Front squats and SS

[Brandon Oto]

Rip,

Another missive from the CF crowd.

I wanted to run something by you. I've been taking a break from CF to do a SS routine (slightly tweaked but basically the standard program), and have made tremendous gains in about a month. However, something I've noticed is that my front squatting is basically deficient, and doesn't seem to have improved all that much. This is not a lofty question of theoretical balance; my front squat is important for everything from Oly lifting to CF performance (thrusters, overhead squats, whatever), and really anything that has a major quad involvement. Short story, it needs work.

So I was thinking of replacing the back squats in SS with front squats. For a little while, I've been subbing them in every third workout, but that doesn't seem to be enough, so a more drastic change seems warranted. Now, my posterior chain is doing okay, but I realize that the back squat is really the keystone of the SS program in terms of raw strength development, so I'm not sure if this is wise. It certainly wouldn't be permanent in any case, but maybe it would work for a short period.

What do you think? Or would there be another way to do it -- add front squats alongside the back squats, do front squats but deadlift more, something else?

If my numbers matter, here they are:

20 years old, male, 170lb BW

Deadlift: 391.3
Back Squat (low bar): 292.1

Haven't tested max front squat in a while, but the last I did it was
173. That was a few months ago and it's certainly higher now (I clean
220, for instance), but it's still unquestionably low. I front
squatted for 3x5 a couple days ago and 165lb was no fun.

What do you think?

Much thanks,

- Brandon

[Mark Rippetoe]

If you're sure that your front squat form is solid, try alternating front and back squats every other workout and see if that gets them stronger. Or post a video and let me see.

[Brandon Oto]

Well, my mom always told me, "Never say no to a Texan..."

Front squats from my workout today. 5 at 171lb.

http://degreesofclarity.com/misc/cro...x5_1-18-08.mov

No lifting shoes, yes I shaved my head. Looks fine to me except a pretty big curve in the thoracic area and my elbows dropping a bit.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I may know your mom...

The front squats look very kyphotic to me. If you're going to do them as your primary exercise, or even as half of your work, you'd better tighten up your form.

[Brandon Oto]

Any cues for straightening that out?

[Mark Rippetoe]

It requires an exaggeration of position at a weight light enough to maintain position. It may require a reset of your numbers to a much lighter weight until it gets strong.