Alright, I have long legs, blah blah blah.
Bascially, for me to do front squats is more comfortable than to do a backsquat; I can keep my chest up and back straight to a lower depth than if I had the weight on my back.
What’s all this talk of front squats hitting quads more? I want my ass to get bigger damn it, how does shifting the weight to the front of the neck as opposed to the back suddenly pull all glutes out of the movement like many posters are trying to claim?
I should note I can go ATG on both of them and I do, but Front Squats are more comfortable in the bottom position.
I find front squats to hit my entire legs better than regular back squats. I actually feel like I can flex my glutes harder doing front squats…
Don’t worry. There’s just a bit more emphasis on the quads they claim. I don’t know but the next day after some Front Squats my ass is sore. Read up some Mike Robertson articles like “Get Your Butt in Gear”.
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=495189
It’ll help you to activate the glutes more during lower body exercises. Stick to your Front Squats. When it comes to Front Squats I think people should look beyond the quadriceps emphasis and look at the Front Squat as a great core strengthener.
Front Squats corrected this imbalance I had with my lower back and anterior abdominal muscles. I had a slight lordosis. My Olympic Lifting buddy told me Front Squats will clean that all up. I listened only because he was stronger than me. It worked. Great Exercise. Keep it up!
Just to let you know I do them Olympic-Style Grip Full Front Squat. As you said your keeping your torso vertical so I think were on the same page…
If your so concerned about gluteus maximus hypertrophy maybe some sumo deadlifts will help out. Check out this one from way back by John Romaniello:
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460816
*I suggest you read the whole article first before you judge it.
Good Luck
-Serious
[quote]101101 wrote:
Alright, I have long legs, blah blah blah.
Bascially, for me to do front squats is more comfortable than to do a backsquat; I can keep my chest up and back straight to a lower depth than if I had the weight on my back.
What’s all this talk of front squats hitting quads more? I want my ass to get bigger damn it, how does shifting the weight to the front of the neck as opposed to the back suddenly pull all glutes out of the movement like many posters are trying to claim?[/quote]
If front squats are more comfortable than back squats you aren’t using enough weight. And if you want a bigger ass do some deadlifts. The reason back squats hit more glutes than front squats and deadlifts hit the glutes even more than back squats is the angle of trunk flexion. Since the primary function of the glutes is trunk extension/hip extension the more the trunk is flexed the more opportunity to hit the glutes.
Bigger ass thread number three in the last couple months. I think we need an article.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Bigger ass thread number three in the last couple months. I think we need an article.[/quote]
Where Mike Robertson at?
[quote]pushharder wrote:
For squat variations that nail your ass (no homoerotic innuendo intended) nothing beats Bulgarians, IMHO.[/quote]
I tried those and they exposed my horrible balance, heh heh
Ditto on the long legs, short trunk, and lordosis. I have swithed to front squats as my primary leg exercise. For me they are more of an overall leg exercise than a quad-dominent one and back squats favor my lower back too much. I don’t see any reason for me to go back to back squats.
If you are worried about your glutes being neglected, do some heavy RDLs as a second exercise. You should be covered.
If you can still walk and are not puking (you didn’t do the RDLs heavy enough) you could do a few sets of Bulgarian split squats.
Leg presses on a sled done with a high foot position and inclined back position also make my glutes very sore, but why bother with these?
The deeper you go on any squat variation the more glute recruitment you’ll get so as long as you are going ATG as you claim or incorporating deadlift variation’s you’ll be well on your way to growin some cheeks!!!
what is your stance like with back squats?
I’m short but have long legs/short torso for my hight and take a wider stance on squats to be comfortable. Nothing has made my ass and the rest of my legs grow like deep back squats.
[quote]101101 wrote:
pushharder wrote:
For squat variations that nail your ass (no homoerotic innuendo intended) nothing beats Bulgarians, IMHO.
I tried those and they exposed my horrible balance, heh heh[/quote]
How about lunges with dumbbells then? Hits the ass well, and doesn’t stress lower back so much as back squat.
For the record I do like Bulgarians, it was good they exposed that balance problem.
I should probably note that I usually squat in my Oly shoes (raised heel). With these back squatting isn’t as much of a problem, though w/o them it becomes awkward where front is good with or without (and to maintain ankle flexibility, etc. I try not to always squat in these things, but I always have O-lifts in my routine).
Wide stance back squats. End of thread.
Off topic, but RDL’s can really build up your glutes. They worked well for me.
I was never able to get my arms under the bar correctly for oly style f/s, and the alleged bodybuilder style with arms crossed just plain sucked, and yes i have a bit of meat on my delts so it wasnt a pain issue. Then there was that article not too long ago that showed a pic of the wrist strap trick for them, and i have been using them regularly since.
im no kinesiologist, but i feel them more in my quads than i ever did with back squats.