Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below so today i tried doing some front squats. It hurt my shoulders a whole lot and i wasn't able to put up much weight and halfway through the set i said fuck it and did lunges instead. Is there any advantage to doing front squats (opposed to back squats)? They just seem painful and unnecessary to me. What's the deal with front squats?
front squats
- Thread starter sothex
- Start date
The bar should sit BETWEEN your delts and your throat. If you can breathe perfectly it isn't close enough.
I can't do them OLY style (with a clean grip) and BBer cross hand grip style doesn't secure the bar well for me either. I do them JV Style where basically my arms are straight out in front of me, thumbs pointing up, shoulders sticking fwd. Bar doesn't move and no pain. I'll try to post a vid/pic this week.
Benefits...the back squat is superior but the front squat will not tax your CNS near as much, allowing you to squat more often in a week. I had some serious elbow issues a while back (9 stitches across my elbow) and could only front squat for a while. For sure better than not squatting.
Front squatting CAN improve your deadlift as well...and normally doesn't put as much stress on your lower back.
I can't do them OLY style (with a clean grip) and BBer cross hand grip style doesn't secure the bar well for me either. I do them JV Style where basically my arms are straight out in front of me, thumbs pointing up, shoulders sticking fwd. Bar doesn't move and no pain. I'll try to post a vid/pic this week.
Benefits...the back squat is superior but the front squat will not tax your CNS near as much, allowing you to squat more often in a week. I had some serious elbow issues a while back (9 stitches across my elbow) and could only front squat for a while. For sure better than not squatting.
Front squatting CAN improve your deadlift as well...and normally doesn't put as much stress on your lower back.
"back squat is superior but the front squat will not tax your central nervous system near as much"
Why does front squat tax CNS less? I'm intrigued. I realise its lighter weight, but the balancing stresses seem to compensate for this, and when using a HR monitor, I find that on sets to failure, back squats, front squats, deadlifts are all pretty similar (165 ish HR)
Why does front squat tax CNS less? I'm intrigued. I realise its lighter weight, but the balancing stresses seem to compensate for this, and when using a HR monitor, I find that on sets to failure, back squats, front squats, deadlifts are all pretty similar (165 ish HR)
b fold the truth said:
Sim882 said:
It does put your muscles in oxygen debt as back squats, so your heart rate will increase. Stabilizing the weight isn't easy either, but in back squats there are a lot more muscles working in unison to move the heavier weight which puts stress in your CNS more than the fronts.
Powerbuilder333
Timeout? No, timeouts are for Plats
I've never gotten the hang of it.
Sim882 said:
I wish I had the knowledge to really explain it.
The last contest I did (I'm a strength athlete) I was doing some type of squats 4-5x per week. 2-3 of these were front squats. I'm not saying that they aren't hard and that you aren't going to be as out of breath or that they won't fry your quads like nobody's business...but your Central Nervous System doesn't get hit near as hard with the front squat as it does the back squat. Because of this, you can front squat more often than you can back squat.
In November and December I was working getting 20 reps on the front squat with 225 lbs + light bands added, at the end of my events day. Best I got was 13 I think as I was starting to get a little run down from other things I was pushing hard on. I did get 405 + bands fairly solidly at the end of an events day...and then passed out.
Right now I'm working with a European OLY lifter who has an Olympic medal, European medal, and World's medal in his home. He laughs at my technique on the OLY lifts so he has suggested that I ONLY stick with the Snatch, Hang Snatch, Other Snatch Grip work, and front squats. I'll be front squatting 3x per week as long as I feel good, in addition to my box squats and events. Only about 2-3x per month will be pushing to rep failure though (high reps) as I will be focused on 3's, 5's, and lighter 10's.
Sim882 said:
I don't know for sure, but maybe it has something to do with the loading on your spine. A bar across you back week in and week out can drain your CNS, especially if you are using decent loads. I have notice that front squats allow me to pull heavy later on in the week, while back squats always tax my low back making pulls almost out of the question. If you want to totally destroy your abs super set front squats with hanging ab raises. ouch...
Jocephus said:
Thanks for various response - I guess I can sort of sea it now, because I can get my heart rate just as high with walking lunges as squats, but it isn't taxing afterwards in the same way. And it certainly does tax the back - I can always deadlift more if I haven't done it.
Perhaps this is why I have not improved my squatting nearly as much as my other major lifts, and I always thought it was too much running, but I still manage to improve the deadlift, so I'm starting to think that maybe its I just like leg exercises too much and have been doing them too often (normally, twice per week and all sets to failure: 8 sets of squats, 4 front, 4 back, and 6 sets of walking lunges in different direction, and probably 12 sets other leg exercises, SLDL, hamstring curls, extensions, hack squats, leg press).
deathdroprob
Banned
I know this is gonna start some comotion, but for someone (like me) who has never Front Squated before (I tried once with extremely light weight and still it was a disaster) to do them on the Smith Machine?
I cant see how it could possibly be bad, theres no load on your spine, and you wont be making it push in any weird angles.
Thoughts?
I cant see how it could possibly be bad, theres no load on your spine, and you wont be making it push in any weird angles.
Thoughts?
Front squats tire my legs out quickly--- back squat don't do that- I can get more work in by relying on my back and ass, so they tire me out in a different way, even though I'm specifically not aiming for general fatigue.
I guess I work fronts first to pre-exhaust the legs, then go for some higher rep back squats with less intensity for a combo of sub max and repetition work.
It's probably wiser not to go for mega front squat reps, because there's less room for error, as there is with a back squat. When your body is looking for an 'extra rep' strategy on compounds the first thing to take up the slack is the back, in my experience. Once the hips go, it's all down to partial reps on a back squat. That just won't happen with fronts- when my back weakens that's it, end of set. No chance of escalating to partial reps that revel in tugging on my kneecap.
I guess I work fronts first to pre-exhaust the legs, then go for some higher rep back squats with less intensity for a combo of sub max and repetition work.
It's probably wiser not to go for mega front squat reps, because there's less room for error, as there is with a back squat. When your body is looking for an 'extra rep' strategy on compounds the first thing to take up the slack is the back, in my experience. Once the hips go, it's all down to partial reps on a back squat. That just won't happen with fronts- when my back weakens that's it, end of set. No chance of escalating to partial reps that revel in tugging on my kneecap.
deathdroprob said:
I say start with just the barbell and not the smith machine for front squats. The smith locks u in the one fixed plane and u really need to work on getting the technique down first which u lose out on imo from the smith. it is an awesome exercise for bb's. not so much for powerlifters.
thebadguy54
New member
8and20 said:
The front squat will also better your "midline stabilization" and prepare you for the almighty Clean.
DO NOT FRONT OR BACK SQUAT ON A SMITH MACHINE BRO'S. FUCK.
See this thread:
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/weight-training-weight-lifting/smith-vs-reg-576620.html
deathdroprob said:
Start with the empty bar and work on technique...add weight as you can.
What kind of problems do you have with them?
BMK792
New member
Being an oly lifter i naturally focus on front squats however from seeing new people come into my gym there are a lot of misconceptions about them and alot of ppl believe there the same as Backsquat so they can use the same tech and weight. The biggest problem i see with people doing front squats in the position of the feet and the balance at the bottom, many people unused to FS tend to lean forward and end up faceplanting when it should be more towards the heel.
deathdroprob
Banned
b fold the truth said:
When I tried I only used 60kgs (1 45lb plate each side).
My arms were sweaty and the bar slipped like a cunt.
Then the bar was wobbling and I didnt have the confidnece to go down all the way, I thought Id fall over.
PoweredUp said:
Front squats are harder than back squats, but I don't think my calves ever get sore from them.
thebadguy54
New member
PoweredUp said:
Make sure you keep you heels down bro.
Your calves should not be getting sore from doing front squats.
Scotsman said:
Off and on. Steady around 285 but want to hit 300 this year and then trim down to around 295 or so.
I can't come anywhere near the clean grip on front squats...lol
8and20 said:
Adam (bigger of the two) has been doing legs for 6 weeks tops, squatting for about 4. I'm trying to integrate wide stance box squats into his routine to strengthen his hips, hams, and his lower back. His don't look too bad...but the weights he was using was HEAVY for him.
Gareth, the smaller guy, it was his first time doing any type of squats ever. His earlier and lighter attempts looked better for sure, but he did Good Morning that last set up BADLY and didn't take it down either.
Using the low back on the squat...isn't wrong. I have a very strong core and lower back and I've done reps on the good morning with 500 before, no belt.
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