After last week’s post on lunges, I was inspired to put together a short list of the most popular variations on the squat. But I’d like your help. Sure, I could scour the web for all kinds of weird variations but I want to know which ones YOU do. So please add yours, with a short description on how you do them, in the Comments section. To start us off, here are the ones I have used myself over the years:
- Back squat - The bars is held on the back of the body at the base of the neck or lower across the upper back. In power lifting the barbell is often held in a lower position in order to create a lever advantage, while, in weightlifting, the barbell is often held in a higher position in order to keep the torso more upright in a deep squat. These variations are called low bar and high bar, respectively.
- Front squat - the weight (usually a barbell) is held in front of the body across the clavicles and deltoids in either a clean grip, as is used in weightlifting, or with the arms crossed and hands placed on top of the barbell.
- Overhead squat - a barbell is held overhead in a wide-arm snatch grip; however, it is also possible to use a closer grip if flexibility allows.
- Zercher squat - the bar is held in the crooks of the arms, on the inside of the elbow.
- Hack squat - a barbell is held in the hands just behind the legs; invented by early 1900s professional wrestler Georg Hackenschmidt.
- Sissy squat - a dumbbell is held behind the legs while the heels are lifted off the ground and the torso remains flat while the lifter leans backwards; sometimes done with a plate held on the chest and one arm holding onto a chair or beam for support.
- Single leg squat - a freestanding one-legged squat where the non-lifting leg is held in free space in front.
- Split squat - an assisted one-legged squat where the non-lifting leg is rested on the ground a few ’steps’ behind the lifter, as if it were a static lunge.
- Bulgarian squat – is performed much like a split squat, but the foot of the non-lifting leg is rested on a knee-high platform behind the lifter.
- Hindu squat - is done without weight where the heels are raised and body weight is placed on the toes; the knees track far past the toes.
- Jump squat - a plyometrics exercise where the squatter jumps off the floor at the top of the lift.
- Bodyweight squat - done with no weight or barbell, often at higher repetitions than other variants.
- Goblet squat – a single dumbbell is held in front, with one end cupped by both hands and held like a huge goblet of wine about to be drunk
- Box Squat (also called a Sit Squat) - at the bottom of the motion the squatter will sit down on a bench or other type of support then rise again.
So what’s missing? Chime in with other variations you personally do, or vote for your favorite one from the above list.
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November 3rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I’ve just recently begun incorporated lower-body exercises into my routine. So of course I’ve been trying to figure out the “best” type of squat. I work out with my wife, and we are somewhat limited by the equipment available at whichever rec center we happen to be at.
At our primary rec center, we’re pretty much limited to dumbbells. There is a curl bar where we could put on up to a total of 125 pounds. The heaviest dumbbells are 75s. We tend to do the dumbbell squats where we hold the dumbbells at our sides – very similar to the dumbbell deadlifts we do. The only real difference is that we put the dumbbells on the floor on the deadlifts, thus enabling us to lift more weight because we don’t worry as much about losing our grip. We’ve tried resting the dumbbells on our shoulders, but that is pretty tough. We haven’t used the curl bar for squats yet, but we may. It’s not a lot of weight for me, but a squat with any weight is still worthwhile IMO.
We’ll also sometimes do squat presses, thus combining a squat with a shoulder press. Obviously we use much less weight for this, and it turns the squat into less of a weight exercise and more of a shoulder and cardio one. But they are tough.
We have tried ballet squats too – legs are spread a little wider and toes are pointed out at about a 30 – 45 degree angle. Dumbbells are held in front. These are supposed to targer the inner thigh a bit more.
And we’ve started single-leg (or pistol) squats with no weight. These are hard – they really challenge your balance. We’ll do some while holding on to something (usually the dip part of the dip / pullup rack) to work on form, then some with no assistance.
One of the other rec centers has a Smith machine. I’ve heard conflicting stuff on that machine – some say it will really mess you up, while others say it is great. We’ve used it only once (before I read anything negative), and I really liked it. Of course, it allows you to use more weight, and it controls your form more than just a regular barbell squat. Unless I start hearing a lot more about how that machine is just pure evil, we’ll use it when we work out at that facility.
How do folks feel about the leg press machine? Both of these rec centers have the real nice Cybex leg press with the footplate that remains stationary while the carriage moves. I think it is a good machine, and we use it. I do think it (as well as most machines) are best used after using free weights first. If we have enough time, we’ll do a couple of sets on it after all the free weight stuff. It’s also good for calf raises.
I do like that the past few posts have been aimed towards the lower-body stuff. I’ve tended to neglect it because of all the running I do, but I’m coming around. Plus my wife really wants to work on her legs, and it appears that running alone isn’t getting her where she wants to be.
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Well Jeffrey, inmy oppinion you and your wife should stick with barbell squats and dumbell squats instead of using leg press and smith machines. Smith machine makes you adapt yourself to the line of the apparatus, so you don´t have too much freedom and the gains to your day to day activities will not be as good as if you were doing it with free weights. An example: today at the gym i suggested to a girl to begin with the barbell squat, she was used to do it at the smith machine, after the first set, only with the bar, she was almost exausted. After that she said: at the machine you don´t have to use strenght, but here…i´m dying…and the bar is so light!!! but i´m tired already!!! This saying was after the front squat with overhead press, 3 sets of 15 reps. So, last year i was using the leg press machine and i really didn´t like that machine. Always with knee discomfort and i had to change my training to a resistence training instead of addind a ton on the machine. Me an dmy friend were doing 3 sets of 100 reps in 60 seconds with 260kg. That was just to make it a little more intense. This year, and forever from this year till the day i die, i´ll only use olympic liftings, deadlifts, barbell and dumbell squats. Forget the machines. And machines are not good for knee stability, because they don´t demand the same co-contraction that barbell squats do.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Yea, you know, I’m starting to think about the same way. I can push more weight on a leg press, but doing heavy squats really seems to hit the old legs. I’ve tried doing squats on a smith machine. I don’t do them there. I do squats, front squats in a squat rack. Leg press machines vary as to the angle, and the one I have to use at my primary gym just bugs the heck out of my back. You really can’t use it with any good form. I find myself having to curl up almost like a ball, then it stresses my lower back. So, anymore, if I do leg press, I’m picky about the machine.
Just mah 5 cents worth…
November 8th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
I think a good future topic would be weight machines that are worthwhile to use. Many people seem to think that all machines are useless or at least completely inferior to the free weight equivalent. I’ve personally had good results with both.
I do definitely get a harder workout from using free weights for lower body work. The leg press can get my legs fried pretty well, but deadlifts & squats do the same plus get my heart rate way way up as well as definitely giving my core and upper body some work. That’s why my wife and me save the leg press for extra leg work after all the free weight stuff.
And I realize that there is a big difference in actual poundage between the leg press, Smith machine squat, and regular squat. I think you just have to figure out separate weights for each one of those and realize that those weights are applicable only for that particular exercise.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:40 am
Squat Variations when it comes to building leg muscles it is the king of movements. Squat not only targets the quad muscles, but it is also going to hit the hamstrings and the gluts. If there is one exercise that you must be absolutely sure to include in your workout program then I would definitely say is squat. Some of the types of squat which can be included are back squat, hack squat and sissy squat.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:40 am
@Jeffrey343 – as you can imagine, I’m pretty anti-machine and agree with some of what Trent and Rod have said. But you are right – machines are not evil; they are just misused. For example, some leg press machines (but very few) are designed properly to prevent improper loads on your back when you go fully down. And single-leg leg presses, with one foot planted on the floor but with lighter weight of course, can also prevent your lower back from rounding at the bottom. I admit, I sometimes use the leg press machine at the end of a workout at a commercial gym to “feel the burn” [note, there's no science behind "the burn" actually being effective for muscle building - it just feels cool!].
And for deadlifts, there is this one machine you can sometimes find, from hammerstrength, that is great. It doesn’t look like much – it sits low to the ground. I wish I knew its name but I’ve used it a few times at commercial gyms. But it’s great for allowing you to really drive the deadlift with your heels (like you are always supposed to) without fear of balance issues. I really like it but even if I had one of my own, I wouldn’t use it for all my deads because it does force a path of motion. It’s just a nice toy.
As for the Smith, I’m sorry but I really do not think anyone should use it for squats. It just forces too many bad habits. (The Smith can be used for other exercises though – I have done shrugs with it and found it useful, and the bar is good for inverted bodyweight rows).
And then there are tons of non-leg machines that are amazing – calf machines, the lat pullover, and a few others. I just might queue up a post on this – thanks for the idea!
November 11th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I think I’ll skip the Smith machine for squats at the one gym that has it… My wife didn’t care for it much; she said it didn’t feel natural. I liked it fine – I liked the fact that I didn’t have to hoist a heavy barbell over my head and that I could hook the barbell back on the track if I got stuck. I wish one of my gyms had a real squat rack, but I can definitely see why gyms are hesitant to have those. I can help my wife lift a barbell into squat position, but she would have a much harder time helping me. And there simply is not enough weight avaliable at our primary gym (I can put 105 pounds on a 20-pound curl bar). There are always plenty of guys there at the other gym who can help out, though.
We have been doing single-leg presses on the leg press machine. I prefer those to the two-legged press anyway. And we can stay on the machine and do calf raises. We are frequently incorporating calf raises into deadlifts and squats anyway. One favorite is to do a dumbbell deadlift, then lift one leg where the knee is waist-level, then do a calf raise. That gets the core a little more plus helps with balance.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Wall Squats – You need to face the wall! Your toes must be touching the base of the wall as well. Squat to your heels. Arms go between legs or at/out to your sides. That’s right your nose slides right down the wall face. Want it even tougher? Put your feet together and raise both arms straight above your head as you go up and down. Great exercise for learning form, balance, power drive, squeezing hips and glutes and engaging entire posterior chain…
November 13th, 2009 at 10:44 am
@Pat – wow! I just tried them (bodyweight only) and they are killer! Thanks for adding them!
November 13th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I use the wall squat to teach the movement to everyone, and with a broomstick held above the head, like the last part of the snatch, for them to learn how to use the hips and knees while squating.
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:47 pm
I used to do Smith machine squats, but have reverted to dumbbell squats using 100 lb dumbbells. I feel they work the entire body, including grip. I finish off with 2 or 3 sets of strict leg presses going as low as possible. Oddly, I find that the leg presses give more of a burn than the squats. The 100 lb dumbbells are the heaviest in the gym, so I’m just going to have to keep increasing the reps or find another gym.