To me, I really enjoy doing front squats much than back squats now. Dunnow why, but they ROCK. OH squats are also a great addition to your squat routine provided you got a nice healthy shoulder girdle.
I love front squats, they are a very good variation front traditional squats. I have been supersetting them with sldl’s. Which is cool because for me back squats are so taxing that I couldn’t super set them.
Good Write up and tips , thanks.
I have preferred the front squat , as I learned them first.
I do like to back squat too, but I go to a gym with no rack-
so I only front squat.
I find it easier to have better posture on the front squat.
and its always ATG.
I have noticed that my calves seem to do better when I do front
vs back anyone else notice the same with them ?
kmc
[quote]BigKDawg wrote:
OH squats are also a great addition to your squat routine provided you got a nice healthy shoulder girdle.[/quote]
I like Oh squats to a degree, I find they are pretty dangerous though and I now don’t even use them anymore as I find them pointless. Even if you have solid form a slight mess up and you can break your arm pretty easily which could happen once you start to fatigue. They also put much more stress on your wrist and shoulder then a front squat.
Also unless you have a platform and your in a crowded gym they are even more dangerous-at least for me I can’t do them in a cage because of height issues- since you can’t drop them down easily like you should when you start to fail.
I believe they are one of the least beneficial squats you can do. Front squats serve same purpose-which is hitting the core and front of legs a lot more- while being much more safe and the fact you can add quite a bit more weight once you get used to it something you can’t do with overhead squats. Also setting up overhead squats means you have to behind the head jerk it which once you start going up means you have to behind the head jerk quite a bit of weight.
Olympic weightlifters feel it helps with your snatch which is not true either, as most Olympic lifters do not overhead squat aside form freaky Chinese who only do it from the down position up. Back squat and front squat are the primarily most used.
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
Good Write up and tips , thanks.
I have preferred the front squat , as I learned them first.
I do like to back squat too, but I go to a gym with no rack-
so I only front squat.
I find it easier to have better posture on the front squat.
and its always ATG.
I have noticed that my calves seem to do better when I do front
vs back anyone else notice the same with them ?
kmc[/quote]
Not sure what you mean by calves do better, maybe in back squat you go on your toes since you don’t have good posture therefore hitting calves more? I know that for sure the front squat is much easier to have solid posture then a back squat for myself and I have much less chance of tweaking my lower back with bad posture doing them.
[quote]shizen wrote:
kmcnyc wrote:
Good Write up and tips , thanks.
I have preferred the front squat , as I learned them first.
I do like to back squat too, but I go to a gym with no rack-
so I only front squat.
I find it easier to have better posture on the front squat.
and its always ATG.
I have noticed that my calves seem to do better when I do front
vs back anyone else notice the same with them ?
kmc
Not sure what you mean by calves do better, maybe in back squat you go on your toes since you don’t have good posture therefore hitting calves more? I know that for sure the front squat is much easier to have solid posture then a back squat for myself and I have much less chance of tweaking my lower back with bad posture doing them. [/quote]
good question I was vague and this is what I meant
My calves are showing more improvement- in size-
since doing front squats vs back squats.
In both styles My heels stay flat. my soleus is sometimes sore
after a good day of front squats.
kmc
Hmnmnn well, I guess considering that bent knee toe raises isolates the soleus moreso than straight knee toe raises, there’s got to be some stimulation from squating heavy.
S
My wife wanted to front squat, but found it really uncomfortable on her shoulders. I bought one of these things after reading about it in Shug’s blog:
www.bodybuilding.com/store/adfit/sting.html
It actually really helps with making the crossed-arm style much more comfortable. Also, for me, it makes my reps extra strict. The underside of the thing is smooth, so if your elbows start dipping down, or you get any forward lean, it will start to slip off your shoulders. It forces you to stay upright, elbows up.
I now realize that before I used it, I could cheat a little in the crossed-arms style by holding the bar in place with my arms and getting a little forward lean. I didn’t even know it was happening until I used the sting ray. Either way, I love front squats for core strength. My abs and back crap out first every time. I’m also a huge fan of zercher squats, because I think they work in much the same way, but you can load up the bar more.
i found that while using the “strap” method compared to crossing my arms, i was able to put out more reps. maybe its due the rhomboids being held in a contractive state and the girdle is slightly elevated while with the arms crossed, they are stretched and cant hold the girdle and a optimal position for a heavier weight.
BTW, i totally agree with that post of hamstrings reacting better to a lower rep range. Front squats are really good for people that have trouble firing through there glutes. hope this is not a lot of BS for my first post
I love front squats. I just switched to them a while ago. I found that I was getting really comfortable back squating. I figured it was time to get out of my comfort zone and learn something new. My training partner thought I was crazy doing them. I had him try a couple good sets and now he is hooked too.
I find that the front squat allows for deeper squats and works out the chest at the same time as your shoulders and lower back and abs. I never really get sore anymore from work outs but front squats told me I need to work more. It was just the wake up call I needed.
Love the new ava, Dirtbag! That guy never tires out!
I just did front squats today for the first time and was wondering with the cross armed version. Do your shoulders get used to it. I was only doing 115 and my shoulders could barely keep the wieght up. They also hurt like a bitch. haha
[quote]crod266 wrote:
I just did front squats today for the first time and was wondering with the cross armed version. Do your shoulders get used to it. I was only doing 115 and my shoulders could barely keep the wieght up. They also hurt like a bitch. haha[/quote]
You will get used to it, but if you have the bar in the proper position, you really shouldn’t feel it in your shoulders at all. I only have issues with the cross armed version if I start with the bar a little too far away from my neck. I’ve always been taught that the bar should almost be choking you.
Also, I didn’t get the hang of the cross armed version until I had learned how to properly do the clean grip style first.
[quote]AngryVader wrote:
crod266 wrote:
I just did front squats today for the first time and was wondering with the cross armed version. Do your shoulders get used to it. I was only doing 115 and my shoulders could barely keep the wieght up. They also hurt like a bitch. haha
You will get used to it, but if you have the bar in the proper position, you really shouldn’t feel it in your shoulders at all. I only have issues with the cross armed version if I start with the bar a little too far away from my neck. I’ve always been taught that the bar show almost be choking you.
Also, I didn’t get the hang of the cross armed version until I had learned how to properly do the clean grip style first.[/quote]
ok well thats what I did wrong right there. bar was to far away from my neck . Thanks and yea i cant do clean grip because my wrists suck.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
Stu
Not to get off-topic… but your avatar! Damn, you’re making spectacular improvements.
To all: Have you guys who front squat regularly noticed better quad development? Back squats make my ass and upper thighs big, but almost nothing over the knees.
I will say that I have better ‘development’ from front squatting. I’m not saying anything about sheer ‘bulk’, as I certainly did my share of back squatting with big numbers back in the day. However, the actual delineation between the seperate muscles making up the quads are certainly much more pronounced.
And thanks for the compliment. Just starting my 6th week doing a slow cut. I was actually pretty surprised myself by that particular pic. It was my birthday, so I figured let’s capture what the old man looked like on his 35th.
S
[/quote]
Stu,
Couldn’t the better seperation you’re seeing from front squats just be due to a lower body fat %?
Well, that’s definitely a good point, but I can’t help but think about the difference between when I’d back squat a ton of weight, vs now, front squatting, ass to the ground, with no more than 225 tops. When I would back squat, sure, I’d feel sore, but it was all over the place; my quads, my ass, my lower back, even sometimes my traps when I’d go about 500.
Now, the focus just seems more localized, I just feel like I’m actually getting more bang out of the exercise. As to my weight, as of the other day (monday the 12th), I weighed in at 198 lbs. When I started cutting 6 weeks ago, I was 202. So I don’t know if a 4lb drop would really create such a stark difference. I’d lean more towards the fact that I started doing the fronts after a back injury last summer.
S
Ah, so I guess the question is this:
Did you start to notice the better seperation after you started doing front squats, but before you started losing weight?
I know you’ve been lifting for something like 15 years or so, so I’m sure you know what you’re talking about. I’m just trying to rationalize why working the quads with a different exercise would justify more separation as opposed to more growth in general. It reminds me of the myth (what I beleive to be a myth, anyway) of leg extensions being good for separation. I just never really bought it, I guess.
Lanky
If I understand Stu correctly, the shift in front squats emphasizes the quads more, whereas back squats emphasize more overall leg and surrounding structures.
Back squats always make my glutes, lumbar, inner thighs, and upper thighs sore, but not my lower quads. Somehow the mechanics of the front squat hit the quads better.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Lanky
If I understand Stu correctly, the shift in front squats emphasizes the quads more, whereas back squats emphasize more overall leg and surrounding structures.
Back squats always make my glutes, lumbar, inner thighs, and upper thighs sore, but not my lower quads. Somehow the mechanics of the front squat hit the quads better. [/quote]
Yeah, I understand what he’s saying. I’m just trying to differentiate between better quad growth and better quad separation. I am of the belief that better separation is due to a lower bf %, not switching exercises.
Either way, whatever he is doing is working for him.
whatever works for one persons doenst all mean it will work for another. i depends on your structure, insertion etc. front squats force you to use your posterior chain more effectivly because of where the weight is placed.