I've read the beyond brawn and love the concept of abbreviated training,...
Beyond Brawn
I have Brawn but not
Beyond Brawn. I am curious as to what it goes into. If you have any Cliff Notes on Beyond Brawn you could provide would be appreciated.
High Intensity Training
Brawn
, as you mentioned about Beyond Brawn, employs Low Volume, High Intensity Training.
As Vince Gironda (a great Bodybuilder and even greater Bodybuilding Coach) said in regard to High Intensity Training...
"You can train hard or long but not both".
In other words, there is an inverse relationship between Intensity and Time.
When Intensity goes up Time (Volume) goes down.
When Time (Volume) goes up, Intensity goes down.
Arther Jones, Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates
These individual where advocates of High Intensity Training, working up quickly to one brutal heavy all out set.
What they demonstrated was that Intensity is one of the primary keys to increasing Limit Strength and Muscle Mass.
With that said, there is a place for High Intensity Training. However, Volume is also key.
Some individual respond more to Volume while other find that Higher Intensity with a bit Lower Volume work better. I am in the latter group.
So, find what works for you.
...due to a injury to my lower back I'm currently unable to perform squats and deadlifts
"If it hurts don't do it."
...as William and Steve stated.
Some Leg Exercise That Might Work For You
These are two leg exercise that might work. However, if they hurt don't do 'em.
1) Step Ups: Stepping up on a
solid bench. This amounts to performing a One Legged Squat.
Start out by only performing them with your body weight.
Think of it this way. If you weight 150 lbs, your are performing a 150 lb One Legged Squat.
If you want to increase the resistance. Hold a Dumbbell in you hand. Start off with something really light.
Step Ups primarily place the work load on the legs, minimizing the lower back involvement.
Step Ups are one of my favorite Auxiliary Exercises.
2) Belt Squats: Video Demos Below
Belt Squat place the work load on the legs, minimizing the lower back involvement, as well.
This is my prime Auxiliary Leg Exercise.
I also Squat. However, the limiting factor in a Squat is the lower back. The lower back give out long before the legs are completely overloaded/worked.
That is why I use them.
Holding On To Something
I prefer to hold on to the Power Rack when performing them. Doing so, allows you to use more weight by eliminating the Stabilizer Muscles, overloading the prime muscle in the legs.
Holding on also take more of the back out of the movement.
I use other leg exercise to engage/work the Stabilizer Muscles.
Kenny Croxdale