Lower Back Work to Improve Squat

Bigger Stronger Leaner Christian Thibaudeau Coaching
1

I was reading one article about the back squat that you were interviewed in, I forget the date on it but I read it yesterday. The author was against the back squat. Anyway, you mentioned that it was mostly a lower back exercise and that one of the people you were training quit doing the back squat for a number of weeks, worked on his lower back strength, then went back to the back squat and was 50 lbs. stronger.

I am very interested to hear what you were training him with for lower back. I did your test standing 6 inch from the wall and squatted down, I did not hit the wall so according to this I am built to squat or atleast not NOT built to squat. I feel that compared to all of my other lifts, I am a weak squatter, but if I just need to build my lower back then I’m all ears.

Would this not apply if I have deadlifted 500 but haven’t squatted 275?

2

I have trouble believing that CT would call the back squat “mostly a lower back exercise.” That sounds like Mike Boyle, who is very anti-squat. However, this does not mean that I don’t think lower back strength is important for the squat - of course it is.