I do both but I prefer the front squats. Great quads builders.
How about bad reasons to choose one over the other:
When I was first getting back into weightlifting, I saw a video of Tom Platz back squatting 500 for 23 reps. It was (and still is) the most badass thing I’ve seen. It broke Youtube for me. Never looked back.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
[quote]buddaboy wrote:
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Front and back squatting isn’t mutually exclusive.[/quote]
I agree, it does seem though that many people find one or the other is significantly more effective than the other.[/quote]
Depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to build your posterior chain and maybe add overall mass back squat. If you want to do something to focus on building quads, front core stability, est, front squat. If you want both, there is no reason not to do both.[/quote]
For me the front squats lends to better overall thigh/lower body development.
I do use back squats, but with the safety squat bar and only occasionally. Good mornings and deadlifts build the posterior chain more effectively (for me) than back squats. Belt squats are also great.
I’m not bashing the back squat, I’m just saying it’s not an ideal exercise for me, and I won’t give it priority in my training when there are better alternatives.
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
That front squat with straps has never worked for me. Lol
[/quote]
Might depend on the straps. It never worked for me with thick straps that had some wrist-support. They wouldn’t grip the bar and slip up and down. I also found them difficult to hold (too thick and not long enough to wrap around my hands).
What wokred for me was the blue iron mind straps they use on strongest man. Much thinner and longer so you can wrap them around your hand a couple of times and get a tight grip on the bar.
I fall in\out of love with front\back squats. I love front squats for a while until I just get sick of someone trying to strangle me during each rep which then makes switching to back squats a merciful relief.
i like split squats… or was that not an option?
Just an update since i last posted this thread on switching from BS to FS. After mths of FS and trying out different grip styles, all I can say is, I still prefer BS over FS and yesterday at the gym I said hell with it and did back squats for the first time in mths and it was awesome. For me, I suck at front squats.
Don’t give up on the front squats yet, the FS is a good movement to have in your arsenal, specially when your CNS can’t take Back Squats on a particular day and you want/need to train lower body.
Try to concentrate on sustaining/“racking”/maintaining the bar with the front deltoids, for now you don’t have to put all five fingers on the bar, as this creates more strain on the bar. Try using your thumb and three fingers leaving the pinky free, this will create less strain on your wrist, and just use your grip to stabilize easily the bar, remember the front delts are the rack.
Good luck.
Deep back squats with shoulder width stance and high bar placement (oly shoes help a lot, even if you’re not a weightlifter) seem to work my quads more, but maybe it is because I can go a lot harder on them withtout having the upper back/grip awkwardness as limiting factors.
[quote]trap_builder wrote:
Don’t give up on the front squats yet, the FS is a good movement to have in your arsenal, specially when your CNS can’t take Back Squats on a particular day and you want/need to train lower body.
Try to concentrate on sustaining/“racking”/maintaining the bar with the front deltoids, for now you don’t have to put all five fingers on the bar, as this creates more strain on the bar. Try using your thumb and three fingers leaving the pinky free, this will create less strain on your wrist, and just use your grip to stabilize easily the bar, remember the front delts are the rack.
Good luck.[/quote]
Thanks, I know what you mean, when there’s days where the body just can’t handle back squats. For me, doing deep back squats needs maximum ROM and thourough warmups/activation not to mention a fresh back as oppose to having a stiff back on certain days.
With FS, i just can’t seem to be stable balancing the bar with the motion on the delts during lockout, but I can see how using my thumb and 3 fingers to grip the bar could help. I guess just like anything, it takes practice, I mean, it took me almost a year to back squat ATG and fixing the “valgus” one knee, and correct the whole leg imbalance thing.
[quote]bluerock wrote:
[quote]trap_builder wrote:
Don’t give up on the front squats yet, the FS is a good movement to have in your arsenal, specially when your CNS can’t take Back Squats on a particular day and you want/need to train lower body.
Try to concentrate on sustaining/“racking”/maintaining the bar with the front deltoids, for now you don’t have to put all five fingers on the bar, as this creates more strain on the bar. Try using your thumb and three fingers leaving the pinky free, this will create less strain on your wrist, and just use your grip to stabilize easily the bar, remember the front delts are the rack.
Good luck.[/quote]
Thanks, I know what you mean, when there’s days where the body just can’t handle back squats. For me, doing deep back squats needs maximum ROM and thourough warmups/activation not to mention a fresh back as oppose to having a stiff back on certain days.
With FS, i just can’t seem to be stable balancing the bar with the motion on the delts during lockout, but I can see how using my thumb and 3 fingers to grip the bar could help. I guess just like anything, it takes practice, I mean, it took me almost a year to back squat ATG and fixing the “valgus” one knee, and correct the whole leg imbalance thing. [/quote]
Maybe it’s time to let the ego go for a while, drop the weight so you can concentrate on doing the whole movement right, and get your neurons to learn the front squat movement correctly, then progressively add weight.
[quote]trap_builder wrote:
[quote]bluerock wrote:
[quote]trap_builder wrote:
Don’t give up on the front squats yet, the FS is a good movement to have in your arsenal, specially when your CNS can’t take Back Squats on a particular day and you want/need to train lower body.
Try to concentrate on sustaining/“racking”/maintaining the bar with the front deltoids, for now you don’t have to put all five fingers on the bar, as this creates more strain on the bar. Try using your thumb and three fingers leaving the pinky free, this will create less strain on your wrist, and just use your grip to stabilize easily the bar, remember the front delts are the rack.
Good luck.[/quote]
Thanks, I know what you mean, when there’s days where the body just can’t handle back squats. For me, doing deep back squats needs maximum ROM and thourough warmups/activation not to mention a fresh back as oppose to having a stiff back on certain days.
With FS, i just can’t seem to be stable balancing the bar with the motion on the delts during lockout, but I can see how using my thumb and 3 fingers to grip the bar could help. I guess just like anything, it takes practice, I mean, it took me almost a year to back squat ATG and fixing the “valgus” one knee, and correct the whole leg imbalance thing. [/quote]
Maybe it’s time to let the ego go for a while, drop the weight so you can concentrate on doing the whole movement right, and get your neurons to learn the front squat movement correctly, then progressively add weight.[/quote]
Actually good advice. I would also the reps at this point as well.