Front Squat Strength

Training
1

Hi Christian,

A few months ago, I wrote to you with regards to gaining strength in terms of the front squat whilst participating in rugby in-season. I am about to begin the off-season period and have 2-3 months where I can purely focus on strength work before the 2017-2018 pre-season starts in July.

Taking on board your suggestions a couple of months back, I feel I have made good progress with the following 2 workouts that you wrote:

Day 1 - 4 sets of 5 - Front Squat
(Wk 1 no pause, Wk 2 2s pause midway through eccentric phase, Wk 3 2s pause midway through concentric phase, Wk 4 2s pause midway through both eccentric and concentric phase). Increase of 5kg every 4 weeks.

Day 2 - 5 sets of 3 - Frankenstein front squat from pins set at bottom position

Whilst I think it would be wise to continue using these 2 workouts for the FS, are there any additional workouts you would suggest within the week to improve my FS numbers, efficiency and technique? I’m always looking to do more & with the luxury of not having to rugby train, perhaps I could speed up progress if I train with a smart approach.

I believe with the right recovery, I’m able to respond relatively well to a maximum of 4 sessions per week personally. My main focus is strength & I’m happy for all other areas such as conditioning, power, hypertrophy to take a back seat if necessary.

Any advice would once again be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your work,

Matthew

2

You can add a third session which would be an overload session… half front squats, either from pins and free standing. This will…

  1. Got you used to the feeling of very heavy weights
    2 Strengthen the upper back and core’s function in holding the proper squatting position
  2. Desensitize the Golgi Tendon Organs over time which will allow you to use a greater proportion of your strength potential.

Ramping up to a heavy triple would be a nice start.

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