Muscles Used in Squats

[Inzah Dude]

Why is it that the most important muscles used in the squat is the glutes and hams and not the quads?

[14powerlift]

First off, because the glutes are the strongest muscle in the body. Secondly, that's only if you squat like a powerlifter. Powerlifters generally have a wide stance, and they squat BACK, not down. Bodybuilders have a more narrow stance, and squat down, not back. But, let's not forget the back muscles, and of course the abs.

[BrANjiSpAd]

the squat works you from forehead to toes. I don't think there's one muscle it doesn't stimulate. hence the massive growth of the whole body.

[p0w3rlift3r]

it depends alot on form or the type of squat your diong

[Deejay_Spike]

yeap, a powerlifters squat is mainly a hip flexion/extension movement, a weightlifter squat has more knee flexion/extension involved.

that is why there is more force exerted on the hip during a powerlifter squat, and why the force is better distributed over knees and hips in the weightlifting squat.

[Ulyanov]

Originally posted by 14powerlift
First off, because the glutes are the strongest muscle in the body. Secondly, that's only if you squat like a powerlifter. Powerlifters generally have a wide stance, and they squat BACK, not down. Bodybuilders have a more narrow stance, and squat down, not back. But, let's not forget the back muscles, and of course the abs.

Squat down? How does that work? Wouldn't that cause the knees to travel forward? I thought that was bad.

[Deciever]

it is bad.. but that is how most BODYBUILDERS do it. Powerlifters generally tend to sit back, like they should, so they're knee's arent darting in front of their toes

[Ulyanov]

So, by powerlifter squat and bodybuilder squat, you mean the right way and the wrong way?

[Deejay_Spike]

it is bad.. but that is how most BODYBUILDERS do it. Powerlifters generally tend to sit back, like they should, so they're knee's arent darting in front of their toes

So, by powerlifter squat and bodybuilder squat, you mean the right way and the wrong way?

i do not agree.

why is it then that Olyimpic lifters have very very strong knees, YET all have deep squats with knees far in front of the toes ?

pl or ol squat is a squat specific for the discipline, so there is no 'like you should' or 'wrong/righ'

if you powerlift, or want to stress the posterior chains, squat back.
if you o-lift, or want to stress the quads, squat down.

if you're a bodybuilding looking for a strong squat and harmonic legs, do both!

i would even say to powerlifters to squat down once in a while (btw, when you're front squatting, you can't really squat back). to make a perfect and very strong athlete, one should pay attention to all factors helping this or this movement, including those who wouldn't be very necessary at first sight. overall development is primordial.

[Deciever]

you do have your points, by O lifters are trained to squat that way, just like MOST powerlifters are trrained to sit back.

Is it wrong to squat down? no!

will it put you at greater risk? i believe so.

but also, most BBers dont go deep enough to transfer the stress onto the glutes, so most of the stress is still on the knee.

Its just my opinion, that sitting back is better for you.

[Deejay_Spike]

it's always talking about "will it put you at greater risk? i believe so".

but lifters never look at themselves. Is the movement in itself going to put you at greater risk ? no, it's the LIFTER himserlf who will put himself in a risky situation. how? various way, going too fast, not knowing enough, not starting low enough etc.

again, "but also, most BBers dont go deep enough to transfer the stress onto the glutes, so most of the stress is still on the knee. "
you were talking about people using not good form enough, or going to heavy with a movement that shouldn't be done as heavy etc.

we were discussing the different form of squatting, they were squatting 'down' and 'back'.

back = more hip involved, posterior chain
down = more quad involvement.

objectively, if you're looking for an overall development, doing both isn't a bad thing.

sitting back is not better for YOU, it is better for those wanting to stress the posterior chains more, and if you're a powerlifter.
YET, as i said, an overall development is necessary for much better gains. neglecting something is going to slow down your progress. so my advice : do both.

of course, we are reasonable people, and shouldn't do sets with 400pounds squatting down, just because you can do the same thing squatting back.

[John Henry]

I do an OLY squat, meaning between the legs. BBers do what many call the "acordian" squat, where they squat down, but not between the legs, putting strain on the lower back.

[Ulyanov]

Originally posted by John Henry
I do an OLY squat, meaning between the legs. BBers do what many call the "acordian" squat, where they squat down, but not between the legs, putting strain on the lower back.

Between the legs? How do you mean?

[Deejay_Spike]

i believe that is squatting down between the legs : http://www.performbetter.com/catalog...ages/6566P.jpg

[ZachG_85]

The squat will always strain the lower back, since the bar is sitting on top of the spine.

I figured I'd add some input doing it bodybuilding style

Powerlifters squat wide because, yes the glutes are the strongest muscles in the body, and hence produce the most power, plain and simple.

Bodybuilder squat narrow to stimulate the quads. It's certainly possible to squat relatively narrow and still sit back. Front squats facilitate this. Knees in front of the toes isn't a bad thing if your flexible enough to do so.

And heck, here's a powerlifter, does this look like a wide stance?

[Antaeus]

First off, I agree that squatting is sport-specific.

In Olympic lifting, the weight of the body must be centered more over the bar for the snatch and the clean (rather than behind it as in the PL dead). This necessitates that in the recovery (the squat motion), as the weightlifter centers himself under the bar the knees come forward over the toes. Trained oly lifters have the knee flexibility and tendon strength to deal with increased shear forces this places upon the knees.

In fact, I agree that some o-lifting would probably help strengthen PLer's knees by subjecting them to greater forces. Unfortunately the o-lifts can take years to master and "muscle memory" becomes a problem (that's why we box-squat, to ingrain the form until it becomes a natural movement).

[Deejay_Spike]

"In fact, I agree that some o-lifting would probably help strengthen PLer's knees by subjecting them to greater forces. Unfortunately the o-lifts can take years to master and "muscle memory" becomes a problem (that's why we box-squat, to ingrain the form until it becomes a natural movement)."

that would be right, if you were to do the olympic lifts. here i was talking about the weightlifting squat, which is a variant of the powerlifting squat. so in stead of cleaning and jerking, you could throw in the weightlifting squat from time to time. this won't take years to master and will strengthen you knees.