There is no exercise better than the squat!

[MrNate]

So many benefits, so many body parts worked in so little time. So efficient.

 

Nice, effective GH stimulation for muscular development.

 

 

Just had to throw this out there.

[Shakz]

Squats are good but if you have had lower back or knee trouble be very careful. Heavy squats can be very dangerous if improperly executed and always, always, use a lower back support regardless of the weight.

[MrNate]

Squats are good but if you have had lower back or knee trouble be very careful. Heavy squats can be very dangerous if improperly executed and always, always, use a lower back support regardless of the weight.

 

I'm a powerlifter, so I'm all over heavy things, back support and squats. But that advice is definitely good for any beginner getting into them.

Edited September 13, 2010 by MrNate

[USMCHokie]

Nice, effective GH stimulation for muscular development.

 

And not to mention, shapely glutes!

 

No homo.

 

 

Squats are good but if you have had lower back or knee trouble be very careful. Heavy squats can be very dangerous if improperly executed and always, always, use a lower back support regardless of the weight.

 

Eh...I personally tend to disagree with this statement here...but to each his or her own...I don't use belts or straps or any of that nonsense...I prefer balanced muscular development...

[Shakz]

Eh...I personally tend to disagree with this statement here...but to each his or her own...I don't use belts or straps or any of that nonsense...I prefer balanced muscular development...

 

Well, indeed to each there own. Just be careful. I'd hate to see you injured for the sake of balanced muscular development.

[USMCHokie]

Well, indeed to each there own. Just be careful. I'd hate to see you injured for the sake of balanced muscular development.

 

Of course. I never lift more than my entire body can safely handle...

[Shakz]

Of course. I never lift more than my entire body can safely handle...

 

I wish everyone had your common sense. Still, I would insist on a weight belt for squats. There is nothing more frustrating to me than to see a group of young men encouraging each other to lift more weight than they can safely handle and attempting to do so with improper technique. I've thrown people out for less. My insurance rate is high enough, thank you.

[tman666]

A weight belt and some knee sleeves probably aren't going to hold anyone's muscular development back too much...

 

I use knee sleeves and a belt when when I squat. The knee sleeves help keep everything warm and thus feeling most excellent. They don't add support like a wrap. A belt doesn't work unless it's used properly. You've got to push your gut out against the belt, otherwise it's not doing anything for you. When used this way, it tightens up your support muscles in your back and helps ensure more stability.

 

There's plenty of bodybuilders that use gear to squat, deadlift and bench as well. It's just a tool in one's toolbox. It's not supposed to be a crutch.

[Enema]

I'm with Chokie in that I try never to use support aids.

 

Same with running, I run a lot and it saddens me to see people running with knee supports and other straps.

 

Your body tends to rely on them after a while because they do the supporting work instead of developing and adapting as you normally would without them.

[Shakz]

I'm with Chokie in that I try never to use support aids.

 

Same with running, I run a lot and it saddens me to see people running with knee supports and other straps.

 

Your body tends to rely on them after a while because they do the supporting work instead of developing and adapting as you normally would without them.

 

Enjoy you're physical therapy sessions, and your visits to the chiropractor. Look, heavy squats is not what your body was designed to do. It puts enormous stress on your knees and lower back, even when done correctly. The point of doing squats is to develope your muscles beyond what would result from ordinary physical exertion. It would be foolhardy to lift without supports, and, no, they do not give so much support that the lift is dependent upon them. They are merely aids in the prevention of injury, because no one does a perfect exercise every time. Same holds true for running. Running puts tremendous stress on the leg joints, specifically, the knee. If you've never had a knee injury, then by all means run without support. 99% of the people you see running with knee support, have suffered some kind of knee injury.

[Enema]

99% of the people I see running with knee support claim they simply have "sore legs" and use support so they don't get injured.

 

That kind of ignorance is typical for beginners who aren't aware that running is good for your joints over the long term if you're not significantly overweight.

 

I talk to a lot of people about it as I'm part of a running club that has a lot of newbies float through. The most common misconceptions are that running is bad for your knees and that you need shoes with lots of cushioning.

 

Bottom line is that when you force your body to do repeated exercises outside of the norm, be it running or squats - it adapts and changes to handle the new pressure - be it changes in muscles or bones/joints.

[Shakz]

99% of the people I see running with knee support claim they simply have "sore legs" and use support so they don't get injured.

 

That kind of ignorance is typical for beginners who aren't aware that running is good for your joints over the long term if you're not significantly overweight.

 

I talk to a lot of people about it as I'm part of a running club that has a lot of newbies float through. The most common misconceptions are that running is bad for your knees and that you need shoes with lots of cushioning.

 

Bottom line is that when you force your body to do repeated exercises outside of the norm, be it running or squats - it adapts and changes to handle the new pressure - be it changes in muscles or bones/joints.

 

Tell it to Allen Webb.

[tman666]

Here's what Joe Defranco thinks, if anyone cares:

 

"I was never a big fan of weight belts for non-powerlifting athletes before this year. This is because I feel that strength-training WITHOUT a weight belt is probably the best abdominal "exercise" that an athlete can do. Well, I STILL feel the same way, but I finally realized that wearing a belt for 1 or 2 heavy sets of squats or deadlifts will NOT take away from abdominal strength gains; In fact, it's quite the contrary!

 

Learning how to properly use your belt will make your abs stronger, as well as drastically reduce your chances of injuring your low-back during heavy squats & deads. The key is learning how to PROPERLY use the belt. You must learn to fill your stomach with a ton of air while pushing your abs OUT, expanding them against your belt. (Do NOT pull your belly button inward!)

 

The cue that I use with my athletes is to inhale and make yourself fat before descending into the squat. (You are acting as if you're trying to break your belt with your stomach.) Then, you want to hold your air during the entire rep. (Exhale slightly only if you have to.) This technique will not only stabilize your spine by increasing the intra-abdominal pressure, it'll enable you to lift more weight! (I had 4 different kids PR last week in the box squat after learning how to use a belt for the first time!)

 

In order to properly perform this technique, you want to use a power belt that is as thick in the front as it is in the back. This enables you to push your abs into the belt better."

[Shakz]

Here's what Joe Defranco thinks, if anyone cares:

 

"I was never a big fan of weight belts for non-powerlifting athletes before this year. This is because I feel that strength-training WITHOUT a weight belt is probably the best abdominal "exercise" that an athlete can do. Well, I STILL feel the same way, but I finally realized that wearing a belt for 1 or 2 heavy sets of squats or deadlifts will NOT take away from abdominal strength gains; In fact, it's quite the contrary!

 

Learning how to properly use your belt will make your abs stronger, as well as drastically reduce your chances of injuring your low-back during heavy squats & deads. The key is learning how to PROPERLY use the belt. You must learn to fill your stomach with a ton of air while pushing your abs OUT, expanding them against your belt. (Do NOT pull your belly button inward!)

 

The cue that I use with my athletes is to inhale and make yourself fat before descending into the squat. (You are acting as if you're trying to break your belt with your stomach.) Then, you want to hold your air during the entire rep. (Exhale slightly only if you have to.) This technique will not only stabilize your spine by increasing the intra-abdominal pressure, it'll enable you to lift more weight! (I had 4 different kids PR last week in the box squat after learning how to use a belt for the first time!)

 

In order to properly perform this technique, you want to use a power belt that is as thick in the front as it is in the back. This enables you to push your abs into the belt better."

 

That's interesting: actually using the belt to help control breath technique. I've done this unconsciously before, but I doubt it will allow you to lift more weight, despite his testimonial. All it will likely do is help you to lift cleanly what your muscles will allow you to lift. The idea that it stabilizes the spine is accurate, but that is the purpose of the belt. Whether it increases "inter-abdominal pressure" or not is conjecture.

[tman666]

Whether it increases "inter-abdominal pressure" or not is conjecture.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure how they'd test this... All I know is DeFranco is legit. Bro-science or not, the guy knows what he's doing as a coach.

[Trojan John]

I'm with the "wear supports" crowd. I injured myself several years ago (78kg me vs. 230kg rack) and it probably would have been much worse had I not been wearing anything. I still train heavily, but I do so much more safely.

[johan]

I like squats. I've stopped with the heavy weights though. Now I'm the guy lifting little weights. I'm not after bulk or the power required to lift a truck. My theory: I just try to simulate what the muscles would experience if you were doing hard labor: most hard jobs require you to do something like lift 60 to 80 lbs lots of times. And you'll get strong as hell doing that. There aren't many jobs that require you to lift 300lbs three or four times and then just go home.

 

So I do less weight, but about half speed, lots of reps and sets and also no breaks in between (I try to continually go back and forth between two different exercises). My muscles burn as much as ever or more, but I'm working a bit more on muscle endurance. And I don't worry as much about injury or sacrificing my technique.

[phineas]

And not to mention, shapely glutes!

 

No homo.

 

 

 

 

Eh...I personally tend to disagree with this statement here...but to each his or her own...I don't use belts or straps or any of that nonsense...I prefer balanced muscular development...

 

I work out at home & don't have a power rack. yet. (my dad has an old steel fram from a boat trailor i'm going to cut up & weld into a simple squat rack)

 

So I start with lunges & move onto extensions & leg curls & when my legs are fried I do dumbell squats with 50lb db's at the end of my leg workout.

 

I'm not a power lifter & while I know lifting heavy burns more fat & helps retain muscle on a cut my legs & glutes just blow right up which is no good when you still have stubborn fat in that area.

 

So I don't use straps or lifting aids.

[MrNate]

Meh, it's just a different philosophy in training styles I guess.

 

I lift heavy, and I use my belt to keep my back straight, and protect me from injuries. I can firmly say I haven't missed a single pound in gains from using it. Instead, I'm able to get the most out of my body and challenge it as much as possible, which is what I want.

 

No unbalanced muscle development either. It's kind of hard to do considering squats work virtually the whole body.

[gypsy_nicky]

So many benefits, so many body parts worked in so little time. So efficient.

 

Nice, effective GH stimulation for muscular development.

 

 

Just had to throw this out there.

 

there's the deadlift, and the powerclean.

[gypsy_nicky]

I like squats. I've stopped with the heavy weights though. Now I'm the guy lifting little weights. I'm not after bulk or the power required to lift a truck. My theory: I just try to simulate what the muscles would experience if you were doing hard labor: most hard jobs require you to do something like lift 60 to 80 lbs lots of times. And you'll get strong as hell doing that. There aren't many jobs that require you to lift 300lbs three or four times and then just go home.

 

So I do less weight, but about half speed, lots of reps and sets and also no breaks in between (I try to continually go back and forth between two different exercises). My muscles burn as much as ever or more, but I'm working a bit more on muscle endurance. And I don't worry as much about injury or sacrificing my technique.

 

I agree, unless your a powerlifter or an olympic weightlifter (still the squat when used by o'lifters is debatable).

 

I stopped squatting because it thickens the waistline, especially the obliques.

[tman666]

(still the squat when used by o'lifters is debatable).

 

 

What do you mean by this statement?

[gypsy_nicky]

What do you mean by this statement?

 

there's a diminishing return when squats are used in o'lifting. You don't need a 300kg squat in order to snatch 180kg or C&J 210kg. You just need the adequate leg strength to get you through the pulling phases and also because the movement of the squat is very different from the 2 lifts and speed strength (power) is required not maximal strength.

 

If I could remember correctly Taner Sagir could squat ungodly amounts of weight but only squats the heaviest weights he uses on the 2 lifts or 10% more.

[tman666]

there's a diminishing return when squats are used in o'lifting. You don't need a 300kg squat in order to snatch 180kg or C&J 210kg. You just need the adequate leg strength to get you through the pulling phases and also because the movement of the squat is very different from the 2 lifts and speed strength (power) is required not maximal strength.

 

If I could remember correctly Taner Sagir could squat ungodly amounts of weight but only squats the heaviest weights he uses on the 2 lifts or 10% more.

 

I agree with you that you don't need a 300 kg squat for a 180 kg snatch, but it definitely wouldn't hurt. Divorcing power specific training and strength specific training is counterproductive for building both power and strength.

[tman666]

As an antidote to the supports vs. no supports debate, I'm currently working in a town far away from home, and thus I am training in a different gym. It's not quite the caliber of facility that I train at at home, but it does the job. Anyway, they do not have lifting belts available and I don't own one. Therefore, squat day on last Friday was done sans belt.

 

Maybe I just had an exceptionally good day, but I was able to squat just as much weight for a rep PR without the belt as I was with. However, I did notice that my obliques were much more sore than if I use a belt. To me, this indicates (unscientifically, of course) that not using a belt will have a superior training effect, given that the weight being used is held constant. I can also see, however, how using a belt properly can possibly help prevent injury to the abdominal wall.