Is the Squat ENOUGH for Leg Growth?! (Research Overview)

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Intro 0:00 Quadriceps 0:34 Hamstrings 3:57 Glutes 5:09 Adductors 6:35 Calves 7:36 Conclusion 7:54

[@ylounis]

Damn, seems like I found one of those criminally underrated channels. Simple yet well done video, and lots of other interesting videos as well that I will watch for sure. Keep doing the good work. Use more clickbait-y titles and offer popular topics, and hopefully the algorithmic gods will bless you.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you for the kind words and advice, I appreciate it :)

[@Nial]

Bro what is this content jesus christ. The quality is up there with jeff nippard, jeremy ethier etc.. bro keep at it thsi is some quality content.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I appreciate that! thank you for the kind words :)

[@sarukansegar4066]

Damn true Bro🤙💯👍

[@michelrood2966]

Jeff nippard?? Lmao

[@deadliftalot]

Comparing such high quality content with Jeremy either or Jeff nippard is an insult to this guy's hard work . His work is comparable with flow high performance .

[@michelrood2966]

@@deadliftalot If you follow Nippard you havent a clue about BB.

[@rizzwan-42069]

i want to say even if deep squats produce the same amount of hypertrophy as a 90° squat it's better to do deep squats for the joints

[@arch0049]

Great video. 75-90% of the time my only training of legs is squat and bike/run sprints. Periodically I will go on a few months of deadlifting and other moves while bulking to push my total strength higher. I will say this about people who primarily squat, we are rarely let down by the power, performance and appearance of our legs. You can say the same thing for people who are primarily deadlift focused. In my opinion if your base leg move is squat and/or deadlift, you will be happy with your outcomes. The people who seem to least happy with their legs seem to prioritize machines, leg press and lunges in my experience.

[@utliscarletaaron6287]

Lunges are great, and most aren't good at using machines correctly

[@tristandrew5903]

Cool video. As a case study, due to knees which seem sensitive to other quad exercises, I've only done squats and stiff dead or ham curls for the last 18 months. I used to to squats, press variations and switch up with lunges. I can confirm I had no size reduction, a small gain in both strength and size in fact. I've been training 11 years and do 5-10 rep sets all the time. I agree with the part under development of rectus muscle though so might start doing some careful extensions. In my opinion, yes squats are sufficient for overall leg development with one hamstring exercise.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Interesting, thank you for sharing!

[@sahilsvision]

This channel is so underrated. Keep up the great work!!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much my friend!

[@EthanWhitby]

It would be cool to see a plan or something which theoretically stimulates the most muscle groups based on this research.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I plan to make content related to this :)

[@lsporter88]

Very thorough and helpful. Thank you and excellent presentation.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem, thank YOU for checking out the video!

[@JulioCesar-hh9wq]

First video i see from this channel, really enjoying it, nice work

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much dude, welcome!

[@areelzmusic]

Excellent explanation!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you my friend!

[@alexgruber3527]

I can assure you that squat only will up your strength and mass in your legs. Reach you maximal squat strength for your natural frame first (aprox. 2,5-3,0x bodyweight) and then after 5-10 years of squatting, decide if the muscle mass on your legs is enough ...

[@DiskoKDiskoL]

3x bw? Cmon bro...

[@coachandrewb]

I always say lunges and deadlifts are pretty much all you need for legs. They just transfer to real life so well. Now for hypertrophy the key is always do whatever you enjoy because you'll push yourself harder and effort is the biggest factor.

[@rodolfolorote9059]

I respect your opinion but for me effort is not the biggest factor, effort is the bare minimum. I see people going to the gym daily and training hard and still cant grow, they have the effort just lack the knowledge to train and eat correctly for hypertrophy. Knowledge is the biggest factor.

[@platinumstorm2521]

@@rodolfolorote9059 I'm hoping this is my case

[@mustaphas4910]

@@rodolfolorote9059 yes i was training hard for 1 year very little growth training hard doesn't mean you grow big muscle

[@SMega]

optimal growth is a combination of effort, nutrition and recovery. you can't prioritise any one over the other, it needs to be a synergy of all the components

[@robzsarmy5471]

Eating and genetics is the most important for sure . You need to eat to grow

[@zerrodefex]

Those cable abductor and adductor exercises have done wonders for improving my stability and fixing the tweaks I kept occasionally having during squats.

[@daniels0376]

You're criminally underrated bro

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I appreciate that dude, thank you!

[@christopherseat9871]

Excellent session

[@raygengamer8440]

Single leg work don't skip that. It helps build the tear drop muscle the VMO

[@connorjohnston3022]

Good informative video, keep up the good work

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you, I will try my best :)

[@Leonidas-eu9bb]

deep squats and sprints is all you need.

[@9latinumStudioz]

Amazing video 👏👏👏 exactly what I needed 👌

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Great to hear! Thank YOU for checking the video out!

[@douglascampbell6482]

Another great video. Love the evidence basis, format and narrator’s voice. Would really appreciate a “maximizing the glutes” for aesthetics-minded lifters.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much dude, that's very kind of you. I do plan to make content on glute training (and training for other muscles) :)

[@robertobonilla_clinicamedex]

Great, as always 👌😉

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you very much! :)

[@danfg7215]

I never cared about my butt, but now that I learned my deep squats engage the glutes way more, I'll pretend I've been doing it on purpose all this time.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha

[@HaIsKuL]

All I needed to know was that compound exercises increase testosterone and the squat being the most effective form, form me to never neglect progressive overload of squats.

[@carlosaugustolozanomarmole2171]

Great! you have very useful information 💪🏾👌🏾

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Great to hear, thank you!

[@hondaman3317]

I only do front squats and then high bar back squats for a total of 10 sets twice a week, low reps, slow eccentric, pause at absolute bottom, shoot up fast...... and my legs have gotten thicker for sure. Have been regularly squating for 20 years, just recently switched from high rep to low rep with slow eccentric and pause at bottom last year and the results are impressive.

[@56rounakyadav44]

Good content man keep uploading

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you! :)

[@MediHusky]

I'm just glad I have the right levers to do ATG low bar squats.

[@TheSunnySide]

Great video. Super informative thx- S

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem, thank YOU for checking it out!

[@onechampion4128]

Thansk for the vid man

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem :)

[@Sanjuro313]

Very informative video, Thanks!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem, thank you for the kind words!

[@martinroncetti4134]

Good video, my only (minor) criticism would be that you did not touch on the muscles of the shin.

[@itzkeven]

Thanks, useful information

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Nice to hear, thank you very much :)

[@__-wm9lu]

I did only squats and my rectus femorus got so unbalanced that I’m trying to recover from knee issues almost 2 years later.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope it all goes well!

[@janterri3539]

Were you doing it correctly?

[@__-wm9lu]

@@janterri3539 definitely not, I also had some atrophy from crash dieting and sitting around

[@janterri3539]

@@__-wm9lu I hope you recover.

[@__-wm9lu]

@@janterri3539 kinda did. Knees over toes and goata. No more pain

[@algrundau9441]

So the groups that ALSO Deadlifted and followed a more balanced routine actually grew more than the group that was doing a whopping NINE SETS OF SQUATS TWICE A WEEK????......9 sets of squats rice a week? ...Well no kidding. How many college focus groups have athletes that can tolerate that workload and expect to grow.? ...Also, had ALL forms of squats be incorporated ie, Front Squat, Zercher Squat, Goblet Squat, Sissy Squat, Hack Squat, Sumo Squat, Bulgarian Split Squat ect ect.Over the 12 weeks. ..Would we even be discussing if the 4 quadriceps were not being sufficiently trained?

[@adammac4960]

Although the squat has been deemed a simple exercise I can guarantee a hell of a lot of average joes don’t have the ankle or leg mobility to do them effectively. In the military we are made to do things like CrossFit etc. we are not athletes. Most of us have got fucked knees, back problem, shoulder joint issues, fucked ankles etc. we are not coached on how to do the movements properly and squat is a prime example of that

[@thebodybeatdownDiTi]

squats are not all you need. OR not for me anyways. Squats dont hit my quads for nothing. Rather i go light,medium,heavy,get as close as i can to parallel or just before it..AND NO going ATG wont help. All that does is put more work on the glutes and hams more than i already feel..hack presses and leg extensions are needed..

[@MaRaX93]

Love the dyels in the comments that found the perfect excuse for not squatting, based on studies using smith machines, people who have been lifting for 9 years and n=9 subjects.

[@revertednconverted]

Great 👍 Concise abd useful

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome to hear, thank you for your feedback!

[@gjbaker1474]

damn this video is awesome

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank YOU, that's very kind of you!

[@thebodybeatdownDiTi]

Smith Machine offers amazing squats along with tons of other movements..

[@sunshinehappyfuntimes]

Do you have an opinion on resistance bands? I can't find much research on their effectiveness. If you are able to exhaust the muscles using resistance bands, then it should reason that hypertrophy and strength gains would be attainable, right? Would you ever make a video on this subject? P.S. I unsubscribed from JN because I like your channel a lot more. This is my favorite fitness channel now!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Yeah, I think resistance bands can build muscle and strength! More research is needed to determine their true effectiveness, but so long as you can take reps to failure within the 7-40 rep range, presumably resistance bands would stimulate hypertrophy well. Thier "strength curve" could be somewhat suboptimal though, as resistance banded exercises tend to be most challenging when the muscle is close to fully shortened, and the evidence is increasingly suggesting that exercises that stress the muscle at a more so lengthened position is better, so this might be a limitation with resistance bands :)

[@RimshotsandNamaste]

@@HouseofHypertrophy oh.. This is so well summarized!

[@fernandocabanillas8133]

Question, I’m a 45 year old male with a bad right knee from jumping out of planes during my military career. The unit that I belonged to was really big on lower body strength but family life and god dam Krispy Kreme have lead to my once machine type body to become more of a dad bod. In reality I’m not interested in being that machine anymore I just want to have nice looking legs again. I have access to a squat rack but I find that my knees really hurt from quadriceps tendinitis and am nowhere near what I use to squat. Again just want nice looking legs again. Any suggestions? Thank you

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Bulgarian split squats could be a great alteranative!

[@GUITARTIME2024]

Sitting leg press. Don't go heavy. Do warmup set first.

[@fernandocabanillas8133]

@@GUITARTIME2024 thanks guys

[@DanRichter]

All I do is squat and deadlift. My legs are literally too big, I can barely find pants that fit, thinking about cutting back

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

You must have some great genetics for the legs, haha :)

[@GUITARTIME2024]

Lower the weight. Joe Rogan legs don't look good on many guys.

[@teerawat2897]

Your deserve more fame you video is fabulous better than some channel name start with V

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha, thank you for your kind words :)

[@skysouth]

Ivan will rock up i just know it

[@DrMarvinLara]

Been training for 20 years and I found my legs were their biggest when I had a leg press incorporated at the end of my workout. Would do like 10-15reps. Been working out at home for the last 10 years, no leg press, so my legs are smaller than they were in my gym training days

[@Carlos_vibes67]

That's is all I do front squats and back squats 2 times a week and pistol squats German volume training

[@therealtom]

Based on this video, I'm prolly just gonna squat, deadlift, leg extension, and calf raise

[@joemorgenstern9846]

I never knew the different leg muscles were Harry Potter spells.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha :)

[@Sean_Shaun_Shawn]

I'd give a shout out to the Good Morning- a dramatically underrated exercise that's a bit of a half-way between the Deadlift and Squat and great for the hammies and glutes but also hits quads and more depending on your setup and makes a great stepping stone for those with little Deadlift experience.

[@hijo1998]

Why would it hit the quads? Makes no sense

[@one80sx]

Very informative

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you!

[@Alex55455]

Awesome video, the problem with the squat is people blindly put it on a pedestal as this must do exercise for leg growth. The squat is no doubt a very good exercise but it’s not this magical exercise that makes it superior other similar exercises nor do you have to include the squat to maximise leg growth. Also before someone tries to blindly have a go at me for “trying to avoid the squat” I actually do have deep high bar squats in my program very regularly along with other leg exercises such as leg press, hack squats, leg extns and curls, RDL, good mornings, calf raises and presses etc.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

100% agree with all you've said!!!

[@k.r9494]

Untrained men can get leg hypertrophy from driving up on bench press. What is considered below 90 degrees in these studies, it sure as hell isnt atg full knee flexion as most people cant do this with bodyweight even with squat shoes without mobility training.

[@claritycome]

Untrained people are not very indicative of trained people. Unchecked form is not indicative of the results correct form can produce.

[@Anabsurdsuggestion]

Yeah this is my suspicion. I think Dr Mike Israetel would question whether people have the correct form before acknowledging any results of squat testing!

[@ChaosBW]

Squats SUCK I prefer the leg press It's the mindset machine Makes me feel like Hercules I leg press 1200lbs I have no idea how much I squat I have never done a single squat since highschool

[@dariusmocanu2538]

leg press is done by machine, not your legs

[@Nic-te3vq]

That’s because of the angle of the machine

[@seanharris8419]

As a powelifter I rarely do anything else for my legs besides squats and deadlifts and I have 2 tree trunks. Maybe just good genetics for it.

[@avinashtyagi2]

Short answer, NOPE!

[@user-jl2wd1it8h]

My friend Domingo got into uber too fast one day and bumped his groin. He ended up busting a nut and having seizure.

[@bleedingthroat8665]

One shoutout from Jeff Nippard or someone else and this channel blows up.

[@haczabim]

Interesting, but then why do Olympic weightlifters have legs so big? As far as I know, almost all their training is done with barbells-squats and deadlifts

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

At the elite level, you probably have to consider 'special' supplements. Squats without question will grow the legs, but as shown here, for maximizing overall regional growth (particularly the rectus femoris for the quads) squats probably will not suffice. This video did not address deadlifts, but that will of course help growth (particularly for the hamstrings which squats do not heavily train).

[@giorgioanastasios4734]

They have genetics for that style of triainning. Most with wider waist and ankles. Which doesn't look as good as a bodybuilder. No one needs to squat. Overrated. How many powerlifters look.like a chris Cormier or flex wheeler or.shaun rhoden ? All prefer leg press hack squat and lunges

[@michelrood2966]

@@giorgioanastasios4734 Everyone has perfect exuses on legday..Tom.platz the quadfather

[@jerrystone8856]

@@HouseofHypertrophy Yep that's it blame it on steroids. You must be a little dude to .

[@lefroste6370]

@@jerrystone8856 low iq detected

[@georgigoshkov]

you may site as many studies as you want but for me ass to grass deep RPE 10 Squats get me crazy gains

[@TorAndreKongelf]

For training hams in a leg exercise it has always been a thing that you can train hams on a leg press. Some say this has been debunked. And as you point out the hams are not used much when you have hip extension and knee flexion at the same time. But if you put your feet high on the sled og the leg press so when you are in the bottom position you have very little knee flexion and massive hip extension would this not be good for hams?

[@NBDYSPCL]

I like doing front squats for the anterior chain and RDLs for the posterior. I usually follow that up with cable crunches or Hip thrusts. I work out alone, dont have much weight and have knee issues that i dont feel comfortable going heavy on. And i like engaging both chains in the leg workout. I stand all day, so i dont need to do calf raises/i do them throughout the day to wake my legs up.

[@hrsmp]

RDL's are not enough for posterior chain because they don't load short head of biceps femoris. For that you need to add either nordic curl or dumbbell hamstring curls.

[@zero-jee]

Im curious what software you use to create these videos? They always look great.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I create the illustrators on adobe illustrator, and put them in an animation format on VSDC editor

[@randyogue2032]

Not linking the study and removing control group from video graph... unsubscribing because of this.

[@HaharuRecords]

That being said☝️😊2:44

[@GY9944]

I dont have access to barbell since I work at home, would a kettlebell work for all the things you’ve mentioned in this video?

[@yair-talmeisler2854]

does a regular deadlift and a RDL hit the hamstrings and the glutes? the same about a hip thrust

[@luigismushrooms5701]

I squat deep and I bring the cake

[@HariboStarman]

What about front squats for the quads vs back squat?

[@kajusbajus]

Brignole was right about squat was not the best leg exercise .

[@TIGERHOOD]

Nice video but I have a question, are leg curl/extensions on machines really worth? Or does it only for Rectus femoris? Because you mention on the video that other exercises without equipment (like lunges) are also good. I have bought a leg curl/extension machine for a quite a lot and I’m just thinking to re-sell it or just keep it

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Although there's no research on it, I think leg extensions are probably going to be better for the rectus femoris than lunges, because lunges still involve knee flexion/extension and hip flexion/extension, a movement which still technically will result in the rectus femoris being unable to produce lots of force (this is not the case with a leg extension). However, reverse nordic curls (a bodyweight exercise) are likely very good for growing the rectus femoris, so this could be an option if you're not a fan of leg extensions. Hope this helps!

[@TIGERHOOD]

@@HouseofHypertrophy Nice! Did not know about that. Thanks for your comment, I am a fan of leg extensions but I am not a fan of expensive stuff.. Otherwise we have a non-pulley lex extensions like titanfitness or bodysolid which are quite good but they offer less ressistence in comparisition between pulley (stack weigh) leg extensions.

[@samuelsikulinec5187]

All i do is squats and it's going pretty well

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Sweet!

[@Ansachu]

So a low bar squat will not make significant difference for hamstrings?

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I think it will probably be slighly better, but I'm still skeptical it would be that great

[@blynnliriahn4182]

It's not enough but the basic one!! Good luck trying to grow legs without it!

[@davidskch]

is there a summary? so does pure squat work? which workout program is the best?

[@fk9277]

it would be so good if you could write a course for brilliant

[@mr.potatohead6138]

I think lunges are actually better leg exercises than squats.

[@jerrystone8856]

I think you got it backwards

[@mr.potatohead6138]

@@jerrystone8856 actually, no u don't think I do. Walking barbell lunges are probably best leg builder imo.

[@NLLeFa]

You can't overload as heavy with lunges. Your arms will give up before your legs reach actual muscle failure. On back squats you can do that. Even if you put the bar on your back for lunges as well, balance is another factor that can't be compared with the squat. Lunges is a great accessory, but just doesn't beat the squat.

[@jonesy1589]

@@NLLeFa You don’t need to overload with heavyweights for muscle growth, lunges has its on benefits compared to squats

[@funkmaster2258]

I suspected some of this.

[@celestialarmor695]

What about a body weight squat with a weighted vest

[@eagle5818]

Same sht

[@chayoto]

How would sprinting uphill stack up?

[@spitz4616]

Are you 'Simple Trader'? the voice is similar..

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I am not, haha :)

[@wdadwawdadawdwdwa4133]

Are you a researcher or what's your background?

[@1922johnboy]

Excellent thanks. Algorithms haha!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha, thank you so much :)

[@kovar2344]

For Leg Growth? Yes we can argue. For life? You already know :)

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha :)

[@ezechieltahapary1038]

I wonder how the video would be if it was about the pull up for the upper body...

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Pull-ups actively involve the numerous back muscles as well as the biceps. The chest, lateral/front delts, and triceps do not actively contract during pull-ups. So although pull-ups will be pretty good for back/biceps growth, it's far from sufficient for total upper body hypertrophy.

[@ezechieltahapary1038]

@@HouseofHypertrophy thanks for the answer, and keep up the good work!

[@trapps75]

Squats work 30-35 % for thighs it works your hips glutes more and.destroys your spine if squats so good why doesn't everyone have Tom platz legs that's because it's about the genetics your born with not the exercises or routine your doing

[@MohammedAlMuhtadi]

tom platz is searching for your location

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha :)

[@DMANNstar]

The guy telling you all these don’t even lift I can tell and if he does he isn’t big at all probably less than an average physique. It’s always the skinny people telling people what to do. If that’s correct show us on your own physique.

[@sword-and-shield]

If you don't squat you are squat.

[@nobleman1030]

Great

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you :)

[@justinw1765]

Comment for the capricious god called "algorithm".

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha, thank you dude, I truly appreciate YOU!

[@VakoCavender]

diet is

[@dersven4122]

This video is too short. Lower body is roughly 40% of the body. Compared with the bench press video, which discusses only the chest and is 27min long, you should have put more effort in this. The quality is good as usual though

[@Glockhead1]

of course it is. if not then you not doing enough. f all other legxercises

[@lort6022]

No, it's not. But it's better than nothing.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Agreed! :)

[@rafael_ellanios2708]

Plz make a video how to build big legs with lunges without squats for those ho have lower back pain.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I will be making a video on how to maximize quadriceps growth, in that video, I'll probably mention that range of exercises that can be used (including lunges).

[@doncornetto]

"Smith machine squats" sorry this video is pointless

[@enriquenavarrete1810]

Tx

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem :)