You might remember a while back an article by Tom Venuto on the front squats.
Today I’ve got a new take for you – from Mike Geary. I’ve been doing front squats for a while now, and I’ve gotta agree with Mike about how amazing front squats are as a full-body exercise. Here’s what he has to say:
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
The Front Squat is a surprising exercise not only for legs, but also rock hard abs!
As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Squats and deadlifts use hundreds of muscles throughout your entire body to move the load and also to stabilize your body while doing the drill.
Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises.
In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion of squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) are the ultimate solution.
If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment.
Squats can be done with (more…)
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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.
Fellas, lunges ain’t just for girls. In fact, I’m willing to bet that if you aren’t already doing lunges, then adding them to your next leg workout will leave you crying. You won’t feel so manly then.
But the good news is that after a few weeks, you’ll start to love lunges. And you will start to feel more manly – in the sense that you’ll feel muscles growing that you either thought you were already hitting hard, or else didn’t know existed.
But don’t cut out your squats! There are some advantages to lunges, as I’ll explain, but they don’t replace squats. They complement them.
In this article you’ll learn what lunges are, how to do them (and variations), why they are effective, and how they compare to squats.
Let’s start with what lunges are… (more…)
I started writing a post on box squats and had just finished it when I came across my buddy Caleb’s article on doubleyourgains – on the exact same subject! And his was much better than mine! Thankfully, he allowed me to reprint it in its entirety for you.
Why Box Squatting Sucks & Why You Should Do It Anyways!
by Caleb Lee from http://doubleyourgains.com/
- Dave Tate Coaching The Box Squat (from doubleyourgains.com)
I have discovered a new world of pain … agony … and ego-wrenching … and it’s name is the Box Squat.
Before I tell you of all the amazing benefits of box squatting and how you may have to end up buying clothes with a big “S” sewn on them after starting to squat on the box, let’s first discuss …
Why Box Squats SUCK!
Normally, when I say an exercise sucks … I’m talking about exercises that suck at actually doing something for your body. Throw bicep curls, tricep kick backs, any type of curling in the squat racks, leg extensions, etc in this list …
BUT … when I’m talking about box squatting — I simply mean it just plain SUCKS to do!
Why?
- Lower Weight – your ego is going to be bruised the first time you box squat and you realize you’re lifting almost 100 pounds less than your regular squat …
- No Cheating — you can’t cheat with a box squat. You go down the proper depth, and if you don’t (more…)
Continue reading about What Are Box Squats And Should You Do Them?
World Fitness Network reader A.J. asked left the following comment on a recent article about squats:
I find it very hard to do a “good” squat because I can’t go down too much. I find that I can’t go down even if I’m not using any weight. I don’t know why, maybe its because of the way that I am built? Is it still okay if I do 1/2 squats? I find that I can go lower if I have a wider stance…so should I increase my stance?
A.J. asks a great question that most people struggle with as they begin squatting. It’s a common experience to realize that squatting all the way down is difficult at first. Half squats won’t necessarily hurt you (if you do them with good form), but they won’t help as much as full squats either.
Why squat all the way:
- Full involvement: The bottom of the squatting movement is where the glute and hamstrings come into play.
- Rebound: The elasticity in the muscles and other tissues helps you to get a slight rebound in the bottom of the movement.
- Knowing your gains: If you always go all the way down, you’ll (more…)
Doing squats is one of the best ways to increase your overall lean body mass and power. Squats involve more muscle groups than almost any other exercise, and if you’re not already doing squats, adding them to your routine can help you to add strength quickly.
Learning the correct squatting stance will go a long ways in helping you to avoid injury. Lower back and knee injuries can happen if you’re not careful to use correct technique, and having the correct stance is necessary to help prevent these injuries. If it’s done correctly, the squat can be a very safe exercise.
Taking the correct stance
One mistake that you should avoid is to place your feet directly forward when you take a shoulder-width stance. This causes your knees to travel directly forward and makes it very difficult to squat all the way down. Take a look at the picture below.
This is about as far down as you’ll probably get with a narrow stance and the knees straight forward. The awkward stance causes the weight to shift forward and away from your correct center of balance. This is bad for both your lower back and your knees. (more…)
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