Squatting Q&A

<I plan on adding the squat once I feel I've done enough lower back work.>

I'm not sure of the reasoning on this one. It's common thinking but I don't think it's correct thinking. I believe nearly everyone can do squats; where people get into trouble with them is in the excitement of adding too much weight. Start with none to strengthen all the muscles of the torso and legs.

Stand up straight right now, feet about shoulder width apart. Lean over and put your hand on your knees, sticking your rear end down and back slightly. Take your hands off your knees and hold them out parallel to the floor at about shoulder level, still in the partial squat created by putting your hands on your knees.

Now, squat down a little bit further with your hands still at shoulder level. Straighten your legs and come back upright. Perfect squat. Most people at this point can repeat the movement without the hand-on-knees part. If you haven't done them before, a single set of 12 done with no weight is a great place to get you going and you'll have a fire burning for squats soon enough. Adding lots of weight (quickly as we have a tendency to do) requires a stronger back, starting a beginning squat programs does not.

Laree

<Do you know the name of the guy who did something like squatted 1000lbs and would give 1000 silver dollars to anyone who came up and squatted the 1000 also? >

That was Paul Anderson. And it was actually 1,200 pounds; the coins were in two Plexiglass boxes on the ends of the bar. After competing in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Paul used his fame to help raise money for the boys' homes he eventually built in Georgia. The way he did it was to perform a strongman act in Las Vegas. The squat challenge remained in place for a while, one that went unmet, and he did the act several times a day! I don't know exactly how long he did this, but he raised the money and opened the homes. He lost his amateur status in the meantime, a terrible blow to American weightlifting. The man had a dream, though, and our loss was great gain for a lot of troubled kids over the years.

Steve W.

<I've read that a top bodybuilder says not to squat because it makes wider hips, thicker waists and bigger butts.>

These kinds of debates -- to squat or not to squat -- are what make bodybuilding an art and not a science.

The performance of the exercise has much to do with the affected muscle groups. If you're targeting to lift as much weight as possible, you are going to perform the exercise in such a way as to employ as many muscle groups as possible. The unavoidable by-product of this is powerfully developed BUT THICK waist and glutes. I cannot recall having ever seen a top squatter with a wasp waist.

If one is targeting quad development while maintaining a tight, small waistline, one tries to stay vertical, putting all the stress on the quads. Using a 1" wood block under the heels helps this a lot. Front squats and sissy squats are dynamite as well. Take a look at the pics on Dave's site taken at Gold's in 1970 or the scenes of Arnold and Ed Corney squatting in "Pumping Iron" for the proper performance of a 'bodybuilding' squat.

If a top bodybuilder made such a sweeping statement as indicated below, he is way off base.

Bill2

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These statements are anatomically not correct. It's impossible to widen the hips. That concept shouldn't be too difficult to grasp. However, it gives you full rounded buttock development (a good quality for males or females), great outer thigh sweep and pretty much works every other muscle in the body as well.

The exercise will thicken your trunk, but not widen your hip bones. It can give that illusion because it adds muscle mass to every aspect of the glutes including where they insert near the hip. Another illusion is the thickening of the thigh abductors. Bone structures cannot be widened. Squats are great.

Best Wishes,
Tim
*Phd. Health and Fitness*

<I'm trying to shorten my leg workout and thinking stopping all the assistance work.>

Don't stop regular leg curls. The quickest way to start straining/pulling the hamstring is when the quads become disproportionately strong vis a vis the hamstrings. Everything in balance.

Bill2

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