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2007/03/15, 06:36 PM
Hi,
The guys I consider expert on this board have said the leg press is unneeded stress on your body, you should do squats to get big. Well, I worked my way up to 365x12x12x12, then I started having problems with my shoulder -
See (scroll to bottom of thread): http://www.freetrainers.com/FT/jsp/pro/Message.jsp?f_ix=6&t_ix=341
After an MRI it was not my rotator cuff, but 'insert a lot of medical terms here' where I need to get scoped and a bone cut out, it will not get better. They say if I do overhead presses it will eventually happen again.
So, what is my point? I can't weight train my legs. I can no longer put weight on a bar behind my head due to the pain in my shoulder when my arm is in that position. Aka, I can't do squats, lunges with any real weight, single leg squats etc. Perhaps I can use dumbbells but that is only 140lbs.
So, I was going to get some leg press equipment, of course I came here to do a fitBuddy search to see what everyone was saying... and apparently the word is don't do leg presses.
Any suggestions? Best I can think of is get a new bar so I can do squats by holding the weight behind my back. I do sissy squats but also read here it is very hard on the knees (I can see how, and so were leg extensions after building up the weight), I used to do front squats until the weight started really crushing my forearms.
So, any ideas? What would people with back problems do? I assume they also would not be able to pile on the weight.
Thanks!
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2007/03/15, 06:44 PM
I think the Leg Press machine has it's place, and you just might have found it. You just need to be careful, do some research on it. Even the Smith Machine (I know, evil) can have it's place for squats, too.
I think one needs to be aware of all the options and if you wanna do squats or squat type movements, but can't place a bar across the shoulders or lift overhead, the two above may be okay.
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I see the words you are typing, but all I read is *click*click*click*
- One should not lift like a man or a woman, lift like a human.
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2007/03/15, 08:57 PM
Unilateral work has the advantage of having half the weight on your shoulders, while still offering a great leg workout.
Also, a cambered or safety squat bar is SIGNIFICANTLY easier on the shoulders.
If you could explain the "'insert a lot of medical terms here'" then I could probably give better advice...
Type III acrium? Bursitis? Impinged humeral head? subacromial decompression? anterior acromioplasty?
Do any of these terms sound familar? Did he mention scapular disfunction (or specifically what the disfunction was, ie depression, instability, winging?)?
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Gravity hates you.
Enter the Darkside.
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2007/03/15, 10:24 PM
There is some nonsense from folks who think they are 'pros' as the leg press has no use. You know, squat or die. This is silly, you can get a dam good leg workout and growth with proper legpress.
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"If it ain't broke, you aren't trying."
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2007/03/15, 11:23 PM
yeah i think you will find the census here saying no to leg press due to most people use it and not squats
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2007/03/16, 05:54 PM
If you can't squat then press.
Some people are like you and then there is people like me whom can't press so I squat and I even hack sled squat when I want a break.
My spine doesn't like the load in a press but can handle it in a squat and lunge.
Do whats best for you and utilize your needs with your limitations.
Hey I wish I could Press I like the Press but I can't even do it with a 12 to 15 rep range without it irritating my spine.
Sometimes it's not about form but about how your body handles certain movements and position so don't let some half wit trainer tell you that it's impossible to hurt if you keep form and protect your spine because there is the load to think about too and the movements and in my case it's the movement of a leg press and the lower angled hyperextension my body hates with a passion and it will tell me so. I can do hypers on the higher angles because you keep your torso strait and you dont bend downwards.
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Knock-Um Down & Keep-Um Down!
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2007/03/16, 06:03 PM
Good God a cambered bar is $400.. btw, I forgot to mention I can't do machine-flies either.
Looking at the cambered and safety bar (neither of which I had ever heard of, thanks for the introduction Wrestler!), it looks like the safety bar would be unwieldy if I tried to do lunges with it but it looks like a good position, the cambered bar might put me in the 'machine-fly' position that is also painful (if there is any resistance).
I thought my diagnosis would come with my bill, neither have yet so I called to ask the doc's office to fax it to me. Probably won't happen until Monday but I will post what they said I had. Nothing mentioned so far rings a bell.
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2007/03/29, 01:37 PM
Similar problems. My legs have been getting very strong in the last 6 months but i cannot push them with heavy wieghts. I can doo leg presses and squats at light weights many reps but when i get into the 400 to 700 lbs range my knees really hurt so i stop. I cannot do lunges either because of the knee issue. I can run or skate or anything without the knee issue. I was wondering if i can get the same effect by just doing many reps to failure like doing 250 50 times???????????
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2007/03/29, 07:34 PM
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Quoting from werre7stw:
Similar problems. My legs have been getting very strong in the last 6 months but i cannot push them with heavy wieghts. I can doo leg presses and squats at light weights many reps but when i get into the 400 to 700 lbs range my knees really hurt so i stop. I cannot do lunges either because of the knee issue. I can run or skate or anything without the knee issue. I was wondering if i can get the same effect by just doing many reps to failure like doing 250 50 times???????????
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I'm going to guess and say you're not actually doing squats.
Actually thats wasn't
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2007/03/29, 07:35 PM
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Quoting from werre7stw:
Similar problems. My legs have been getting very strong in the last 6 months but i cannot push them with heavy wieghts. I can doo leg presses and squats at light weights many reps but when i get into the 400 to 700 lbs range my knees really hurt so i stop. I cannot do lunges either because of the knee issue. I can run or skate or anything without the knee issue. I was wondering if i can get the same effect by just doing many reps to failure like doing 250 50 times???????????
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I'm going to guess and say you're not actually doing squats.
Actually thats wasn't a guess, but you get the idea.
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2007/03/29, 09:33 PM
Wrapping of the knees immediately alleviated any knee issues I had with leg presses. I was going up to 1200 on them. Being a 'bad ass', I didn't wrap them for a very long time. I paid a price. Wrapping them was an IMMEDIATE relief.
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"If it ain't broke, you aren't trying."
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2007/03/29, 11:09 PM
well at 6'2" can i reccomend taking a wider stance on squats I find with me being 6'1" it lessens the stress on knees, effectively shortens my long legs also
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2007/03/30, 10:20 PM
Foot position will change the area of the legs you hit.
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"If it ain't broke, you aren't trying."
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