Squat Alternatives for those of us without a rack

[PingSpike]

I work out at home, but I only have a regular bench. I'm not looking to become a power lifter or anything, and legs aren't a huge focus for me, but I know squats are an important compound lift.

So far I've been doing dumbbell squats at my sides and in the past I had my wife sit on my shoulders while I did them. Both give a decent workout but are limited in the amount of weight I can use.

I did some hack squats the other day and enjoyed them.

Are these enough as an alternative? Am I missing out on something not doing true squats?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I'll go ahead and say that squats are important to the development of your upper body... potentially just as much as working out your upper body. I would say that, yes, you are missing out by not actually getting that hormone response. As you get the weight up, your body really responds, which has a large effect on strength gains, body composition, etc. You should get the wife on your shoulders while holding the dumbbells That'll probably be closer to right. Are you adverse to going to a normal gym? I'm sure they'll have equipment you don't have and will allow you to get the overall workout that is most beneficial.

 

[Lamont Burns]

I think I can chime in here b/c I was in this situation for a good 2 months before joining a gym.

I had 40 pound dumbells at home, was using those at my side for squats, along with a shoddy weight vest/backpack with any weight I could find when I passed 80 lbs. It was finally just not feasible to continue to strengthen my legs, as well as continue in total body strength gains with my lack of equipment, and lack of resistance.

I joined a gym about 8 weeks ago? Something like that. In any case, I now do squats at 195, and I entered the gym doing ~100. If my legs could recover, I'd squat every goddamn day. I'm still a relative string bean being tall, but my upper body is gaining strength quicker(ie Bench Press, OH Press, whatever) too.

The only other alternative I tried was pistols, or 1 legged squats basically. I didn't like them too much tbh.

 

[brikis98]

The reason squats are so highly recommend is not because they are a great "leg exercise" (they are) but because they are one of the best total body exercises. Squats make you stronger at everything. To quote Mark Rippetoe:

There is simply no other exercise, and certainly no machine, that produces the level of central nervous system activity, improved balance and coordination, skeletal loading and bone density enhancement, muscular stimulation and growth, connective tissue stress and strength, psychological demand and toughness, and overall systemic conditioning than the correctly performed full squat.

There aren't any great substitutes for barbell squats, so your first priority should be to either (a) get a squat rack/stand or (b) get a gym membership. It's well worth it. Otherwise, you have a few (less effective) options:

1. Front squats: they are just as effective as back squats, but have two advantages if you don't have a squat rack. First, you can clean the weight from the floor to your shoulders (if you know the technique). Second, if you get in trouble and can't finish a rep, it's easy to dump the weight forward, where as dumping it off your back is pretty tough. Unfortunately, just about everyone front squats more than they can clean after a short while, so this will only work temporarily.
2. Alternative exercises: if you have no safe means of squatting, you can try high rep deadlifts, cleans, snatches, weighted lunges, and weighted step-ups. Hack squats are probably closer to deadlifts than squats and most likely don't target as many muscles, primarily hitting the quads. The other exercises I listed are probably better alternatives.

 

[Lamont Burns]

Lunges, yeah I did those too. I hate them as well. Something about doing both legs at once keeps me focused. I definitely felt it, tho.

Also I read recently that the part about skeletal loading and bone density peaks in your 20s, not sure how old you are but it can prevent a lot of issues later in life, so get squatting! Somehow, anyway.

 

[PingSpike]

I'm sure the gym has equipment I don't have. But since its 25 minutes away and I have little spare time as is, I would never go. It also always looks packed...and frankly I'm not interested in waiting or dealing with people after work. Right now I can just go downstairs in my underwear and get things done. I'd be better off buying a power rack...I might eventually.

Is there any reason dumbbell squats aren't a good alternative, provided I can keep the weight up high enough? I've heard some people say they aren't the same...but when asked why they have no actual answer.

I thought of having the wife hold dumbbells! Then I thought of my wife dropping the dumbbells...

 

[Deeko]

The weight is the big thing - very quickly you will need very heavy dumbbells, and holding them becomes a problem.

 

[Lamont Burns]

You sound almost exactly like me a few months ago. SC can attest to that. I'm happy I make the 20 min trip to the gym now, but if you get a power rack and a barbell/weights, the world is your oyster.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I'm sure the gym has equipment I don't have. But since its 25 minutes away and I have little spare time as is, I would never go. It also always looks packed...and frankly I'm not interested in waiting or dealing with people after work. Right now I can just go downstairs in my underwear and get things done. I'd be better off buying a power rack...I might eventually.

Do whatever you need to that will let you lift consistently. A power rack is a very worthwhile investment.

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Is there any reason dumbbell squats aren't a good alternative, provided I can keep the weight up high enough? I've heard some people say they aren't the same...but when asked why they have no actual answer.

The biggest issue is that you won't be able to keep the weight high enough. I'm sure you don't have dumbbells over 100lbs, but if you squat consistently, an average sized guy can get his squat over 200lbs relatively quickly. Moreover, there are 3 ways to hold the dumbbells, each with advantages/disadvantages:

1. By your sides: this changes the form of the squat, removing many muscles from the movement (such as the posterior chain). As you get stronger, it will also be a big test for your grip strength, as not many people can hold heavy dumbbells for a very long time.

2. On your shoulders: this simulates a front squat reasonably well and is the way I'd recommend doing them. Unfortunately, there is a big drawback: getting the weight onto your shoulders will get very tough as you get stronger at squatting - you'll have to learn to clean the dumbbells which will ultimately still limit you as most people squat far more than they clean.

3. Goblet squat: this is where you hold a single dumbbell in both hands just under your chin. It's a great way to work on your squat technique/mobility, but not very practical as a strength exercise due to the very limited weight you can use.

Still, some squatting is better than none, but a proper barbell squat is a much more worthwhile use of your time.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I'm sure the gym has equipment I don't have. But since its 25 minutes away and I have little spare time as is, I would never go. It also always looks packed...and frankly I'm not interested in waiting or dealing with people after work. Right now I can just go downstairs in my underwear and get things done. I'd be better off buying a power rack...I might eventually.

Do whatever you need to that will let you lift consistently. A power rack is a very worthwhile investment.

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Is there any reason dumbbell squats aren't a good alternative, provided I can keep the weight up high enough? I've heard some people say they aren't the same...but when asked why they have no actual answer.

The biggest issue is that you won't be able to keep the weight high enough. I'm sure you don't have dumbbells over 100lbs, but if you squat consistently, an average sized guy can get his squat over 200lbs relatively quickly. Moreover, there are 3 ways to hold the dumbbells, each with advantages/disadvantages:

1. By your sides: this changes the form of the squat, removing many muscles from the movement (such as the posterior chain). As you get stronger, it will also be a big test for your grip strength, as not many people can hold heavy dumbbells for a very long time.

2. On your shoulders: this simulates a front squat reasonably well and is the way I'd recommend doing them. Unfortunately, there is a big drawback: getting the weight onto your shoulders will get very tough as you get stronger at squatting - you'll have to learn to clean the dumbbells which will ultimately still limit you as most people squat far more than they clean.

3. Goblet squat: this is where you hold a single dumbbell in both hands just under your chin. It's a great way to work on your squat technique/mobility, but not very practical as a strength exercise due to the very limited weight you can use.

Still, some squatting is better than none, but a proper barbell squat is a much more worthwhile use of your time.

I also just wanted to mention a image that helps people: look up dumbbbell squats then look up dumbbell deadlifts. They look practically the same. Essentially you're doing something like a trap bar deadlift rather than a squat. Along with not being able to get the weight up heavy enough, there are muscle groups that are dramatically excluded (as brikis said).

 

[amicold]

Take the bar outside and do walking lunges.

 

[spamsk8r]

Single leg squats (pistols) are a good movement to strengthen the legs as well. But again, nothing replaces the barbell squat.

 

[SigArms08]

Given your equipment limitation, sissy squats after the dumbbell squats could be good.

 

[PingSpike]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I've decided to do squats with my wife as resistence once a week and do one of the other alternatives on my other days. I'll keep my eye out for a good deal on a rack in the mean time. Might be a good Christmas present or something.

 

[Jeffg010]

I found my rack on craigslist. I got it for 80. I had my rack in 3 days.

jeff