Front squat with weights in a back pack.

rubadub

I have no squat rack and used to clean a barbell and press it onto my back to squat, then would sit back on a bed and drop it down. I have been trying front squats more and find them tough. So I put a 20kg plate in a backpack and cleaned up 50kg, this not only adds extra weight but it balances you more, so it is more a cross between a front and back squat.

It might help people practising front squats, or those with no racks.

itsallaboutheL

rubadub wrote: »

It might help those with no racks.

Men?

the drifter

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

Men?

dude...is that all thats ever on your mind?

OP is the backpack on your back or on your chest? interesting idea but i wonder how much affect your getting form the weight

rubadub

the drifter wrote: »

OP is the backpack on your back or on your chest? interesting idea but i wonder how much affect your getting form the weight

On my back, so it balances against the weight being on my front, which tends to throw me off a bit in the lower position. Ages ago I did do a back squat with a backpack on my front though, "spanish student style"

Not sure what you mean by how much effect from the weight? It is mainly acting on the shoulders and resting a little on the back, which also helps if you get sore shoulders, or collar bone on front squats. But at the end of the day you still have the same weight above your waist, though I have no doubt my 70kg was easier like this than a 70kg front squat as it hits you differently. I never got the hang of proper front squats BTW, it is not all resting on my collarbones, I still support/lift with my hands to a large degree.

I am guessing it is more similar to doing squats/deadlifts with those trap bars where the weight is centred rather than just at the back or front.

Roper

I would be slightly concerned about the back position on this. Not overly, just slightly. It's quite hard to keep form with a single load pulling you in one direction, I'm not sure how good it would be to have another force pulling you in the opposite.

If I was your coach I'd probably be just encouraging you to learn how to clean and front squat more in your situation. The way you're supporting the weight on your collarbones is probably what's holding you back more than any percieved lack of load. Maybe try some flexibility exercises for the rack position, it might be better for you than trying to reinvent the wheel.

rubadub

Roper wrote: »

It's quite hard to keep form with a single load pulling you in one direction, I'm not sure how good it would be to have another force pulling you in the opposite.

Well the majority of the force is still in the front. Like I said you might compare it more to using a trap bar where the force is in the middle, or doing dumbbell squats. I find the front squat sort of forces you into better form. And the large plate in the backpack is resting on my back, so you can actually feel if you are curving your back.

Roper wrote: »

The way you're supporting the weight on your collarbones is probably what's holding you back more than any percieved lack of load.

Yes, probably is the case. I am finding I am supporting less and less with the hands now though. Most people can back squat more than front squat. Since I am doing no back squatting I found this mixture just felt good, I have only done it once, will see how it goes. No matter how good my clean gets and how much weight I can get up, I will always be able to have an extra bit of weight in the backpack.

Activity4Life

I train in a gym with a fixed bar rack (with hooks). I find it very difficult to get my hands in the right place to keep control the bar in a front squat. I end up taking a lot of stress on my wrists.

Ouijaboard

rubadub wrote: »

I have no squat rack and used to clean a barbell and press it onto my back to squat, then would sit back on a bed and drop it down. I have been trying front squats more and find them tough. So I put a 20kg plate in a backpack and cleaned up 50kg, this not only adds extra weight but it balances you more, so it is more a cross between a front and back squat.

It might help people practising front squats, or those with no racks.

Good idea but you might find that as you add weight to the back pack you may find yourself literally being pulled backwards or worse if the weight plates are not evenly distributed on the centre of your back you may find your back torquing to balance the weight and this could cause serious injury, the back weight is balanced by the frontal weight to some degree definitely but its distributed in different places higher at the front lower at the back so there is potential for awkward forces on the spine if form is not perfect.

Also just off hand, at one stage I didnt have a squat rack for about 4 months and instead I did old school heavy barbell hack squats and also stiff leg deadlifts to substitute for standard back squats.

I must say barbell hack squats are very difficult to get the form right and I had to start off with pretty low weight but the weight increased pretty quickly once i got the hang of them. I found them absolutely brilliant, blew up my quads especially lower quad and tear-drop and also outer sweep, improved my grip strength, forearms and traps. That along with the stiff leg deads for hams almost substituted perfectly for back squats for legs.
You should give them a go if you can, they will supplement what you are doing now with front squat and backpack even if you dont use them as a main exercise.

Activity4Life wrote: »

I train in a gym with a fixed bar rack (with hooks). I find it very difficult to get my hands in the right place to keep control the bar in a front squat. I end up taking a lot of stress on my wrists.

The trick is to keep your elbows as high as you can while you do front squats, this takes all the strain off the wrist. It takes a bit of practise tho as there is a high tendency to lower the elbows while front squatting especially at the when you go past parallel. Stretch your wrists and your triceps before starting and keep the elbows high at all times. You don't want a major tendon or ligament strain in your wrists while holding that amount of weight. It could halt all your lifting for a long time. Best of luck.

brianthebard

Have you tried Zercher squats op?

rubadub

brianthebard wrote: »

Have you tried Zercher squats op?

Yeah, found them awkward so was quite limited weight wise. I did try hack squats starting out as cougar1 mentioned and also found them difficult, my grip strength is much better now so I might give them a go again. Will have to try doing the front squats properly too. Thanks for all the tips & advice guys.

Activity4Life

The trick is to keep your elbows as high as you can while you do front squats, this takes all the strain off the wrist. It takes a bit of practise tho as there is a high tendency to lower the elbows while front squatting especially at the when you go past parallel. Stretch your wrists and your triceps before starting and keep the elbows high at all times. You don't want a major tendon or ligament strain in your wrists while holding that amount of weight. It could halt all your lifting for a long time. Best of luck.

Thanks will do. I do lack flexibility in this regard. I am fine with back squats.