problem is :lol: ;)
 
I feel the burn and subsequent swelling throughout my legs.

I like everything about doing squats except getting a bit nauseated and walking like a prison bitch the next day...

Righ on RD! :thumb:
 
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Dale Mabry said:
Hey RD, one of my legs is 10mm shorter than the others, the middle one. :D
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*wow* your gut has gotten so big you are now classifying it as a leg??!! :eek:





j/k :hehe:
 
gopro said:
If you are uncomfortable with them and are going to be more worried about hurting yourself than focusing on your legs, then forget them and work hard on hacks, leg presses and lunges with dumbells. Incredible legs can be built with these exercises.
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Thanks gopro!

If i did squats with mod/low weights and focussed on the other exercises to build mass, would i be wasting my time?
 
BulkMeUp said:
Thanks gopro!

If i did squats with mod/low weights and focussed on the other exercises to build mass, would i be wasting my time?
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No you wouldn't. Squats are still an awesome functional exercise, and many people have built great legs with high rep/lower weight squats.
 
gopro said:
I never got soreness in my quads from squatting that was comparable to hacks or leg presses.
Click to expand...

I am liking hacks and leg presses a lot more, I dont feel it in my quads either honestly but I am willing to get my form critiqued to see whats up.
 
another point to made about squats is that they work more than just legs, they are practically a full body exercise.

after a 4 month layoff I found out the next how many muscles are involved in the squat, not only was my entire lower body sore, but my entire back was also sore.
 
gopro said:
If you are uncomfortable with them and are going to be more worried about hurting yourself than focusing on your legs, then forget them and work hard on hacks, leg presses and lunges with dumbells. Incredible legs can be built with these exercises.
Click to expand...
this is all i did for the past April show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumb: :thumb:
i too, just started doing full squats again. :rocker: :rocker: and yes, its getting to be an age thing. :eek: :eek: :laugh:
 
Robert DiMaggio said:
another point to made about squats is that they work more than just legs, they are practically a full body exercise.

after a 4 month layoff I found out the next how many muscles are involved in the squat, not only was my entire lower body sore, but my entire back was also sore.
Click to expand...

Like I said...an awesome functional exercise making everything work in concert to make the entire body strong. However, this is not the main purpose of a pure bodybuilder. Isolating the target muscle is. For some, squats still do this, but like you, I would wake up sore in my back from squats...and this is something that I DON'T want.
 
I love squatting too much to ever give it up, barring some kind of serious injury or something...there's nothing quite like having all that weight on your back and being able to handle it like its nothing.
 
gopro said:
However, this is not the main purpose of a pure bodybuilder. Isolating the target muscle is. For some, squats still do this, but like you, I would wake up sore in my back from squats...and this is something that I DON'T want.
Click to expand...

hmmm...that is opening up a can of worms, sounds like you're suggesting that isolation exercises are better for gaining mass than compound movements.
 
Robert DiMaggio said:
hmmm...that is opening up a can of worms, sounds like you're suggesting that isolation exercises are better for gaining mass than compound movements.
Click to expand...

No, not really. I guess "isolate" was not the right word, as neither leg presses or hacks are isolation exercises, but compound lifts. However, they do take the need for balancing and some stabilization out of the equation allowing a great "focus" on the quads.
 
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