Importance of Squats

[Porio]

I do dumbbell squats. I think they're awesome that way. I hate using barbells or machines for that.

[priorityone]

Good tip Hockeymom. I do squats without weights when I have sciatica flare ups. If you have knee problems you may also want to try without weights or with fewer. If you don't have the proper equipment you will still reap the benefits of squats. It's a great exercise.

[parrothead]

I actually did squats today. I decided to deviate from my regular workout. I had a short period of time and wanted as intense workout as possible. It wasn't that bad. I don't even know what a "smith machine" is. I started squatting with only my weight and incrimentally started holding bigger weights until my butt burned. (that happended at 25).

I found a way to make sure I wasn't hurting my knees either. I went to the mirror wall where all the workout benches are. I put the bench right behind me so that when I was doing a squat I was almost sitting down. It made me keep my knees in line with my ankles. I hope that I was doing them right. It made me all jelly legged afterwards.

[Pho]

Tip for doing a squat. Put a box behind you and squat till you barely touch the box. Why this will make sure your thighs are parallel to the ground or 90 degrees. Using a mirror its kinda hard to judge.

[Rhone]

Since squat form has been brought up here, I'll mention that I have a strong preference for "Olympic" style deep squats, as described here by Clarence Bass. (Clarence Bass has a lot of other great articles on his page, BTW.)

Squatting that way feels better for both my back and my knees, and I have the pleasure of knowing that I'm working my quads through their full range of motion instead of about 60-70% of their range of motion.

[statona]

Rhone, I have to think that would be very tough for many of the folks on here - its interesting that most of the folks on this forum are newbies - and either they finish and move on - or never really finish.

I am on a couple of other BFL forums - and some of the folks have been there for years.

[Rhone]

Interesting; I mentioned it partially because I feel like the deeper squats are easier (in terms of keeping proper form) and feel more natural than parallel squats. Ankle flexibility can be an issue, but that's easily solved by putting something under your heels. Proper parallel squats (i.e. knees not allowed to dip forward) force me to lean forward for balance, which makes keeping proper form for the lower back a distracting challenge.

I'm sure different people will have different preferences, though.

[yakubu]

Originally Posted by Dawid

I go to a local gym that has no rack to do squats so all I can do is leg Extentions and Leg Press. Would it be a mistake not to have squats in my workout at all?

absolutley , squats are the best quad exercise u can do and not only that it also works other body parts too.

i do dumbell squats, why dont u try that ?