No Nonsense Drug Free Muscle Building,Strength Training, And Fat Loss Blog.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Are you squatting or building your legs?
I think these pants shrunk
Deep Squats are Still the Best Glute Builder
In my last post I talked about the hip hinge and how important it is to working the glutes and posterior chain. Your legs also have muscles on the front of them and nobody has shapely and strong legs without nicely develops quadriceps. One of the best exercises for developing full,strong quads has always been and remains the squat and its variations. The squat has received some bashing over the years for everything from injuring knees and lower backs to building more than ample gluteus maximus also know as "large ass syndrome" Personally I think people avoid the squat more because it is a lot of hard work than these other two reasons but that is just my opinion. In the following video I will briefly discuss and demonstrate how to turn the squat into a quad builder and not a back breaking exercise is glute building.
Now what do you think about the heels coming up a bit? My heels don't come up much, and maybe over time working on that ankle flexion will help stop this, but I can really feel it in the quads if I'm not trying too hard to keep those heels down. I've even started putting a small plate under the heels for regular squats.
This is a big difference from what so many of us do by "sitting back into the pocket."
Just starting to poke through your stuff, and really liking it! :)
If ankle flexibility is a bit limited then elevating the heel slightly is fine. There is a reason why weightlifting shoes have a slightly elevated heel. It is a good idea to improve this flexibility as much as possible though as limited dorsiflexion of the ankle can lead to knee and other problems down the road.
Hey Kevin. This is awesome advice.
ReplyDeleteNow what do you think about the heels coming up a bit? My heels don't come up much, and maybe over time working on that ankle flexion will help stop this, but I can really feel it in the quads if I'm not trying too hard to keep those heels down. I've even started putting a small plate under the heels for regular squats.
This is a big difference from what so many of us do by "sitting back into the pocket."
Just starting to poke through your stuff, and really liking it! :)
If ankle flexibility is a bit limited then elevating the heel slightly is fine. There is a reason why weightlifting shoes have a slightly elevated heel. It is a good idea to improve this flexibility as much as possible though as limited dorsiflexion of the ankle can lead to knee and other problems down the road.
ReplyDelete