The Danish Viking: back to 531: Road to 2-3-4 Plates

Back and hamstrings I think my quads are the weak link.
But overall I’m just not very good at squatting :slight_smile:
I’m getting better though, every workout some of the reps, just feels better than the other.
Come to think of it I’m doing 4 sets of Front squat with the last set kind of challenging, that could be the reason quads are weak… maybe.

yes I put one up last week at post 529 (it say’s 8 days ago)
Didn’t video today should have done it I know

Then I don’t think there is necessarily an issue. Unless you’re deliberately squatting very upright with a higher bar position, your posterior chain should do most of the work anyway.

If you’re falling forward, then yes, probably bracing and quite possibly weak abs and lower back. Just remember that the squat isn’t a quad movement as such. They pop you out of the hole and help push your knees out some, but apart from that they don’t do that much.

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Just watched it. I’m assuming you are actively pushing kneed out.

Could be a stance issue. I actively “push” my knees out as I push my feet apart into the floor, squeezing my ass cheeks together. If you aren’t actively thinking knees out, that is a first step. The core bracing looks good.

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Damn sorry to hear that, I thought I would get some massive quads :slight_smile:
Thanks for the insight again Mark. Will work on the bracing stuff and pushing the knees out.
It’s when the weight gets heavy the knees collapse a bit.
As stated I’m a terrible squatter.

Front squats will strengthen the quads. Use some single leg Bulgarians to isolate the problem. They will show you your weak links…

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I’m fiddling with my stance and can’t seem to find the right one. I’m trying to push my knees out and squeeze the butt. But when the weight gets heavy, well my brain goes to survival mode. I’m just impatient. It’s going to be there at some point I’m very confident about it.

Ok, so your quads are the weak link. I would go straight to split squats and pause squats. Front squats are kind of meh for quads. Or at least, I found that. When you can rack enough weight to challenge your quads it’s a different story, but that takes time. For example, I’ve only gotten quad development out of front squats in the last six to nine months. Before that they just made my back stronger.

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I’m doing bulgarians once a week.
Today I did paused squats just after coming out of the hole.
going down, ½ count pause at the bottom going up a few inches and then paused for a 2 count. That seemed to work well.
I like the idea of the front squat making the back stronger and now you mention it it make sense. I’m actually enjoying fr squats at the moment. I remember that horrible front squat I put up here on TN, it has improved so much, I’m much more stable, thanks to you guys advise.

Remember that pausing out of the hole won’t help quad strength as much as pausing in the hole.

Be efficient. Pause in the hole and then an inch out-of the hole each rep. Curse me later.

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I shall cast a spell at you while doing them :slight_smile:

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Double pause is a great thing to do, keeps you from doing a good morning out of the hole

Upright box squats with a pause would help too, hut they are a tad less spesific and require more setting up

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You may do better with a more narrow stance with toes more straight. But you stance looks really narrow. To find your stance. Stand and do a jump for height. Look at your feet when you land. Do this a few times. This is your most naturally powerful position.

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so ½ count pause don’t count :slight_smile:
How many reps would be good to do.
I would think doing 2 - 3 reps is better than 5 or more ?
like 6 sets of 2 - 3 reps is better than 3 sets of 5 ?

That is the stance i do for DL that is very narrow, and won’t allow me to squat to anywhere near parallel … I think… I’ll try it next time.

Thanks for the input guys, were almost past midnight and a new day threatens, so I’ll be hitting the sack. ZZZZ

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Three sets of four to six would work I think.

For width, start at shoulder width. Then move in or out slightly until you find the sweet spot. Same deal with foot position. Start with feet pointing slightly out, move in and out slightly until it clicks.

I couldn’t recommend using the jump method for any squat variation to find stance. My foot position for jumping is probably less than half the width of my optimal squat. Works well for DL though.

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Try weighted step ups too, about bench height , they worked well for me in the past.

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How do you do them, with DB’s held in the hand or at the chest or a BB at the back.

I could see myself use the leg on the floor to push of with, not using the quads that much

With DB or hold plates each side, or BB on your back, if the bench is right height your leg will be at right angles when foot placed on the bench, the idea is to only push through with the quad and not use your other leg to push off with, same with negative.