I have a slipped L-5 disk and was sticking to leg press/hack squat, I was feeling better and tried squating and sure enough re aggravated the back.
I just feel like I am not getting enough out of the press/hack mix and am thinking of trying Smith squats, is this just being stubborn or will the extra stabalization reduce the tension on the L-5?
To be honest, I don’t think smith squats will help you here in any way.
I very much like them, but they are still a back-squat-type exercise.
Meaning that your back will be in there no matter what. You could try some very exotic setup with leaning back etc (sort of turning them into a hack-squat), but those are usually what gets people injured.
Does the more upright front squat work for you, or is that still not too nice on your back?
Smith front squats work very well for me, maybe try those… Or just stick to the hack squat and leg press for now.
Bigger legs aren’t worth a messed up back.
I like to stick to the back squats because of my lower back, I cannot deadlift either which has been neglecting the hamstrings.
[quote]dopp16 wrote:
I like to stick to the back squats because of my lower back, I cannot deadlift either which has been neglecting the hamstrings. [/quote]
Hmm… I suppose Hamstring Leg Presses/ Sumo Leg Presses are out? (for hammies… Leg Curls alone only train one of their functions… What about reverse-hypers ? Lots of PL’ers like that one for improving their low-back health… But ask someone like maraudermeat, he might know better.)
Need to really keep your ass on the seat on those or else low back comes in…
I don’t understand why the back-squat would be better for your lower back than the front squat, though. Unless you actually stay very upright during back-squats, which is a very bad idea if you’re squatting upwards of 200kg…
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
I don’t understand why the back-squat would be better for your lower back than the front squat, though. Unless you actually stay very upright during back-squats, which is a very bad idea if you’re squatting upwards of 200kg…
[/quote]
My grammar was messed up, I meant that I have been not able to do deads because of my lower back…
I completely agree that leg curls do not suffice, I have been trying sumo’s on the back end of my presses (i.e. three sets of normal, two sets of sumos)