Introduction to the Squat, Part 4 Print E-mail



There are actually several things you can do to make the squat an effective part of your training arsenal regardless of where you place the bar. The first, as we've already mentioned, is to be diligent about improving your flexibility. You'd be surprised at how different the lift can feel by simply improving the range of motion of the muscles that surround the hips, knees, and ankles. Another thing that can help quite a bit is limiting your depth.

Now mind you, we're both huge proponents of the deep squatin some situations. As long as a lifter possesses the balanced strength and flexibility to execute this movement properly, doesn't bounce to propel himself out of the bottom position, and has no pre-existing knee or lower back injuries, deep squats are about as effective a muscle-building exercise as there is. As good as they are, though, they don't make a whole lot of sense for taller lifters. Even if you are able to improve your range of motion and remain more upright, at some point, your basic body structure is going to require you to deviate from proper form. Once you do, the risk of injury to the knees and lower back increases dramatically. Besides which, once you pass parallel, the contribution of the glutes becomes that much greater. Seeing as how glute activation is the least of your problems, and the objective is to get your quads working harder, limiting the range only makes sense from both a safety and practicality standpoint.

So how low should you go? We prefer to see the torso not exceed a 45-degree angle to the floor. Any more than that, and the lower back ends up bearing the brunt of the load. The trick is learning exactly how far down you can go without surpassing this 45-degree position. This may require the use of a friend or training partner to observe or possibly even videotape you as you execute the squat. Once you learn where to stop, it won't be long before you can perform the lift on your own. However, bear in mind that as you continue to work on improving your flexibility, you may, in fact, increase your depth slightly without increasing the degree of forward lean. This is highly individualized, though, and will probably only lead to minimal improvements in those with really long femurs.

Finally, it should be mentioned that when it comes to leg development, the traditional barbell squat isn't your only option. And no, in case you're wondering, this isn't where we try to make a case for the Smith machine. In our view, doing an exercise on the Smith machine is a poor substitute for doing its free-weight complement. True, in the case of the squat, it does allow you to maintain a more upright posture when squatting, regardless of your limb length. It does so, however, by forcing your body to adapt to the linear path in which the bar travels. Trouble is, that's not the way your body moves. By following this preset bar path, you end up placing too much stress on certain joints. The joint that takes on the brunt of this stress is the knee. The poor thing is subjected to increased shearing forces as a result of suboptimal hamstring activation during the Smith machine squat.

Now that leaves the leg press, right? Well, the leg press is better. But not much. Sure, it allows you to handle more weight in a nice, back-supported position without placing the same shearing forces on the knee that the Smith machine does. But be careful of your lower back on this movement. Those of you who've ever gone down just a bit too low with a heavy load know exactly what we mean.

So by now, you must be thinking that we've eliminated all the good exercises. Without Smith machine squats and leg presses, what does that leave? Well, you're forgetting one of the absolute best exercises for quadriceps (thigh) development, the front squat. Aw, stop your whining. We know they're tough. We also know that because of where you support the bar, they require you to remain far more upright than the traditional barbell back squat. This is the huge benefit; no excessive forward lean here.


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