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Getbig Bodybuilding Boards => Training Q&A => Topic started by: stuff81380 on July 20, 2006, 04:19:09 PM

Title: Front Squat
Post by: stuff81380 on July 20, 2006, 04:19:09 PM

Ok i have never done front squats but i would like to try them.

Should i use the smith or do them free weight?

Any tips on how to do them before i kill myself?

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: Jr. Yates on July 20, 2006, 05:40:34 PM

make sure you keep your elbows up or the bar will roll off of your front delts. make sure you push through your heels and not your toes, maybe put little plates under your heels. start with light weight on a barbell.

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: jianjohn24 on July 20, 2006, 08:13:35 PM

Front Squats are an awesome quad exercise! In fact, I feel them more in my quads, than regular squats.  I would start with just the bar to perfect your form.  Set the bar a notch below where you would normally place it for regular squats. This will allow you to get under the bar more comfortably.  The bar should rest between your front delts and upper pecs, it should NOT choke you.  I do these rock bottom, and I can actually front squat about 85% of the weight I usually squat. Keep your elbows up high and chin up as well. A weight belt usually comes in handy, and you wanna keep your body as upright as possible.  It's harder to cheat on these, and there's alot less stress on your lower back than regular squats. hope this helps, tell me how you like em!

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: Overload on July 21, 2006, 06:54:16 AM

I like to do front squats in the smith machine after regular back squats...it is the only movement i do in the smith on a regular basis.


 8)




 

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: stuff81380 on July 21, 2006, 10:30:21 AM

Thanks for the help guys tomorrow is quads so i will be back to let you know how it went

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: buffbong on July 21, 2006, 04:57:20 PM

i did barbell hacks squats followed by front barbell squats then barbell stiff leg deads.  i was lying on the kitchen floor feeling sick i love this shit lol

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: Woten on July 22, 2006, 12:12:15 PM

Quote from: stuff81380 on July 20, 2006, 04:19:09 PM

Ok i have never done front squats but i would like to try them.

Should i use the smith or do them free weight?

Any tips on how to do them before i kill myself?

BARBELL FRONT SQUAT EXPLAINED, WITH PICTURES AND STUFF, YO! (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBFrontSquat.html)

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: Farkenell on July 22, 2006, 01:17:52 PM

I never do any squatting on the smith machine, if fixes you into an unnatural groove which is a pain. I recommend free weights, and keep the bar against your neck always. Cross your hands in front of you onto your shoulders, just like Big Ron does.

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: benchthis on July 23, 2006, 06:35:09 PM

why would u kill yourself without doing frontsquats

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: Jr. Yates on July 23, 2006, 06:36:21 PM

Quote from: Farkenell on July 22, 2006, 01:17:52 PM

just like Big Ron does.

yeah buddy.

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: Superman on July 24, 2006, 01:44:47 AM

Quote from: stuff81380 on July 20, 2006, 04:19:09 PM

Ok i have never done front squats but i would like to try them.

Should i use the smith or do them free weight?

Any tips on how to do them before i kill myself?

I would use the smith because I can burnout better. Expecially when you hit that last reps and your about to fall down. Balance is everything, especially past the failure point. You can mess yourself up being to tired with bad form. That's where the smith machine comes in and that's why I love it with certain exercises. You can burnout with heavy weight and it will keep your balance together.

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: Hedgehog on July 24, 2006, 06:49:17 AM

I'd suggest the free weight barbell front squat version, as it forces you to stabilize the lift yourself, hence making the lift more athletic, so to speak.

Literally hams to calves on this one.

YIP
Zack

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: stuff81380 on July 24, 2006, 06:58:05 AM

Thanks for all of the advice.

I started legs with front squats and i went to the smith first. Needless to say it sucked a fat kids dick. Everytime i would start to come up the bar would start to roll froward. I must have tyred this 4 or 5 diffrent ways.

So in the end i did them with the barbell and that is where i will stay. It was much more comfortable and just easier for me to do.

Title: Re: Front Squat
Post by: JPM on July 24, 2006, 08:26:26 AM

Like some of the other guy's said, learn the style and balance first with a BB.  Flexability may be a problem at first with the elbows/arms. Try to hold the elbows up, extra high and wide throughout the lift. Get in the habit of resting the bar on the front delts/upper chest to center your balance. Stay straight up, never lean forward and keep the head straight or looking up.. After awhile you can release the grip and cross over the arms or just hold the arms out a bit from the body. If the front delts are muscled enought they will act as a pad for the bar and a serious grip is not needed.

Though the Smith machine can be a usefull piece of equipment, it can have it's limits. It's really not a learning tool to start a new exercise with. For the most part, it does not follow the natural strength/function curve of a muscle groups action, as Farkenell suggested. It can also give a false sense of security on some exercises.  A Smith machine can and has given execellent results to some people, but it might be best to handle a moderate  weight range with-in it. Good Luck.