Alternatives to squats

[baseballjuicer]

I have two titanium rods fused to my spine. Because of this i can not do squats because it puts to much stress on my lower back. Does anyone know any exercises that i can replace for squats.

 

[VascularitY]

try squatting on the smith machine and focus on keeping your back as straight (up and down) as possible. that always took hte pressure off of my lower back when it was injured. other than that hit the leg press hard, heavy drop sets on both the leg press and leg extension. You dont HAVE to do squats to get deacent legs. but im sorry to say that youll never have a bodybuilders legs without good ol fashioned squats

 

[fortunatesun]

Is it possible to use a Manta Ray?

Advanced Fitness

It's an inexpensive piece of molded plastic that snaps on to the bar that raises the level of the bar for high bar squats. It may be usefull in that it distributes the load to your quads and back muscles, keeping compression off the spine. You'd probably want to consult your medical experts first, but it might do the trick.

Note: You can find them elsewhere a few $ cheaper.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I would avoid leg presses. A friend/former coworker of mine has a degree in kinesiology and was adamant that the leg press puts more strain on the lower back than squats. Can you do deadlifts, lunges, sigle leg squats w/ DBs?

A bad back is a real bitch - if you can't squat you probably can't do a lot of other things as well

 

[BiggT]

What about front squats?... the weight is racked in the front of your body and they generally don't tax the posterior chain like back squats do.....if you have the green light to lift, it may just come down to experimentation and what gives you the best results with the least pain.

By the way, awesome handle.

 

[zaxxon1982]

I have two titanium rods fused to my spine. Because of this i can not do squats because it puts to much stress on my lower back. Does anyone know any exercises that i can replace for squats.

What are your goals? For some objectives, squats are good but not critical. For others, squats are pretty much irreplaceable. Squats are a nice general exercise that you can do no matter what the objective. When you get into the lunge/leg press/deadlift/leg extension/sled pulling world of leg development you need to make sure the exercise will actually bring you where you want to go.

 

[TheOak84]

titanium? like wolverine lol...

if u need to build the legs, use leg press and exts..

 

[baseballjuicer]

I can do lunges and leg press doesnt seem to both my back. But deadlifts kill my back. Last time i tried i had back spasms so bad i couldnt stand up. Im a baseball player i want to get faster. I also pitch so i need a lot of power in my legs.

 

[super_rice]

Ironmind sells an attachment to do belt squats.

I'd do belt squats, GHRs, and reverse hypers...

 

[fortunatesun]

I'm thinking kettlebells may be a good answer. You can hold them between the legs for squats and behind your back for hack squats. They'd also be on the money for general conditioning- farmer's walks, cleans, overhead pressing to name a few.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

I'm thinking kettlebells may be a good answer. You can hold them between the legs for squats and behind your back for hack squats. They'd also be on the money for general conditioning- farmer's walks, cleans, overhead pressing to name a few.

Or you could save money and just use dumbbells.

 

[fortunatesun]

Or you could save money and just use dumbbells.

True, but there may be a better carryover to the athletic field esp. with co-ordination and explosive power due to different load. I'd have to check, but I think this was one reason Spetznaz prefered them.

 

[Shark Hunter]

Actually. I think Wolverine is made of Adimantium (sp?) Or so I here, not that I know anything at all about the X-Men, or whtever they are called.

I too cant Squat, actually because of shoulder issues (external rotation force). i found dumbells squats, lunges, and hack squats to be an excellent alternative. Of course you'll definitely want to run our ideas by your medical and Rehab team first.

I believe 100% you need Squats for that size, power, and "look"...but something just short of that CAN be reached by other means...good luck!