Comments on: Squat Variations

By: stan schurman

stan schurman — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:47:52 +0000

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.

By: Rod

Rod — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:07:23 +0000

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.

By: Darrin

Darrin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:44:50 +0000

@Pat – wow! I just tried them (bodyweight only) and they are killer! Thanks for adding them!

By: Pat

Pat — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:10:34 +0000

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…

By: Jeffrey343

Jeffrey343 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:55:07 +0000

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.

By: Darrin

Darrin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:40:06 +0000

@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!

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:40:55 +0000

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.

By: Jeffrey343

Jeffrey343 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:22:34 +0000

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.