The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise
The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise.The Front Squat,As you may have discovered, squats at the top of the heap (along with dead lifts ) are one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating changes in body composition (muscle gain). and fat loss). Indeed, exercises like squats and dead lifts use more muscle groups under heavy loads than most other known weight-bearing exercises.
Thus, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) In fact, university studies have even demonstrated that including squats in an exercise program increases upper-body growth, in addition to lower-body development, even though athletes do not. Specific joint movements of the upper body are not performed during the squat.
Whether your goal is to gain muscle, lose fat, build a healthy, fully functional body or improve athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) is the answer. final answer.
If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are the foundation of a toned and healthy body, then go ahead and join all the other overweight people who carelessly work out for hours on these devices. Cardiovascular support boring. You won’t find long and boring cardio in any of my shows!
Squats can be done with any free weight such as dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, sandbags or even with just body weight. Squats should only be done with free weights – NEVER with a Smith machine or any other squat machine! Machines do not allow your body to follow a natural and biologically precise trajectory of motion. You also do less work because the machine stabilizes the weight for you.
Therefore, you get weaker results!
The type of squat most people are familiar with is the barbell back squat in which the bar rests on the trapezius muscle of the upper back.
Many professional strength trainers believe that the front squat (where the bar rests on the shoulders in front of the head) and the overhead squat (where the bar is locked in a clenched fist during the squat) are more functional. for athletic performance than the back squat. less risk of back injury.
I believe a combination of all three (not necessarily in the same phase of your workout) will provide the best results for overall muscle growth, body fat loss, and athletic performance.
The front squat is moderately difficult compared to the back squat, while the overhead squat is much more difficult than the back squat or front squat. I will cover the overhead squat in a future post. If you’re just used to doing the back squat, it will take a few sessions to get comfortable with the front squat, so start off light. After a few training sessions, you will start to feel the groove and possibly increase the weight.
To do the front squat:
The front squat works the abs to a much greater extent for stability due to the upright stance than the back squat.
This is primarily a lower body exercise, but is functionally ideal for incorporating core strength and stability into the squat movement. It can also be a bit difficult to learn how to properly lower the bar above your shoulders.
There are two ways to place the crossbar in front of the shoulder.
In the first method, you go under the bar and cross your forearms in an “X” position while placing the barbell on the depression made by the shoulder muscles near the bone, keeping the elbows elevated so that the arms are parallel. song. On the ground. You then hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fist against the bar for support.
Alternatively, you can hold the bar with the palm of your hand and the bar rests on your fingers against your shoulder. For both methods, your elbows should stay high to prevent the weight from falling. Your arms should be parallel to the ground throughout the squat.
Find out which method of weight support is most comfortable for you. Next, start squatting from your hips by sitting backwards, keeping the weight on your heels instead of the ball of your foot. Squat down to a position where your thighs are almost parallel to the floor, then press up to return to the starting position.
Keeping your weight more toward your heels is an important element of the squat to protect your knees from injury and develop strong, injury-resistant knee joints.
Remember that properly performed squats actually strengthen the knees; Squats that are not done well can damage the knees.
Train with a weightless or relatively light barbell first to learn how to move.
Most people are surprised at how effective this exercise can be when you learn the right form. This is because the posture is more upright than the back squat. To see pictures of proper form of the front squat, visit the link below.
