No Squat variation in Hypertrophy II

[Iron Tiger]

Finished NROL book last week and started the Break-in program already. I'm excited to start Hyp. I in a few weeks. But I have a question.
I noticed in the book that there is no squat movement in Hyp. II, but there are 2 Lunge variations after SG Deadlifts. I was thinking that when I come up on Hyp. II that I would substitute a front squat for the dynamic lunge. Any thoughts or recommendations?

[Irishdazza]

Leave it as it is....the snatch grip on the deadlift means your ass is going to be lower to the floor at the start position.

You won't miss your squats.

[Lou Schuler]

If you're supersetting dynamic lunges with step-ups, trust me, you won't go home thinking you needed to add or sub in squats.

Because of my knees, I do step-ups on a low step, so I get a little more aggressive with loading. It ends up being a lot like a unilateral squat. You're stepping up instead of squatting down, but the muscle use is going to be pretty similar, as long as you push off the heel of the foot on the step, and don't push from the floor with the other foot.

While I don't think there's ultimately a big difference in muscle development, it feels to me as if I'm getting more work from the adductors (inner thighs) with the step-up than with the squat. The hard work of spinal stabilization falls to the outer hips and thighs on the squat, but on a step-up, your body has to prioritize balance, and there's probably some internal rotation of the hip to achieve that, firing some of the adductors.

That's just a guess, of course.

[Blues]

Lou,

About how high a step do you use out of curiosity?

I think that due to body leverages and limb lengths the optimal height is going to be way different for many people.

[Lou Schuler]

Probably 12 inches. I'd go higher if it weren't for my knees. The higher you go, the more you're going to get out of it; the effort of using a higher step, even with a lighter load, seems to require an extra day of recovery. (And I mean that as a good thing!)

[PikeKing]

for years i had to train at a gym without a squat rack, I spent a lot of time doing step ups and lunges, they are very good exercises.

with step ups I found a step that had my knee at hip height was more of a hamstring exercise, down a few inches and it became a lot more quads.