Lagging bodyparts and squats

kitarpyar · 04-25-2009, 10:17 AM

The basis of my question is this little piece of info (based on the work of Kraemar and Ratamess, Sports Medicine 35 (2005) pp 339-361):

Resistance exercise elicits a variety of acute physiological responses and chronic adaptations. One of them happens to be elevations in testosterone levels. Apparently multi-joint compound lifts like the Olympic lifts, squats and deadlifts are the best for a higher testosterone levels following the lifts.

I guess, this is one the reasons why the full-body milk and squats routine works so well and why bodybuilders say "squat to get big" kind of stuff. Apparently Vince Gironda used to have his students do a set of light squats before every workout

But, if I were to use splits as opposed to a full-body routine, would I be better off training my lagging (in size) bodyparts on squat day (to take max advantage of elevated testosterone levels following the squats), or am I better of devoting a separate day for them?

Has anyone tried training lagging parts on squats day? (whether intentionally or un-intentionally) If so, please let me know whether that worked for you.

kitarpyar · 04-25-2009, 01:15 PM

bump

swark · 04-25-2009, 04:05 PM

Never thought of trying this - interesting concept though I'm not sure if it will have any real world application.

However, I have recently started a new split in which I do squats and biceps on the same day. For me, my biceps are definitely a lagging body part, so I'll let you know if I see any unexpectedly significant improvement over the next two months.

swark · 06-11-2009, 09:56 PM

I've seen some reasonable (if slight) improvements in my biceps within the past month, but it would be hard to know what to attribute that change to as there were other modifications to my routine and diet. Having said that, I didn't see any problems with training lagging muscles alongside squats. Its an interesting protocol - longer term results will tell more of the story.

b1979 · 06-11-2009, 10:00 PM

If it is a major body part, like back or chest, keep in mind you may not have the energy or focus to give the lagging body part max effort. If you can only go through the motions after a few hard sets of squats, might want to either do lighter squats or or do the lagging part first and then finish with squats.

swark · 06-11-2009, 10:05 PM

Agree b1979. I certainly wouldn't recommend trying to do both a serious leg workout with squats and then a full back routine on top. My thoughts were more around the smaller lagging muscles such as biceps, forearms, calves etc.

kitarpyar · 06-11-2009, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swark

Agree b1979. I certainly wouldn't recommend trying to do both a serious leg workout with squats and then a full back routine on top. My thoughts were more around the smaller lagging muscles such as biceps, forearms, calves etc.

Yeah, when I said lagging bodyparts, I meant was more on those lines, the smaller bodyparts.