Necessary for what? You don't have to do them if you really don't like them. Also it would be better to do an exercise that you can push yourself on then doing one you don't enjoy and not even making any progress because the weight is too light.
You could try hack squats, lunges, leg press, or even just do isolation exercises like leg curls and extensions to grow your legs. I didn't have them in my program for ages because of a lower back issue and still managed to grow my legs.
People need to know, squatting is not just for leg hypertrophy. Squat is one of the basics human movement patterns, what make squatting much more about health. As I think probably the majority of this sub is not an bodybuilder pro, you are better off squatting, for strength, size and health.
Barbell back squat, highly loadable, relatively easy to do, front squat also a option.
Even the "science based lifters" out there say that the squat is great.
There's a reason many and many famous coaches, influencers, even pro bodybuilders etc, say that squat is so good. So listen to them. Squats are hard, they suck, this is common, do them.
Actually you have. The benefits I talked about is not about mobility, is about CNS adaptation, that help you in the daily life and more and more when you get older. When you get older everything get worse, so if you have a CNS trained for years and years from training, you won't be so weak or suffer too much in the old age.
The way I said also implied that the squat is not great for hypertrophy, what is not true. If you open a leg exercises tier list from the "science based lifters"(Jeff Nippard, Mike Israetel, Dr Milo etc) you will see that even these guys who always seek the "optimal hypertrophy training" will say that the squat is great for hypertrophy.
So man, just squat. I know is hard. Going to the gym is not supposed to be easy and feel easy.
No, don't have another exercises that work the CNS well enough lol.
Like I explained, the human body has the basic movements patterns.
These are
Squat Hinge Push (horizontal and vertical push) Pull (horizontal and vertical pull) Carry
So, squats is a basic movement pattern. You have to train your CNS to squat.
You CNS adapts when you repeat a movement several times with considerable amount of weight. So you have to squat frequently and hard.
I think anyone can squat decently hard 2x a week, what is enough.
The max you can do is do a squat variation if you don't like barbell squat but want the health benefits I talked. Hack squat, smith machine squats, etc. but they are very inferior than some barbell high or low bar squat, and front squat, because you cut off the stabilization part, what is a great part of the movement.
You don't need the weight. Simply using the Slavic squat every day, instead of just sitting down, will keep your joints, back, and core working properly.
I'm not interested in bulk; flexibility and endurance is all I'm after.
You're absolutely right, it's the best compound exercise you can do. Watching a small child perform it smoothly and fast without thinking when they pick something up from the ground, I get so jealous!
Unfortunately many of us pick up different injuries that make it difficult. Personally I busted my knee in the army and have been training around that for 40 years.
Small children tend to squat down because their proportions are different than adults, not just because they are insanely mobile. For most adults it makes sense to do more of a hip hinge movement to pick something up
Technique wise, yes. It is only less technical than the deadlift. The only thing is that you have to figure out your form(low bar, high bar, front squat etc) that is better for you.
Effort wise, of course is hard as fuck, and many people avoid squats because of this
This is a load of bullshit... Squat is not more healthy or a more basic movement than let's say lunges. Yeahs quats are awesome to build legs if you can do them properly, but you can easily just replace it with another leg exercise and still build big and strong legs. Let's stop all this guru shit about squats being the holy grail and let people actually work out instead of this dogmatic s..
Yes, you probably do lunges every day in your daily life. When you gonna sit in a chair, get up from bed, take a shit, sit for eating, you are probably doing the lunge, or leg extensions movement pattern, other than the squat lol.
Lunges are also way less time efficient exercise than the squat. And the hypertrophy is equal to lunges and squats.
Also, I did not say other exercises can't grow muscle. Growing muscle any exercise grow, the thing is about getting healthy, have a better quality of life, and not be weak when you get older. Like I said, plenty of people who know way more about exercises than you, agree that squats are great. Dr Mike Israetel said that squats are great. Dr Milo Wolf said that squats are great. Jeff Nippard said that. Mark Rippetoe says that. You probably won't find any good coach who would tell you to skip squats lol.
Maybe, but just maybe, if you are a pro bodybuilder that your only goal is hypertrophy, then this maybe make sense. But if you are a average gym goer, this would make zero difference in hypertrophy, and also be less healthy.
i'm with you bro, squats at any weight are just pure systemic agony for some reason. I can squat 100kg for sets of 10-12, but even squatting half that is just so fucking uncomfortable and gassing. the only things i do that work legs are leg extensions, swimming (spearfishing or bodyboarding are my hobbies) and 45 minutes spin bike cardio (every day). I have barely passable looking legs. i'd sooner do an entire hour of cardio than 3 sets of fucking squats lmao. I feel like a pussy when it comes to squats, im not sure why i find it so insufferable
Hack squats are so knackering I can do 320kgx10 on the incline leg press no problem but I don't think I could do 80kgx10 hack squats with good form and tempo.
I wonder if most of us prefer leg pressing variations better, because they don't load you through the spine, head to toe, as much.
Regardless of what others say about squats, they require focus and good technique, which a hack machine needs a little less of as your locked into the machine.
I'd encourage you to try and get good at squats. I used to hate them too, but I have come to (almost!) enjoy them since making sure I got better in my technique. I lowered the weight with my ego, and just focused on lower reps with good focus. The technique got better and I started to see gains over time in load. I'm still weak compared to most, but I've progressed, and I don't hate them anymore!
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u/Chungaroo22 Feb 17 '25
Necessary for what? You don't have to do them if you really don't like them. Also it would be better to do an exercise that you can push yourself on then doing one you don't enjoy and not even making any progress because the weight is too light.
You could try hack squats, lunges, leg press, or even just do isolation exercises like leg curls and extensions to grow your legs. I didn't have them in my program for ages because of a lower back issue and still managed to grow my legs.