Pull-ups and bench better than leg press eh? Might want to explain that one ;).
Lunge varieties are great–I love walking and reverse lunges especially. The problem is that they cause quite a bit of soreness if you’re doing them in any sort of productive/stressing way. That’s a no go when you’re as fast as David and focusing on improving for speed for outdoors. Leg press gets a bad rap, but it’s really not a bad option for a newbie with minimal guidance. The lack of spinal loading is a huge positive in some circumstances as well.