A closer look at back squats, box squats and front squats
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT 3KRWRE\%UXFH.OHPHQV Which Squat Variation Is Best for Your Program?
Antonio Krastev of Bulgaria snatched 476 pounds in 1987, a record that has yet to be broken. Although it seems that Krastev is squatting high, this is deceiving because his legs are so large. However, you’ll note that his hamstrings are below parallel, so this is a great squat by BFS standards.
A closer look at back squats, box squats and front squats ver since Dr. Greg Shepard founded BFS in 1976, he has been promoting the squat as the foundation of any athletic fitness program. Coach Shepard’s efforts have succeeded in debunking the myths promoted by misinformed sport coaches and medical professionals who insisted that squats damage the knees, stunt growth and make athletes slow. Now in his 70s, Coach Shepard can enjoy his retirement knowing he helped create a paradigm shift in how athletes should train to achieve physical superiority.
ECoach Shepard’s opinion, which is well supported empirically and in research, is that no other single exercise works as many major muscle groups as effectively as the squat and no other exercise is as effective in preventing knee injuries. He also believes that the parallel squat builds the foundation for great speed, regardless of the size of the athlete. In fact, Coach Shepard believes that if the only lift athletes did was the parallel squat, they would have a good weight training program – not great, but good.
Conversely, if athletes leave out the squats, they may not be able to fulfill their athletic potential, especially in sports that have a high strength component, such as football or wrestling. Having made our case, let’s take a closer look at some squat variations that are especially valuable for athletes.
Parallel Back Squat and Full Squat The guiding principle in squatting is that it’s necessary to lower yourself to a point at which the tops of your upper thighs are at least horizontal to the floor so that you strongly activate MARCH/APRIL 2013 back will round. Rounding places the weight training community as a your hamstrings and gluteal muscles. extreme stress on the lower vertebrae whole, coaches tend to either love the If you don’t squat low enough, you of the back (L3, L4 and L5). Unless an box squat or hate it.
only activate the quadriceps (front We believe the box squat is thigh muscles); the insufficient muscle athlete has exceptional flexibility and unparalleled for overcoming plateaus, recruitment will not improve knee sta- one-on-one coaching from a qualified Olympic lifting coach, it would be bet- building hip strength and hip tendon bility and may even decrease knee stater to just squat parallel. strength, improving lower body explobility by creating muscle imbalances. What about the hyper-wide stance siveness, and developing the confiPeer-reviewed research suggests used by many powerlifters?
This style dence to handle heavier weights and that squatting to parallel (compared of stance reduces the forward movethereby continuously break personal to squatting above parallel) does not ment of the knees and minimizes the records. One of the reasons an athlete increase the stress on the patellofemoinvolvement of the quadriceps, but can use more weight in the box squat ral joint. Finally, squatting to parallel compared to a regular squat is is necessary to allow for a natural that touching the box dissipates movement of the sacroiliac (SI) the kinetic energy created durjoint.
Improper function of the ing the descent, energy that the SI joint is associated with many athlete must normally overtypes of lower back pain. come to change directions and At BFS, we offer a simple begin the accent. But one of the test to help athletes and coaches main reasons we like the exerdetermine the proper depth for cise is it is useful for helping to squats. It’s called the marble maintain strength in-season. test.
If an athlete were to place Although you use more an imaginary marble (or dowel) weight in a box squat than in on the top of the thighs (in the a regular squat, the reduced middle) during their deepest The box squat is an extremely valuable exercise but squat position, which way would should only be performed if well-trained, alert spotters range of motion of the box are available. squat allows you to recover the marble roll? If the marble quickly from the exercise. Just would roll towards the knees, the it is not the athletic stance that BFS how quickly? Based upon the feedback athlete is not squatting low enough.
believes has the best carryover to athof coaches who have won countless If the marble would stay stationary or letics. Another way to think about this championships using the BFS proroll towards the lifter’s hips, the depth is to say that powerlifters are trying to gram, an athlete can box squat heavy is fine. What you’ll find by using this lift the heaviest weight possible over the day before an athletic competition standard is that the bottom of the the shortest distance possible, whereas without a decrease in performance. In thighs has to be below parallel at the fact, we’ve found that athletes usually bottom of the squat.
The marble test is at BFS we are trying to lift in such a better than judging the position of the manner as to have the best carryover to perform better! athletics. Regarding claims that the box bottom of the thigh, as athletes with Having made our case that the squat is dangerous, you should have no large legs would be required to squat back squat is the king of all exercises, concerns about safety or liability if you considerably lower. follow our recommendations, which BFS has no objection to an athlete consider that there are many other valuable variations of this exercise include focusing on perfect technique squatting lower than parallel.
All we (rather than on using the heaviest are saying is that an athlete must squat that can help take an athletic training program to the next level. Let’s explore weights possible) and using three to at least parallel to effectively work attentive spotters. Further, if an athlete the glutes and hamstrings. Having said three of them. is able to use more than 100 pounds that, unless an athlete has exceptional in a box squat compared to a parallel flexibility and proper supervision, what Box Squat squat, that athlete needs to use a lower often happens when an athlete squats The box squat is the most controall the way down is that their lower versial lift in the BFS program. Within box.
When an athlete uses more than TRAINING & EQUIPMENT 100 pounds over their best parallel squat, then it is possible they are using a weight that their trunk muscles cannot safely handle to protect their spine. Powerlifters have embraced the box squat as part of their training, but many use an excessively wide foot stance and a technique of sitting back so the shins are parallel to the floor. This is not a natural position, because for the body to move forward, the shins must incline forward. For the sport of powerlifting this technique may have merit, but for an athlete it conflicts with the law of specificity.
This law says that the best exercises for a sport are those that most closely approximate the movements that occur in that specific sport. We want to emphasize that the box squat does not replace the parallel squat. Because of the reduced range of motion in box squats, performing them exclusively would cause chronic tightness in the piriformis, a gluteal muscle. Tightness in this muscle can affect an athlete’s ability to move laterally.
Front Squat Many strength coaches believe that the front squat is a better leg exercise for athletes than the back squat. One reason is that since the barbell is positioned on the front of the shoulders rather than on the back of the shoulders, the quads work harder. At the very least, the front squat should be considered a key auxiliary exercise for any athlete. In fact, in one survey of top European coaches who were asked to name the three best weight training exercises for sports, the consensus was the power snatch, the incline press and the front squat. One drawback to the front squat Nikki Gnozzio, squatting; Brittanie Mastricola, spotting.
Squatting inside a power rack with properly adjusted crossbars is the safest way to squat. Shown here are the front squat and the back squat. The front squat can be performed without a spotter because the weight can be easily dumped forward, but we always recommend at least one spotter for the back squat. is that because holding the weight on the shoulders compresses the chest and makes breathing more labored, it’s difficult to perform higher repetitions in this exercise. Further, holding the bar in this manner can cause pain in the wrists and elbows if you have relatively long forearms or tightness in the wrists or – the primary problem – tightness in the upper back or shoulders.
Possible solutions include working on upper body flexibility, holding the bar on your fingertips (with elbows high), crossing your arms in front of you (which has the disadvantage of being difficult to balance), and tying lifting straps around the bar and holding the ends (see “Pain-Free Front Squats,” published in our Nov/Dec 2006 issue, for details on how to use straps in this manner). When Coach Shepard founded BFS 37 years ago, one of the most controversial aspects of the program was our promotion of the squat. The source of that early bias against squats was misinformation, which we now can resolve with scientific research.
Our original claim was that the parallel squat is one of the best exercises for athletes, and we continue to stand by it 100 percent!
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From BFS Magazine — March/April 2013. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
