athletes- pl squat or oly squat

[t3c]

what do you guys think is better for sports....besides powerlifting

it seems like the oly squat would be more practical?


i was just having a talk about this with my friend...any thoughts

 

[Tweakle]

I've not been an 'athlete' since high school but I think they're both useful, high bar to build the quads and low bar for back/glutes/hams.

You ever read about how Ben Johnson used to do easy reps with 600lbs in the full squat? Freaky stuff.

 

[coolcolj]

Full squats IMO. Nothing beats full ROM strength.

People always say oly squats for quads for some reason, this is not the case, the hams and glutes are still very heavily active, just that the balance is more evenly distributed between the quads, hams and glutes.

With a powerlifting hip back style squat, the stress is mostly hams and glutes.

Quads are very important - people always seem to downplay the role of quads, but when you acclerate in a sprint from a standing start, there is a lot of quad activation. Especially when your leaning forward, like from starting blocks.
Quads are your pushing and agilty muscles. Strong quads also play a role in keeping the knee stable in ballistic actions.

Your only as strong as your weakest link

anyway in the weight room, most actions require you to pull a weight toward you so you don't really notice the need for quads, but once you go out and do some sports etc, where you do have to push forwards, then you notice a need for them. You do bend your knees forward in lots of athletic movements

I would use full squats as a core movement, and supplement with variations.

 

[t3c]

solid post ccj...thanks

anyone else have opinions on this?

 

[revexrevex]

WHAT DOES IT MATTER TO YOU? YOU CANT DO 135 IN EITHER

POWER

 

[Cuthbert]

wide box squats and front squat combination

 

[NWinters]

I like what ccj says about quads.....Ths is why I like front squats.

 

[edgecrusher]

DO both, as CCJ said Oly squats are great for development. However, you do recieve a different benefit from box squatting and handling higher amounts of weight. Periodization is the key, use both and keep your progress rolling.

 

[SlavikHavik]

Id like to say i know, but really im no authority, that and im really distracted by that house of pain banner right now.

However... from my own personal expierience somewhere between the two has been best. I dont go too wide, narrower than shoulder width, i sit back like a pl squat, however there is a bit of forward movement with my knee, albeit not much.
and as a result of preforming these and working wtih WSB to bring up this squat # my vertical has increased tremedously over the last 3 months. even though ive gained another 10lbs.
Ive had quite a few comments from the guys i practice with comment on how huge my vertical is.

Maybe ill try the Oly squats after my PL meet (something im still deciding on).

Id like to put in some real quadricep work, but im not sure how to do it. Leg extensions dont cut it for me, and i havent found the quad equivilent of a GHR yet... but when i do, itll be in with the rest of the stuff.

ALSO: i used a wide wide stance true PL style squat when i first started lifting... and my vertical didnt go anywhere

so this tells you something.

now does anyone know where i can find more picks of the HOP girls?

 

[kiloamp]

ALSO: i used a wide wide stance true PL style squat when i first started lifting... and my vertical didnt go anywhere

I found the same thing when I was doing powerlifting style squats. My vertical and 40 yard dash time didn't go anywhere for the three years I did them. It was stuck at 28" vertical with a 4.9 second 40. I switched to Olympic lifting and 5 years later at a training camp, my vertical had increased to 35" and 40 went down to 4.6 sec.

I'd say the most important thing for an athete doing squats, more so than style, is accelerating. I had a coach tell me once "it isn't how fast you're moving the bar that matters (talking squating), it's how fast you're trying to lift it." It took me a while to understand what he meant by that statement but I do better understand now that it is as much CNS adaptation as it is muscle hypertrophy. Those clips that CCJ posted showing Botev and Krapati (he's the guy that accelerates so hard with 484 Lbs out of a backsquat that it goes over his head) I think show the ideal way for an athlete to be squating. Shoulder width or slightly wider stance, bar high on shoulders, close hand spacing, arched tight back, head up, down slow, up fast. Since the question was an either or I'd go with the Olympic style squat and use goodmornings and/or GHR to get the additional glut and ham work that a powerlifting style squat would provide. Of course, everything depends on the lifter and how they are training though. Just my opinion.