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Answer:
That's an
excellent question. Here's the scoop:
Advantages
of Leg Curls/Leg Extensions Over Squats
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1. You can
focus on the target muscles more selectively.
When doing squats, you hit a lot of muscles
at once and expend a lot of energy. With
the leg curl or extension, you can target
only the hamstrings or the quads, giving
all your energy to that muscle group.
This can be especially important for the
hamstrings, which are often neglected.
2. You can
work that target muscle more intensely.
Because you are focusing more tightly
on one muscle group, you can increase
the intensity for it.
3. Leg curls/extensions
are easier. Since you are using less muscle
mass, the exercises are easier to do.
They won't affect your whole body the
way squats will. Squats will use up a
lot of energy.
4. These
two exercises are far easier to learn
and are less technique-intensive than
squats. Any beginning trainer can do leg
curls or
extensions but not everybody can jump
right in and do squats. Being easier,
they are also useful for more advanced
trainers in the later stages of a workout
where you are already fatigued and squats
may not be the safest exercise to do.
Disadvantages of the Leg Curl/Leg Extension
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1. They
are isolation exercises. Because they
only work one muscle group, they won't
have as much of an effect on real-world
strength. There aren't any movement you
do in real life that are done in isolation,
like the curl or extension movement, however
you do squat-like movements all the time.
2. Being
isolation exercises, they don't address
the functions of the muscles as an integrated
system the way squats do. This can lead
to imbalances if you do only these movements
exclusively.
3. Leg extensions
can be harmful to your knees. The position
of your legs in the exercise place a lot
of torque on the connective tissue in
the knee joints. Heavy leg curls, especially
if you use momentum, can really mess your
knees up. Back off on the weight and focus
on the squeeze instead.
4. They
normally require very specialized machines.
These machines aren't normally cheap!
You can, however, improvise both of these
exercises using dumbells.
Advantages of Squats over Leg Curls/Leg
Extensions
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1. The squat
is a very functional exercise. It will
build your muscles and strength faster
than nearly any other exercise. The squat
movement is done in real-life all the
time and is very useful to train with.
2. Squats
affect a far greater amount of muscle
mass. This can stimulate muscle growth
over your entire body, not just your legs.
The other two exercises can't claim this.
3. Squats
require less specialized equipment. You
can do them without any weight at all.
You can do them holding a dumbell. You
can do them with just a barbell and some
racks.
4. Squats
work the body as an integrated system.
Muscles are used in ways they were designed
by nature to be used in.
Disadvantages of Squats
---------------------------------------
1. They
require good technique to prevent injury
and maximize results. A person learning
squats should be supervised by a qualified
instructor. It's not normally wise to
jump right in and do them if you don't
know how.
2. Form
can be tricky to learn. A good squat is
not easy to perform. It is very easy to
use poor technique but still get the weight
up and down. Proper technique is crucial.
3. Squats
are hard. It is for this reason most people
don't do them. Because they're hard, they're
that much more effective than leg curls
or leg extensions.
4. Squats
can be uncomfortable. For some people,
having the bar across their back can be
painful. There are things you can do to
minimize this pain, e.g. pads, towels,
or a Manta Ray.
5. Squats
require a lot of energy. Doing a few hard
sets of squats first in your workout can
really drain your energy levels for the
rest of the workout. But if you do them
last, you may not have much energy to
do them either!
To sum it up, which exercises you should
do really depends on your goals, experience
level and motivation. If you want to build
muscle and strength, do squats. If you
are trying to focus more specifically
on these muscles, do the leg curls or
extensions. To be honest, the best solution
is to incorporate all the exercises into
your routine (to me, however, leg extensions
are optional).
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