maybe there is a thread about this…maybe not. you can never have too many threads where people can talk about how much they love the front squat.
I, just like most trainees, started with the back squat. I still have a love affair with this lift. my butt and hammys scream yes but my quads say no. my quad development has been much better since I started to front squat.
yes, your ego might take a hit the first time you give them a shot but it will pay off in the long run. its just like any other lift in the sense that sometimes it takes a variation of a major lift to help you progress.
obviously I just finished a front squat session hence the feeling of love for this lift.
Who else loves the front squat? any tips? how was the transition between back squat and front squat? do you still back squat or did you switch over exclusively? shoes or no shoes? plates under your heels with a narrow stance (the quad squat).
what about leg extension? those hits the quads a LOT more? I love putting 75lbs more than the chicks who just work on the fucker, drinking my NO-Xplode and hitting it till I sweat all over the machine, while my homies Shout at me"YOU GOT IT BRO!" real loud so all the gym can realise how hardcore I am.
PS: I love front squat, I think the best is 8 rep range, after that, the bar choke me the fuck out.
[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
I like front squats like a friend…[/quote]
ya, youre only saying that to save face. we all know that front squats dumped you for someone else. its ok, just remind yourself of the good times. you’ll pull through.
[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
I like front squats like a friend…[/quote]
ya, youre only saying that to save face. we all know that front squats dumped you for someone else. its ok, just remind yourself of the good times. you’ll pull through.
[/quote]
Sa’ll good. I was cheating on Front squats with Hack squats anyway. Nom nom nom
i used to hate to front squat. as a result, i spent six months only doing them as my main squat movement. below is my last front squat session on that cycle. i still do a lot of front squatting but now i do them for really high reps. when i started that cycle i couldn’t front squat 225 without losing it forward.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i used to hate to front squat. as a result, i spent six months only doing them as my main squat movement. below is my last front squat session on that cycle. i still do a lot of front squatting but now i do them for really high reps. when i started that cycle i couldn’t front squat 225 without losing it forward.
[/quote]
Hey MM. You ever give Elevated Front squats a shot for greater quad emphasis?
Back when i used to do them regularly, id throw 35’s under my heels, take a close foot stance, and pound em out (Something id suggest for bodybuilders following this thread that have some trouble with their quad width).
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i used to hate to front squat. as a result, i spent six months only doing them as my main squat movement. below is my last front squat session on that cycle. i still do a lot of front squatting but now i do them for really high reps. when i started that cycle i couldn’t front squat 225 without losing it forward.
[/quote]
MM, you are the craziest! that is a massive front squat. in those 6 months did you notice any change in leg development?
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i used to hate to front squat. as a result, i spent six months only doing them as my main squat movement. below is my last front squat session on that cycle. i still do a lot of front squatting but now i do them for really high reps. when i started that cycle i couldn’t front squat 225 without losing it forward.
[/quote]
Hey MM. You ever give Elevated Front squats a shot for greater quad emphasis?
Back when i used to do them regularly, id throw 35’s under my heels, take a close foot stance, and pound em out (Something id suggest for bodybuilders following this thread that have some trouble with their quad width).[/quote]
i squat in a pair of Inzer Pillars that have an elevated heel. i do all front squats as a second or third movement after my main squat movement now and i do them to totally isolate the quads. i go really deep and only come up about 3/4’s of the way for really high reps.
Front Squats have helped my lagging quads quite a bit, especially since I used to back squat a ton o’ weight, but certainly didn’t have the development in my quads to reflect it.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i used to hate to front squat. as a result, i spent six months only doing them as my main squat movement. below is my last front squat session on that cycle. i still do a lot of front squatting but now i do them for really high reps. when i started that cycle i couldn’t front squat 225 without losing it forward.
[/quote]
MM, you are the craziest! that is a massive front squat. in those 6 months did you notice any change in leg development? [/quote]
most definitely. i had the typical powerlifters legs- big at the top and got smaller as they got near the knee. at the end of the cycle i had put a huge amount of mass around the knee.
[quote]actionboy wrote:
steely, you’re a pretty beastly guy. any front squat tips?[/quote]
Yes. Listen to everything Maraudermeat has to say about front squatting
When I blew my back out a few years ago, I had to start squatting again with bodyweight, then holding dumbbells. I finally got to a bar (45#) and just kept rehabbing with front squats. I didn’t even load my back until I was front squatting 200 or so. For awhile my front squat was higher than back squat.
As far as real weight goes, keep head up, chest high and stay on your heels. The biggest thing is not losing it forward.
The second biggest thing for me is keeping my breath. I hold the bar in place just under my neck (crossed arms versus olympic grip). It pins my neck and with a lot of weight (3-400+) once you let that breath out it’s hard to get enough air in to keep supporting the weight for more reps. Still working on that with some words from MM.
Working up to 405x1 (ignore the dipshits in the video)
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i go really deep and only come up about 3/4’s of the way for really high reps.
[/quote]
thats the ONLY way to do them. None of that, standing completely upright/locking out/removing the tension from the quads business![/quote]
i agree that doing them the way i am now really targets the quads as a finisher but when i was going really heavy for low reps down to singles, my quads blew up as well. bottom line, there’s no one way to do anything. if someone is looking to add mass to the quads i would rotate both into the mix.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i go really deep and only come up about 3/4’s of the way for really high reps.
[/quote]
thats the ONLY way to do them. None of that, standing completely upright/locking out/removing the tension from the quads business![/quote]
i agree that doing them the way i am now really targets the quads as a finisher but when i was going really heavy for low reps down to singles, my quads blew up as well. bottom line, there’s no one way to do anything. if someone is looking to add mass to the quads i would rotate both into the mix. [/quote]
See, now i’ve never gone Max heavy with front squats. The most ive ever gotten to was 365 i think, and it was a failed attempt. I’d Argue that staying in the hole vs coming up all the way changes the exercise, as for what it targets particularly (general quads, Insertions, closer stance for sweep, etc).
Anyone reading this thinking ‘Oh im gonna give front squats a try,’ just know that it is just like any other exercise. you tweak something and it changes the exercise. If you want to go heavy and do low rep sets while returning to starting position, fine, Inc Quad Rape. And that’s totally fine.
If you want to go lighter, stay in the hole, and pound out 10-15rep sets, prepare for something that is the equivalent of Constant Tension Bicep curls. You are gonna get a tidal wave of blood in your quads.
Either way, it is gonna hurt/feel great. Id definitely suggest to give both a shot.
[quote]actionboy wrote:
steely, you’re a pretty beastly guy. any front squat tips?[/quote]
Yes. Listen to everything Maraudermeat has to say about front squatting
When I blew my back out a few years ago, I had to start squatting again with bodyweight, then holding dumbbells. I finally got to a bar (45#) and just kept rehabbing with front squats. I didn’t even load my back until I was front squatting 200 or so. For awhile my front squat was higher than back squat.
As far as real weight goes, keep head up, chest high and stay on your heels. The biggest thing is not losing it forward.
The second biggest thing for me is keeping my breath. I hold the bar in place just under my neck (crossed arms versus olympic grip). It pins my neck and with a lot of weight (3-400+) once you let that breath out it’s hard to get enough air in to keep supporting the weight for more reps. Still working on that with some words from MM.
Working up to 405x1 (ignore the dipshits in the video)
That’s a mean front Squat Steelz. Lol for a moment, i thought the dingus standing in front of the Camera was You. I was curious as to how those chicken legs were gonna squat period. Sitting here thinking to myself “Gd…Steel is a fucking Spinney Top, look at those legs!”
My lower back is fucked (from compression of L4 and L5 disc), Front squats saved my leg day from boring ass machines, I like to pair it up with deadlifts, snatch and over head squats.
