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Cutting Grooves Across Your Thighs with Front Squats |
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Written by Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM
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Tuesday, 24 April 2007 |
Building thigh mass takes years of gut-busting effort. Heavy barbell squats with sufficient resolve, such that you feel like your blood vessels will rupture across the gym floor, will be the norm before you develop huge thigh mass. However, if your thighs are already huge and thick, it's time to reassess your training achievements and goals. Will you continue on the same training regime that brought you the huge thighs? Will you be able to shift your thinking to include more specialized training that will help sculpt your thighs, but be willing to use less resistance on the barbells? Competition day tells the story as to how each bodybuilder has worked through this issue.
Three types of athletes arrive at bodybuilding competitions. One has neglected thigh training and may have some thigh cuts, but no mass. Another type has not been willing to do anything but heavy squats, so his thighs look as thick as a tree trunk, but fail in the area of details or density. The third type has achieved huge thigh mass, but he has scheduled in specialized training that has gradually chiseled his thighs into sharp, carved pillars of marble. Winning thighs have some combination of size and thickness, but also possess sharp and defined granite-like symmetrical muscle bellies. The front squat is an exercise that will help maintain your thigh mass, while simultaneously burning deep grooves between the muscle bellies in the front of your thigh.
Muscles Activated
The quadriceps femoris ("quads") is a family of four muscles of the anterior (front) thigh. These include the rectus femoris muscle and the three vastus muscles. The fibers of the rectus femoris (rectus=straight) run straight down from the hip, along the front of the thigh, to join the quadriceps tendon above the kneecap (patella). The rectus femoris extends the leg at the knee joint. The rectus femoris begins on the hip bones, so when the hip is flexed, it is slackened and therefore, functionally weakened (e.g., the low part of a front squat).
The vastus medialis muscles cover the medial (inner) part of the thigh. This creates the "teardrop" area that is medial and superior to the patella The vastus intermedius muscle is positioned between the vastus lateralis and the vastus medialis muscle, but it's deep to the rectus femoris muscle. The vastus lateralis muscle is positioned on the lateral (outer) part of the thigh. The three vastus muscles begin on the femur bone of the thigh and attach to the upper border of the patella by the quadriceps tendon. The patella is attached to the tibia bone of the lower leg by the patellar ligament. As the muscles of the quadriceps shorten, they pull on the tibia by way of the quadriceps tendon and patellar ligament, so the leg extends (i.e., knee straightens) at the knee joint. The three vastus muscles are not affected by hip angle, so they are active throughout the front squat.
Front Squats
It's a wise investment to spend five minutes warming up your knees and thighs before front squats. The warm-ups and stretching will increase the blood flow to the knee structure and decrease the viscosity of the synovial fluid, which lubricates the knee joint during movement.
1. You must first set the bar on a set of squat racks. The bar should be four to six inches lower than your shoulders.
2. Face the bar and bend your knees slightly and place the bar just below your clavicles (collarbone) and across the front of your shoulders. You may want to wrap a towel or a foam pad around the bar to cushion it against your shoulders.
3. Flex your elbows and cross your arms so the palm of the right hand is on top of the bar in front of your left shoulder, and the palm of the left hand is on top of the bar in front of your right shoulder. Keep your arms raised so the upper arm is above a position that's parallel to the floor.
4. Straighten your knees so the weight rests comfortably across the front of your shoulders. Take two steps backward from the rack. Place your feet about 10 to 12 inches apart. Although your foot position can be wider, most research suggests that wider foot placements will not improve the activation of the vastus lateralis muscle. You should also find a comfortable foot position with your toes pointed slightly outward (but not too much) because this will help you keep your balance.
5. Take a deep breath and slowly squat downward, taking about three or four seconds to reach the bottom position. Continue squatting until your knee angle is at 90° of flexion. Keep your head up as you squat because this will help you maintain your back in a position that's straight and perpendicular to the floor.
6. After reaching the bottom, stand up by straightening your knees. Do not explode out of a position with an extremely bent knee since this can cause a serious injury. Starting slowly upward will help protect your knees in a vulnerable position. Trying to accelerate the weight upward after you are partway up will be especially effective in recruiting the largest and fastest fibers of your thigh (and the ones that also appear to grow the fastest). Of course, the other fibers will eventually be recruited as you move closer and closer to the point of muscle failure, so it's important to push yourself hard as you complete the next repetitions.
7. Don't lock out your knees at the top position because the stress will be removed from your quadriceps and the bones of your hips and thighs will transmit the force downward without the need for muscle activation. In addition, the knee joint can potentially sustain some training-ending damage in the fully locked out position. This is because the weak anterior cruciate ligament of the internal knee can be easily torn, especially if the weight is heavy and "jerked" or exploded into the extended position.
8. The next repetition is the same as the first, so the body is lowered slowly into the squat position, but it's raised with a healthy thrust upward.
9. Don't forget that you must "rack" the bar at the end of your set. Of course, it's much safer to adjust the safety bars of the squat rack so if you can't finish the set, you can rack the bar wherever you fail. Alternatively, a partner can spot you and help you safely get through your set and rack the bar without risk of injury.
Training Tips
Front squats reduce the work by the gluteus muscle groups and maximize the efforts of the quadriceps muscles (as compared to barbell back squats). This makes it much harder to do front squats than regular barbell squats. If you normally do 10 reps with 315 pounds in a barbell squat, you'll be lucky to be able to do 220 pounds in a front squat for the same number of repetitions. The focus and intensity of the front squat is somewhat akin to the difference between barbell curls and one-arm concentration curls. The point is not to attempt to impress anyone with how much you can lift on your first set of your first workout with front squats, but also don't become discouraged if you can't lift all that much. However, after a few sets of this exercise your anterior thighs, and especially your vastus lateralis muscle, will be screaming; after a few weeks, you will be piling the weight back on the bar once again. (Don't get carried away aiming for excessive poundages).
A common mistake to avoid is that your torso may lean forward during the downward movement of the squat. Instead, your back should remain perpendicular to the floor as you squat. If this is not the case, you might need to put a block or a weight plate under your heels. (Be careful that your block is solid and that your shoes will not slip on it).
If your feet are placed too close together when squatting (i.e., six inches apart) it will produce a more acute angle at the knee during the lowest part of the squat. This increases the risk of acute knee injury. This is particularly problematic if you drop too rapidly to the bottom part of the squat. The idea is to maximally work your muscles, but to have mercy on your knee joints. Sure it's discouraging to see someone who appears to grow faster than you, but all the grumbling in the world will not change the genetics handed out by our Maker. Nevertheless, good genetics are not a guarantee for success, because without the intestinal fortitude to stick it out, even the genetically gifted will be left sitting in the wings and not stepping up to the winner's podium. Front squats will help you realize your bodybuilding goals by cutting grooves and deep valleys across your thighs and turning unrefined thigh mass into refined, symmetrical and granite-hard quadriceps perfection.
References
Anderson K and Behm DG. Trunk muscle activity increases with unstable squat movements. Can J Appl Physiol, 30: 33-45, 2005.
Fry AC, Smith JC and Schilling BK. Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat. J Strength Cond Res, 17: 629-633, 2003.
Laprade J. Culham E. Brouwer B. Comparison of five isometric exercises in the recruitment of the vastus medialis oblique in persons with and without patellofemoral pain syndrome. J Orthop & Sports Phys Ther, 27(3):197-204, 1998.
Linnamo V. Hakkinen K. Komi PV. Neuromuscular fatigue and recovery in maximal compared to explosive strength loading. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol, 77(1-2):176-81, 1998.
Moore K.L. Clinically Orientated Anatomy. Third Edition. Williams & Willkins, Baltimore, 1995, pp 373-500.
Ninos JC. Irrgang JJ. Burdett R. Weiss JR. Electromyographic analysis of the squat performed in self-selected lower extremity neutral rotation and 30 degrees of lower extremity turn-out from the self-selected neutral position. J Orthop & Sports Phys Ther, 25(5):307-15, 1997.
Raastad T and Hallen J. Recovery of skeletal muscle contractility after high- and moderate-intensity strength exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol, 82: 206-214, 2000.
Tesch PA, Colliander EB and Kaiser P. Muscle metabolism during intense, heavy-resistance exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol, 55: 362-366, 1986.
Wisloff U, Castagna C, Helgerud J, Jones R and Hoff J. Strong correlation of maximal squat strength with sprint performance and vertical jump height in elite soccer players. Br J Sports Med, 38: 285-288, 2004.
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