Front Squat

Workout 13 May 2010:

Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1

Results: 185-195-200-200-205lbs
Previous best: no prior 1x5, 1RM 215lb (16 Jan 10)

In light of my last Olympic Lifting class, today was front squat day. The two areas on which I focused were depth and torso position. I made sure to squat as deep as possible to best simulate standing up from a clean caught very low. I also tried to keep my torso as upright and my elbows as high as possible, fighting the urge to lean forward. Staying upright helps to make sure you stay on your heels instead of rocking forward onto your toes; this allows your hamstrings to fully engage instead of relying on your quads to help you stand up. I also worked on using the stretch reflex at the bottom of the squat to aid in power generation while starting to stand up from the bottom. I could have gone a few pounds heavier, but wanted to use today's workout to correct form problems, rather go 100%.