Squat 'Til You Drop
Meet the king of all exercises: the squat. Strength and conditioning coach Drew Peterson and other weight-lifting experts agree that squats are vital to gain strength in the weight room. Paired with isolation exercises, the squat will work your legs and build the majority of your body’s muscles in part two of the Lumberjack Iron Workout.
Squatting is a simple free-weight exercise using a 45-pound bar. The bar is placed on the back of the shoulders, followed by a squat into slightly lower than a 90-degree angle and back up into the standing position.
“Take a look at your knees to your hips. Two-thirds of your body’s muscle is found in this area,” said Peterson. This makes that portion of the body the most vital to strengthen. Squats do just that.
Just beginning in the weight room? Have no fear. Peterson has a tip for newcomers. Master the overhead and front squat and you will be able to accomplish almost anything in the world of weight lifting. These variations on the normal back squat involve different placements of the bar, either above your head or in front of your chest. The overhead squat provides balance and flexibility, while the front squat gives you core stability. all these elements are crucial to improving your performance in other lifts.
Strength and conditioning assistant coach Angela Dendas also has tips for those who are just getting started. She suggests beginning your squats with three sets of 10 reps to build a foundation of strength.
“After a couple weeks of getting comfortable with the exercise, you can then start to transfer that foundation of strength by doing higher weights for five sets of five reps,” said Dendas.
Abiding by Peterson’s golden guideline, “transfer not isolate,” isolation exercises are the perfect follow up to your squat in order to transfer the strength your building throughout the legs. Russian dead lifts, glut-ham raises and lunges are great supplemental exercises to accompany squats. most of these workouts cannot be mimicked on a machine, which makes them vital to building muscle in the legs.
Peterson refers to a powerful group of muscles in your body that squats and these isolation exercises target. This is your posterior chain, which consists of your hamstrings, gluteus maximus and lower back muscles.
“This is like one huge chain link inside your body. there is so much muscle in this area,” said Peterson. “So, if you’re looking for someone to help you move out of your house, don’t look for the guy with the huge biceps. look for the guy with the big hamstrings and a big booty.”
Technique is something that should never be sacrificed for weight. A regular problem regarding technique is the male ego, said Peterson. sometimes people need to swallow their pride and lower the weight if they want to benefit from the workout.
Junior HSU soccer player Sawyer Gordon recalls some of the first advice she received as a newcomer to the Lumberjack lifting program. “We were always taught to do deep squats in order to work all the muscles in the leg,” said Gordon. “If you put too much weight on, you’re probably not going to do the exercise right.”
As mentioned in part one of the HSU workout guide, Peterson’s online lifting schedule accommodates the squat along with upper-body workouts and core exercises that create four complete days of a weekly lifting plan. The personalized lifting guide can be found on HSU’s Strength and conditioning website under “Conditioning Programs.”
As the king of its weight room domain, the squat provides you with strength throughout your whole body. The results may not be bulging muscle out of your thighs, but rather embedded throughout your body’s core strength. As Peterson puts it, “It’s not the muscles you see in the mirror. It’s the muscles that your opponent sees behind you, guarding you in a game.”
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