squats only for legs

[patrick1]

I train at home
so for legs i only have a good smith machine,leg curl and leg ext machine.
for my legs i do 10 sets of squats starting light and increasing the weight with every set.
i then do 4 sets of leg curls
my legs are pretty shot by then
Is this a good leg routine as they do lack the rest of my upper body
i also do 5 sets of standing calfs
Has anyone any suggestions as to increasing the intensity or should i just go to a gym on leg day and do leg press, hacks etc

[abbot138]

Yup, go to a gym, and get off the Smith. Its impossible to use proper form on squats when using a Smith. This post right here is the reason your legs are lagging. If you do squats on a smith you really arent hitting your hams much at all. And if your trying to put size on your legs, then you have to get into your hams.

[green22]

You could ad lunges, fronts, and stiff legs for variety if you continue to trian at home.

[MFT81]

^^ +1

the best thing most could do is get away from all the crap machines in a health club and get back to basics.

Do Front squats, DB pile squat, Lunges, box/bench step up with wt, Rdl, sumo stance Rdls, Narrow stance back squats, pause squats, Rev leg curls (maybe if your leg ext will allow?) db leg curls. the list goes on

[MFT81]

Yup, go to a gym, and get off the Smith. Its impossible to use proper form on squats when using a Smith. This post right here is the reason your legs are lagging. If you do squats on a smith you really arent hitting your hams much at all. And if your trying to put size on your legs, then you have to get into your hams.

I disagree, the smith is great for editing your stance to drop down in the hole without falling over if you lack the balance and flexability. I actually love to do front squats on a smith pretty reg with a forward stance so I go very low which is all hams and glutes.......

[AdamGH]

I disagree, the smith is great for editing your stance to drop down in the hole without falling over if you lack the balance and flexability. I actually love to do front squats on a smith pretty reg with a forward stance so I go very low which is all hams and glutes.......

Effective squats are never done on a smith machine. Free weights allow you to follow your body’s natural line of motion and require that you stabilize the weight, whereas machines stabilize the weight for you and restrict you to a fixed path of motion. Essentially, machines are doing a portion of the work for you making your workout less effective. In addition, an over-reliance on machines for your weight training can make you prone to injury in the long run due to neglecting your important stabilizer muscles. During the free weight barbell squat, your core musculature must provide significant stabilization of your body (especially in a front squat or overhead squat). Now contrast that with doing squats in the Smith machine where the weight is already stabilized for you taking away any core strengthening benefits and also putting you in a fixed up and down path which is not the natural path your body should take, thus placing your spine in a potentially dangerous position.

[patrick1]

I used to train in a proper gym up to 2 years ago
i do occasionally go to my old gym and adam is right i can`t squat as much on free barbel as i can on smith machine but like somebody else said unless you have a spotter you can`t go for it like you can on smith machine.
with smith machine if you get stuck you can just squeeze out at the bottom
so you go for that last forced rep
again like adam said the straight up and down motion of the smith machine is not natural to the body motion, its the same when i bench press on smith machine.
Like i have said on other posts i have naturally very thin legs
my ankles are nearly the same size as my wrist very thin
does anybody think 10 sets of squats is too much or should i add more
i have heard of people squating for an hour
only thought of proper gym to use leg press, hack machine as well
cheers for input

[patrick1]

just a mention
actually had less problems with knees and back while using smith machine

[Ronnie Rowland]

You could ad lunges, fronts, and stiff legs for variety if you continue to trian at home.

green had some good answers.

In regards to the smith machine, it can be great for some and not so great for others. Lunges on a smith machine help stabilize my lower back so I love using it for that particular exercise.

Ones leg genetics- not whether they squats with free weights on a bar or free weights on a smith machine- determines one ability to put on size. Do what works for you!

[Ronnie Rowland]

I used to train in a proper gym up to 2 years ago
i do occasionally go to my old gym and adam is right i can`t squat as much on free barbel as i can on smith machine but like somebody else said unless you have a spotter you can`t go for it like you can on smith machine.
with smith machine if you get stuck you can just squeeze out at the bottom
so you go for that last forced rep
again like adam said the straight up and down motion of the smith machine is not natural to the body motion, its the same when i bench press on smith machine.
Like i have said on other posts i have naturally very thin legs
my ankles are nearly the same size as my wrist very thin
does anybody think 10 sets of squats is too much or should i add more
i have heard of people squating for an hour
only thought of proper gym to use leg press, hack machine as well
cheers for input

Try 5-6 sets of squats and 5-6 sets of barbell lunges for the quads!

[abbot138]

I use the smith for close stance squats to hit quads. But in order to hit hams and use the proper form that Adam discussed you have to use free weight. Simth is all up and down, which is not the way squats should be done.

[Ronnie Rowland]

I use the smith for close stance squats to hit quads. But in order to hit hams and use the proper form that Adam discussed you have to use free weight. Simth is all up and down, which is not the way squats should be done.

Lunges on a smith will nail the hams..

[patrick1]

cheer i`ll try lunges next leg day

[AdamGH]

cheer i`ll try lunges next leg day

dumbbell lunges

[abbot138]

Lunges on a smith will nail the hams..

Agreed!