The front squat is a great leg exercise that should be part of your core leg routine. For instance, the front squat is more than just an advance leg exercise. It is a staple athletic exercise that will help you with your athletic performance.
Main Benefits of the Front Squat
1. Targets Your Quadriceps
The front squat targets your quadriceps like no other exercise. Specifically, The front squat places more emphasis on your quadriceps because to go deep, you must keep your back straight, with the bar in front of you. Conversely, with the barbell behind you as in the standard barbell squat, you must bend your back and use your hamstrings to keep the barbell above your midfoot. The front squat you must stay more upright to keep the barbell above your midfoot for balance.
2. Less Spinal Compression
The Front Squat is an advanced movement. The only difference from a setup perspective is you hold the bar in front instead of behind you. This small yet significant variation reduces your hip movement, and also increased the difficulty of the exercise. The end result is you will not be able to front squat as much weight as you can back squat. Subsequently, less weight on the bar equals less spinal compression. You may want to try front squats if you have lower back issues. The chances are you can do them without problems.
3. Less Spinal Flexion
The bar position in the front squat makes it impossible to lean. Since, if you did lean forward, you would lose your balance and drop the bar. Therefore, by holding the bar in front, you reduce spinal flexion. With less spinal flexion, the front squat is a safer leg exercise for your back.
Jeff Nippard From Technique Tuesdays Covers the Benefits of Front Squats
4. Less Torque on Your Lower back
Similarly to less spinal flexion, keeping your back straight also results in less twisting. So, during a Front Squat, your torso stays nearly vertical. Thus you have less rotational force on your lower back as well.
5. Less Chance of Bad Form Because of Higher Consequences
With a regular squat, there are many opportunities for incorrect habits, such as bar placement or weight distribution. Because of your upright stance when performing a front squat, the Front Squat is much less forgiving for lousy form. When your torso is not erect during the front squat, you will drop the bar or fall over. Likewise, if you don’t set the bar correctly while doing a front squat, you may drop the bar on the floor.
6. Font Squats Work Your Entire Core
To keep your torso erect during heavy front squats, you must have a tight core. Keeping your body stable requires a strong core. If you lean forward too much during back squats, you are needing balance, but also probably lacking a strong core. Front Squats can help solve both situations. Performing front squats will quickly help you develop both balance and core strength.
7. Breaks Through Leg Plateaus
You can use the front squat as an accessory exercise in your leg routine or a base exercise. You should implement front squats at least periodically after the standard barbell squat has peaked or when you want to add emphasis on the quadriceps and strengthen your core. Many people peak on back squats because of there core strength or quad strength, the benefits of front squats will improve them both.
Time To Add Those Benefits of Front Squats to Your Training
If you weren’t ready to add front squats to your training, I hope you are now. Read this if you want more information on how to perform front squats with proper form. If you do use front squats, when and how often do you perform front squats?
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