Oh man, another post about squats. Cue eye roll.
Well, luckily for you I am not going to talk about squats, for at least another 50, or so words. Because the song Mad World just came on. And I am not talking about the Donnie Darko soundtrack version. Ya it’s the classic Tears For Fears version.
A Few Minutes Later…
Wow, that song always gets me. I have no idea what it means but for a sad song it brings me so much joy. (Sniffle, wipe tear from cheek).
Ok let’s jump right into things. The squat is thought of as a knee/quad dominant exercise. To think of the squat as such is to under value this exercise, for the squat can be so much more for you. It’s not just some quad blasting exercise turning baby quads into Quadzillas,; which it is very good at by the way.
The squat can also be used to strengthen the butt, the core, and to work on mobility.
So what is your goal? Choose the squat that is right for you.
Big Quads
If having quads as big as Alaska* is your goal, then what I consider the conventional squat is your best choice.
The conventional set up is barbell on back, and feet shoulder width apart. The movement will begin at the knees. The knees bend first and then you bend at the waist.
By bending at the knees first you are loading up the quads more then the glutes, putting more emphases of the quads.
*I went with Alaska instead of Texas because area wise Alaska is much bigger then Texas.
Stronger Glutes
If your goal is to have a strong butt then the wide stance squat is a good choice.
The barbell will be placed on the back. Your feet will be about 2 inches outside shoulder width. You will start the squat by sitting back then bending the knees. You want to make sure you keep your chest up and not let it drop forward when sitting back.
The wider stance, and starting the movement with the hips instead of the knees will stretch the muscles that make up the glute. This puts more emphasis on the posterior chain.
Better Mobility
The Overhead Squat is a great mobility exercise. I like to use it periodically to check and make sure I still have good mobility through my shoulders, back, hips, and ankles.
This can be done with a dowel or a barbell. Hold barbell/dowel overhead keeping a neutral spine. Then squat down. Bend the knees and hips simultaneously, similar to the conventional squat.
Stronger Core
Front Squats are my go to if I want to get a great core exercise in while working on my quads.
You will start the exercise off just like the conventional squat. The big difference between the back squat and the front is that the front squat will put more emphasis on the Rectus Abdominals.
A side note: If you don’t like the overhead squat for mobility. Then my other go to, is the deep front squat.
Closing
Each squat variation works a muscle group a little better then the others but every squat will involve the quads, glutes, and core, plus a multitude of other muscles. So don’t think that doing a wide stance squat won’t help get you big quads, it will, but the emphasis on this exercise is the glutes.
The squat can be use to achieve many goals. So choose the exercise that best fits your goals.
XOXO
Josh Williams
