Squats and lunges: w/ barbell vs. dumbells

[nEwSkIn]

Hi!

Today was leg day for me, I did squats and lunges using 2 heavy dumbells on each hand. Boy, it was tough! I mean, especially on squats, I had to use a lot more whole body strength (arms, shoulders and all included) to keep the weights steady, instead of having a bar resting on my shoulders.

Now, my question is: is there any advantage of mixing up leg day like this? do I get anything from dumbell squats and lunges that I wouldn´t get otherwise (using just the barbells)??

thanx ppl!

 

[The Red Dragon]

I'd imagine the barbell squat/lunges would require a hell of a lot more stabilization.

 

[makedah]

My guess is that at some point you will be able to squat/lunge far more weight than you can carry in your hands. In which case, it would turn into a forearm/trap workout instead of a lower body workout.

 

[IronLion]

Nothing wrong with a day like that to give your body a rest but you need the weight of bb moves to grow

 

[needsize]

this is a little off topic but I've always felt that lunges were a waste of time. I've always stuck with just heavy stuff, squats, hack squats and sometimes leg presses, and if you've seen the pics I just posted in the pics forum, my legs are big and well balanced.
Just my 0.02

 

[louden_swain]

I agree with needsize. . .

I have never been able to add size or strength using lunges.

 

[megad]

Lunges can be good for strengthening muscles around the knee (like the VMO). They helped me overcome patella tendonitis in my right leg.... Still working on getting rid of it in my left