Monday, May 2, 2011

front squat=regular squat

I don't like to call it a front squat because to me it's a regular squat. When we catch a clean the bar is in the front. This is the fundamental squat position for the clean. There is no need to call it a front squat and distinguish it from the back squat. There is the regular squat, aka front squat, and there is the back squat. Never in the sport of weightlifting do you pull a clean and then duck your head under the bar and receive the weight on your back. The back squat is a movement done in the sport of Powerlifting. Now, I'm all for any strength sport. I mean, we're all trying to get strong. I'm not bashing the back squat. There may even come a time when I focus more on it than the regular squat, but as far as I'm concerned the regular squat is the supreme squatting activity for the sport of weightlifting. There are two, possibly three squats in weightlifting. The overhead squat in the snatch, the front squat in the clean, and perhaps another overhead squat if you squat jerk. I know a hell of a lot of lifters have gotten ridiculously strong by back squatting but I just don't see the points when such a position with the bar on the back is never achieved in this sport. Sometimes you just have to believe to achieve and I believe in the regular squat more than the back squat. I did 175kg(385lb) in the squat today, of course it was what I call a regular squat. I'm going to do 182kg(400lb) this spring, that's a goal and I'm ready for it. This goal of a big squat goes against my previous outlook on squatting and not doing much over clean and jerk weights but I'm gonna roll with it and see what happens. Obviously I have that bull strength to squat the bigger weights well over my clean and jerk. I'm going to tap into this bull strength and use it for all it's worth. Below is my easy 175 squat from today, it was a personal record. It's amazing how often I can front squat heavy. Friday I did 170, Saturday I did 172, and now on Monday 175. Of course these squat workouts have absolutely no volume at all. For instance, my squat workout today was after snatches and clean and jerks doing 100,130,150,160,170,175, all for singles. It's different this style of training with maximum intensity and minimum volume. You absolutely have to keep the intensity high or you risk under training. You have to go to maximum every time. The second you back off or take it easy, you kill the adaption process. What you want to do is stay in the fight or flight zone where your body and mind expect heavy weights every training session. If you go light, you die. I'd compare it to the Movie Crank, where the guy can't stop moving or he dies. You have to get fundamentally addicted to lifting maximum weights.

3 comments:

  1. Be careful with that Bulgarian mindset. I'm no historian, but I cant think of any long-time top American that implemented it. There's a reason Abadjiev left the US.

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  2. I'm not Bulgarian and I'm not coached by Abadjiev.

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  3. Also I believe Abadjiev is still in the US and there are US lifters that have used it successfully, well successfully by US standards anyway.

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