If you want to get bigger, stronger legs without squatting, you need to change up your exercise selection. In this video, I am going to show you the best leg exercises you can do to get bigger and stronger legs without the need to perform the barbell back squat. As a matter of fact, if you have knee pain, back pain, and/or hip pain when you squat, these exercises will help you to get bigger, stronger legs without having to deal with that pain once and for all.
The premise of this video is to help you understand that in order to get bigger and stronger legs without all the pain that comes from squatting, you need to start training your legs unilaterally. That means training one leg at time without avoiding the squat pattern altogether.
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The first exercise I am going to suggest to you that will help you to build bigger, stronger legs without pain is the drop squat. Now, this exercise is bilateral in nature, but will help you to learn proper squat mechanics if that is the reason you are dealing with pain. This is meant for those that cannot squat 135 lbs without pain. This exercise is simple and requires only a single dumbbell. Get into the squat position and simply squat down while holding the dumbbell between your legs until the dumbbell reaches the floor before returning to the starting position.
The second exercise up in this guide if you have pain while squatting is the dumbbell split squat, one of the most basic leg exercises you can do but allows you to overload the quads in the process. Move your back foot far enough back that you can achieve a split stance just before your front knee starts to bend. Keep your torso tall and upright before descending. Now, don’t push up and back with your front leg as that takes the load off the quad. Instead, drive yourself straight up and down.
Instead of a barbell squat, you can perform a bulgarian split squat. This is an excellent option for those with knee pain. The key here is to find the right stance. Sit on the edge of bench, stick your working leg out in front of you on the ground and then place the dumbbells on the outsides of your foot. From here simply stand up and place your back foot on the bench with your foot rotated to give you better balance. Remember, this is a leg exercise, not a balance exercise; so don’t allow your balance to be the limiting factor when trying to build not just bigger legs but stronger legs too.
Next up for getting bigger, stronger legs without squatting is the reverse lunge. As someone with chronic knee pain, especially when squatting, this leg exercise is a game changer. The important things to note here are leg and torso position. When you lunge backwards, step your back foot out to the side to give yourself better balance. When you lunge, lean over your front leg while keeping an upright torso.
Now, like I said before, we don’t want to abandon the squat pattern altogether. Take note, however, that this next leg exercise is a challenging one – the single leg squat. Stand on a box or a bench with one leg hanging off the side and squat down with the leg in contact with the box/bench. Do your best to get to parallel when it comes to squat depth. With this exercise, you won’t have to experience the knee pain, back pain, or hip pain that comes from the barbell back squat. Take note: half of your bodyweight with a single dumbbell is equivalent to a 2x your bodyweight barbell squat.
One of the best exercises you can do to deal with hip pain is the Jane Fonda as well as a more advanced modification that will train both sides of your hips at the same time. The point of this hip pain exercise is to train your glute medius. I don’t care how much you can squat right now, you likely have a weakness in your hips. To strengthen this area, lay on the ground on your side with your legs stacked. Take your top leg and point the toe down and reach your leg forward. Then take that same leg and reach it up and back behind your body with your toe pointing down before returning to your leg going out in front. For the more advanced modification, simply lift your hip off the ground while your leg goes back.
If you are looking for more pain relief, be sure to head to athleanx.com and check out the program selector tool. It will take you just minutes to find the exact plan that fits your current goals and will help you to build ripped athletic muscle quickly.
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