Are Barbell Squats The Right Exercise For You?

Ever since circus strongmen and the early superstar bodybuilders like John Grimek and Steve Reeves were winning the Mr. Universe contest the question to perform barbell squats has been a hotly debated topic. In the 1970's, top bodybuilders like Ken Waller and Arnold would swear by the squat, while fitness guru's like Vince Gironda would not even have squat racks in their gym! His argument was that the barbell squat would overdevelop the glutes and would be a detriment to the symmetrical bodybuilder. Others, like Arnold and France Columbu squatted religiously, and they attributed there overall muscular balance and strength to the squat. So which point of view is correct? I don't want to ride the fence but in my humble opinion both are!

There really isn't a better exercise you can do for overall body balance, mass and conditioning that the squat. When I perform squats as part of my leg routine I can almost feel my strength and conditioning increase as I am doing them. I also feel that I have endless energy and stamina for the rest of my workouts, and every exercise seems that much easier to do. Barbell squatting is that good for conditioning! However my body type tends to gravitate more towards the ectomorph side (thinner and a hard gainer), so putting on too much mass was never an issue for me.

If your body type is more of an endomorph (larger and heavier) you may not ever need to put on more mass on your body, especially in the glute area. Although lighter weight and high repetition squats would still be of benefit to you for shaping and conditioning, heavy squats probably would not be the first and best choice of leg exercise, unless you're a powerlifter.

In summary there is not a better over all exercise you can do than the barbell squat. It is an individual choice as to determine if the aesthetic results are to your liking.

Effort and Consistency are Keys to a Great Physique

People always ask me what is the secret to building a great physique. Then They ramble on about the number of hours they put in at the gym and how hard they work, but they still look the same day after day, week after week, and year after year. The answer is really quite simple: effort and consistency. There's a direct correlation between the time and effort you put in at the gym and the results. You can spend all the time you want working out, but if you're just going through the motions you will never see a noticeable improvement. However, if you are consistent in your effort, eat clean, and get your rest, you will reap the benefits from that lifestyle. Remember it's all up to you.

Keep a calendar and log of your workouts. The calendar will help you maintain your regular workout schedule and the log will give a much more detailed picture of your progress and sticking points over time. Tracking your workouts will always give you a clearer overall picture and will help you plan your future workouts accordingly.

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Always Maintain Proper Form During Exercise

I can't emphasize how important proper form is. Proper form will enable you to get the absolute most out of each set and totally fatigue the intended muscle group. Improper form will often bring ancillary muscles into play decreasing the effectiveness of the exercise and wasting most of your effort. For example, have you ever seen a lifter with well developed pecs who bounces the weight off of their chest? Or a bodybuilder who uses mostly back during a squat with large well developed legs? Probably not on both accounts. Improper form often occurs when the lifter is more concerned with the actual weight they lift instead of form. These trainers are wasting their time by cheating their way through the exercises and the heavy weights they claim to lift are mostly false bravado. Good exercise habits begin early but are never to late to correct. If you feel that you have poor form you can correct it by performing the exercise in front of a mirror for self critique or have a seasoned lifter or personal trainer at the gym show you proper form.

If you want to speed up your workout at the gym to increase the cardiovascular benefit or you're in a time crunch then decrease the time in between sets. Never perform your exercises faster to save time. You'll only end up compromising your form and leave yourself susceptible to injury.

Seven Important Factors to Consider When Choosing A Gym

A good gym should always motivate you to come back. The atmosphere should be conducive to your personal goals and should meld with your personality. Keep these seven factors in mind when choosing your gym:

1) Location: Choose a gym nearby. Having a gym close will allow you to fit time in your schedule. Usually a location between your home and office is convenient.

2) Hours: Make sure the gym is open for hours that will work with your schedule.

3) Staff: The staff members should be friendly and helpful. They should be able to answer questions whenever you need.

4) Cleanliness: Towels should be available around the gym to wipe off the equipment. This will help avoid health problems.

5) Equipment: Make sure that the equipment will benefit you. Also check if there are enough machines for everyone to use. There is no use in waiting in a long line to workout.

6) Classes: Classes are a great way to get motivated. Look at the list of classes and see if there are any you would enjoy. Also decide whether or not these classes fit into your budget.

7) Fees: The cost of gyms can be very expensive. This could also be a deciding factor of whether or not to join. See if you pay each month or if you are committed for a year or more. Choose according to your needs.

Featured Exercise - Seated Triceps Extensions

The seated triceps extension is a tremendous refinement exercise when completing your triceps routine. This exercise will help carve out that "horseshoe" look in your triceps. Perform this exercise while seated and begin the exercise by holding the dumbbell directly above your head. You can use your other arm as a brace to help keep your elbow in place. Slowly lower the weight behind your head until you feel a full stretch in your triceps. Then lift the weight back up to the point where your arm is almost locked out. Do not completely lock out your arm as this will keep constant stress on the muscle and will make it work harder.

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Working Legs After a Layoff

Legs are often the most neglected area for bodybuilding today. Novice,intermediate and even some advanced lifters often spend a great deal of their time and energy on the "flashier" muscles like chest and arms while back and legs are ignored. This is a poor choice as strong, well-developed legs are the foundation for your physique. You'll gain in strength and mass much faster if you are working your legs especially with squats as the "king" of all exercises with its aerobic and overall mass benefits.

With all of the benefits of leg work in mind I went to the gym resigned to the fact of the self-inflicted torture I'll soon be facing by doing squats. As it turned out I only did two sets, 135 x 12 and 185 x 15 due to the cramping I had in my hamstrings. It's interesting how in a relatively short time how your body so quickly loses it's edge for working out and especially squatting. Well after the soreness wears off from this workout I look forward to the next round of squats and I'm anxious to see my progress in strength and endurance.

Assess Your Physique for Maximum Gains

Monitor your body's progress and overall development by looking at yourself in a full length mirror. This is the best way to assess your overall progress as well as your body's strengths and weaknesses. A mirror will be brutally honest with you and if you heed its advice you can determine which body parts need extra work and be on your way to better more eye pleasing proportioned physique. Also get a qualified opinion as well. A training partner or a gym colleague with a keen eye will probably be able to give you an objective assessment. Remember to put you feelings aside when being critiqued by others. They will not look at you with rose colored glasses.

Visit Unique Fitness Concepts for additional workout advice, routines as well as one of the largest selection of fitness equipment and accessories available today.

Arm Workout Difficult in Comeback

Considering that the biceps and triceps are such small muscles, I had a feeling that fatigue would become an issue as I trained them for the first time in quite a while. I considered performing super sets but considering the difficulty of the routine even when I was in shape I quickly nixed the idea.

I started of with standing barbell curls for biceps. After two warm-up sets I quickly went into the first working set with 85 lbs for 12 reps. This is about 20 lbs. less than I usually use but considering the 4 month layoff that weight seemed about right. The weight actually felt a bit easier than I thought it would be but after 12 reps I started feeling fatigue creeping in. I completed three more sets with only five reps on the last set. I didn't fare much better with seated dumbbell curls as I fell to only four reps for the last set of these. I completed biceps training with three sets of concentration curls and a set of very tired biceps.

For me triceps fatigue usually sets in faster than biceps, so I know I wouldn't have much endurance for this first triceps workout. I did 12 sets total of press downs, long pulls, and one arm extensions. As I thought the tri's were tired and burning after only a few sets. I completed 12 sets total as I did want to get some endurance for future workouts. I finished the workout with four sets of seated forearm curls.

I knew I'd have some extremely sore arms for the next few days, but that is a good thing as I can memorize what parts of my arm muscles were sore and use that to aid in focus and concentration for future workouts.


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How should you Train? Fast Twitch or Slow Twitch Workouts

Generally speaking high reps work the fast twitch muscle fibers and are for definition and low reps work the slow twitch muscle fibers for mass. This is true as a general rule but to have a more complete and full physique you should be doing both high and low reps at some point during your weekly workout regiment. You can have a "light" or "heavy" day or you can finish out an exercise with some high rep burns. You'll feel the muscles more and you'll also be attacking both the fast and slow twitch fibers for a more complete workout which will result in an overall more eye-pleasing physique.

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High and Low Rep Workouts

The saying goes that high reps are for definition and low reps for mass. This is true as a general rule but to have a more complete and full physique you should be doing both high and low reps at some point during your weekly workout regiment. You can have a "light" or "heavy" day or you can finish out an exercise with some high rep burns. You'll feel the muscles more and you'll also be attacking both the fast and slow twitch fibers for a more complete workout.

Come visit us at Unique Fitness Concepts for loads of equipment specials and fitness information.

Assess Your Physique

Monitor your body's progress and overall development by looking at yourself in a full length mirror. This is the best way to assess your overall progress as well as your body's strengths and weaknesses. A mirror will be brutally honest with you and if you heed its advice you can determine which body parts need extra work and be on your way to better more eye pleasing proportioned physique.

We have 1000's of specialized fitness products at low prices available at our website Unique Fitness Concepts. Check out our fitness industry events calendar as well as our daily specials.