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.

Barbell Squats are Great for Strength and Conditioning

There really isn't a better exercise you can do for overall body balance, mass and conditioning that the barbell squat. When squats are performed as part of your leg routine you will feel your overall strength and conditioning increase almost immediately. You will also have more energy and stamina for the rest of your workouts and every exercise will seem that much easier to do.

If you've never squatted before start out with a light weight until your form is perfected. Proper form is imperative for barbell squats. If you do not have good form not only will you not work the muscles you're supposed to but you will leave yourself susceptible to serious injury as well. So go ahead and squat and reap the benefits of the best overall exercise there is!

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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.

Perform Barbell Squats

Do Squats! Barbell squats may very well be the best overall weight exercise that you can do. In addition to the direct work you receive on your quads, hamstrings and glutes, squats also indirectly hit almost every muscle on you body including back, calves, traps, and even chest. I always find it much easier to perform other exercises when I am squatting intensely. In my opinion there is no exercise that is more difficult and beneficial!

Keys to Performing Back Squats Correctly

Three key factors to performing back squats correctly:

1) Place your feet approximately 6 inches wider than your hips to maintain a good solid base.
2) Locate an area in front of you that is slightly higher than your line of vision. Keep your eyes fixed on that spot throughout the set. It will help with your balance and stabilization.
3) Flex the lumbar muscles in your lower back. This will help you keep your back arched and your form tight.

Follow these basic rules and you will soon find your repetition groove which will help you focus on the lifting task on hand and not balance and form issues.

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