Front Squatting (Continued Confessions)

quite a few of you would have read my squat confessions thread and some great guys offered some awesome advice to me that i took onboard.

unfortunatly my perspective on the back squat chaged somewhat when i failed in a lift last saturday, no power rack at gym, landed on my bum with the weight on my shoulders and subsequently hurt my back.

so untill the gym puts in a powerrack id like to do front squats so if i fail the weight goes forwards and no one, including myself, gets hurt.

so what is the best grip to use for the front squat a snatch type grip or a crossover style and what kind of a weight should i try start off with as a percentage of the weight i was lifting previous to the arse on floor me screaming like a girl incident.

and is it worth chucking in a couple of sets of heavy legpress to make up for the reduced weight of the front squat.

look forward to your responses
cheers
Tubby

I wouldn’t say that either grip was better than the other, people just have their own preferences (usually it’s just the grip they first used when learning the lift)

If you’re not doing heavy back squats then you could try some unilateral work like a single led sled press, unilateral work is great for sorting out imbalances

my personal preference is:

1.) hands set just past shoulder width
2.) elbows pointed as high as i can
3.) set the bar across my clavicle

the ‘crossover’ setup doesn’t really allow (me) for much control.

good luck dude

cheers guys.

when i say not that mutch im talking about 80kg plus olympic bar, so its not that much that its impressive but its enough that if i was to land on someone else in a busy time there would be serious trouble.

ill give it a shot monday arvo and let you know how i go.

If you have no rack, i think your decision is made for you. You have to clean the weight to your shoulders, so I imagine it would be tough to then cross your arms.

I would still think the weight you can do will be limited without a place to rack the weight, whether you back or front squat. I’d look for a new gym.

oh there is a kind of rack that you can sit the weight in to start off with, it just doesnt hav anything at the back to stop you falling out of it.

Don’t worry so much about the weight. Practice the form with just the bar, or put 10kg on it. Find what grip you prefer. I find with arms crossed the bar would roll forward a little. Snatch style can be hard at first, depending on your flexibility

The first time I went to do front squats, I spent like 40mins working on my grip and form, by the time I got it down I didn’t really have the energy to do the workout. Just make sure your doing it right before you start putting the weight on. As a general number, your front squat is probably around 70-80% of your back squat.

Hah, the good old olympic rack.
The other option is to learn how to dump the bar backward.
As for front squats I find I cant do them heavy enough to rape my legs, if I am front squatting I certainly do legpress before to pre exhaust.

The hand positioning entirely depends on wrist flexibility. If you can do the clean position, do it. If not cross over is second best. Just remember either way you should have your elbows as high as your body allows them to be.

Most people find they ‘choke’ themselves when doing this… they get over it quick enough.

has anyone in this forum ever experiemented with a product called p6 black? im just curious cause i wanna take it and im a beginner working out. thanks

cheers for that, not sure on wrist flex, ive broken the left one a few times so ill see how i go, ill report back on tuesday after mondays session as to how i have gone.

no obrebel699.

I use an arms cross grip because it’s more comfy for me. Do work works. Once you get going, you’ll be able to push yourself pretty hard on front squats.

thanks boyscout, ill experiment at what works best and feels most comfortable.

I use a clean grip with my hands unfolded with the bar on my fingers. That took a few weeks of practice to get the balance with my shoulders supporting all the weight. Before that I had to hold the bar in my palms with my arms supporting the weight in addition to my shoulders.