Topic: Squats --- Leg Strength?

[James A. Naples Jr.]

Hello Everyone. . . 

So i am a lifter who on the come back after three years off due to an ankle injury.  I have been back training now for a solid year and have been gradually improving.  However, my leg strength has always been my weakest link!  I am four weeks out to a competition and have been doing just front squats.  From triples down to double.   But i am confused on what exactly builds the strength and muscle.   Reps, Sets?   COming into a competition and prep phrase.   Any advice would be great.   Thanks.   James

[Matt Erdman]

There are many ways to build muscle and strength. The goal is to find out what you respond to. In general 4-6 sets and 4-6 reps is good for building muscle and strength. I have found that I respond better to higher reps and fewer sets. I think you should include back squats, and since you are not far out from a competition you should keep the volume lower. 2-3 sets of 5 would be fine.

[James A. Naples Jr.]

I will definitely try out the higher reps Matt.  That is what i was thinking.  Cause you need the muscle and strength.   what do you think about the front squats? 

[kirksman teo]

I will definitely try out the higher reps Matt.  That is what i was thinking.  Cause you need the muscle and strength.   what do you think about the front squats?

From my experience, (perhaps because I've a long torso) the front squats is more taxing to my back than legs. Usually, my legs have about 2-3 more reps in them but because my back would round in, I'd have to take a break though my legs are perfectly fine. I'd rather have the back squats if my back is my weakest link.

In order to get more quad recruitment and make it closer to a the clean portion of the movement, I'd put my heels on a small plate and have it elevated. I've a back squat of 180KG for doubles but with an extra 3CM on top of my 1.5" weightlifting shoes, I find it quite hard with 160KG especially if I don't pull my hips in, push my knees out and explode fast enough.

My coach taught me this method and some of Malaysia's lifters who can't do front squats (the bar always rests on their collar bones and not the "pocket") they use this form of back squats almost exclusively.

[Judas]

Coming into a comp phase may not be the best time to try and build the squats. Squats are easy. Bigger squats are but a program away. I wish the snatch and C&J were as easy to build. Squats are just work. I like big programs that start by building a solid base and taper to an eventual peak. I actually like higher reps to start... like sets ov 8. 8 is my magic number... i get good at 8's (which will also build a lot ov mass), then when i switch to 5's the work is just so much easier. Just the same, after doing 5's for a while 3's are a breeze, despite the considerably higher weights. When i also find a glaring weakness, i really like to drop most ov everything else and focus on it till its a strength. I find i can do that with squats... just drop almost all drilling on the classic lifts for a couple months, blast the squats, and then come back and find my groove in relatively little time but with a new surplus ov strength. My olympic technique is not nearly as ingrained (or as good) as most lifters... so i would think that more advanced lifters could get away with doing this even easier.

If only technique was as easy as strength, i'd actually be good at this...

[Tom Banister]

Reading the responses so far feeds into my theory that different things work for different people (Corollary: What works for a person changes over time)  For myself I'm a firm believer in many sets of low reps for strength. I love 8 sets of 3 for a pure body building workout, maybe less sets after practicing squat snatches/cleans. Keep the weight high and the concentric portion as fast as possible.

One idea I think has a lot of merit is to do the eccentric portion (lowering for squats) real slow and controlled, then do the concentric portion as fast as possible. The concentric part should always be done as fast as possible.  Also, consider having someone push down on the bar while you are squatting down.  Be careful, any emphasis on the eccentric portion will challenge your recovery.

I agree that 4 weeks out from Pittsburgh is not a good time to start a strength phase.

[Matt Erdman]

One idea I think has a lot of merit is to do the eccentric portion (lowering for squats) real slow and controlled, then do the concentric portion as fast as possible.

I agree. I've found a slower eccentric to be very beneficial.

[Erik Blekeberg]

I've done varying things to build leg strength but, they all revolve around the back squat. When I was up at 105kg I was doing 5x5 Bill Starr style Squatting program. Just recently, I tried the Smolov 3 week Squat cycle and it helped to push my back squat up to 230kg. From Smolov I have learned that both high rep low set and low rep high set work. The key is the weight used, it needs to be heavy and hard. This is why I actually programmed a different squat routine for my athletes that rotated between 4 sets of 9, 5 sets of 5 and 10 sets of 3 with varying percents. The program actually worked pretty well and it didn't drain them like Smolov did to me.

Front Squats teach comfort in the hole in my opinion. I'll agree with teo and say that my back would be the reason I lose any front squats....or more importantly my core. I round forward and feel my belly go soft. I find it a lot harder to get a deep breath and maintain tension when I have weight sitting on top of my chest. I add in Front Squats after at least a month of dedicated strength work. This is at the start of the "season" though and way before any competition is coming. After that, its maintenance and smaller "easier" strength cycles.