Front Squat 5x5

Workout 5 February 2009:

Front Squat 5 sets of 5 reps

Results: 170-175-180-185-190 lbs.
Previous Best: 145-155-165-175-180 lbs. (29 Dec 07)

It's been over a year since my last 5x5 front squat workout, though I have done other variations. Since it had been awhile, my goal was to not necessarily beat the last max weight by any significant amount, but rather, to lift more weight total by starting at a heavier weight. With that in mind, after a warm up, I went from 165 to 185 lbs. in 5 lb. increments. However, I felt like I still had some gas in the tank at the end, and was able to get 190 lbs. Within a few months, I should be able to hit 200lbs.


A few people have asked me why my squat numbers seem relatively light compared to what they've seen in the gym. Aside from someone simply being stronger than me, the biggest factor likely has to do with range of motion.

I do full-depth (below parallel) squats. This means I drop down to the point at which my hip joint is BELOW my knee. Often, I'll even do full A2A (ass to ankle) squats where I drop as low as possible, essentially touching my ankles with my butt.

Most people only do partial squats either because they're easier or they've been told that squatting deep is bad for your knees. As long as your form is decent, the latter is false. You're actually at greater risk by regularly only doing partial depth squats since you develop a muscle imbalance around the knee. Your knee is protected in large part by the quads on the front of your leg and by the hamstrings on the back. If either of those two muscle groups becomes considerably stronger than the other, your knee is not able to stay ideally aligned.

Partial depth squats primarily work only the quadriceps. Only when you approach (and exceed) parallel do the hamstrings come into play. Therefore, doing only partial depth squats will lead to a quad-dominant leg and therefore increase your risk of knee injury. An additional benefit of doing full depth squats is that you will quickly improve hamstring flexibility, a problem that plagues most Americans.

With rare exception, anyone who claims to have a (back) squat of 350+ lbs is likely doing a pretty shallow squat. As you might imagine, it's possible to "squat" a much greater weight if you're moving the weight a much shorter distance.