Most people will argree that font squats are better for most for quad development than back squats, but does this have to be true for everyone. Correct me if im wrong but there are people on this site who say back squats were better for tom platz than front squats regarding his quads and you cant really argue his legs. I ask this because I do both back and front squats and it seems that back make my quads work harder than front.
Now dont get me wrong I still feel them in frotn suats but the burn of the quads when doing back dont even match it. Could there be because of my figure and body type. I mean do some people get better results when doing back squats because of thier body lengh. Ive heard thats why Tom platz used back squats more.
Of course. Some people are going to respond to different squats more than others. You can’t really say one is better than the other. You can say which one is better for you though.
I never really got much out of back squats, but my legs finally started to improve once I switched to fronts. I know people that are the opposite of this.
I think your kinda right on the body type affecting it. The muscle recruitment is gonna largely be a result of your torso angle relative to the ground. Front squats should have you squatting more vertical and thus result in less posterior and more quads.
I tried something today and felt it a lot in my quads. Heres what I did:
DB goblet squats, wit my heels elevated
I was just trying new things, and this was very different. I can normally rep around 200 with front squats, but I only used a 50lb db for these. I was able to squat all the way down to where my butt was resting on my calves. I then paused for about 3 seconds in this position and came up. My quads were getting a good burn from this.
I dont think this is good for strength though. Mainly for lighter weight and higher reps. Your knees will be much past your toes.
[quote]dankid wrote:
I tried something today and felt it a lot in my quads. Heres what I did:
DB goblet squats, wit my heels elevated
I was just trying new things, and this was very different. I can normally rep around 200 with front squats, but I only used a 50lb db for these. I was able to squat all the way down to where my butt was resting on my calves. I then paused for about 3 seconds in this position and came up. My quads were getting a good burn from this.
I dont think this is good for strength though. Mainly for lighter weight and higher reps. Your knees will be much past your toes.[/quote]
interesting. I think you’ll get sore because its a new movement and doing it for a while will get some stimulation.
I like front squats cuz it makes you keep real strict form, otherwise your gunna drop the weight. Unfortunately you can lift as much weight as if you did back squats.
Goblet squats are fun, I tried them yesterday as well. I agree, it seems like that is a higher rep type workout. I tried it with 65 lb DBs and I thought it would be hard, but it wasn’t. I’ll have to try more weight next time.
front squat give more LEG ISOLATION… that is true…
back squats hit legs also, but for MOST people they hit ass, and lower back more…
I dont think Tom Platz can be used as reference point…
people built for squatting… the ones that do not use as much lower back and ass during a back squat get more leg stimulation simply because with back squat you can use MORE WEIGHT…
but still it is true, front squat provides more leg isolation… but you’re using less weight…
so if you “feel” the legs during a back squat, stick to them most of the time, cause you can use more weight, and stimulate more muscle…
if you use more lower back and ass while squatting… try front squats, cause that extra weight on back squats wont make difference if your erectors are used to lift it…
so, all can be summed up, depends how you’re built… and I dont think you’re built like Tom Platz, so for this is the best answer just try and see what works better…
[quote]Hagar wrote:
Back squats all the way nice and deep work just fine for me. I hate front squats. They hurt my shoulders.
[/quote]
I would agree that at first my shoulders were sore. But I equated that soreness to the same feeling of the traps from back squatting. Your body seems to get conditioned and it becomes a none issue. If you were determined to fs but the pain was unbearable, you could always get a Sting Ray (Manta Ray for back squat).
At first i had a hard time squatting (i am begginer) and had problems with torso leaining. also i did not have traps, so, i worked my way with hack squat. My shoulder work and trap develped enough to allow me back and front squat. I found front squat helps me to learn the most vertical position and feeling when i reach the bottom. It increased my front shoulder very fast. Traps requires be worked by itself. Now, my trap is lagging. I do first sets with back squat, change to front squat and finish with hack (like a drop) and my legs sweep and volume is increasing week after week. They are not the same, but togheter, they work your leg in different angle and I think that is what brings the most muscle stimulation.
I mostly stick to back squats, but throw in a set or two of front squats once in a blue moon. Without fail, I’m insanely sore the day after those sessions. But I’ve never seen any carry-over from front to back squats for me, because I simply can’t stabilize the amount necessary to do so.
Kind of like overhead squats. I just can’t hold enough weight overhead to get carry-over to back squats, and at the end of the day, I care much more about my back squat than my front or overhead squatting. May just be my build.
cry I can’t do back squats at proper depth because of my body structure and flexibility. Can’t go below parallel without arching my lower back.