Alternatives to Barbell Squat?

What are the best alternatives to the good old barbell squat? I love the resistance it adds to the muscles but I've been doing them for years and I just don't think doing heavy barbell squats is the best thing for your body to do.

>inb4 just do the squats you gay
Nah, if you know you know. Maybe pistol squats?

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  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >regular human compound movement is bad for the body
    >let me do meme shit like lunges and machines which require unnatural means of movement

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >Lunges
      >Meme
      Oh he thinks the barbell is the end itself and not a means to an end.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >Front Squat
      >Hack Squat
      >Bulgarian Split Squat
      >Leg Press
      You have a lot of similar movement options bro.

      First off
      >considers squatting down a regular movement pattern
      >doesn't do the same for a lunge for whatever reason
      Secondly
      >unnatural movement
      have a nice day. No movement is inherently unnatural. Also, if you're trying to make a point about functionality of the movement, then you're also wrong. There's been an experiment of people being put into 2 groups of lifters that either got to work with machines or free weights. After a 12 week training cycle, the group that got better at everyday tasks like moving furniture etc was the machine group.

      Pistol squats are nice. I unironically really enjoy leg press as a supplement to squats. Legs can take way more of a blasting than your lower back can if you use your body for any sport which I do.

      Pistols are a party trick, not a movement for strength and size. Leg presses are elite tho, true.

      >Lunges
      >Meme
      Oh he thinks the barbell is the end itself and not a means to an end.

      This

      >looking for alternatives to squats for imaginary reasons
      >lol pistol squats
      Yeah, you don't know.

      Wdym

      >I just don't think doing heavy barbell squats is the best thing for your body to do.
      I bet you can't even do 4pl8

      Why should he get to that weight if he's uncomfortable with the movement, moron

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        True pistol squats aren't worth training but they are a good metric to do somewhat regularly to see how your strength balance is.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          unilateral training is a meme. just perform bilateral movements in a symmetrical way, aka the intended way

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            Oh you don't actually perform in any sport

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              > Implying anyone on fit actually does sports.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                I play division 1 baseball. Unilateral stuff is a meme and that guy is an idiot. Even when you’re “on one leg,” like when you’re throwing, training legs simultaneously gets a better effect than training them individually. The whole is greater than the sum.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                For your sport you should be doing explosive training not really heavy squats or shit like that, swinging sledge to a tyre, as well as lateral movement with the bat to generate power as far as the throwing of a ball is considered you need more wrist and shoulder mobility for that strength.

                Most of all squat strength doesn't matter for your sport as its more core and shoulders focused, deadlifts would be better with some sort of rotational work. Also unilateral work is great for running speed development or single leg strength.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Kek he said he plays in D1, granted no proof, but what are your credentials to be giving advice?

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Just analyse the sport and movements used you dumbfrick. Its unilateral rotational strength output, its not powerlifting with shitty form or ATG squats, its a step, rotate and throw or step, rotate and swing. The step is like a lunge, not a squat by any means, the rotation is simple to understand.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                You’re just wrong. You can read all the material or studies you want, doesn’t change the fact that heavy squats change your body in a way that nothing else does. You’re already training as much “rotation,” as you need from actually practicing the sport. Take your bench to 350, get your squat to 500+ for reps, deadlift 600. All those things change your physiognomy in profound ways, that single leg lunges or med ball throws simply do not.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                You’re a moron. Read the two factor model. For throwing, get strong using heavy barbells, then do your throwing program. You don’t need to combine the two. Until you can throw 93 from the outfield I’m not interested in what you have to say

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                And I run 6.4 in the 60, don’t talk to me about not training squats for speed; squats work, period.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                You’re a moron. Read the two factor model. For throwing, get strong using heavy barbells, then do your throwing program. You don’t need to combine the two. Until you can throw 93 from the outfield I’m not interested in what you have to say

                Salty frick, ignore advice given by this moron who doesn't understand sport specific training vs general training.

                Mimic what you do on the field to get better at what you do on the field.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                A lineman in football who “mimicks” his knee angle by quarter squatting is weaker than the lineman who squats ATG.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Missing the point, please shut up.

                Are you slamming the baseball against a tyre on the field? No but you are using similar energy and rotational force on the field thus increasing your strength and power output capacity for that sport.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                No, when you slam a tire you’re using no force, that’s why it doesn’t make you stronger. The point of training is to increase force production, prancing around on one leg doing slams does not challenge your force production. Squats, presses, deadlifts and cleans increase force and power output. Practicing your sport makes you better at your sport. I have top 1% measurables at the highest level of college baseball. You’re a NEET who took an exercise phys class and thinks he’s discovered something. Pipe down and take notes.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Show proof of your wild claims that you are top 1% or else you are a laughable frickup wasting his time here just like the rest of us. You need to build stronger torque to get better at baseball and short term fast af sprints over specific distances. You are striking the tyre with more force and there's impact that resists your output, thus making more effective than just swinging air.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Not doxxing myself less than a year from the draft, sorry. You’re wrong and should re evaluate your views. Your torque and everything else goes up with your force production. In the swing, the torque is a product of the scapula resisting the turn of the hips. It’s not complicated on a mechanical level, it’s hard at the experience level of handling the pitchers. Too bad you weren’t born athletic or smart. Maybe next life will treat you better

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Okay you can shut up, please. Nobody will believe wild claims buddy. xD Hahaha, suck a dick failure.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Don’t care if you believe me or not, you’re nothing to me. I’m gracing you with my wisdom, and telling you why you’re wrong. You can choose not to believe me, but that won’t make you correct, or strong. Get under that bar and get your squat to 500x5; all will be revealed then.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          God, a lot of moronic shit was said while I was gone

          True but again, they're more of a balance thing than a measurement of strength, even in relative terms

          unilateral training is a meme. just perform bilateral movements in a symmetrical way, aka the intended way

          Unilateral lifting helps prevent asymmetries and strength imbalances, moron.

          Oh you don't actually perform in any sport

          What does this have to do with sports now

          > Implying anyone on fit actually does sports.

          Lmao

          I play division 1 baseball. Unilateral stuff is a meme and that guy is an idiot. Even when you’re “on one leg,” like when you’re throwing, training legs simultaneously gets a better effect than training them individually. The whole is greater than the sum.

          This and also
          >does barbell squats
          >strong legs
          is the same as
          >does split squats
          >strong legs
          Unilateral or bilateral won't matter in this context.

          For your sport you should be doing explosive training not really heavy squats or shit like that, swinging sledge to a tyre, as well as lateral movement with the bat to generate power as far as the throwing of a ball is considered you need more wrist and shoulder mobility for that strength.

          Most of all squat strength doesn't matter for your sport as its more core and shoulders focused, deadlifts would be better with some sort of rotational work. Also unilateral work is great for running speed development or single leg strength.

          Athletes hit the gym for hypertrophy training to gain muscle to use gained muscle on the field. Trying to make everything specific to the sport will most likely mean you're not deviating enough to progress in other areas that would benefit you.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Leg press. If you do them correctly you can do about 2x the weight of a squat.
      You should also do good mornings to make sure you develop no imbalances.
      These are usually 0.5x your deadlift.

      >barbells are... LE NATURAL
      No CPAP in the jungle.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      there is nothing natural in lifting up a heavy barbell for five times
      also pretty much all movements in any sport are unilateral or at least not symmetric
      also if they are bilateral in a squatting movement its never an ass to grass movement because you can generate more force and power wit ha half or quartr squat

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      frick you are incredibly moronic
      let me have this natural squat rack with these natural plates and this natural bar that i will naturally put behind my back and naturally do this motion and naturally get a prolapsed anus.

      if we are arguing bodyweight squat vs whatever machine exercise then i guess you may have a point, albeit a bad one.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        putting weight on your back doesn't make the squat a non-natural movement

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          spinal compression and maximal loading of the spine is as unnatural as it gets for exercise, what was the last time any animal had to compress his spine with heavy loads(heavier than bodyweight) for 30+ seconds while squatting down on his hind limbs in any point in time?

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      ah yes metallic perfectly balanced bars on top of your spinal cord loaded with calibrated plates on each end are perfectly regular human movement

      lunges which are similar to the actual movement you do every time you take a step on an incline or a ramp is unnatural though lol

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Pistol squats are nice. I unironically really enjoy leg press as a supplement to squats. Legs can take way more of a blasting than your lower back can if you use your body for any sport which I do.

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >looking for alternatives to squats for imaginary reasons
    >lol pistol squats
    Yeah, you don't know.

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    do 1 month of leg press and then 1 month of squat? maybe try bulgarian split squat? idk, to each their own

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >I just don't think doing heavy barbell squats is the best thing for your body to do.
    I bet you can't even do 4pl8

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      As someone who could squat 4 pl8 for reps in the past I can tell you I do not squat regularly any more.

      I've found my deadlift carries over almost 1 to 1 and every fricking time I get heavy again on squat I have back or knee discomfort. I've tried rehabbing my squat form more times than I can count.

      I've lifted for 10 years. My body personally just feels far healthier if I do higher frequency heavy ass deadlifts. (2-3x a week)

      Though I'm well aware that statement is far from the truth for everyone I can tell you something about my leverages make it very true for me.

  6. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    If you've done squats for years and have come to the conclusion you don't want to do them anymore; how in the flying frick do you not know an alternative?

  7. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >Nah, if you know you know
    what i know is that 60 year olds with gout squat heavy, and you're just a lazy piece of shit rationalizing being a homosexual

  8. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    dumbbell squat

  9. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    There are no substitutions
    Enjoy being smol

  10. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Hindu squats with jumps, probably imo best for broad jump type strength.

    Any goals with the extras?

  11. 2 years ago
    Anonymous
  12. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    You sound like a giant homosexual OP. Please do the world a favor and die in a fire.

  13. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Roon

  14. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    > I just don't think doing heavy barbell squats is the best thing for your body to do
    Correct

    For replacements, don’t think of them as replacements but as superior movements. Squats are also the most technical lift after Olympic lifts and you should have multiple hours of coaching to learn them. If your goal is Olympic lifting or strongman and maybe if the throws, or jumping sports then barbell squats are a decent choice.

    Without you saying your goals, gonna assume it’s general fitness and aesthetics.
    You should be doing some kind of heavy compound in the >85% 1RM range or 5 reps max work or under. For bone density, and somewhat for hormone stimulation, not for any other reason except fun.
    Trap bar deadlifts, barbell deadlifts, or barbell/trap bar split squats are best for this. Though the unilateral option is slightly worse for the goal. Half rep leg press if you can’t learn correct form otherwise.

    For the rest of the reasons to otherwise squat…
    Leg press for the easiest to learn, or hack squat
    Zercher squats for core work but less impact on joints
    Heavy short bike sprints
    Heavy short sled push
    Split squat/Bulgarian split squat
    Trap bar deadlift for higher reps

    Pistol squats are too skill based unless you care more about learning the skill/balance for it.

  15. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    What’s your 5rm? My guess is you don’t actually squat. Cut the Joe Rogan and get your squat to 500x5. No, you don’t need to be fat. Barbell squats have no substitute; they are the single best exercise ever devised to this point in history. Do them.

  16. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Trap bar deadlift
    Hackenschmidt squat

  17. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    There isn't, barbell back squats are the be all and end all of fitness and athletics. It's the ultimate test of strength, power, mobility, posture, body awareness and balance. Every athlete in every sport does them.

  18. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Bulgarian Split Squats are the king of leg builders

  19. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Sprinting unironically
    Better if you do it uphill

  20. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Get squat shoes. Game changer.

  21. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Belt squats

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