Squat help!

[JayP40]

WHen i do squats my hams and glutes get sore but my quads never seem to get real sore. I keep the bar high and go to parallel but i just cant seem to burn out my quads.

Should you lock out at the top or just keep a continual motion?

[l2elapse]

flex your quads real hart at the top

[pelly789]

no you should not lock out its bad for the knees

[Evil Predator]

Dont lock out...

Hell, i know a guy with MASSIVE legs, who squats, slow and controlled, stops at 3/4 up, holds for three seconds, back down... does all his squats like this. Swears by it actually.

[FullMoonHowlingWolf]

Make sure your form is correct, as this could be a reason why you are getting sore only in your hams and glutes. Also, listen to what the guys suggest with flexing your quads and make sure you don't lockout. Let us know if this makes a difference.

[chest6]

How wide is your stance? Pretty wide im guessing?

[JayP40]

My stance is a lil wider than shoulder width. toes out slightly. I have been locking out at the top. I will try this week without locking out. see if it makes a difference.

i am 6' 5" so this would probably be easier cause i wouldnt have to move the weight as much

should i keep the bar up high or lower on my back?

[chest6]

Keep mine in between where its comfortable. Do you tend to bend at the waist? I have a friend thats your height and he tends to bend over at the waist and his ass & hamstrings are pretty damn big..

[JayP40]

my ass and hams are huge compared to my quads

maybe a lil bend not much

Thanks for all the advice. my next squat workout i will let everyone know how it goes

[chest6]

Try box squats for awhile to see how your form is doing. It will really force you to sit back

[novastepp]

Thanks for all the advice. my next squat workout i will let everyone know how it goes

how many reps are you doing? and when you do squats don't lock out just keep continuous motion the whole time and do them slow (with the downward motion a little slower than the explosion up) this will torch your quads pretty well...

[JayP40]

I usually switch my reps from 6-8 reps one workout then 20 reps the next workout

[*Narkissos*]

Try narrowing your stance.. and breaking parallel.

[chest6]

I might actually start squatting below parallel..Nark I've seen that you have said that is better for you for hypertrophy and when you are training for strength you will squat to parallel...

[*Narkissos*]

I might actually start squatting below parallel..Nark I've seen that you have said that is better for you for hypertrophy and when you are training for strength you will squat to parallel...

Previously i was incorporating the two... Squatting to parallel allows for the use of greater loads.. thus greater overloads.

Below parallel, due it being an increased ROM, activated more muscle imo.. and increases time under tension.

I think both have a valid application.

[JayP40]

my computer crashed, sorry so late with the post, had to wait to go back to work to use their computer.

I didnt lock out this week when i squatted that helped tremendously my quads are torched.

thanks for everyones advice!

nark when you squat do you pyramid or go high reps?

[JayP40]

[B]

Previously i was incorporating the two... Squatting to parallel allows for the use of greater loads.. thus greater overloads.

Below parallel, due it being an increased ROM, activated more muscle imo.. and increases time under tension.

I think both have a valid application.

Is going below parallel hard on your knees?

[novastepp]

[B]


Is going below parallel hard on your knees?

in my experience it is harder on my knees than going parallel.

[ascendant]

my ass and hams are huge compared to my quads

maybe a lil bend not much

Thanks for all the advice. my next squat workout i will let everyone know how it goes

i had the "ass and hams taking over my squat" issue as well cause they were overdeveloped compared to my quads. you need to do more excercises that focus primarily on the quads and reduce glute/ham involvement.

some great excercises for this is front squats and sissy squats. with front squats, you just rest the bar on your front delts, arms crossed over the bar for stabilization, and keep that head facing straight or if anything slightly upward to maximize quad recruitment. look around the web for some pics of the excercise for a better description. you won't be able to handle as much weight as regular squats, but it's not about the weight, it's about what muscles you're targeting.

another great excercise is the sissy squats. with those, i'd just grab a plate, hold it over my chest with one arm, grab a pole with the other, lean back, and squat. takes a while to get the hang of it, but when you do, those kill your quads. you look weird doing them, but they work and you'll feel them working.

oh, another good one is lunges, but you have to watch how far out you lunge. the further out you do, the more of a chance the hams will become involved. you should feel the burn in the quads when doing them the right way. again, just don't lunge outwards very far with the foot.

i can tell you from personal experience that you will never get your quads to catch up to your hams and glutes with squats as your primary excercise. once those hams and glutes are stronger, they'll always take over until the quads are directly trained to catch up. if anything, hit squats after you've really nailed your quads with the other excercises. good luck and let us know how things work out.

[JayP40]

i had the "ass and hams taking over my squat" issue as well cause they were overdeveloped compared to my quads. you need to do more excercises that focus primarily on the quads and reduce glute/ham involvement.

some great excercises for this is front squats and sissy squats. with front squats, you just rest the bar on your front delts, arms crossed over the bar for stabilization, and keep that head facing straight or if anything slightly upward to maximize quad recruitment. look around the web for some pics of the excercise for a better description. you won't be able to handle as much weight as regular squats, but it's not about the weight, it's about what muscles you're targeting.

another great excercise is the sissy squats. with those, i'd just grab a plate, hold it over my chest with one arm, grab a pole with the other, lean back, and squat. takes a while to get the hang of it, but when you do, those kill your quads. you look weird doing them, but they work and you'll feel them working.

oh, another good one is lunges, but you have to watch how far out you lunge. the further out you do, the more of a chance the hams will become involved. you should feel the burn in the quads when doing them the right way. again, just don't lunge outwards very far with the foot.

i can tell you from personal experience that you will never get your quads to catch up to your hams and glutes with squats as your primary excercise. once those hams and glutes are stronger, they'll always take over until the quads are directly trained to catch up. if anything, hit squats after you've really nailed your quads with the other excercises. good luck and let us know how things work out.

Thanx for the info. i will try this next workout and let everyone know how it works.

what is everyone's opinion on high reps or low reps for working your legs?

[ascendant]

Thanx for the info. i will try this next workout and let everyone know how it works.

what is everyone's opinion on high reps or low reps for working your legs?

no problem man, hope it works for you.

as far as high or low reps, you're not going to get a straight answer on that. some people like to go with higher reps cause the leg/calf muscles have more slow-twitch muscle fibers in comparison to the upper body, so they think they can hit those more effectively with lighter weight and more reps.

the reason i don't see a point in training higher reps for this purpose is because slow-twitch muscle responds to aerobic activity (cardio), not just higher reps of anaerobic (weight lifting), so bringing the reps up higher doesn't do much as far as hitting those slow-twitch fibers, and won't be enough stimulus to cause efficient fast-twitch fiber growth.

i've tried both low and high reps for legs and calves throughout my training experimentation, varying from 4 reps all the way up to 20 reps at times. honestly, the only thing i noticed better growth from with higher reps is the calves. experiment yourself and see what works for you.

[novastepp]

WHen i do squats my hams and glutes get sore but my quads never seem to get real sore. I keep the bar high and go to parallel but i just cant seem to burn out my quads.

Should you lock out at the top or just keep a continual motion?

you could also elevate your heels on a board or something. just get them off teh ground a few inches and keep a shoulder width stance, it really blazes your quads. i love doing it.

[spound]

A lot of people tend to set the bar on top of their traps while squatting, but I have found that if I set it lower on my back (right under my traps, it is awkward at first) then it helps me sit back and not lean forward. Try your best not to lean forward on the way up as this will incorporate the hams and glutes more. Look straight up and focus on one points, narrow your stance a little and go below parallel (hams to calves). This should not be hard on your knees as long as you don't bounce at the bottom in the whole. DO slow controlled reps and even get a one count pause while you are deep in the hole at the bottom of the lift and then explode up.

I have also found that hacks really target my quads a lot better than anythign else. I feel that squats are better for overall leg/glute development. If your quads are behing your hams/glutes, you may consider switching to hacks and focusing more on them for a while and see how you respond...go deep on them too though, and do not put your feet too high up on the paltform. RIght in the middle of it is fine.

[spound]

you could also elevate your heels on a board or something. just get them off teh ground a few inches and keep a shoulder width stance, it really blazes your quads. i love doing it.

I do not thinkg this would be a great idea until perfect form has been consistently accomplished on his squats, otherwise it coudl result in injury or further deviation from good form. He did say he was leaning forward a little. If He was going to try this I would suggest starting out doing it on the smith machine to get used to the feel of it.

[novastepp]

I do not thinkg this would be a great idea until perfect form has been consistently accomplished on his squats, otherwise it coudl result in injury or further deviation from good form. He did say he was leaning forward a little. If He was going to try this I would suggest starting out doing it on the smith machine to get used to the feel of it.

i totally agree with you man, form is always critical when attempting any technique. i just wanted to add it in there as a way that really works me quads. but i always tell myself to really open my chest up when i hold the bar because it keeps me balanced and tends to keep me from leaning forward, i also remember to force my neck back into the bar.

[JayP40]

I do not thinkg this would be a great idea until perfect form has been consistently accomplished on his squats, otherwise it coudl result in injury or further deviation from good form. He did say he was leaning forward a little. If He was going to try this I would suggest starting out doing it on the smith machine to get used to the feel of it.

i lean very lil. squats have never been a fav for me b/c i am 6'4" and its a very long range for me. i will try to post a video of me squatting as soon as possible and let everyone critique to see what i am doing wrong

i used to keep the bar low on my back but it hurts my wrists to hold the bar very low. i have been using the manta ray for a few weeks and it seems to be ok it keeps the bar high on your back but it doesnt hurt your spine

[Zanelike]

I agree with spoud! If you are having difficulty feeling squats in your quads that's when you need to put away the ego and drop down the weights and concentrate on feeling the exercise. After you start feeling the exercise where you should be then start to increase the weight.

[spound]

i lean very lil. squats have never been a fav for me b/c i am 6'4" and its a very long range for me. i will try to post a video of me squatting as soon as possible and let everyone critique to see what i am doing wrong

i used to keep the bar low on my back but it hurts my wrists to hold the bar very low. i have been using the manta ray for a few weeks and it seems to be ok it keeps the bar high on your back but it doesnt hurt your spine

If it is hurting your wrist, then just grip the bar very wide right at the ends of tha bar if you have to

[~fuelforfire~]

i never feel em in my quads either, im pretty sure they just workout mostly hams and glutes, sorry if thats been posted in here already

[JayP40]

has anyone else on here used the manta ray?

[IronReload04]

MY legs are shot after a heavy set of 4-8, then a shit heavy 20 rep set, ass to the floor and my legs are nice and toasted and come back bigger and stronger every workout.