U dont have to squat to build the same amount of muscle, dont listen to Tom , he is talkin bout his experience, not basing his words on a biomecanic argument
He's right. Squats are superior but definitely hard and recovery is why people run from leg day. My self included, gotta push myself to do it sometimes.
@@arrow2380 my workouts are quite different since I train for basketball. I do 2 upper and 2 low er with the jumping stuff so I dont feel like dying as much since jumping requires max effort not total annihilation like bodybuilding lol
I just did squats today. Came back after 3 years of no exercise. Starting with low weight lots of reps and just focusing on my technique. Man it’s hard to do squats with perfect form.
You're doing the right thing, not just starting , according to some leading experts, high reps (12-20 range) are best for legs hypertrophy and function.
Ive never scene this before. Probably one of the best clips Ive ever seen in my over 50 years of living. Stuff like this is reasons why I made 50 last June and I still squat. He says it all in this video
@@Bootyeater999exactly! The squats, to be able to do it correctly, you have to get a strong back, strong core, strong legs, strong feet, strong knee, good hip mobility, ankle mobility. Also, a very good technique if you don't want to fu-k up your body. That's why squats are way superior than leg presses, because squats will show if you have imbalances in your body.
Split squats are great, but bilateral movements ultimately allow for greater load and therefore produce better hormonal response, which is essential for muscle growth, strength, and health.
@@spencergsmiththat doesn't make any sense. If anything the opposite is true (but I doubt that it actually makes any meaningful difference). Load is relative. Yes you can't load as much on one leg as you can on two legs in absolut numbers. But your legs individually can't tell the difference, whether you have the load split between your legs, or just half the load on only one leg. And in addition to that you usually can't load double of what you push in a split squat for a bi-lateral squat, which actually means that your load is a lot t smaller
Im running a 6 day ppl split. Ill usually squat on first leg day of the week when fresh and legs press on second day to hammer in quads at the end of the week. Its helped alot.
Squat until you can’t then hit the leg press until failure to get the extra isolation on the quads. The exercises aren’t competing they’re both good tools in your arsenal of body improvement
Tom knew what the fuck was up. That’s why this man has some of the best legs even till today before all the “science” based bodybuilders came in around 10 years ago till now. Like he said squats are HARD.
Some people wish they could… but just can not. So you do what you can to keep going cause they love the gym. But yes squats are great. Just can’t do them anymore with a barbell
If you're seeking a functional, versatile exercise that builds overall strength, balance, and core stability, squats may be your go-to for weight loss. However, if your primary focus is isolating and targeting your leg muscles for hypertrophy, the leg press could be the better choice for boosting testosterone levels
Here’s the only thing- squats are VERY hard on your knees. My physical therapist advised me to only go heavy on leg press because it is much easier on your knees.
@@KewalTailor it’s not so much about what Tom Platz prefers; if you watch this short in isolation, it gives the impression that (barbell) squats are the only quad movement worth doing, which is honestly a terrible message to put out there
@@adamlinden5940 probably more accurate to call them sissy squats. I’d love to see a study on flat-footed hack squats vs Platz hack squats, regarding increase in thigh circumference over time
@@platitudepete8 Tom platz hack squat method is superior cause it provides higher stretch mediated hypertrophy which is EXTREMELY important part for muscle growth, and when did I say this wasn't a terrible msg, but still it's not like there won't be growth at all by doing normal squats, tbh
I never did any squats, ever. Squats always cause injuries and DESTROY your body. I always used leg press and hack squat machines. But I did more isolation work and spinning. I could leg press 700 lbs at 120lbs bodyweight and ran a 45.3 400m in college. All these meatheads that recommend squats WANT you to get injured. Remember two things: free advice is seldom cheap, and misery LOVES company!
I completely agree that any squat movement pattern is incredibly beneficial to be ignored, but he's making a weak defense for squats. If he ever did a set of leg press with the feet low on the platform, full ROM without lumbar flexion, pauses, eccentric control and high reps he would appreciate it more. As many people know, leg presses make for an amazing main or assistant exercise. You could train bilateral squats one day and machines or unilateral squats other day if recovery is a problem or hypertrophy is the main goal. Also a lot of people can't do squats so quadricep dominant like Tom does because of their biomechanics.
I agree leg press is also a great exercise. I feel my quads and flutes working better on leg press than squat. Stability and core strength tends to be the limiting factor for me on squats, not quad strength.
@@ezekielanderson9055 Facts, dear Ezekiel. This doesn't mean squatting, either unilaterally or bilaterally with free weights shouldn't be trained. It is smart to choose to strengthen those weak links rather than just forget them, but still Leg presses are amazing even if stability isn't a problem. A little of these two exercises it's probably the best combination!
@@therealsnaily Very true. I’m currently training for my first powerlifting competition. Every leg day, I start with heavy squats in the 2-5 rep range. Then leg press in the 8-12 rep range. Then I do a much of core/stability exercises like walking lunges, farmers Carries, and slow hip abduction and adduction.
I agree that leg press is a good exercise but only if people do it right. Most people cheat the ROM of leg presses so bad. If it were a squat, they're not even breaking 90 degrees so pretty much half reps which produces a less than optimal stimulus from stretch mediated hypertrophy. Another thing is that some leg press machines don't go deep enough which is pretty annoying. I'm only mentioning this since I see all sorts of people loading countless plates yet they have stick legs.
i love squat. i mean, i know i've never done anything else besides regular squats exercise with no extra weight. but, i enjoy it because i find it quite "easy". i live somewhere in southeast asia, so unless you have a regular sitting toilet at home. but, if you own the squatting one, not being able to do squat will affect even this basic need. and also almost majority of people here do squats in regular basis.
I just do legpress instead of squats, because its faster and i dont have to be focused on the form and balacing myself. I just want to push the weight instead of focusing on perfoming. And there are many things could go wrong while squatting. Its hard to go for max weight if you are not able to perform squats perfectly.
One is a compound movement and other is an isolation. They're literally not comparable... furthermore if im not mistaken there's a competition for squats. There's no competition for Leg presses... so how exactly does "nobody" do squats when there's entire competitions dedicated to them???
He means that nobody does squats for bodybuilding. Powerlifters do not hit the rep ranges that bodybuilders do very often. Ask a powerlifter about 10 rep sets and they'll tell you it's hell.
They work very different muscles.. Yes Deadlift does some quad, but that's incidental, not the focus. Deadlift is focusing on the hip hinge which targets the glutes, hamstrings, and posterior chain. I hope you at least had some hip thrusts or something address that missing component.
Tom said himself he didn't deadlift. I think the combination of leg press and deadlift can get comparable results to the squat. At a certain point Dorian Yates said he was able to build a top physique without squats
My body only feels right when I do goblet squats with a heavy dumbell. Normal barbell squats feel very weird with my body and flat feet. But I love heavy goblet squats one raised heels and the results are showing.
And it’s true. I never did squat before to for my legs. Always did machines type of workouts. I was always scared of getting injured. Now that I decided to give the barbell squat a shot, I’m seeing the nicest shape in my legs. I’m taking slow, but I’m happy I overcame my fears.
I have some knee pain, couldn't train quads, fixed most of the pain and went straight to squat and I'm seeing so much more results than a lot of people that barely squat, did leg press less than 5 times in my life and I think it's a shitty exercise
I've been lifting for 30 years. Sometimes I tried to quit squatting because it is hard indeed, and I turned to do leg press and other leg excercises, but let me tell you, I have never achieved any significant leg gains with leg press.
Just an example of a fitness person applying what worked for them as the be all and end all. There's plenty of people out there who built big legs without squats. Some people are just not built for squatting and will never build big legs with squats.
I believe Dorian didn’t do squats how many Olympians did he win? Squats are completely unnecessary. Yes, they’re great if done properly but leg press, hack, squat, split squats plus others can be just as effective, if not more…
I agree especially if planet fitness has a small rinka dink leg press, that can only hold 8 45s but the place only have 7 plates in all to make matter worse. also dumbells only go to 75lbs.
Could you do a video talking about how to fix bad ankles when squatting. When I squat I can only get half way down and it feels like it is because of my shin muscles (or whatever the muscle is on the front of the leg) and it is definitely my ankle dorsiflexions that is the main problem, but both of these are very tight. In the past I have gotten a stress fracture on both my legs in my shins from excessive running and I also believe this was because I had bad ankle mobility. Could you suggest some things for me to do for this problem. Please help I want to squat.
I injured my lower back like if it was a bad deadlift because I have a bit too much mobility on the leg press... AND THEN HAD TO TAKE OFF A LOT OF DISKS FROM IT AND PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACE, leg press sucks for me hahahahaha I do enjoy squats, practicing them with good form, perfecting my technique and increasing the weight and correcting and increasing and correcting and increasing and have never injured myself doing squats in 15 years...
The fact that squat university had nothing to add says it all
I hadn't even realised that Squat University posted this until the "shop" option popped up right above the acc name🫡
It’s not called Leg Press University for a reason 😂
@@TheMirrorVisiontoo many syllables..
I guess theres no need for footnotes for a guy nicknamed the "quadfather"
U dont have to squat to build the same amount of muscle, dont listen to Tom , he is talkin bout his experience, not basing his words on a biomecanic argument
“The hardest things are usually the best” -Tom Platz
Over generalizations are usually flawed so take his talk with a grain of salt
😩😩😩
Which is why Tom Platz took the easy route and took $300 of steroids (over a thousand bucks today) in preparation for each Mr. Olympia competition.
@@TheMagicalWizardPyro You can't challenge anyone if you ain't on sause at Mr. Olympia level.
Arnold standing in a front lat spread
He's right. Squats are superior but definitely hard and recovery is why people run from leg day. My self included, gotta push myself to do it sometimes.
Thats why he trained legs once every 2 weeks though
@@Chavanun555and he was on steroids which provides better recovery
@@arrow2380 yes of course. If we go that hard we would have to rest like 3 weeks. Squats are so taxing
@@Chavanun555 Exactly. After my weekly leg day, my legs feel numb, almost paralysed. Can barely go up the stairs 😂
@@arrow2380 my workouts are quite different since I train for basketball. I do 2 upper and 2 low er with the jumping stuff so I dont feel like dying as much since jumping requires max effort not total annihilation like bodybuilding lol
Leg presses disgust Tom
scientifically, the leg press produces results
"If it's easy, leave it to somebody else" Tom Platz.
Bars...
The QuadFather knows
This clip will never get old!
I just did squats today. Came back after 3 years of no exercise. Starting with low weight lots of reps and just focusing on my technique. Man it’s hard to do squats with perfect form.
You're doing the right thing, not just starting , according to some leading experts, high reps (12-20 range) are best for legs hypertrophy and function.
heaver it gets, the more problematic it becomes. 5-7 rep range is OK enough on high weights.@@sacriste
Try the hack squat machine
True. Just don't try to go too heavy too soon. Start out light and gradually work your way up as u get stronger.
Yes form is very crucial imo. Thus we have Squat Uni
@@carlose6010 ...Very true. Form is everything when lifting. Also using a weight belt is good.
I squat my bodyweight and honestly I think that's enough
@@Valigarmandaenough for what
@@nonyabiz12+ knee sleeves
Man.. I wish I had a Grandpa like this.
The Quadfather has spoken
Ive never scene this before. Probably one of the best clips Ive ever seen in my over 50 years of living. Stuff like this is reasons why I made 50 last June and I still squat. He says it all in this video
leg press is also a really good exercise, despite what he says, you just have to do them with good technique, same with squats
It’s also an inferior exercise.
As you said you can cheat on leg press, you can’t on heavy squats
@@Bootyeater999exactly! The squats, to be able to do it correctly, you have to get a strong back, strong core, strong legs, strong feet, strong knee, good hip mobility, ankle mobility. Also, a very good technique if you don't want to fu-k up your body. That's why squats are way superior than leg presses, because squats will show if you have imbalances in your body.
@@Bootyeater999your opinion
This is why split squats are the best.
Split squats are great, but bilateral movements ultimately allow for greater load and therefore produce better hormonal response, which is essential for muscle growth, strength, and health.
Ow
@@spencergsmithwhat do you mean by hormonal response? so if i start doing squats my other lifts are gonna get me more results too? doesnt sound right
@@spencergsmiththat doesn't make any sense. If anything the opposite is true (but I doubt that it actually makes any meaningful difference). Load is relative. Yes you can't load as much on one leg as you can on two legs in absolut numbers. But your legs individually can't tell the difference, whether you have the load split between your legs, or just half the load on only one leg. And in addition to that you usually can't load double of what you push in a split squat for a bi-lateral squat, which actually means that your load is a lot t smaller
With Bulgarian infront of it
Lol! I still think leg press is a good complement
I think both should be utilized for overall best results. Start your leg day with squats and then go to leg press
Chills. Tom Platz legend 🙌
Bro for sm reason sounds like homelander giving a speech
I love this man's energy!
Im running a 6 day ppl split. Ill usually squat on first leg day of the week when fresh and legs press on second day to hammer in quads at the end of the week. Its helped alot.
The leg press is a great exercise for the quads as well as the squat
Insert "why not both" meme.
Squat until you can’t then hit the leg press until failure to get the extra isolation on the quads. The exercises aren’t competing they’re both good tools in your arsenal of body improvement
I love you, Dope Edit
Tom knew what the fuck was up. That’s why this man has some of the best legs even till today before all the “science” based bodybuilders came in around 10 years ago till now. Like he said squats are HARD.
Cool edit! 👌 …and inspiring speech
Facts of life!!! Thank you Tom Platz!! I'm stealing this to use with my patients.
Leg presses produced Yates.
I win.
You should discuss hypertrophy vs strength benefits of each
Tom Platz makes me want to do leg day every day!
That's also good advice for life in general.
Nothing in the entire bodybuilding world is as awesome as a pic of Tom Platz squatting !
Tom Platt's personality is second to none...
Some people wish they could… but just can not. So you do what you can to keep going cause they love the gym. But yes squats are great. Just can’t do them anymore with a barbell
If you're seeking a functional, versatile exercise that builds overall strength, balance, and core stability, squats may be your go-to for weight loss. However, if your primary focus is isolating and targeting your leg muscles for hypertrophy, the leg press could be the better choice for boosting testosterone levels
Here’s the only thing- squats are VERY hard on your knees. My physical therapist advised me to only go heavy on leg press because it is much easier on your knees.
Tom!!! Master 🙏
They both are hard in their ways. Which is why I do both.
*Hack squats have entered the chat*
He did say he likes every variation of squat, but prefer normal back squat more
Seeing him do hack squats is insane, he has bulletproof knees for sure
@@KewalTailor it’s not so much about what Tom Platz prefers; if you watch this short in isolation, it gives the impression that (barbell) squats are the only quad movement worth doing, which is honestly a terrible message to put out there
@@adamlinden5940 probably more accurate to call them sissy squats. I’d love to see a study on flat-footed hack squats vs Platz hack squats, regarding increase in thigh circumference over time
@@platitudepete8 Tom platz hack squat method is superior cause it provides higher stretch mediated hypertrophy which is EXTREMELY important part for muscle growth, and when did I say this wasn't a terrible msg, but still it's not like there won't be growth at all by doing normal squats, tbh
I never did any squats, ever. Squats always cause injuries and DESTROY your body. I always used leg press and hack squat machines. But I did more isolation work and spinning. I could leg press 700 lbs at 120lbs bodyweight and ran a 45.3 400m in college. All these meatheads that recommend squats WANT you to get injured. Remember two things: free advice is seldom cheap, and misery LOVES company!
I take this 👆 as an entertaining stuff. Leg presses does produces results and it's definitely not inferior
doing leg presses AND squats >>>
I completely agree that any squat movement pattern is incredibly beneficial to be ignored, but he's making a weak defense for squats.
If he ever did a set of leg press with the feet low on the platform, full ROM without lumbar flexion, pauses, eccentric control and high reps he would appreciate it more. As many people know, leg presses make for an amazing main or assistant exercise. You could train bilateral squats one day and machines or unilateral squats other day if recovery is a problem or hypertrophy is the main goal. Also a lot of people can't do squats so quadricep dominant like Tom does because of their biomechanics.
I agree leg press is also a great exercise. I feel my quads and flutes working better on leg press than squat. Stability and core strength tends to be the limiting factor for me on squats, not quad strength.
@@ezekielanderson9055 Facts, dear Ezekiel. This doesn't mean squatting, either unilaterally or bilaterally with free weights shouldn't be trained. It is smart to choose to strengthen those weak links rather than just forget them, but still Leg presses are amazing even if stability isn't a problem. A little of these two exercises it's probably the best combination!
@@therealsnaily Very true. I’m currently training for my first powerlifting competition. Every leg day, I start with heavy squats in the 2-5 rep range. Then leg press in the 8-12 rep range. Then I do a much of core/stability exercises like walking lunges, farmers Carries, and slow hip abduction and adduction.
@@ezekielanderson9055That's amazing! Much luck in your journey!
I agree that leg press is a good exercise but only if people do it right. Most people cheat the ROM of leg presses so bad. If it were a squat, they're not even breaking 90 degrees so pretty much half reps which produces a less than optimal stimulus from stretch mediated hypertrophy. Another thing is that some leg press machines don't go deep enough which is pretty annoying. I'm only mentioning this since I see all sorts of people loading countless plates yet they have stick legs.
i love squat. i mean, i know i've never done anything else besides regular squats exercise with no extra weight. but, i enjoy it because i find it quite "easy". i live somewhere in southeast asia, so unless you have a regular sitting toilet at home. but, if you own the squatting one, not being able to do squat will affect even this basic need. and also almost majority of people here do squats in regular basis.
I don't do weighted squads because my spine was fked once (just happened one day). Not gonna risk fking it up again.
I just do legpress instead of squats, because its faster and i dont have to be focused on the form and balacing myself.
I just want to push the weight instead of focusing on perfoming. And there are many things could go wrong while squatting. Its hard to go for max weight if you are not able to perform squats perfectly.
Any exercise recommendations for dealing with Chondromalacia patellae
We need answers. I was diagnosed with this too. Still do barbell squat tho. I just push through the pain 😢
One is a compound movement and other is an isolation. They're literally not comparable... furthermore if im not mistaken there's a competition for squats. There's no competition for Leg presses... so how exactly does "nobody" do squats when there's entire competitions dedicated to them???
He means that nobody does squats for bodybuilding. Powerlifters do not hit the rep ranges that bodybuilders do very often. Ask a powerlifter about 10 rep sets and they'll tell you it's hell.
squat u getting into his tom platz era? hell yeah man
The Patriarch of Squat University
Personally i did leg press for my deadlift. I think it's the best way to get a real feel for "pushing the floor away"
They work very different muscles.. Yes Deadlift does some quad, but that's incidental, not the focus. Deadlift is focusing on the hip hinge which targets the glutes, hamstrings, and posterior chain. I hope you at least had some hip thrusts or something address that missing component.
@@xitaris5981 I didn't do leg press for squats, I did it for deadlift, specifically to get the feel for pushing the floor away
Tom said himself he didn't deadlift. I think the combination of leg press and deadlift can get comparable results to the squat. At a certain point Dorian Yates said he was able to build a top physique without squats
@@DuncanL7979it won’t but that’s acceptable work cause deadlifts are no easy exercise.
How about some Machine Hack Squats!
The voice of wisdom coming from a professional bodybuilding icon...
Finally. I found the answer I can now train in peace
My body only feels right when I do goblet squats with a heavy dumbell. Normal barbell squats feel very weird with my body and flat feet. But I love heavy goblet squats one raised heels and the results are showing.
ahh yes spine day my favorite
Love what he said
And it’s true. I never did squat before to for my legs. Always did machines type of workouts. I was always scared of getting injured. Now that I decided to give the barbell squat a shot, I’m seeing the nicest shape in my legs. I’m taking slow, but I’m happy I overcame my fears.
I have some knee pain, couldn't train quads, fixed most of the pain and went straight to squat and I'm seeing so much more results than a lot of people that barely squat, did leg press less than 5 times in my life and I think it's a shitty exercise
“If it’s easy, leave it to somebody else”
Nah I jus want what I'm capable of lol😂
Couldn't agree more
Defs agree but tryna get my form perfect for squats is so overwhelming so I just go leg press lmao
Single leg press is pretty legit
Facts !
But Mr Platz my legs are still shaking from my PR attempt 3 weeks ago.
Amen!
Mike thought the same thing, but admitted he put on more size after he started implementing leg press.
and this is why leon edwards is the most kissable man alive.
Precisely.
I've been lifting for 30 years. Sometimes I tried to quit squatting because it is hard indeed, and I turned to do leg press and other leg excercises, but let me tell you, I have never achieved any significant leg gains with leg press.
Leg press less stress on my back and i can rep it out. Squat not so much i have to take a long ti to recover
Hey I'm having right glute pain while stretching. Not during squats or other lifting exercises. Do you know what that means???
weighted pullups >>>>>> cable pulldowns
For years listen for years not for tomorrow 😂
Barbell back squats can really fuck up your back as you progress to heavier weights
Just an example of a fitness person applying what worked for them as the be all and end all. There's plenty of people out there who built big legs without squats. Some people are just not built for squatting and will never build big legs with squats.
I wish I could actually get a squat rack for once at my gym
The best Legg Press is the one you Press the floor
I believe Dorian didn’t do squats how many Olympians did he win? Squats are completely unnecessary. Yes, they’re great if done properly but leg press, hack, squat, split squats plus others can be just as effective, if not more…
"Nothing compares to squats."
There's nothing inferior and superior its all about what worksbfor you.
I do squats, hack machine and leg press
Squat or Die!!!
Even his face is muscled
I agree especially if planet fitness has a small rinka dink leg press, that can only hold 8 45s but the place only have 7 plates in all to make matter worse. also dumbells only go to 75lbs.
Leg presses are good if your gym doesn’t have a belt squat
Platz!!!
Could you do a video talking about how to fix bad ankles when squatting. When I squat I can only get half way down and it feels like it is because of my shin muscles (or whatever the muscle is on the front of the leg) and it is definitely my ankle dorsiflexions that is the main problem, but both of these are very tight. In the past I have gotten a stress fracture on both my legs in my shins from excessive running and I also believe this was because I had bad ankle mobility. Could you suggest some things for me to do for this problem. Please help I want to squat.
czcams.com/video/IikP_teeLkI/video.html
If doing hack squat and leg press do folks still need to do leg extensions or calf raises
I injured my lower back like if it was a bad deadlift because I have a bit too much mobility on the leg press... AND THEN HAD TO TAKE OFF A LOT OF DISKS FROM IT AND PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACE, leg press sucks for me hahahahaha I do enjoy squats, practicing them with good form, perfecting my technique and increasing the weight and correcting and increasing and correcting and increasing and have never injured myself doing squats in 15 years...
This is why tom platz is the most based bodybuilder
True true 🎭😶🌫️🎭
Is this Man still alive?
Yeah it’s hard that’s why I barely do it. But I do leg presses everyday and my legs are big so 🤷🏾♂️
If squat university didn't add anything to this, we know what we need to do mostly on leg press
But Tom.... My discs are fucked up
You're somebody else. Nothing wrong with it tho 😑
leg presses also cause disc hernation if you go to far with the rom
@@matthewdice8567 Yup, if you get a wink going you're fucked. I'm laying off squats and leg press for a while.
0:01
Because of a bulging disk 😢
I can’t ever find the name of this song