Front Squat Question

[Gladiola]

Doing legs tonight & want to try something new - Front Squats.

Back - STRAIGHT or arched (as in the NEUTRAL position of the spine)????

I've read a few things that said back straight.

BUT - I know that the body is best able to handle a stress in NEUTRAL position. I definitely notice much less stress to my lower back when I maintain the arch while squating, relative to letting the arch go so back is flat.

 

[Arioch]

Arch. The more arch, the tighter your muscles, especially the erectors and the hamstrings, which you should be working hard to recruit as they are not as active when compared to a traditional squat, will work to maintain tension in the knee and hip joints.

The fact that you seem to notice far less stress pretty much answers your own question.

 

[Gladiola]

The fact that you seem to notice far less stress pretty much answers your own question.

, OK, good point! But I've never done front squats before so I thought there might be different guidelines.

Do you recommend the 'clean' grip, or the crossed arm grip? (I'm not doing cleans tonight). I'm thinking I might be more comfortable with the clean grip - I do have fairly flexible wrists & forearms.

Soooo - why have multiple sites said to keep back straight? The easy answer is, "they are idiots." Like the Baltimore guy who said OLing is dangerous & not worth the risk. BUT.. there are some reputable sites!

http://www.wsu.edu/athletics/strength/frsquat.htm
This one says, "Back Tight" - doesn't state straight or arched.
http://www.biofitness.com/demo02.html
This says, "Back muscles Contracted" - again, not straight or arched.

http://www.stumptuous.com/badsquat.html
She says "The back is held a bit straighter in this exercise" - don't know who she is, but seems to have something of a clue.
http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html -THIS CHICK IS COOL! I gotta go plat so I can post the drawing on that link!

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/FrontSquat.html
"Back Straight"

http://www.hardcorebodybuilding.com/frontsquat.htm
"Back Straight"

What's a lady to believe? What would I do without you, Arioch?!

 

[Arioch]

It is impossible to keep the back as arched in the front squat as in the squat, as you will dump the bar. Tight is just a general reference. At first, your biggest trouble will be balancing the bar, so by arching, you are maintaining the bar more in line over the base of support (if it feels like it is cutting your head off, it is back far enough). As you get more advanced, this may change. I still arch quite a bit, but then I have a very short torso. Someone with a longer torso, such as Spatterson, will not need to arch to get the same effect.

 

[Gladiola]

Gotcha.

Do you recommend that cross arm grip, or the 'clean' grip?

Thanks

 

[Snappy]

Do you recommend that cross arm grip, or the 'clean' grip?

I've never used the clean grip with front squats - the cross arm seems to work well for me.

 

[magdelana]

I have also never used anything but the crossed over handgrip. Feels much more secure and stable. I might suggest going much lighter on fronts until you feel as comfortable and natural in the move as with traditional squats. Much better to perfect your form and prevent back injury.

 

[The_Monster]

I think there might be a miscommunication here... the arching of the back is almost more of a pushing back of the shoulder/upper back than actually an arching of the lower back.
Im sure that this is what Arioch means, since arching you back in the literal sense would send you over backwards... I just thought Id mention that before we had any Front Squat "Nestea Plunge"s occur

 

[Gladiola]

Hi Monster - thanks. Usually I think of "arching" as simply *maintaing* the natural curve at my lower back.

I went with the crossed arm grip & I racked the bar one peg lower than for regular squats when I loaded the weight. That made it pretty easy to get a hold of it & rest it on my front delts.

MAN it was squashing my shoulders!!! It was close up to my neck & on the meat of my front delts, but it still wasn't comfortable.

I did go VERY light so I could be sure to get comfortable with form. Because I was going to go light, I put them at the end of my leg workout.

I was more aware of my shoulders being squashed than any work my legs were doing! Is that normal?

& I was using less than half my squat weight!

 

[Arioch]

Use the clean grip. There are several reasons for this.

1. If you are going to get into any significant weight, you will be working very hard to stabalize the bar. It is easier to push back against, as well as support, the bar with the majority of your hand as opposed to just your thumbs.

2. You are considering Olympic lifting, or at least including more of it. Guess which grip you need to learn? Start practicing now. Do not go with what is easier at first, go with what is more important to learn.

3. If you need to dump the bar, it is easier with the clean grip. Just drop your elbows. No chance of the bar catching your thumbs, elbows, etc.

4. The clean grip will allow you to maintain more tension in your upper back, which is important not only in that it will stabalize your shoulder girdle, but will also, secondary to the involvement of the rhomboids, help stabalize the spinal column.

5. The clean grip makes it easier to maintain the bar in the properly rack position with relatively minor adjustments in technique. Instead of trying to push the bar into place, you simply elevate your elbows, which allows the bar to seat properly on the anterior deltoids. If the bar touches your clavicles, it is too low.

A good working weight is 80% of your squat. A decent 1RM is 1.65 times bodyweight. And yes, at first you are working harder to stabalize the bar than anything else. This is the skill (neuromuscular conditioning and recruitment) portion of the training, and is far and away the most important.

 

[Gladiola]

OK - tried the clean grip on at least 2 occasions now - indeed, it felt like I was trying to cut off my own head with the bar.

Maybe I AM lacking flexibility in my forearms - although I never thought so. I do my yoga class at least 1X per week.

I could NOT get my elbows as high as my shoulders comfortably. Is it OK if the bar rolls back a bit so it is resting more on my fingers than my palm? I think that would make it much easier - so my wrists could be positioned higher as well.

That bar up there in the clean grip just felt so awkward that I couldn't squat well!

 

[strong island]

I LOVE front squats. And I never see anyone doing them at my gym.

The great benefit of the front squat is that you can keep your upper body more perpendicular to the ground which emphasizes the quads and takes a lot of stress off the lower back.

Bring a towel and wrap it around the bar to help with the discomfort the bar may cause.

 

[Arioch]

OK - tried the clean grip on at least 2 occasions now - indeed, it felt like I was trying to cut off my own head with the bar.

You were doing it right.

Maybe I AM lacking flexibility in my forearms - although I never thought so. I do my yoga class at least 1X per week.

Big difference between general and sport-specific flexibility. Have your training partnet push up on your elbows - within reason - at the end of the last set. Hold for 15 - 20 seconds.

I could NOT get my elbows as high as my shoulders comfortably. Is it OK if the bar rolls back a bit so it is resting more on my fingers than my palm? I think that would make it much easier - so my wrists could be positioned higher as well.

This is fine. It is only supported by the first three fingers of each hand when I front squat. Ideally, you will push back with the palms of your hands. But this level of flexibility will take time to develop. Your arms are reasonably short, so this is to your advantage.

That bar up there in the clean grip just felt so awkward that I couldn't squat well!

This is the hardest part about learning to front squat properly. A certain few people can do it naturally. No one likes them.

Do not put a towel or anything else between you and the bar. This increases the chance of it slipping. Not only that, but if you truly wish to work on cleans, you need to get used to it.

 

[edgecrusher]

Front squats are no doubt, one of my favorite leg exercises. When doing them, I tend to tilt me head up on an angle, this seems to keep my back in a correct position.

Nextly, I always use a clean grip, (partly because i was into olympic lifting for a while.) and also because it just seems very natural. I find when I go heavy with these, I really don't even need to try to balance the bar, it just sits right in the groove of my front delt.