Front squats, for the most part, are avoided by many. Why? Well people avoid the things that they find hard or are no good at. It’s human nature. Who wants to do things that they are no good at or find overly difficult? Not many.
This reason in itself is enough to warrant the help from a coach in terms of programming and support. They’ll have you doing the things you NEED to be doing, not WANT to be doing – and they’ll hold you accountable for your training. Sure, a lot of people are able to do this because they have next level determination and commitment, but again, not many. At some point however all of us need the help, even the best.
If you’re a client of mine more than likely at some point you’ve been prescribed a front squat in your training. Coupled with a paused squat, I find fantastic crossover to the competition squat – the strengthened obtuse hip angle (upright back position) with that time under tension and out of the hole explosiveness really work well together. With the competition squat, being able to hold the bar position mid-foot is key to a big squat.
From experience with clients and my own training, if the front squat moves, so does the competition squat. I find the front squat will be somewhere in the 60-70% range compared to the competition squat (in a wrap). Looking back on a competition prep I finished a couple of years ago – I front squatted 160kg and squatted 245kg (in wrap), so 65%.
Try it in your own training… work on the front squat, if it moves, see if it correlates to movement in your competition squat. Learn something.
I’ve just started a prep and front squats are back on the agenda. Last night was my first session and went 120kg for 3 sets of 8. The vid. is my last set.
