yeah there’s a reason why Mike Boyle and others have switched to doing only front squats. I love them and I am surprised no one has mentioned it–use wrist wraps around the bar.
Tried front squats for the first time yesterday - just the bar, and woke up to bruises on my shoulders. Regardless - I love them! I’ve been having problems with my form on back squats, so hopefully these will help.
Any tips on how to avoid the “being choked to death by the bar” feeling?
I started doing front squats after an article I read by Dan John. I think they’re great! Not just for the legs, but for the Abs as well.
I notice though that I tend to lean forward. I can do them but it’s difficult. Especially since I use the crossed-arm technique.
The last time I did them I placed a couple of plates on the floor and then placed my heels on the plates.
Now I can go ATG with absolutely NO problem. I’m just not sure if I continue to use this modified stance if it will affect my development somehow.
Anyone else try this or have a comment?
Thanks in advance,
John
[quote]ruluckie wrote:
I started doing front squats after an article I read by Dan John. I think they’re great! Not just for the legs, but for the Abs as well.
I notice though that I tend to lean forward. I can do them but it’s difficult. Especially since I use the crossed-arm technique.
The last time I did them I placed a couple of plates on the floor and then placed my heels on the plates.
Now I can go ATG with absolutely NO problem. I’m just not sure if I continue to use this modified stance if it will affect my development somehow.
Anyone else try this or have a comment?
Thanks in advance,
John[/quote]
Try and use smaller and smaller plates until you don’t need them. Put all of the weight on your heels, don’t let yourself fall foward.
Also, give the olympic grip a shot. Use it for warmup, then as you get looser, do it for a work set or two, until you can use it all of the time.
[quote]Viking69 wrote:
The man, the myth, the giant fucking Iranian… doing front squats with 617. Now tell me his arms arent big, and flexible!
http://www.irongame.com/videos/other/HosseinRezazadeh280kg617lbfrontsquat.avi [/quote]
Is this man for real?
I love FS. Drop it down and explode it up…after you figure how to keep the bar in place, that is. ; )
[quote]crazieeights8 wrote:
Tried front squats for the first time yesterday - just the bar, and woke up to bruises on my shoulders.[/quote]
Funny that; when I started them I also got bruises, but now I don’t anymore, even though I use much higher weights 
Errr… make sure you have enough air when you get under the bar? In all seriousness, I don’t feel the choking anymore; I think I tighten my neck muscles instinctively when I grab the bar.
The best part is trying to explain the giant red mark on your neck to your girl friend after a heavy front squat session…
I have found that I have a much easier time with technique on FS if I wear Oly shoes. I catch a lot of crap when I work legs, because I come in wearing regular tennis shoes, change to Oly shoes for front squats, then change to Chuck’s for other exercises.
It look’s like I have a shoe fetish. It makes a big difference for me personally though. I am like some others here in that I used to run far, far away from FS, but am quickly becoming addicted.
I love the front squat because the back squat takes as much out of my back as it does my legs while the front squat seems to ravage only the legs. One thing I found helpful is sitting in-between my legs.
While I realize this is a pretty old thread, I thought it would be useful for me to chime in on this.
I’ve been experimenting with front squatting, primarily because a squat rack is not available. Therefore I power clean the weight and then proceed to front squat.
I have found that your hand position as far as if you grip the bar or hold it in your fingers is largely determined by how you hold the bar in the power clean. It is easier to keep the bar gripped (ie so you can do a jerk afterwards) if the bar was resting solidly in your palm for the power clean.
On the other hand, I have seen videos of top oly lifters like Dimas, and the Iranian guy posted earlier, where they simply hold it on their fingers. I do not know if this is better, but my initial impression has been that one has more control with a full grip as I found the bar has a tendency to slide, causing me to lose it on occasion.
Perhaps this could be remedied via chalk, I am not sure. Whatever the case, it felt like better control was in order, and I will report back on the full grip when I have a chance to try it out.
Coincidently enough I’ve been using the same approach for the last 6 months. What I find is that when the younglifters finally squat, they have excellent technique and strong quads, good flexibility. Highly recommend OH squats and Front squats.
Olympic style is best for front squating because it keeps you more upright and places more emphassis on the quads. While doing front squats the bar should be choking your neck, this will help keep you more upright and elbows high, I got that tip from Charles Poliquin himself.