Bulking without squats and deadlifts

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  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
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    I can't put the weight for squats on my neck due to a neck injury. (Doctor recomendations) So i do Dumbbell squats as heavy as i can as a replacement. Do not skip legs man!
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    They're good exercises but they aren't mandatory and frankly some people seem a bit too fanatical about them in my humble opinion. If the only gym you're going to go to only has leg press and isolation machines, you're still better off doing legs with those machines than not at all, and you can still see a lot of hypertrophy from doing so. Tons of people have built great physiques without ever doing a barbell squat or a deadlift.

    Are machines better than doing squats? Probably not. But is it better than not working legs at all? Infinitely so.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    DB weighted step ups are very easy to perform with good form (stuff like a pistol takes time to learn and time to develop balance). Hold some DB's on your shoulders, and use a bench (tallest one possible) to step up on. Lift your back toes and only let your heel touch to minimize the assistance you get from the back leg. Step ups work the whole leg, but really hit the posterior chain well.

    Step ups and some sort of single leg squat makes a good basic leg program that can take you far.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
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    Do what you can with the equipment you have.

    Machines:

    Leg Press
    Leg Extension
    Leg Curl

    Go heavy on the machines.

    Dumbbells:

    Step-ups
    Lunges
    Pistol Squats
    Bulgarian split squats
    Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

    Obviously, squats and deadlifts are preferred, but if you can't get your hands on a bar, use what you have. The only thing you CAN'T do is skip leg day.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
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    Goblet squats and RDLs with dumbbells got me quite a ways....

    bulgarian split squats are a good suggestion
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    body weight- as Waldo said can be very challenging and easily modifiable.
    DB's are a great resource as well for squatting and DLing.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
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    I'm not currently dead lifting or doing squats but I'm doing the below for my legs / lower body, am I doing good?

    Leg press
    Leg Extension
    Leg Curl
    Hip Adductor
    Hip Abductor

    I also throw in back and core exercise

    Back Extension
    Torso Rotation
    Ab crunches
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    you have to do squats and deadlifts


    otherwise:

    upper-body-no-legs.png

    The guy in this picture was a military veteran recovering from paralyzing injuries. He had just re-learned to walk. I wish people would stop using it to make fun of his legs.
  • DannehBoyy
    DannehBoyy Posts: 546 Member
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    Thanks for the help everybody. You have all given me great advice. I tried some Bulgarian split squats today and my legs are now killing me! which is good. I really enjoyed doing them too. Gonna try and learn some of the others :D
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    I do just fine, my legs grow just fine, I've never touched a barbell in my life and don't go to the gym.

    For legs I do:
    DB weighted pistol squats
    Natural Hamstring Curls
    Bodyweight single leg squats (tuck squats/shrimp squats)
    DB weighted step ups

    I've done hill sprints in the past, but its been a while. But they work great.
    Listen to Waldo, he is one of few if not the only person I know that absolutely kills it without your "standard" compound lifts. When it comes to this topic he is one of the first people I'd seek out for advice.
    you have to do squats and deadlifts


    otherwise:

    upper-body-no-legs.png

    The guy in this picture was a military veteran recovering from paralyzing injuries. He had just re-learned to walk. I wish people would stop using it to make fun of his legs.
    I just recently learned that. You can't blame people for using that picture, most of us simply did not know where the picture was from. When I found out the truth I deleted off my phone.

    I didn't know that. I thought it was photoshopped (i.e. someone made some random gym guy's legs look slimmer to make the point about skipping leg day)

    I won't use that pic again, now that I know.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    No individual exercise is necessary in order to get stronger or gain muscle.

    Squats and Deads are excellent exercises, they are very fun, and I was in an identical position to yours and I regret not getting under a barbell sooner, but I still stand by the first sentence in this post.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    The guy in this picture was a military veteran recovering from paralyzing injuries. He had just re-learned to walk. I wish people would stop using it to make fun of his legs.
    I just recently learned that. You can't blame people for using that picture, most of us simply did not know where the picture was from. When I found out the truth I deleted off my phone.

    I didn't know that. I thought it was photoshopped (i.e. someone made some random gym guy's legs look slimmer to make the point about skipping leg day)

    I won't use that pic again, now that I know.

    well that's a kicker. anyone have a link on the story??

    I've always luled over it- not sure if it was real or not (it IS a little amusing how disproportionate his chest is)
    But it just goes to show you- you have no idea where people are in their journey's and why it's generally a bad idea to mock them.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    well that's a kicker. anyone have a link on the story??

    I've always luled over it- not sure if it was real or not (it IS a little amusing how disproportionate his chest is)
    But it just goes to show you- you have no idea where people are in their journey's and why it's generally a bad idea to mock them.

    Agreed. This is also why, even though sometimes I lol, I try not to mock people's training. Just because I see them walk in and head straight to the DB rack and start curling, and stay curling for 30 minutes, I don't know what the rest of their program is like, or if perhaps the squat cage touched them in the naughty spot when they were young, or who knows.

    So I just do my thing.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
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    I love me some bulgarian split squats, they're damn hard lol I also use dumbbells to do regular squats because I don't have enough balls to get in the squat rack without a spotter ( lame I know, I'm working on it) And as one poster said, step-ups work your legs quite well, I also use dumbbells when I do step ups. You'll be fine until you leave your gym, and next time get a month-to-month instead of going balls to the wall with a year membership. I've been at my gym for 3 years and I still do a month-to-month because you never know when your daily routine will change.
  • Redheadllena
    Redheadllena Posts: 353 Member
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    I think there's sound advice in here so I won't repeat anything others have already said. But I will say if you still have 7mo. left, ask the gym you're still at to get a squat rack and some barbells for those exercises. I'm surprised they don't have them, and I'm sure others will appreciate having them at the gym, even though you're leaving.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    Another fan of Bulgarian squats here.

    At the gym I'm currently with, they only had DBs (to 40kg) for a long while, so we quickly maxed out on squats and deadlifts. Bulgarian squats kept things interesting. I still feel a bit nervous doing BSs with 40kg in each hand. Teeter a bit to one side and you end up looking like a doofus.

    FWIW, I don't look like I've skipped legs day.

    A heads up with dumbbell RDLs - a redditor apparently caught the tip of his peepee between two DBs. :D Best do dumbbell hack squats instead.
  • TexasOFT76
    TexasOFT76 Posts: 475 Member
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    Bump
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
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    Reverse lunges and Bulgarian squats. Not as good as regular squats (your grip will give out before you can go really heavy) but an adequate replacement, especially for an inexperienced lifter. So while you may not become the next Mr. Universe, you can certainly put on A LOT of muscle without barbells.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    well that's a kicker. anyone have a link on the story??

    I've always luled over it- not sure if it was real or not (it IS a little amusing how disproportionate his chest is)
    But it just goes to show you- you have no idea where people are in their journey's and why it's generally a bad idea to mock them.

    Agreed. This is also why, even though sometimes I lol, I try not to mock people's training. Just because I see them walk in and head straight to the DB rack and start curling, and stay curling for 30 minutes, I don't know what the rest of their program is like, or if perhaps the squat cage touched them in the naughty spot when they were young, or who knows.

    So I just do my thing.

    Agreed.

    People don't know other people's situations and goals. I actually had a client use a bosu ball yesterday which I never thought I would have to :tongue: (after typical strength stuff)

    Interesting stuff re the army fella. There should be an update pic when he gets his muscles back I think.

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