The Student Room Group

OMG not another Rippetoes blog!

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Reply 60
cool
Reply 61
Sounds like a problem more with how you're setting the rack up, than lacking muscle to support it. Describe how you set it up.

If you can do 4x6 chins with a bit of jumping, they will be far superior to lat pulldowns. By a long long long way. Keep doing them instead!

Actually thats a fairly decent looking set of chinups anway. Congrats :smile:
Bebbs
Sounds like a problem more with how you're setting the rack up, than lacking muscle to support it. Describe how you set it up.


Bar is about three inches below where I'd hold it for a front squat. I come into the rack, squat down ever so slightly to pick up the bar, get into position, pick up bar and hold (either cross arms or olympic method - I tried both) and then try and squat.


If you can do 4x6 chins with a bit of jumping, they will be far superior to lat pulldowns. By a long long long way. Keep doing them instead!

Actually thats a fairly decent looking set of chinups anway. Congrats :smile:


You're right, but the lat pulldown is in the cardio area is if I do that I'll get to check out the cardio bunny's bums. :smile:
Reply 63
How does your back angle change during the front squat. It should remain vertical throughout, if its mashing your neck, you might be leaning backwards.



and hahaha on the 2nd point :smile:
Bebbs
How does your back angle change during the front squat. It should remain vertical throughout, if its mashing your neck, you might be leaning backwards.


I'll see next time I do them which will be in front of a mirror. I'm pretty sure I'm keeping vertical, though. However, especially during the cross arm method, I think my arms are angled too high. I'm not too sure about arm angles so I'll have to look into them.
I'd find it impossible not to have a vertical back doing front squats. Just the way the weight rests means one has to maintain that upright posture to stop either choking, or dropping the bar forward onto the arms.
Reply 66
I did a few front squats today just for you mate, I literally had the bar resting on my finger tips, right on my delts, no real force added to keep them in place. Then just closed my knee angle to keep the back vertical.
Maybe I need to just stop being such a pussy and squat. I must also be quite unflexible as that position was quite awkward with me.
Reply 68
Just out of intrest is there much of a difference in the muscles involved with a front squat and a normal squat? Just asking out of intrest as ive never done front squats myself.
Reply 69
Front squats are Quad dominant.

Back squats are p-chain dominant.
Ayrt
Just out of intrest is there much of a difference in the muscles involved with a front squat and a normal squat? Just asking out of intrest as ive never done front squats myself.


As Bebbs said, front squats are mainly quad dominant, whereas back squats are p-chain dominant. Individual biomechanics also play a part on back squats in that some people will get great quad stimulation from them (I do) whereas others won't get such great quad stimulation from them.

I do front squats on deadlift day because deadlifts target the glutes and hamstrings well enough, and the front squats are the icing on the cake as they target quads nicely.
Yeah that's just what I do. If I front squat alone I don't feel I've sufficiently used my p-chain so the DLs are just thrown in there for some healthy ham DOMS in the morning

Ouch
If you've done some heavy front squatting then deadlifts afterwords might be too much. Especially if you deadlift on another day.

I only do/did front squats because;

a) I have no leg press at home. In the original routine it is actually leg presses that are done, but the routine creator (Iron Addict) said front squats can easily be done instead if the trainee is that desperate for another leg exercise after deadlifts

b) I went light on the deadlifts and thought a more quad dominant exercise would be beneficial. Once I go harder on the deadlifts, I will drop the leg press/front squats down to one set, then eventually totally drop them.
Workout D:

Excuses, excuses, excuses ...

Incline bench press: 50kg 3x5 - fairly easy, will easily add weight the next time. Never done these before so maybe started out a little too cautious. One thing I don't like about inclines is that to rack the bar, I have to put it dangerously close to my forehead. On a heavy set that I'm really struggling with, I can see myself missing the pins one day. :frown:

Dumbell bench press: 30kg (2x15) 4x8 - first time doing these. Good weight to start with whilst I improve my form. Will do the 17.5's next time.

And this is where it all started to fall to pieces...

Last night, I got very little sleep, and was up at 6:30am today. I had to train at 1pm today, and I don't like afternoon training. Prefer to have had at least three proper meals before training, and I only got two. Whilst I was OK to begin with, I ran out of steam on the last exercises ...

Standing military press: 42.5kg 1x8, 1x5, 1x5 - missed the last three on the last two sets. Triceps are knackered after two different presses as well. Next time I'll rearrange the exercises so that the dumbell presses come after the military press.

Skull crushers: 20kg 1x10, 1x5 - triceps destroyed and no energy left.

Weighted decline situps: 10kg 1x10 - zzzzzzzzz
Workout A:

In my garage so rather cold...

Squats: 125kg 2x5 - wore a belt this time. Will do 130kg next time in the warmer gym where I have a better warm up. Not sure if I'll keep the belt, though, mid section should be more stable in uni gym.

Pull-throughs: N/A - no equipment to do pull throughs or glute-ham raises so couldn't do them.

Barbell rows: 55kg 4x6 - still quite easy, will do 60kg next time.

Barbell bicep curls: 25kg 1x8, 1x7, 1x8 - not a long enough rest period between set one and two, and after barbell rows. Next time will do 30kg, hopefully.

Ghetto seated calf raises (sit on bench, put plates on knees, put plank of wood under balls of feat, raise legs using calf muscles): 40kg 3x15 - never tried these before but due to lack of equipment had no choice. Was hard to get plates up to knees so I stopped at two plates. Also had to hold onto plates to stop them falling off.

Overall, a mixed workout.
Reply 75
Nice squats man, if your looking for another leg exercise instead of calf raisers (As they seemed to be a bit of a problem from what you posed) id throw in 1 or 2 sets of lunges, thats what i do anyway mainly because i hate doing calf raisers lol
lunges don't really do your calves like calf raises..
Reply 77
aye i know there more of a secondary muscle with lunges but if calf raisers arnt possible it was just a suggestion for a replacment
Ayrt
Nice squats man, if your looking for another leg exercise instead of calf raisers (As they seemed to be a bit of a problem from what you posed) id throw in 1 or 2 sets of lunges, thats what i do anyway mainly because i hate doing calf raisers lol


Lunges aren't really a suitable replacement for calf raises; calf raises are meant to be a calf isolation exercise whereas lunges target quite a few muscles in the legs.
Updating this just before it slips into the second page. :p:

Didn't eat much today unfortunately.

Workout B:

Bench press: 65kg 3x3 - not bad. I'll do 70kg next time when I train at my uni gym and have a bit more carbs in me.

Incline dumbell press: N/A - no dumbells at my home. Not too bothered about missing this as doing this affects my overhead press and I really want to get 42.5 this time.

Standing military press: 45kg 3x8 - said I'd only do 42.5 but I accidentally added 2.5's each side instead of 1.25's. Managed all sets, in my cold garage without a proper warm-up ... that dumbell pressing really is affecting my overhead press. Might swap the order I do them in the future.

Skull crushers: 20kg 3x10 - finally got them all this time; quite easy, might I add.

Decline sit-ups: 10kg 3x10 - will do 15kg next time.

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