After hurting my lower back back squatting, I took a long look at switching to front squat during my injury time. front squating is safer and doesm’t pose the the risk of a back injury like back squats, it only takes one time to put someone on the shelf for a month or longer. Luckily my injury lasted about a month from a muscle strain.
So for one thing about front squats is the grip, i find this really awkward when going heavy and takes a toll on the wrist. And front squat does not lend itself to high reps which i occassionally like to do back squatting. Going below parallel isn’t an issue for me since i can go well below parallel back squatting. I rather do a goblet squat instead of FS if it didnt have it’s limits.
As far as bodybuilding is concerned, is this more fundamentally a question of whether you want to use squats as a quad-dominant or posterior-dominant movement?
Other issues just have to do with an individual’s body structure. Someone who used to post on here named Bauer (who was a huge guy) would talk about how tall lifters should opt for front squats instead of back squats for biomechanical reasons.
[quote]The3Commandments wrote:
As far as bodybuilding is concerned, is this more fundamentally a question of whether you want to use squats as a quad-dominant or posterior-dominant movement?
Other issues just have to do with an individual’s body structure. Someone who used to post on here named Bauer (who was a huge guy) would talk about how tall lifters should opt for front squats instead of back squats for biomechanical reasons.[/quote]
Yep! I agree, and Bauer was a big, BIG dude who knew his stuff well. I also agree about his statement. Personally for BB purposes it’s whatever you find most useful for your specific purposes IMO. For athletics I vote front squat because of the very much increased anterior core activity and upper back utilization, both of which are vital. In addition it is easier for most to hit depth in a front squat so it gets the nod there. And, for whatever reason unknown to me, psychologically it is sometimes easier for somebody to attempt a max effort knowing they can just drop their arms and get the bar out of the way if they can’t do it (instead of getting crushed lol). That’s not really the case for athletes per se though…
Have you ever tried them with your arms out in front of you (like a zombie)? That is the only way I do front squats. It forces you to balance and remain upright.
I too had to switch to fronts after an injury, but what happened was a huge step forward for me. I had done back squats for years, most likely because I thought that you absolutely had to if you were serious about training. While my weights went up (550 max for me at about 190 lbs), my legs didn’t really look the way I thought they would when I reached that strength level.
Since switching to fronts a few years ago, my quads, while admittedly still not as good as I’d like them to be, at least look more in line with what a bodybuilder should look like.
This certainly doesn’t mean that it will work for everyone, but for ME, it was the best decision, as the back squat was just too much of a posterior chain movement for my body’s mechanics.
I personally think that my quads grow more from front squats than back squats, but I still do back squats and enjoy them for overall leg mass. I think it really depends on your goals as well. Ultimately though, if you like backs more than fronts and get better results, that’s great.
I feel front squats way more in my quads and less on my hamstrings . I also have no lower back pain when i squat . IMO the only bad thing about it is the bar being so close to your neck… it’s really annoying when your going to failure and taking deep breathes.
if you find the clean grip annoying you could use straps.I do it with my hands accross the bar.
I love back squats personally, with a narrow stance. I never see anyone doing sissy squats, but I feel there awesome for leg development. Front squats burn my back. Still having issues with technique I guess.
Front squats stress the UPPER back much more, where back squats seem to stress the low back, to me at least.
I have always thought that if you are not a competitive powerlifter, and put your time in with barbell pulling (deadlifts, cleans, etc.) the front squat is a superior leg strength/size exercise.
[quote]Anus Bleach wrote:
I do both because I can[/quote]
Many people who don’t do front squats don’t do them because they can’t. There aren’t many people who learn to do front squats then deem them redundant.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Front and back squatting isn’t mutually exclusive.[/quote]
I agree, it does seem though that many people find one or the other is significantly more effective than the other.[/quote]
Depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to build your posterior chain and maybe add overall mass back squat. If you want to do something to focus on building quads, front core stability, est, front squat. If you want both, there is no reason not to do both.
