Normal Vs Front Squats

[SSAlexSS]

hello all!


anyone know the difference between front and normal squats>??

reply please!


thanks!

 

[ballast]

Back squats allow more weight to be used.They tend to hit the glutes and low back more than front squats.They usually put more pressure on the spine.
Front squats are a more "pure" quad exercise due to the rigid upright posture that must be maintained.Since there is very little forward lean, there tends to be less pressure put on the spine.

 

[gymtime]

Back squats allow more weight to be used.They tend to hit the glutes and low back more than front squats.They usually put more pressure on the spine.
Front squats are a more "pure" quad exercise due to the rigid upright posture that must be maintained.Since there is very little forward lean, there tends to be less pressure put on the spine.

I've never done fronts before, so I'm just going on observation here. But it seems that since the weight is in front, that would require more strain on your back to keep the weight balanced. In other words, with all that weight sitting on your upper front shoulders, it would seem like it would be constantly pulling you forward, which your back would be fighting to balance. Make any sense?

 

[Exodus]

bar behind the neck uses more hips, glutes, and hams.

front is like a leg extension in the form of a squat........ so it almost isolates the quads...... but with more weight

X

 

[The mann]

you feel the front squats a bit more in your quads but you use less weight than squats on your back.....

 

[ballast]

gymtime-the greatest potential to injuring your spine is an excessive forward lean.Thats why it is recommended to stay fairly upright when squatting.Take the gerard trap bar.That allows you to remain upright with no forward lean and more weight can be used but I've never experienced or heard of it causing any excessive force on the spine.That's one of the primary reasons it was made.As for front squats,when you have the bar positioned correctly with the elbows held high you don't feel the forward pull of the bar that much because it allows you to remain more upright compared to the pressure of a back squat where the pressure of the bar on your upper back forces you to lean forward.Try these out sometime and you'll see what I mean.Also, I'm talking about a front squat using a clean grip, not the kind where you have your arms crossed over one another and try a balancing act with the bar.I have seen many people do them in this manner and they are so busy trying to balance the bar, they can't maintain correct posture.

 

[gymtime]

I have been meaning to try them. But, like you say, I've only seen them done with the arms crossed, bar resting on the front shoulder. Again, it appears awkward as hell. But I've never actually tried it.

But I'm confused on one thing. Can you explain what the grip should be? How can you keep your elbows up (as in the crossed-arm grip) with a clean grip?

 

[ballast]

gymtime-There's basically two types of front squats.
1)The crossed arm method;this is where you place the bar on the upper shoulders,cross your arms one over the other resting your palms on the bar.
2)The clean grip method;this is where you have the bar positioned for the start of a power clean.Shoulder width grip with the bar resting on your front delts.The key to holding the bar into place on these is to try to point your elbows as far upwards as possible to prevent the bar from moving forward(your upper arms should be at or close to parallel to the floor,depending on how flexible your shoulder region is).In my experience, this is the easiest method for allowing an upright posture.I've never seen anyone use an appreciable amount of weight using the crossed arm method due to problems balancing the bar.Olympic lifters spend alot of time doing clean grip front squats and their quads are built and strong.

 

[gymtime]

OK, gotcha. I will give that a try next leg day. Thanks for explaining ballast. Like I said, I'd never seen anyone do it that way before. Sounds interesting. I think I'll have to try it with an empty bar a few times to get the feel.

Thanks again bro!!

 

[DaCypher]

After reading this thread I'm pretty curious about front squats now. Definetly gotta try em out next leg day as well...