I have answered the question multiple times, I have only squatted for very short periods and never heavy, they always give me back problems.
FFS how many times do I have to say it
If anyone can provide me with scientific evidence why a squat can give you more muscle growth hwen you muscle has zero idea that you are squatting
If you squat and that is the best way for you to totally stress that muscle then thats fine, if you can use another exercise thats fine as well.
The low back will ALWAYS give out before your thigh's the heavier you go with a bar across your back
With front squats yes. If your lower back gives out before your legs on a back squat you have something serious going on and shouldn’t be squatting at all...that’s why belt squats are a great excercise for guys with back problems. No load on the spine. The bones remodel themselves the same way muscles do but you don’t get this with machines. That is why everyone needs to use free weights.
To me training for purely cosmetics is a waste of time and leg presses and hack squats can make you grow they don’t really have any carryover to knee health, athletic ability, strengthening connective tissue, etc. I also believe a body built with heavy compound movements flows better than guys who train on machines, you just end up looking like a collection of body parts. If you wanna be that guy with a big back but can’t even deadlift 500 be my guest.
To clarify I’m not saying machines don’t work for hypertrophy. They can be better from a pure growth perspective ....looking back my chest was fuller when I was strictly training on machines and gave up the 400lb plus benches and heavy dumbell work every week but I just didn’t like the look it gave me or how my body felt. My strength on free weight movements went down quite a bit.