Squats, Squatters and More Squatting (Part 3)
Now the Doc Squat is about power and the use of all possible aid like lifting suits,thick belt, knee wraps, much more sophisticated style, by spreading feet past shoulder width. After that the bar is carried as far down the back as your P.L. rules allow you to, (below the delts) with a lot of forward leaning so that the glutes and spinal erectors (low back) can share the weight with the thighs. In the sport of powerlifting this actual lift is given as completed once the top of the thighs hit parallel.
It makes quite a big difference using the P.L. technique as your lifts can be increased by an incredible 20% in weight, that is if with compare this to more upright and deeper squat techniques that are used in bodybuilding. I am a great listener when it comes to what Fred Hatfield has to say about lifting, and he encourages the use of padded towel in order to reduce your neck suffering from the bar that is across the vertebral column. He also repeats on a regular basis that you should never relax while in the low position, cause this will no doubt damage your knees.
Someone who doesn’t have a genetic advantage is the great Arnold and would you believe that he too fell into the trap of only training his upper body. Once he had rectified that mistake by really training hard on legs he began to see the most incredible results. He actually managed to train just squats for an amazing 3 hours and up to 50 sets, and the standard squat producing the best results. Arnold just like the rest of us has had to learn the difficult way, and he also advices lifters not to bounce when in the low squat position and also try and use simple controlled movements.
I don’t like to guess on who is the strongest or best recognised bodybuilder as far as leg development is concerned, but I would put my money on Tom Platz. He began to bodybuild at the age of just 14 and recalls that his first set of squats were 10 reps with a load of 9Olbs/4Okg and he then turned to powerlifting at the age of 19. His initial training routines were really tough and his main exercise was squats. Amazingly enough he could lift 25Olbs/II3.3k and was able to squat for IO minutes and working up to I5O reps, by resting and then repeating.
During Mr Olympia in 1982, he managed to achieve 2O reps with 5I5lbs/233.5k and 8 reps with 635lbs/288k at just 22Olbs/99.7k bodyweight, and all that without knee wraps. I have always admired Platz’s strict controlled form and not a lot has changed since. It’s goes without saying that all champs use squats and that Ronnie Coleman has got the most incredible legs.
If ever you see Flex Wheeler, Chris Cormier or Kevin Levrone do a front ab and thighs, you will notice just how hard they have trained and just by seeing them. A variety of squats is so important for an up and coming champ and never forget to take extreme care or use your common sense. The other things to avoid are over training, using bad form and going over the top with your weights.
What we are really trying to achieve with this type of exercise is to make the muscles work really hard, so the amount of weight used is not the important factor. We need to get it into our heads that this is not a power lifting exercise, but a development exercise so make sure you do lighter, high reps squats. You probably just hate squats just like the majority of bodybuilders, but try a few sessions and you will soon see what it can do for your muscle development.
Filed under: Training