The Ultimate Hard Body Exercise
The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise - The Front Squat
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises.
In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion of squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) are the ultimate solution.
If you don't believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment.
Squats can be done with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, or even just body weight. Squats should only be done with free weights - NEVER with a Smith machine! My ebook, The Truth About Six Pack Abs contains the full story on why machines are so inferior and even potentially DANGEROUS compared to free weights.
The type of squat that people are most familiar with is the barbell back squat where the bar is resting on the trapezius muscles of the upper back. Many professional strength coaches believe that front squats (where the bar rests on the shoulders in front of the head) and overhead squats (where the bar is locked out in a snatch grip overhead throughout the squat) are more functional to athletic performance than back squats with less risk of lower back injury.
I feel that a combination of all three (not necessarily during the same phase of your workouts) will yield the best results for overall muscular development, body fat loss, and athletic performance. Front squats are moderately more difficult than back squats, while overhead squats are considerably more difficult than either back squats or front squats.
If you are only accustomed to performing back squats, it will take you a few sessions to become comfortable with front squats, so start out light. After a couple sessions of practice, you will start to feel the groove and be able to increase the poundage.To perform front squats:
The front squat recruits the abdominals to a much higher degree for stability due to the more upright position compared with back squats. It is mostly a lower body exercise, but is great for functionally incorporating core strength and stability into the squatting movement. It can also be slightly difficult to learn how to properly rest the bar on your shoulders. There are two ways to rest the bar on the front of the shoulders.
In the first method, you step under the bar and cross your forearms into an "X" position while resting the bar on the dimple that is created by the shoulder muscle near the bone, keeping your elbows up high so that your arms are parallel to the ground. You then hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists against the bar for support.
Alternatively, you can hold the bar by placing your palms face up and the bar resting on your fingers against your shoulders. For both methods, your elbows must stay up high to prevent the weight from falling. Your upper arms should stay parallel to the ground throughout the squat. Find out which bar support method is more comfortable for you.
Then, initiate the squat from your hips by sitting back and down keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then press back up to the starting position. Keeping your weight more towards your heels is the key factor in squatting to protect your knees from injury and develop strong injury resistant knee joints.
Keep in mind - squats done correctly actually strengthen the knees; squats done incorrectly can damage the knees. Practice first with an un-weighted bar or a relatively light weight to learn the movement. Most people are surprised how hard this exercise works your abs once you learn the correct form.
Get more information now ...
http://www.teasearticles.com/presents/truthaboutabs
Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs
More Articles
The Ultimate Secret Of Mind Control And Motivation To Achieve The Exact Body Shape You Want
The Honest Source On Abdominals And Fat Loss
The Hidden Dangers Of Your Excess Abdominal Fat
Your Aerobics Workout Should Be Intense
When Workouts Go Wrong Aerobics And Injuries
Top 15 Non Traditional Muscle Building, Fat Blasting Workouts..
Burning The Fat Aerobics And Your Body
Related Products And FREE Videos
More Articles
The Hidden Dangers Of Your Excess Abdominal Fat
... demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat. There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous ...
When Workouts Go Wrong Aerobics And Injuries
... and cool down is necessary, as is doing the right exercises for your body, age, and gender. When you work out, you should feel your best, not be worried about injury. Staying safe is important. If you are hurt, you won't be able to do aerobics while you recover, and you will miss out on days or even weeks ...
Top 15 Non Traditional Muscle Building, Fat Blasting Workouts..
... muscle pump. The training rings are one of the best training devices I've ever bought. Give them a try... I think you'll like them if you're up for a challenge. 6. Swimming - A great full body workout that stresses the muscles and joints in a much different way than most resistance training. Incorporating ...
... in an article. However, the correlation between aerobics and heart health is something that you simply cannot deny because it is something that is going to stay with you and with your health forever. When you look at aerobics and heart health you are going to see that the more aerobics you can do, the ...
The Honest Source On Abdominals And Fat Loss
... that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place. Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem at... http://www.teasearticles.com/presents/truthaboutabs ...