The Front Squat

As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the
heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall
exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat
loss).  This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more
muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing
exercises known to man.  Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest
hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all
exercises. 

In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion
of squats into a training program increases upper body development, in
addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific
joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal
is gaining muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and
functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and
deadlift (and their variations) are the ultimate solution. 

If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for
a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other
overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio
equipment. 

Squats can be done with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, or even
just body weight. Squats should only be done with free weights – NEVER
with a Smith machine! My ebook, The Truth About Six Pack Abs contains the full story on why machines are so inferior and even potentially DANGEROUS compared to free weights.

The type of squat that people are most familiar with is the barbell
back squat where the bar is resting on the trapezius muscles of the
upper back.  Many professional strength coaches believe that front
squats (where the bar rests on the shoulders in front of the head) and
overhead squats (where the bar is locked out in a snatch grip overhead
throughout the squat) are more functional to athletic performance than
back squats with less risk of lower back injury. 

I feel that a combination of all three (not necessarily during the
same phase of your workouts) will yield the best results for overall
muscular development, body fat loss, and athletic performance.  Front
squats are moderately more difficult than back squats, while overhead
squats are considerably more difficult than either back squats or front
squats. I’ll cover overhead squats in a future newsletter issue.

If you are only accustomed to performing back squats, it will take
you a few sessions to become comfortable with front squats, so start
out light. After a couple sessions of practice, you will start to feel
the groove and be able to increase the poundage.

To perform front squats:

The front squat recruits the abdominals to a much higher degree for
stability due to the more upright position compared with back squats.
It is mostly a lower body exercise, but is great for functionally
incorporating core strength and stability into the squatting movement.
It can also be slightly difficult to learn how to properly rest the bar
on your shoulders. There are two ways to rest the bar on the front of
the shoulders.

In the first method, you step under the bar and cross your forearms
into an “X” position while resting the bar on the dimple that is
created by the shoulder muscle near the bone, keeping your elbows up
high so that your arms are parallel to the ground. You then hold the
bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists against the bar
for support. 

Alternatively, you can hold the bar by placing your palms face up
and the bar resting on your fingers against your shoulders. For both
methods, your elbows must stay up high to prevent the weight from
falling. Your upper arms should stay parallel to the ground throughout
the squat. Find out which bar support method is more comfortable for
you.

Then, initiate the squat from your hips by sitting back and down
keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet.
Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel
to the ground, then press back up to the starting position. Keeping
your weight more towards your heels is the key factor in squatting to
protect your knees from injury and develop strong injury resistant knee
joints.

Keep in mind – squats done correctly actually strengthen the knees;
squats done incorrectly can damage the knees. Practice first with an
un-weighted bar or a relatively light weight to learn the movement. 
Most people are surprised how hard this exercise works your abs once
you learn the correct form.

START/FINISH

MIDPOINT

For complete descriptions of over 50 of the most effective full body
exercises for stripping away body fat while developing a rock-hard
body, download my e-book

The Truth About Six Pack Abs