Can you build nice legs with just bodyweight?

I got pretty bad scoliosis and a busted L4&5. Putting any amount of weights on my back, even just the bar without any plates instantly snaps my shit for months, I tried it.
Can bodyweight squats and lunges train my legs effectively? Not HUGE legs, just visible muscle...

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I would suggest becoming a citizen of a country that isn't a developing country (USA). You can get that shit fixed for free in any decent country.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I live in Germany. My physician said that I am "just slightly under the treshold" for scoliosis operations, so my "free" healthcare won't pay/allow it.
      I've been running from one doctor to the next for the better part of 2 years now. My spine is just fricked, I have to live with it. That's why I'm asking, I've simply not been training legs at all until this point, but I got stick legs. Gotta work with what I can.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous
        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Frick you, b***h.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            >that moment when she suddenly falls over and makes that small jump straight down to kill her negress friend.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Why did she did it

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          He's not Canadian

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        same happened to me years ago, brudi; my scoliosis got better between ages 18-23~ though, so maybe the doctor was right
        I do bulgarian split squats for legs and they're great for BW gains, especially if you want core gains too

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >same happened to me years ago, brudi; my scoliosis got better between ages 18-23~ though, so maybe the doctor was right
          I'm 29 already, my doc says it's gonna stay like that forever, so it won't get better but it also won't get worse, which is at least something
          >I do bulgarian split squats for legs and they're great for BW gains, especially if you want core gains too
          Thanks for the tip my guy, I'll start doing them too

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Squat heavy and injure yourself just enough that they have to treat you, or do dead hangs every day until your spine is forcibly straightened.

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Bro. Use machines to hit legs if you have a bad back. My shit is also fricked and I just got machines and my legs look alright. Hitting spinal erectors and core, now that's frickin hard not being able to squat.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >pseudo-bump - people in the US are sleeping now Ger-man
    >Unrelated to topic but related to pic
    How the frick do you deadlift?
    t. permanent bulker
    Can lift two or three plates with a trap bar. Can barely lift one (maybe?) with a barbell. What gives? Is it the form? What even is the right form without ending up like OP??? I think I already have back issues and have noticed problems with flexibility and with certain leg exercises that need mobility of my back. Can't even bodyweight squat properly? Really, what do I do? Would a CT verify or deny whether something's wrong with my back and if I should just do mobility exercises or should I see a chiropractor about it or a personal trainer about my form?

    OP, can you do leg press or hack squats? Not like I'm one to talk but maybe...

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      *I meant a CT scan or whatever they're called

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    no, all calisthenics bros have chicken legs
    some coper will come in here and tell you yeah bro just do 300 pistol squats per day hurr durr
    if you ask him to post legs he wont cuz his legs are chicken legs
    anyways use machines

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Train until you can do pistol squats and shrimp squats. You will have decent legs. Add in some hill sprints or something if you like.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      post legs u moronic DYEL

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Bet you can't do a single pistol fatty

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >shrimp squats
      Is that what they're calling it when manlets squat now?

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    If you can't load your back at all, you could still use hack squat or belt squat machines. You can also use leg extensions/curls.

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Boob window
    Kami best girl

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Just do leg presses

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Get into plyometrics and basketball

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Yes, you can get good looking legs without loading your spine. You're probably gonna need machines for that.

    I'm not sure how much you can handle dumbell lunges, but I'd prioritize those with low weight and high repetitions.

    Then I'd do leg extensions, hamstring curls, all on the machines.

    And finally one legged glute bridges, with no weight at first, working up to low weight later.

    I'd stick to the 15-20 rep range for everything.

    DO NOT LEGPRESS.

  11. 1 year ago
    Himbo Chad

    Do the following:
    10 sets 100m sprints every minute on the minute or superset them with the next three exercises
    4x25-35 walking lunges
    5x10-20 squat variation
    4x8 box jumps/5x20 squat jumps

    Cool down with either these two
    4x10 single leg hip thrust/nordic leg curls progression

    Lmao at powershitters or trentrannies who think legs only grow with barbells

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Post legs

  12. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Dont with goblet squats all the pressure go into your arms and not back?

  13. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    cammybros...

  14. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Hips are too low

  15. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I have l5 s1 herniated discs. I have through a shirload of trial and error found lifts that work for me which might also work for you OP.

    Lunges both walking and reverse seem to be great. Pick up weights and off you go. Insane quad exercise with weights but hamstring not so much.

    Bulgarian split squats are superb. An s tier quad lift. You should be able to do these.

    Zercher front squats with low weight focusing on slow reps with good form might work for you. Test it. . S tier lift

    Hip thrusts. You will need to test it since I'm nor sure how you herniated disk will go with this.

    Machine hyper extensions.
    Machine leg curls.

    You can also use cables for these with an ankle strap and bench YouTube them.

    Any calf raise type exercise.

    There you go OP. That's MORE then enough to have amazing legs.

    Personally I do Bulgarian split squats, lunges, light zercher squats with high reps, leg curls and calf raises.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I'll also add OP if the pain in VERY bad then just do leg extensions, leg curls. Even just those will give you nice legs assuming you arnt going for a huge bodybuilder body. Think ottermode legs. Go slow and focus on the muscles used.

      I'll also add the leg curl machine where you rest face down helps decompress the spine. This might help reduce your pain.

      Goodluck OP.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I'll also add OP if the pain in VERY bad then just do leg extensions, leg curls. Even just those will give you nice legs assuming you arnt going for a huge bodybuilder body. Think ottermode legs. Go slow and focus on the muscles used.

      I'll also add the leg curl machine where you rest face down helps decompress the spine. This might help reduce your pain.

      Goodluck OP.

      based advice
      i kneel

  16. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I'm in the same boat as you, basically.
    Try Leg Press, machines and Bulgarian split squats. You can use dumbbells for the split squats and hold them down by your sides, you can hit legs really hard when combining all of these.

    Also do not get the scoliosis surgery. It can frick you up beyond repair.

  17. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >sumo

    No thanks

  18. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Just lift through the pain.

  19. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I see you've already gotten some pretty good advice regarding leg exercises already, so I'll shift the focus of the thread if you don't mind, OP.

    How bad is your scoliosis? What exactly do you mean by "busted" vertebrae? I don't have firsthand experience in this but I've seen online examples of people with mild scoliosis being able to straighten their spine somewhat (though not completely) with spinal erector and core exercises, as well as physiotherapy exercises specific to their scoliosis case that focus on proprioception and alignment. The moveU guys have some useful info, though they don't share much on their free resources tbh.

    Obviously I'm not a doctor and have no idea about your particular case or how your misalignment and pain affects your daily life but given that your spine will affect the way you do bodyweight exercises anyway, I think it's worth a shot to try and address it.

  20. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Doesn't biking build big legs? Professional cyclists look like downright mutants.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I really doubt riding a bike normally builds much of anything. A bunch of normalgays and boomers here ride bike and they look like shit.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Doesn't biking build big legs? Professional cyclists look like downright mutants.

        you need super high volume (like 100 miles a week minimum, this is not considered super high for actual cycling hobbyists), not just going for a 10 mile ride on the weekend at 10 mph. I promise you your first 60 mile ride at an 18mph pace will give you the worst doms of your life. even then though, you arent getting like dorian yates legs, youll mog 95-99% of the world though

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Trade in a lot of those miles with uphill cycling, then we're golden.

  21. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Can bodyweight squats and lunges train my legs effectively?
    of course:
    the thing u're looking for is time under tension, it should be around 40 secs
    >but airsquats do nothing for me, i can airsquat all day and it won't do shit
    it will, provided u do only the worst part of squat - u do not go all the way up, nor u go all the way down - get of couch and give me 30 of the those halfsquats slowly and tell me u felt nothing

    when u feel like garbage for failing to hold form in airsquats u can rest by doing standing one legged calf raises (throw thick book under ur toes), and when u're fed up with those do some bridges one legged bridges, planks, sideplanks, sit on the ground 90*-90* and let us see the might of your piriformis, can u even lift ur back foot? can u press it down with your hand?

    i know it's an bot doing bot things, but if u'd be real person i'd tell u to lift one leg as high as possible and keep it there, front, then side, then back (one legged deadlift), can u open up pelvis by rotating femur? u should at least try

    there is no reason to squat with barbel, it's not an real thing, it's made up dumbo, it was just convenient to put weight on it way way back

    stretching is paramount, can u put elbow on your face when u lie on your back? nice, now the other arm, it don't go right - tight frozen lat will do that

    u really seriously don't need weight if think for a second, but u're an bot pretending to be moronic 😀

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >30 of the those halfsquats slowly and tell me u felt nothing
      Speak for yourself. I can do sets of 30 with a plate.

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