posted Sat, 02/23/2013 - 05:38
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Why do people emphasize on going all the way down on squats? Only difference I have found is it puts stress on my lower back and also I don't feel it as much in my legs. not saying I only do half squats but making sure parallel and all of that other stuff I didn't used to do. I did it based on the feeling in my legs
I've noticed most body builders will use a more narrow stance while power liters will use a very wide. any reason why?
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I agree with klon.... Do both! I Love Wide Deep Squats! One of my favorite lifts! I go very heavy on these... In the narrow stance not so much. Ill do a couple sets of narrows to burn out on leg day
the more narrow stance puts more empahsis on your lower quads. its a much better squat imo. for years in college i did wide stance squats. it built my upper thighs way more than my lower. i lacked vastus medialis developement (tear drop muscle) above your knee. Now I will only squat narrow stance. I even use the smith rack. Some guys may not like squats here, but form is much safer. you can keep your back more upright and focus on dropping your ass during the squat.
Are your goals to grow or to be able to get stronger and push around heavy weight in the gym? That's the first thing you should decide on, on a personal level. If you decide you want to get stronger then here are a few tips for a good squat... Make sure the bar sits on top of the traps, too low or too high will cause you to lean forward. Have your feet a little outside of shoulder width with your feet straight or your toes slightly turned out. Place your hands in a wide grip bench position. Before you start to go down, arch your back so your butt is out and your chest is forward. Look straight ahead and as you go down, try to put your butt on the floor between your feet. DO NOT SIT LIKE YOU ARE TRYING TO SIT IN A CHAIR. Worst analogy ever when it comes to squatting! I say this because when you sit down in a chair, the first thing you do is stick your butt out to find the chair, this will cause you to lean forward and put a lot of stress on your lower back. When you start to come up, push the bar up like you are trying to shoulder press it. This takes some of the weight off of your back and keeps you from leaning forward as you come up. Hopefully this helps with your form.
If you want to just focus on growing, try pre-exhausting your quads and hamstrings before you squat. This will put more stress on your quads and hamstrings and you will not have to go as heavy for them to be effective. Will definitely help with the stress on your lower back. A 4-5 sets of 8-12 on leg extensions and leg curls will do the trick or you could do some single leg squats to eliminate the lower back stress. Hope this helps... and I apologize for the long post.
Apology for what? I'm thankful you explained it. I want to mainly grow. I don't think ill ever care if I squat 500 lbs or something. So you are saying to go directly down, not back like a chair? that's what I do lol. So like a sumo squat tyer
I was just apologizing for the long explanation lol. You can do sumo if you want but going about shoulder width apart or maybe a little more will usually allow you to get more depth on your squat. It's been a while since you started this thread and since I responded, so I am just curious if you have tried any of this or squatted anymore since?
So I once again hit legs today, squats as usual. Felt no pump really in my legs, no strangely huge swoleness, only a sore fucking back so bad I honest will have trouble sleeping. Im beginning to think fuck what others look like when working out, and do what works for me. I could bench 225 at 135 now I probably can't hit 225 once n I weigh 175. too worried about elbows tucked this that and the other. quats, I squatted around 300 15 times or so 3/4 id say down. pretty much all the way down just not "in the whole" now while doing 185 lbs I fucking wreck my back trying to do something different. idk Im just really fucking frustrated right now
is your lower back rounding at the bottom when you go ATG?
When I tweak it, ya I think
When your lower back rounds that is where a lot of squat related injuries occur with heavy enough weight all the emphasis transfers to,your lower back and puts the weight on your toes which then is where the knees ascend over the feet. When you are on your toes added stress is loaded into your knees. Which explains that as well. Bro oly lifting shoes are worth the money. Give them a shot and I'm gonna post a link for you when I get home on the lower back rounding
Thank you
Ignore what everyone else is doing while training. There is a 99% chance that what they are doing is not evidence based.
One quick example. The abdominals are primarily composed of fast twitch muscle fibers. Using body weight/high rep exercises are the most inefficient way to train this muscle group.
I was just saying I read articles and watch you tube of the pros to watch their form and all that and honestly yes I got more cut, but I stopped improving in a lot of areas and have now even gotten hurt more than once due to "full squat" or "elbows tucked" ya know
Which should you do? All of them - and don't forget the front squat...
Squats can be challenging depending on your body type. For me I have freakishly long upper femurs in comparison to my lower femurs (shins). So ass to grass squats are impossible for me to do with a shoulder length stance, without falling backwards. I have to go wide and angle my toes to even pass parallel without falling over.
AnonHow tall are you?
It's form bro, not saying yours is bad but for squat you really have to work at it. The reason people feel the squat is bad once you go past parallel is because that is when it becomes most difficult. If you're squatting anything heavy and have poor form past parallel injuries are more common. You have to be sure your knees do not ascend over your toes keeping your chest up and form tight not allowing your lower back to round. If your lower back is rounding at the bottom that has a lot to do with flexibility and practice. When your lower back rounds your body naturally wants to come forward because you will find yourself in a slight hunched over position. Try using olympic lifting shoes. You will never do squats and deads without them. It optimizes balance and allows you to even feel safer going atg.
do whatever stance you preffer, just get that ass on the floor!!!! like hypno said if you notice one side of your quads dominating more change up the stance, same as leg press, its good practice to mix things up anyways, as for the lower back i find if i do a few sets of hyper back extensions before squats and then really loosening up the hammys i can get much more weight on the bar.
The narrow stance focuses more on the outer sweep, if you have a really wide stance it puts a lot of the emphasis on the inner teardrop.