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When you guys squat do you do it with more of a force? like a fast rep..going down quick then thrusting upward with force. or do the the whole rep at a moderate up and down pace?
I've done both, and find that it gives me a much more severe burn in my quads when i do them faster.
IMO, Do them slow and controlled so you don't screw up your knees or back. If you're doing them fast you're using momentum to get the weight up and down.
Using momentum when doing heavy squats in a full ROM (below parallel) would have to be in a ballistic-type manner (ie: box squats) which has it's own sport-specific advantages but perhaps injury is greater achieved via the stress on the hip flexors. A good rule of thumb otherwise is to pause at the very bottom of the moment between the eccentric and concentric portion of the lift. Your average trainee is more concerned with safety, recruiting maximum motor units, and more efficient time under tension.
the ONLY time i have a fast squat motion is when im doing quarter squats, usually takes place when im about to begin a season of track...
I do them slow, to worried about losing the weights or getting hurt.
normal squats should always be done in a controlled manner. It is ok to use compensatory acceleration ( in fact this is the best way), but if you want to do jump squats, you need to go lighter to get your feet off the ground. if you want to do bax sqauts or depth jumps then go do those. but going insane in a power rack is asking for trouble
I wasnt talking about jump squats. just normal squats, not necessarily bouncing up and down when you do them, just using more momentum.
I have a belief that whenever you focus on the negative portion of the rep you develop better muscle control. Maybe not the right description, but it helps me with hardness and how long I can pose. On squats I always go slow on the way down and pause at the bottom. I go really, really low, tho, so bouncing to me would be extremely dangerous. Since I am a bodybuilder and not a powerlifter and not in sports, I have never tried ballistic sets.