Lack of legs.....help

[CNovaJason]

Hey guys and gals.........looking for some meat to put on my legs. Calves not that bad, but quads and hammys suck. I have bad knees so it's rough to do squats. I work out at home, have free weights, and a bowflex. I do leg curls and leg extensions, and lunges with a barbell usually up to 3 sets with say 135 to 165lbs. I'm sure I'll get told to eat more (I'm 6'2", 215lbs) VERY difficult to put on size anywhere for that matter. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cynical Simian]

Can you elaborate a bit on your knee problems with squatting? This probably falls under the heading of "I'm sure I'll get told...", and I know it seems like the solution to everything on this board is "squat", but being able to squat would save you a lot of trouble with designing an elaborate piecemeal leg routine. Quite a few people who've thought that squats were hurting their knees have found that Oly squats, when taken to their full range of motion rather than stopped at/near parallel, actually helped or at least didn't aggravate their knee problems.

 

[CNovaJason]

Well the deal with my knees is really one knee. It's my left knee that REALLY bothers me when I go down past parallel on squats. No matter how I turn my feet or stand, it always pops or feels like something is going to tear. I had hyper-extended it a while back and I'd say a while back meaning a year or two ago, but have had probs ever since. I try to do them, dont' get me wrong but the weight is pathetic for a big guy like me. I can barely clear 200lbs squatting correctly for a couple reps. Hope this helps. I'm sure leg presses would help me greatly but I don't have access to a machine like that. Thanks for responding bro.

 

[Cynical Simian]

Honestly, the best thing you can do is probably put aside whatever pride reservations you (or anyone else in a similar situation) might have about the oddity of squatting less than you bench, try the lower weight with proper form for a while and see if you can make progress without any pain in the knee.

 

[Protobuilder]

I remember reading a guy's experience just like yours -- he had a bad knee injury and was told not to ever squat again. He started just holding onto the uprights and lowering himself down slowly as far as he could go before feeling some pain. He'd do this until he had a decent ROM. Then he started w/ a broomstick across his shoulders. Anyway, you get the idea. He took it SLOW and was EXTRA CAREFUL and can now squat big weights again, pain free.

I'm not saying squats are the ONLY way, but w/o a leg press or hack squat set up, you'll get greatest results w/ the squat. Also, can you sprint? That seems to help some folks.