olympic vs powerlifting squats

[mbag012]

I just read an olympic vs powerlifting(close stance vs wide stance) squatting article on an OL website so the bias was towards close stance high bar squats being superior for strength gains. the article talked about OL squats being superior for strength and explosive strength. it also said it had better carryover to the PL squat. he also argues that because of the 'pathetic depth and lack of ROM' and the slow speed of the squats, OL squats are superior.

i have also read from other sources(louie simmons) that the wide stance squat will recruit all the muscles that the OL squat will recruit and will also work the posterior chain for an overall superior squat. the PL squat is usually done with max effort day and dynamic effort day so absolute and explosive strength are both trained. louie said that the PL squat will carryover to the OL squat but not the other way around.

i want to get some more opinions on which style of squatting is better for strength development.

 

[Evan Tipps]

I dont know to much about oly/pl styles but I thing squatting with legs closer will make your quads alot bigger. But when I squat heavy I get a wider stance

 

[Buildingup24]

I dont know to much about oly/pl styles but I thing squatting with legs closer will make your quads alot bigger. But when I squat heavy I get a wider stance

This.
Go heavy wide n volume work with closer stance

 

[joeblow12345]

If oly squats are superior then why do most oly lifters have sorry ass squat numbers? I've seen oly lifters hit 400+lb clean and jerks but barely squat 500lbs. Oly squats are good assistance work, but they won't build 1000lb + squatters.


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[buddhabuilder]

Yea, it is only when you go deep, and push out from the bottom, that you get everything working. Close squats limit the number of muscles worked.

 

[mbag012]

800 pound / 363 kg Squat - ATG 100% RAW - YouTube

this guy is probably more of an exception rather than a rule. i dont know what kind of shit this guy is on but 800pounnd OL squat is damn impressive at 19 years old.

im inclined to think that powerlifting squats are superior for strength because they work more muscles and is more efficient biomechanically. thus being able to load more weights and stimulate the CNS more but glen pendanly is saying that PL squat will not carryover to the OL squat which i strongly doubt.

 

[joeblow12345]

800 pound / 363 kg Squat - ATG 100% RAW - YouTube

this guy is probably more of an exception rather than a rule. i dont know what kind of shit this guy is on but 800pounnd OL squat is damn impressive at 19 years old.

im inclined to think that powerlifting squats are superior for strength because they work more muscles and is more efficient biomechanically. thus being able to load more weights and stimulate the CNS more but glen pendanly is saying that PL squat will not carryover to the OL squat which i strongly doubt.

This guy definitely is a freak of nature.
I watched some of his other stuff and he's not the norm. People like him don't come along very often and I'm sure he's going to do some serious damage. It be a shame if he only competed in oly lifting. I'm sure he could be a great strongman and pl as well. But this is one genetically gifted person and doesn't mean that everyone who does oly squats will be able to do this. Pl style squats will enable you to lift more weight over time as more muscle is involved. Not to mention they are safer as well. Using your knees as a trampoline to spring yourself out of the hole is not the safest thing for your tendons and ligaments. Pl squats use the posterior chain to absorb the blow in the hole and reverse the weight back up. I'd rather use my hams, glutes, and hips to hold the weight instead of my knees.


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[Dial_tone]

If oly squats are superior then why do most oly lifters have sorry ass squat numbers? I've seen oly lifters hit 400+lb clean and jerks but barely squat 500lbs. Oly squats are good assistance work, but they won't build 1000lb + squatters.
.

An oly lifter only has to worry about front squatting the weight they want to get overhead. Nobody will ever jerk 1,000lbs so having that much strength is pointless. If they can squat 550 they're better off working on technique.

 

[Headholio]

Powerlifters train for max strength 1 RM. If there was a better squat form for achieving it, that's what powerlifters would be doing.
How you train has to depend on your goals. Training specificity is the thing to keep in mind. You do lifts that match or most closely match the movement you are trying to improve. For example, leg strength for football has to include an explosive component, so an olympic lifter might be a better lineman than power lifter, even with a lower 1RM.
So, what is your goal?

 

[jcmbbfuture]

If the goal is for explosive power and leg development its not even close. Ol is far more superior. I have been on both sides. I started with pl and transitioned to bb. U never see anyone outside of pl doing wide stance squats. for athletic performance or leg development or explosiveness its all ol squats. The only reason more weight can be lifted with a pl stance is because of a decreased rom and it requires much less flexibility. That is also why pl squat power doesn't really translate over to anything else. Ol style is much harder and recruits more muscle fibers if done correctly. They also require much more flexibility which many people do not want to work towards. U might not be able to lift much weight off the start with ol style squatting but the increased leg development and translatable strength and explosiveness will more than make up for it.

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[mbag012]

Ive been training the PL squat up til now because i thought they were superior but after reading a couple articles by oly lifters they make it seem like oly squats are far superior. im going to be training both the oly and PL squats from now but i just want to differentiate which one would be better for overall strength development.

If the goal is for explosive power and leg development its not even close. Ol is far more superior. I have been on both sides. I started with pl and transitioned to bb. U never see anyone outside of pl doing wide stance squats. for athletic performance or leg development or explosiveness its all ol squats. The only reason more weight can be lifted with a pl stance is because of a decreased rom and it requires much less flexibility. That is also why pl squat power doesn't really translate over to anything else. Ol style is much harder and recruits more muscle fibers if done correctly. They also require much more flexibility which many people do not want to work towards. U might not be able to lift much weight off the start with ol style squatting but the increased leg development and translatable strength and explosiveness will more than make up for it.

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im training westside barbell style and ive been taking the dynamic effort workout for squats quite seriously and i can squat so fast the bar gets hard to hold on to so i have to attatch more bands or get more weights on the bar. not to say that all powerlifters are like this but just saying that explosiveness can be trained.

the PL squat recruits the quads, hamstrings, hips and glutes. the oly squat recruits the quads heavily, but recruits hamstrings and glutes less heavily. so from that i dont see how oly squats are better for leg development when the muscles it recruits are less. ive heard that the high bar placement places more stress on the back for oly squats.

PL squats may have less ROM but i am 100% sure that PL squats are stronger because it recruits the strongest muscles in the body.

im not trying to argue with you i just want to know what kind of squats are better.

 

[Headholio]

Good points made by both mbag and future. Part of the problem is that there is no definition of "overall strength". What is best depends on what you want to do. There is nothing inherently better or worse about bar high or low, or stance wide or narrow. They are different exercises that do different things.

Explosiveness can be trained with either style (but not to the extent that a clean or snatch develops explosiveness). I don't agree that PL squats don't translate to any real world type strength. More recruitment of the glutes, hams and back, make the PL squat a better assistance exercise for deadlifts for example, and deadlifts have a lot of real world applications.

 

[Buildingup24]

Personally- I go wide PL style for hams/butt

Front squats for quads

Been working well for leg development

 

[Dial_tone]

im not trying to argue with you i just want to know what kind of squats are better.

better for what? both kinds exist for a reason. They are each better at something.

 

[LoveSnatches]

Is powerlifting stance harder on the knees?

I squatted today for the first time in a few months with a leg wrap and it really helped

 

[training700]

Easier on your knees

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[joeblow12345]

Is powerlifting stance harder on the knees?

I squatted today for the first time in a few months with a leg wrap and it really helped

Pl squat is the best for the knees. The oly squat is hell on the knees. I squat pl style and have been for years and have no knee issues at all. I also don't use knee wraps when I squat.


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[LoveSnatches]

Any photos showing the difference? Youtube doesnt help

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[training700]

Powerlifting squats are wider and use a lot more hips and lower back involvement. Your dropping your hips into the hole then coming up. Olympic squats are mor of a hinge at the knee and use more isolation on the leg. My knees hate olympic. Sure can find lots of pics if google each

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