T Nation

Thinking About Quitting Back Squat

Bodybuilding
#1

I’m performing classic back squat since 3 years and I feel I did not get a lot from it. I doing front squat since a month. At first, I found it weird to perform and was not really comfortable doing the movement and was thinking to stop it, but did not.

Once I did learn to perform it correctly, I would say that mechanically, front squat are better suited for me than regular squat. I can use about the same weight with front squat now that with back squat.

While I can go ass to the floor and feel the movement very naturally with fS, I was not able to go bellow parallel (even higher) with back squat when trying to lift heavy.

I think I should had tried it before. I invite tall people to tried it if they feel regular squat are not doing much for them.

#2

DO IT!

#3

I’m a sorta tall guy (6’2") and for some reason, while I love back squats, I prefer front squats. I’m actually doing front squats with 5/3/1 instead of back squats and the strength/quad size is coming along nicely.

#4

Something is wrong if you can front squat atg the same weight as you can back squat above parallel; perhaps this might explain why you never recieved any benefits from the back squat.

#5

If back squatting isn’t for you, it isn’t for you. Go balls to the wall on front squats and be happy.

My favorite quote from C_C (paraphrased): There is absolutely no exercise that everybody MUST do.

Fuck back squats.

#6

[quote]Mr.Purple wrote:

Fuck back squats.[/quote]

x2. I feel front squats a ton more in my quads, and the positive side is my lower back doesn’t hurt as much.

#7

I abandoned back squats a while ago, and my quads are the better for it (so is my back, and my huge ass -lol)

S

#8

I love front squats, but I can’t do em for a little bit cuz going heavy puts stress on my wrists (clean grip) and I do a ton of studio work for guitar. So I gotta keep my wrists free from injury, otherwise if I have no pending gigs or sessions I love em and go real heavy with em.

#9

[quote]dratner wrote:
I love front squats, but I can’t do em for a little bit cuz going heavy puts stress on my wrists (clean grip) and I do a ton of studio work for guitar. So I gotta keep my wrists free from injury, otherwise if I have no pending gigs or sessions I love em and go real heavy with em. [/quote]

Why not use a cross hand grip or put a couple of straps around the bar and hold those? I hardly even need to touch the bar to keep it in place. As long as I keep my elbows high and don’t lean to much forward, the bar stays in place.

#10

[quote]dratner wrote:
I love front squats, but I can’t do em for a little bit cuz going heavy puts stress on my wrists (clean grip) and I do a ton of studio work for guitar. So I gotta keep my wrists free from injury, otherwise if I have no pending gigs or sessions I love em and go real heavy with em. [/quote]

Same with me. I just switched to the cross armed grip and loved it. It took about 3 or 4 sessions to get used to but it was MUCH better than clean grip for me.

#11

I do that thing where i use straps around the bar as my wrists aren’t flexible enough and the cross-armed thing doesn’t feel safe either.

#12

[quote]aeyogi wrote:
Something is wrong if you can front squat atg the same weight as you can back squat above parallel; perhaps this might explain why you never recieved any benefits from the back squat.[/quote]

In fact, when going ass to the floor, I can front squat more than back squat.

I don’t know… When going ass to the floor I have to lean forward or I lose my balance and when I lean forward it put a lot of stress on my lower back. One trick I found is to put the bar lower on my back and to have a wider foot stance, but this way the bar tend to slip and I prefer the feel of a closer stance…

Fuck back squat, I’ll do front squat instead, they feel perfectly natural, even better with a close stance.

#13

[quote]Nards wrote:
I do that thing where i use straps around the bar as my wrists aren’t flexible enough and the cross-armed thing doesn’t feel safe either.[/quote]

love your avatar, just watch this movie again a couple of week ago and it rocks. A classic.

#14

[quote]Mr.Purple wrote:

[quote]dratner wrote:
I love front squats, but I can’t do em for a little bit cuz going heavy puts stress on my wrists (clean grip) and I do a ton of studio work for guitar. So I gotta keep my wrists free from injury, otherwise if I have no pending gigs or sessions I love em and go real heavy with em. [/quote]

Why not use a cross hand grip or put a couple of straps around the bar and hold those? I hardly even need to touch the bar to keep it in place. As long as I keep my elbows high and don’t lean to much forward, the bar stays in place.[/quote]
That’s what I am doing now but at the beginning I had a hard time trying not to pull the bar to close to my neck (although some say it’s pretty cool to faint while squatting lol). Now that I got the technique right I can really feel the difference between the bS and fS in my quads

#15

[quote]Nards wrote:
I do that thing where i use straps around the bar as my wrists aren’t flexible enough and the cross-armed thing doesn’t feel safe either.[/quote]

You could also do the zercher squat, which is just another variation of the front squat. No wrist flexibility or throat crushing required. To minimize discomfort in the elbows, I wrap a towel around the bar as well as wear knee wraps around my elbows (much longer and more comfy than elbow wraps). You may notice some red marks on your elbows at first, but in time, you develop the durability to withstand it, and as you progress, your elbows get stronger, along with your quads.

#16

It’s a great exercise, but I don’t really benefit as much as I’d like from it in terms of leg growth.

I train the squat simply to be good at it, but I don’t feel I’m built for it and I wouldn’t even categorise it as a half-decent decent mass builder FOR ME.

There are loads of good leg movements out there, the squat isn’t magic.

#17

[quote]sam_sneed wrote:

[quote]dratner wrote:
I love front squats, but I can’t do em for a little bit cuz going heavy puts stress on my wrists (clean grip) and I do a ton of studio work for guitar. So I gotta keep my wrists free from injury, otherwise if I have no pending gigs or sessions I love em and go real heavy with em. [/quote]

Same with me. I just switched to the cross armed grip and loved it. It took about 3 or 4 sessions to get used to but it was MUCH better than clean grip for me.[/quote]

I just switched to arms out style on FS. At first I had to drop the weight a bit but now can do what I did when gripping the bar. The arms out style forces you to stay as vertical as possible to keep the bar from rolling. And the leg pumps have been awesome.

#18

[quote]ALX wrote:
I’m performing classic back squat since 3 years… I was not able to go bellow parallel (even higher) with back squat when trying to lift heavy.[/quote]

Ummm…It sounds like you might have learned the movement incorrectly, very few people would be naturally incapable of going to or below parallel. Why would you do them for three years like that! Sounds like a great way to destroy your knees…

#19

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I abandoned back squats a while ago, and my quads are the better for it (so is my back, and my huge ass -lol)

S
[/quote]

Ditto

#20

[quote]SurferSnr wrote:

[quote]ALX wrote:
I’m performing classic back squat since 3 years… I was not able to go bellow parallel (even higher) with back squat when trying to lift heavy.[/quote]

Ummm…It sounds like you might have learned the movement incorrectly, very few people would be naturally incapable of going to or below parallel. Why would you do them for three years like that! Sounds like a great way to destroy your knees…[/quote]

To go ATG with BSquat I have to to lean foward and use a wide stance or I lost my balance (as I said above). I did try 3 years because I want big legs and I hate to suck at squating. I may have learn the movement incorectly, but now than I found how FSquat work wonderfully, I’ll will not bother anymore with BSquat