Post by Joey Smith on Dec 6, 2007 15:47:26 GMT -5
THE SQUAT
The squat has always been referred to as the king of all lifts. If you don’t have a big squat, you
ain’t squat. At Westside, we have three lifters who squat more than 1100 pounds and 12 who
squat more than 1000.
Everyone knows that we box squat. It’s the best and safest way to squat. If one wants to box
jump higher, sit on a box and jump onto a second box, and you will achieve the highest
jumps possible after eliminating the first box at a later date.
Many have opinions on which is the best method to squat, the Olympic style squat versus
the power squat. I know this: the top Olympic lifters are normally 20 to 24 years old. The top
powerlifters are around 40 years old. Chuck Vogelpohl has squatted 1150 at a body weight
of 264 at over 40 years old. Amy Weisberger is 41 and just squatted 590 at 147 body weight.
Chuck totaled over 2600, and Amy 1440. So give me the power squat.
You will gain body weight with the power squat, and a wide squat will build more muscle
where it counts. But what about the other methods of squatting?
Belt squatting is not only a proven method of developing a strong lower body but also very
therapeutic for the spine because the belt is positioned around the waist. Belt squats will
traction the spine and correct pelvic tilt. When your back is taxed too much, you can work
the legs. They are great for static work or teaching one to jump.
The front squat is essential for leg strength and maintaining a correct back position for
pulling. This was Eddy Copplin’s favorite exercise for deadlifting, having pulled 826 at 186
body weight. It builds the spinal erectors as well as the legs. (We use a front squat harness.)
The Manta Ray device forces one to do a super-Olympic-style squat. The Manta Ray will cause
the bar placement to be 2 or 3 inches above the top of the shoulder, causing the lifter to stay
very upright. I suggest that Olympic lifters implement this into their training as well as the
belt squat.
The rackable cambered bar is great to save the shoulders of large or simply tight lifters.
Holding the hands 10 to 12 inches lower than normal lessens the stress on the pecs and
delts. This will save a bench career. The Buffalo bar has roughly a 2-inch camber, but that is
enough for some lifters to relieve stress on the upper body. A cambered bar will shift the
weight somewhat forward while squatting. We also use the cambered bars with the front
squat harness. The more combinations you use, the better you will squat.
We use many forms of reactive and contrast methods, meaning chains, bands, weight
releasers, and the lightened method, or as Pavel Tsatsouline refers to it as the future method,
i.e., lifting a weight now by lightening the bottom portion that is lifted in the future.
Westside has also found success by box squatting off a dense foam pad or by standing on
foam pads, or both.
Are there other forms of squatting done at Westside? Yes. The Zercher squat. Ed Zercher
invented this exercise years ago. I was first intrigued after reading about Robert Barnett
doing the Zercher lift, where one squatted down and hooked the elbows under the bar and
stood up. Mr. Barnett was capable of doing 5 reps off the floor with 395. His body weight
was 165 and he could deadlift 675. He did this around 1966. After getting out of the army
in 1969, I started doing Zercher squats off the floor. My best was 320, and I made a 670
deadlift in 1973 at 181. When I moved up to 198, I couldn’t lift the bar off the floor because I
had become too thick around the waist. I started doing a Zercher squat. I would lift the bar,
which was on a low rack pin, in my elbows and go as low as possible. I used two versions:
One was to lower the bar until it sat on my knees. The second was to lower the bar out over
my knees as low as possible, then drop my hips as low as I could to stretch the lower back
and then stand up. With this method, I made 500 at an all-star wrestling convention. At the
time I made an official 710 deadlift at 198. This was around 1978. I tore my right bicep almost
completely off at the 1979 USPF Senior Nationals. After that, I could no longer hold the bar in
my elbows with heavy weights.
The squat has always been referred to as the king of all lifts. If you don’t have a big squat, you
ain’t squat. At Westside, we have three lifters who squat more than 1100 pounds and 12 who
squat more than 1000.
Everyone knows that we box squat. It’s the best and safest way to squat. If one wants to box
jump higher, sit on a box and jump onto a second box, and you will achieve the highest
jumps possible after eliminating the first box at a later date.
Many have opinions on which is the best method to squat, the Olympic style squat versus
the power squat. I know this: the top Olympic lifters are normally 20 to 24 years old. The top
powerlifters are around 40 years old. Chuck Vogelpohl has squatted 1150 at a body weight
of 264 at over 40 years old. Amy Weisberger is 41 and just squatted 590 at 147 body weight.
Chuck totaled over 2600, and Amy 1440. So give me the power squat.
You will gain body weight with the power squat, and a wide squat will build more muscle
where it counts. But what about the other methods of squatting?
Belt squatting is not only a proven method of developing a strong lower body but also very
therapeutic for the spine because the belt is positioned around the waist. Belt squats will
traction the spine and correct pelvic tilt. When your back is taxed too much, you can work
the legs. They are great for static work or teaching one to jump.
The front squat is essential for leg strength and maintaining a correct back position for
pulling. This was Eddy Copplin’s favorite exercise for deadlifting, having pulled 826 at 186
body weight. It builds the spinal erectors as well as the legs. (We use a front squat harness.)
The Manta Ray device forces one to do a super-Olympic-style squat. The Manta Ray will cause
the bar placement to be 2 or 3 inches above the top of the shoulder, causing the lifter to stay
very upright. I suggest that Olympic lifters implement this into their training as well as the
belt squat.
The rackable cambered bar is great to save the shoulders of large or simply tight lifters.
Holding the hands 10 to 12 inches lower than normal lessens the stress on the pecs and
delts. This will save a bench career. The Buffalo bar has roughly a 2-inch camber, but that is
enough for some lifters to relieve stress on the upper body. A cambered bar will shift the
weight somewhat forward while squatting. We also use the cambered bars with the front
squat harness. The more combinations you use, the better you will squat.
We use many forms of reactive and contrast methods, meaning chains, bands, weight
releasers, and the lightened method, or as Pavel Tsatsouline refers to it as the future method,
i.e., lifting a weight now by lightening the bottom portion that is lifted in the future.
Westside has also found success by box squatting off a dense foam pad or by standing on
foam pads, or both.
Are there other forms of squatting done at Westside? Yes. The Zercher squat. Ed Zercher
invented this exercise years ago. I was first intrigued after reading about Robert Barnett
doing the Zercher lift, where one squatted down and hooked the elbows under the bar and
stood up. Mr. Barnett was capable of doing 5 reps off the floor with 395. His body weight
was 165 and he could deadlift 675. He did this around 1966. After getting out of the army
in 1969, I started doing Zercher squats off the floor. My best was 320, and I made a 670
deadlift in 1973 at 181. When I moved up to 198, I couldn’t lift the bar off the floor because I
had become too thick around the waist. I started doing a Zercher squat. I would lift the bar,
which was on a low rack pin, in my elbows and go as low as possible. I used two versions:
One was to lower the bar until it sat on my knees. The second was to lower the bar out over
my knees as low as possible, then drop my hips as low as I could to stretch the lower back
and then stand up. With this method, I made 500 at an all-star wrestling convention. At the
time I made an official 710 deadlift at 198. This was around 1978. I tore my right bicep almost
completely off at the 1979 USPF Senior Nationals. After that, I could no longer hold the bar in
my elbows with heavy weights.