Mens Health

Sep 08

A True Hard-Body Exercise That Really Works

The Front Squat

If you have done any kind of research on fitness training you will realize that
the kind of exercises that really help you burn fat and build muscle are the
ones that stimulate the greatest bodily metabolic and hormonal response. (growth
hormone, testosterone etc.) This is why sit ups and crunches and those silly
late night infomercial ab gadgets don’t work. They simply don’t stimulate the
bodily response needed to cause the body to burn the fat reserves.
There is one exercise in particular that does stimulate bodily change (fat loss
and muscle gain) more than any other and that is the squat.

There have also been numerous studies that show that putting a routine of squats
into your training program also increases upper body development even though
upper body muscle groups are not specifically used. So if you want to increase
muscle mass, lose body fat or just increasing your overall strength and athletic
performance, the basic squat is the ideal solution.

Squats can be done with just your own bodyweight, with barbells or kettlebells.
They should NOT be done with a Smith machine-only free weights. If you do them
on a machine you will not get the full benefit of the exercise and in fact could
be harmful to your body. The full story on why machines are inferior to
freeweights can found here:

http://www.thetruthaboutabs.com

If you are sceptical that squats (and deadlifts) are way more effective than the
monotonous cardio machines that everyone else is blazing away on, then I invite
you to TRY it. Add it to your routine for 30 days and you will SEE and FEEL the
bodily changes in yourself.

The most common squat is the barbell back squat where the barbell is resting on
your upper back. Some trainers believe that front squats with bar rests on your
shoulders in front of your head or overhead squats (here the bar is held
overhead in a snatch grip) are better for athletic performance and strength
training than back squats. Also they may have less risk of lower back injury.

Overhead squats, however, are much more difficult to do than back or front
squats so if you do incorporate these then start out slowly and lightly. After
you build up your strength and familiarity with the routine then you can up the
weight.

How To Do Front Squats:

The tricky part here is learning to rest the bar on your shoulders in a stable
way. One way is to step under the bar and cross your forearms into an "x"
position. Rest the bar on the space created by the shoulder muscle near the bone
and keep your elbows up high so your arms are parallel to the ground. You can
hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists against the bar
to support it.

You can also hold the bar by placing your palms face up and the bar resting on
your fingers against the shoulders. just be sure here as well to keep your
elbows up high and your arms parallel to the ground thru the entire routine.
Experiment to find which is more comfortable for you.

The next step is to start the squat from your hip area by sitting back making sure you keep your
weight on the heels of your feet. When you reach a position where your thighs
are parallel to the ground move back up to the standing position. Remember to
keep the weight on your heels-this helps strengthen your knees and prevent
injury to them.

It’s a good idea to practice with an unweighted bar first until you are sure you have the correct motion and can balance. Then slowly add more weights as you build up your strength and stability. This exercise really works the abs-much more completely than situps or crunches.