Front Squat

[herefortheglitter]

Front Squats only work for people who are narrow shouldered, short torso, short leg, small feet.

Most of the time if you do not fit any of those you will suck at it.

This is an interesting theory. I am all of the above and the only problem I have with fronts is slight pain in my wrists.

[chaos]

Front Squats only work for people who are narrow shouldered, short torso, short leg, small feet.

Most of the time if you do not fit any of those you will suck at it.

[catracho]

I've tried so hard to get on with front squats because of how good they feel on my quads, but have never managed. If I sit the bar behind my front delts it presses on my Adams apple and makes me heave mid-set. If I have the bar the other side of my delt it pulls me forward too much.

A real GBr would just get the Adams apple removed!!

[ritch]

Unless you are a competitive Olympic Lifter, why in the fucking world would anyone do front squats?

With my sciatic issues, for some odd reason, they pass. BAck squats aggravate the pain. But find them way superior for quad development. Who cares of back squats activate hams? Gonna train them next anyway. You get glute development from back squats, great for some, not so good for others.

[ritch]

HEY!!! I wear those (Vibrams) and they are amazing for balance. Haha

Balance??? How can you have bad balance if you do squats and stuff? Smelliest invention of recent times those shoes...

[mr.turbo]

I believe this back squat pic is taken from the same workout.

Notice how Platz is leaning forward some. By leaning, in addition to the knee joint,  the hips are also a lever and a fulcrum, hence the term "compound movement."

In front squats, the upright position, that Ritch mentioned, takes the hips out of the lever equation, and puts the main burden in the knee joint. You can get away with this for awhile, but eventually, you'll most likely have knee issues.

Of course, if you lean too far forward doing back squats, you'll have the same issue only in the lumbar area.

well correct me if I'm wrong but the fact that the legs are attached at the hips means it's always going to be loaded and a lever. I think you mean the back is taken out of the movement?

notice that platz is "leaning forward" ie. sitting back in the front squat pic?  The knee alignment is about the same.

you can fuck your knees up with back squats too.

[Thin Lizzy]

well correct me if I'm wrong but the fact that the legs are attached at the hips means it's always going to be loaded and a lever. I think you mean the back is taken out of the movement?

notice that platz is "leaning forward" ie. sitting back in the front squat pic?  The knee alignment is about the same.

you can fuck your knees up with back squats too.

If your spine is perpendicular to the ground, there's no lever. Only when there's an angle does hip joint become a lever.

In the Platz back squat pic, it's mainly his glutes that will get him out the hole until his quads take over. The lower back is mainly a stabilizer and only becomes an issue if you lean over too far and turn the exercise into a hybrid Squat/Good Morning.

The knee issues from back squats are primarily as result of bad form and too much weight. Even with solid form, there's a limit to what the body can handle.

I just think back squats are a more natural movement than fronts.

[falco]

Front squats agravatted my rotator cuff issues. But they really burned my quads when i used to do them.

[mr.turbo]

If your spine is perpendicular to the ground, there's no lever. Only when there's an angle does hip joint become a lever.

In the Platz back squat pic, it's mainly his glutes that will get him out the hole until his quads take over. The lower back is mainly a stabilizer and only becomes an issue if you lean over too far and turn the exercise into a hybrid Squat/Good Morning.

The knee issues from back squats are primarily as result of bad form and too much weight. Even with solid form, there's a limit to what the body can handle.

I just think back squats are a more natural movement than fronts.

I see what you mean about the spine...but... the load doesn't go through the spine since the bar is on the front.

what matters is the position of the bar relative to the hip joint.  That's where the load is in both the front and back squat.

seems to me the geometry of the lower body is about the same either way.