Bigger legs?

[Zstream]

Anyone know how to get bigger legs without stressing the knee joints? My knees are not so good, they are even worse after the knee surgery.

Basically squats hurt my knees, they pop each time and hurt really really bad afterward. I have been doing lunges but they do not seem to help very much in terms of increasing the mass.

 

[Megatomic]

Have you tried weighted lunges? I have pretty big legs for a runner due to lunges.

 

[Zstream]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
Have you tried weighted lunges? I have pretty big legs for a runner due to lunges.

I do not have a body vest, any other way to do it?

 

[Megatomic]

Dumbbells. Start with the lowest weight you can hold and work your way up. I can do them with 50lbs./hand now and I used to have a bad right knee. And this really helped my knees take the pounding of running.

 

[TallBill]

I prefer barbell lunges. Don't have to worry about your grip, and once the weight gets heavy, it's pretty simple.

 

[Megatomic]

A barbell would be easier to use, but unless you belong to a gym it's probably more convenient to use dumbells. I don't have room at home for barbells, but I got a neato little dumbell rack that holds 6 sets of weights.

 

[Crono]

Eat a lot and use an excerise bike with medium resistance. My legs are like tree trunks because of this

 

[Tencntraze]

As a word of caution, be absolutely sure that your form is solid when you start increasing the weight. I tore something in my lower ab area a year ago, likely due to bad form and leaning a little too far forward with the lunges. It took forever to heal, and basically limited my physical activity completely. If your form is solid and you're not leaning forward due to the weight, go nuts.

 

[brikis98]

A few questions:

1. Why do you want "bigger" legs? Aesthetics? Or do you actually want stronger legs?

2. Are you sure you are using proper squat technique? When squats are done correctly - with the heels firmly on the ground, the back locked in extension, and the hip joint going below the knee joint ("below parallel") - they are actually known to improve the health and strength of the knee joint. Starting Strength discusses the safety and technique of the proper back squat. Stronglifts also has a decent tutorial. It's certainly possible that your injury really does prevent you from squatting, but it may be worth trying some air squats (ie, just your body weight) with the correct technique to test it out.

3. It's worth remembering that there are also many variations of the squat: high bar, low bar, sumo stance, athletic stance, front squat, overhead squat, box squat, split squat, hack squat and single legged squat (pistol). Perhaps some of these will feel better for you than others.

Finally, if your injury really does prevent you from doing the squat and any of its variations, even with proper technique, there are other exercises you can try. There is no real substitute for the squat, but doing something is better than nothing. Here are a few:

Deadlift
(Weighted) lunges
(Weighted) step-ups
Box jumps
Power clean
Power snatch

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Crono
Eat a lot and use an excerise bike with medium resistance. My legs are like tree trunks because of this

Meh, just mostly deadlifting has increased the size of mine. I have some mondo stretch marks on my thighs

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: Crono
Eat a lot and use an excerise bike with medium resistance. My legs are like tree trunks because of this

Meh, just mostly deadlifting has increased the size of mine. I have some mondo stretch marks on my thighs

Cocoa butter? Don't neglect the anterior chain btw. I forgot to mention it in your other thread. You could be building up some really weird imbalances if you do that. Do some front squats occasionally to keep everything all steady

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: Crono
Eat a lot and use an excerise bike with medium resistance. My legs are like tree trunks because of this

Meh, just mostly deadlifting has increased the size of mine. I have some mondo stretch marks on my thighs

Cocoa butter? Don't neglect the anterior chain btw. I forgot to mention it in your other thread. You could be building up some really weird imbalances if you do that. Do some front squats occasionally to keep everything all steady

I do squats/lunges almost weekly now, I've worked in a better rotation with rack pulls where I really only deadlift once ever other week.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

You could try trap bar deadlifts. They might be easier or your knees.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: the DRIZZLE
You could try trap bar deadlifts. They might be easier or your knees.

Except using the trap bar makes them essentially a squat....

 

[HardcoreRobot]

biking regularly made my thighs HUGE

 

[Zstream]

Originally posted by: brikis98
A few questions:

1. Why do you want "bigger" legs? Aesthetics? Or do you actually want stronger legs?

2. Are you sure you are using proper squat technique? When squats are done correctly - with the heels firmly on the ground, the back locked in extension, and the hip joint going below the knee joint ("below parallel") - they are actually known to improve the health and strength of the knee joint. Starting Strength discusses the safety and technique of the proper back squat. Stronglifts also has a decent tutorial. It's certainly possible that your injury really does prevent you from squatting, but it may be worth trying some air squats (ie, just your body weight) with the correct technique to test it out.

3. It's worth remembering that there are also many variations of the squat: high bar, low bar, sumo stance, athletic stance, front squat, overhead squat, box squat, split squat, hack squat and single legged squat (pistol). Perhaps some of these will feel better for you than others.

Finally, if your injury really does prevent you from doing the squat and any of its variations, even with proper technique, there are other exercises you can try. There is no real substitute for the squat, but doing something is better than nothing. Here are a few:

Deadlift
(Weighted) lunges
(Weighted) step-ups
Box jumps
Power clean
Power snatch

I guess I was doing the squats wrong, much better now that I do what was on the video.

 

[scott916]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
biking regularly made my thighs HUGE

Did the same for me. My leg muscles have increased dramatically just with biking back and forth to work. Get in 20 minutes of medium intensity riding in every day, and in a couple months you'll see significant gains. I have to keep away from certain brands of boxers now because the fabric doesn't stretch.