Squats/Cleans

Yes, the ego must go. I have found Front Squats work wonders for my lower back.
Lower the weight, load the bar on your front, Tighten the abs and go deep into the hole.
I never use a belt, and see no need outside of competition or a weak back.
 
squats are the best exercise for legs,but dont disregard leg press as long as you progress the load they will make your quads bigger,but i doubt leg-press will make your squat stronger.
 
It looks like you guys do not think hack squats are so good, so I will do squats on the clean day and either leg press, extensions, or front squats for the deadlift day.
 
My gripe with the leg-press is a gripe that I have with most machine-movements:it takes away from the coordination and focus of training.

Now, now, before everybody starts ripping me a new one, simply think about it:in a squat, you have to be in there 100%, because if you slack, you could get a very serious injury. You know that, you feel the weight "crushing" you, and you give it your all, because a failed squat is not what you`d like to happen.

In the leg press, you`re going through a quite fixed movement...sure, you can press a shitload of weight, but you can also look at that sexy girl training her adductors whilst doing it, think about something else etc. You don`t feel crushed by the press, you can get away with less than 100%, IMO.

Body-through-space free weight movements tend do produce systemic results in my personal experience:better coordination, maybe improved posture, almost always improved training-focus etc.
 
Morgoth, that's a good point but if the weight is heavy enough in a leg press, you do have to be focused. I don't have that problem with my workout though as I am usualyl in the zone.

I am just trying to find a similar alternate to squats on the deadlift day...
 
As a sidenote, on dead day, the 5x5 uses squats up to around 85% of max for the warmup, with chest exersize in between. (you don't want to really follow squats with deads). So squats are done every day, just not to max on dead day.
 
One note for anyone thinking of doing oly lifts, front squats, etc, is to start working on flexibility now.

I've been using a bar in my power rack, putting my hands on the bar and forcing my elbows forward in a stretch. It takes a lot of wrist and shoulder flexibility to hold the bar as you would for a jerk and have the elbows forward with the bar resting on the delts as it should. For overhead squats and snatch the broomstick stretch is good. Take a long broomstick, grip it very wide like a snatch grip, lock elbows and lower behind the back until it contacts the lower back. Keep the elbows locked while lowering and returning it overhead. Most will have to use a very wide grip.

Leg, back, and ankle flexibility is also good for squatting and especially olympic style lifts. As a kid, way back longer than I'd like to say I knew some national class oly lifters. As befits guys who might need to stand up in a front squat with perhaps double body weight, all had big legs. However, they were also very flexible. I didn't see it first hand, but some could reportedly do the splits.
 
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(quadancer @ Mar. 08 2007,10:54)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">As a sidenote, on dead day, the 5x5 uses squats up to around 85% of max for the warmup, with chest exersize in between. (you don't want to really follow squats with deads). So squats are done every day, just not to max on dead day.</div>
I don't plan on doing 5 x 5... it's another HST cycle. Quad, do you think I should just do light squats on deads day? Why wouldn't I just do heavy leg presses?

LnTx, flexibility is definitely a good thing to tackle in aid to good squats.
 
I was just saying that using squats for the warmup is one way you CAN do squats and dead together...but put something in between or your deads might stink. Leg press might be good for that also, but won't hit the core like squats; probably wouldn't matter anyway.
And I don't really TELL anyone to do anything. Just suggest stuff. I often have to be a boss all day long; I like to relax with you guys!
 
I hear ya Quad... so I get the impresson that leg presses aren't jack. Any thoughts for my squat alternate on deads day?
 
You're doing DEADLIFTS...you don't NEED anything else!!! As I've said before, when initiating a deadlift I've noticed that every muscle in your body is used...probably even the ones that wiggle your ears.
 
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