[quote]1llusion wrote:
Your 1rm front squat should be 85% of your 1rm back squat.
Don’t front squat over 6 reps; your rhomboids will tire isometrically, which is why many of you are saying they’re hard on your upper back.[/quote]
i say that going for lower reps is more effective in the front squat, but I like the extra stress on the upper back that higher reps gives you… toughens you up and builds you in the right places.
i find weighted planks are really helping my front squat (though my front squat is very weak, admittedly).
as much weight as i can for 3 sets of 60 second holds.
interesting to learn that people don’t tend to high rep these. maybe that explains why i think i am not a fan of sets of more than 6 for squats. because by ‘squat’ i tend to think ‘front squat’.
[quote]heavythrower wrote:
[quote]1llusion wrote:
Your 1rm front squat should be 85% of your 1rm back squat.
Don’t front squat over 6 reps; your rhomboids will tire isometrically, which is why many of you are saying they’re hard on your upper back.[/quote]
i say that going for lower reps is more effective in the front squat, but I like the extra stress on the upper back that higher reps gives you… toughens you up and builds you in the right places.
[/quote]
I’d have to disagree with you here. It doesn’t ‘toughen you up,’ it increases your risk of injury.
[quote]1llusion wrote:
[quote]heavythrower wrote:
[quote]1llusion wrote:
Your 1rm front squat should be 85% of your 1rm back squat.
Don’t front squat over 6 reps; your rhomboids will tire isometrically, which is why many of you are saying they’re hard on your upper back.[/quote]
i say that going for lower reps is more effective in the front squat, but I like the extra stress on the upper back that higher reps gives you… toughens you up and builds you in the right places.
[/quote]
I’d have to disagree with you here. It doesn’t ‘toughen you up,’ it increases your risk of injury.
[/quote]
Also, don’t bench press. It tires the pecs and triceps and increases your risk of injury.
Blanket statements like in your first post are mostly useless since we’re all different. Some push the bar into their throat and choke themselves more or less, which makes high reps really fucking hard (me). Some keep the bar further away. Some have strong rhomboids. And some don’t have a front squat that’s 85% of their max back squat.
Front squats are remarkably safe for an exercise that’s that good. You can always dump the bar and it’s very hard to shift the load onto your lower back like in a back squat or deadlift. If people can do them for 7 (!) reps, let them.
Higher reps on these are pretty hard but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do them. Front squat holds are good too after the squats since you can still do them while fatigued using 90+ lbs of your 1RM, makes holding the weight feel lighter when doing the actual lift.
[quote]kakno wrote:
[quote]1llusion wrote:
[quote]heavythrower wrote:
[quote]1llusion wrote:
Your 1rm front squat should be 85% of your 1rm back squat.
Don’t front squat over 6 reps; your rhomboids will tire isometrically, which is why many of you are saying they’re hard on your upper back.[/quote]
i say that going for lower reps is more effective in the front squat, but I like the extra stress on the upper back that higher reps gives you… toughens you up and builds you in the right places.
[/quote]
I’d have to disagree with you here. It doesn’t ‘toughen you up,’ it increases your risk of injury.
[/quote]
Also, don’t bench press. It tires the pecs and triceps and increases your risk of injury.
Blanket statements like in your first post are mostly useless since we’re all different. Some push the bar into their throat and choke themselves more or less, which makes high reps really fucking hard (me). Some keep the bar further away. Some have strong rhomboids. And some don’t have a front squat that’s 85% of their max back squat.
Front squats are remarkably safe for an exercise that’s that good. You can always dump the bar and it’s very hard to shift the load onto your lower back like in a back squat or deadlift. If people can do them for 7 (!) reps, let them.[/quote]
Who front squats to stress the rhomboids? The point is to overload your legs. If you want to work rhomboids, maybe you should use a different exercise. Perhaps one that retracts and depresses the scapulae rather than one that extends the knee and hip.
I would agree that the bench press stresess the pecs and triceps, but it is supposed to. Way to use a bad example. Front squatting for your rhomoids would be like benching for your quads; purely moronic.
I never said that front squatting isn’t safe, reread my post. I said front squatting over 6 reps increases your risk of injury.
High rep front squats help build the upper back isometric strength and endurance to back squat properly and keep from caving over. They’re useful to strengthen the back in a similar position to the regular squat, and also allow you to work your legs while deloading the low back.
Not everybody does front squats for the same reason you know.
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
High rep front squats help build the upper back isometric strength and endurance to back squat properly and keep from caving over. They’re useful to strengthen the back in a similar position to the regular squat, and also allow you to work your legs while deloading the low back.
Not everybody does front squats for the same reason you know.[/quote]
well said.
I am not strong anymore in the squat due to multiple quad tears and back and knee injuries, so my lifting these days are more for overall body development and to be “real world strong”
I think that front squatting for high reps does more for my body composition even if it is pretty light weights (90-120kg) than lets, say, box squats with a ssb on a high box(see dave tate) or loading up the leg press machine.
I find front squats to be easier for me than back squats. I mean yes they can be more painful lol but they feel more natural to me than back squats (I am 6’6 by the way). I can get up to a good set of 315 x 3 front squat atg but will struggle with back squatting 360 for even one. The funny thing is I just started training front squats two weeks ago and before that only box squatted for a year.
If you want to learn how to do front squats, do tabata and after a few sessions of exhaustive front squats you’ll have learned pretty good technique.
One thing I would suggest is drop into the hole, don’t really try and lower yourself.
Edit: and by learning I mean your ass won’t have any other option but to drop in the hole and hit correct technique.
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
your ass won’t have any other option but to drop in the hole and hit correct technique.[/quote]
well… it could blow your knees out.