Front Squat As Primary Squat

I might have asked you this before, but what would/do you normally do as a warm up/activation for front squats? Front squats are the only squat I can do now and some days even those feel meh. Core activation, glute activation I’m guessing but care to throw out an example of your pre-squat routine?

Bird dogs feel like I’m not getting anything out of them cause they feel easy. But idk, they probably aren’t really supposed to feel hard I guess. Only thing I get is my arm gets tired from holding it out repeatedly.

Here ya go brother. You can look up Ben on twitch as well and he’ll answer your questions during streams and such. Good luck.

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Thanks, much appreciated!

I do very little warm up for anything to be honest but on a day when my back is a little achey I’ll do a few sets of bird dogs. They do feel easy, but they’re supposed to.

It’s like if you were doing glute activation stuff, you’d do some glute bridges and side clams. Both those exercises are easy too, but a few sets makes a big difference.

I used to get a benefit from doing glute activation work before squatting too, particularly glute medius stuff (bridges, side clams, those stupid lateral band walk things) as I had a problem with knee collapse for a while, but as I’ve gotten stronger (although my back’s still fucked and I’m not strong so you probably shouldn’t listen to me anyway) that’s stopped being an issue and I only seem to need core activation work now.

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Absolutely not

Alright, but if something goes wrong, there will be blood on your hands.

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It was a joke. If you are putting yourself in danger by performing a certain exercise and then you get injured, that’s your fault. Everyone has their limits

You obviously didn’t read the thread. The whole thing was a piss take…

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^ Yeah what he said lol.

I skimmed it. The only people who I feel like I can tell when they’re joking are @losthog and @duketheslaya hahaha

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Hey that’s good company…he may be a kid but he is funny as hell.

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Utter disrespect… how could you :frowning_with_open_mouth:
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Front squat only?..ok. Go for it. Want to do belt squats. Sure. Go for it. Hack squats, zercher squat…just do something. High bar, low bar, buffalo bar, titty bar, snickers bar…

Just squat!

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I’d smack for a couple sets

Chuck in a bit of hip thrusts in there and you’re all set

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I don’t do back squats cuz of my back problems. I only did hack squats on machine and sumo squats with heavy dumbbells. But I’ve recently started doing front squats with a belt and it doesn’t hurt my lower back. So I’ll keep doing it. More quads involvement on front squats too, which I love.

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Vastly underrated benefit by most people I think

The problem with front squats is that you are limited by back strength and ability to stay upright more than your legs. With a back squat you can lean forward and still push through and finish the rep, with a front squat you will just dump the bar. However, if you aren’t a powerlifter or weightlifter, or perhaps a strongman competitor and preparing for a comp. that includes back squatting then you don’t necessarily need to do any back squats at all. If you are just squatting for general fitness and strength then a safety squat bar is likely a better option than either front or back squats. The leverages are closer to a front squat but you won’t fail if you lean forward, which allows you to lift more weight and do more reps. A harder exercise that is more limited by technique such as the front squat won’t overload the muscles as much, if you are after hypertrophy then it is questionable whether front squats are a good choice.

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If it is just leg strength you desire box step-up with a loaded barbell will get it done. Requires incredible leg strength and core stabilization. High reps would be very productive in stimulating growth trigger…

“The front squat was as effective as the back squat in terms of overall muscle recruitment, with significantly less compressive forces and extensor moments. The results suggest that front squats may be advantageous compared with back squats for individuals with knee problems such as meniscus tears, and for long-term joint health.”

Found this research paper. More reason to do front squats

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