SQUAT FORM

When it comes to squatting, there are two main ways to do it. Its called the Front Squat and the Back Squat; the former of which we will be discussing today. Both are excellent ways to develop and train your legs, although they have slightly different applications from one another. In order to perform a front squat, it demands much more of your core and general balance to execute. The lift focuses on the quads and upper back, which is exceptionally good for athletes specifically. If you're doing olympic lifting of any kind, it is also an excellent aid with cleans, jerks, and the like. 

Without further ado, lets get started. For a proper front squat, you'll want to first position the length correctly. Put out your thumbs as shown in the picture to mark where your fingers will go. Your fingers will hook onto the bar, where then your arms swing underneath to support the weight. It is crucial to note that your hands/fingers do NOT support the weight. They are merely placeholders. You should be able to hold your arms out and squat with the weight supported on your arms alone.

When you put your arms up, try and get them as far as you possibly can. If you're new to front squats, the new range of motion is going to be difficult at first. This is normal. Practice stretching your arms to that area outside of your squatting session. Once you have the weight on your arms with fingers to guide, you're free to unrack the weight and pace backwards. 

A general rule of thumb for feet positioning is shoulder width. Some may enjoy a wider or more narrow stance, but this is the common area that is squatted from. Point your toes slightly outward to avoid buckling them inwards when you squat.

Now, squat! Go down until you either reach parrallel with your bended knees or even further, at the maximum bend of your knees. The two different postions are shown in the pictures above. Its hotly contested whether butt-to-the-grass or going parrallel is the most optimum. You can pick which either feels best for you. Personally, I enjoy going as far down as possible, as it gives a great place to push up from that isn't contested much with gravity.

When you squat, there are several form checks you always want to keep in mind to ensure safety and a properly executed squat. When you let the weight down and push up, you must go through your heels. Try to keep the weight over the center of your feet and not rock on your toes. You want to maintain a straight back and a tight core. Bending over can cause injury and damage the integrity of the squat. When all done right, you've got a solid squat that you can progress on with weights. I've slapped a gif above this text to show you the entire thing done, start to finish.

GYM PROGRESS: Returning to the Grind

After a few days trip, I'm finally back home. I've taken a pretty long break from surfing, and having recently gone on a trip to the beach, my interest has been revived. Its going to be interesting integrating surfing as cardio with weight lifting, especially when surfing at 6:30 in the morning. Generally, people say that cardio before weight lifting drains your ability to hit the same numbers in training. With that in mind, I'm going to see if I can keep the tempo going. 

Over the past weeks, there've been a lot of new faces in the gym. Some guys are joining just to get stronger, whilst others join to help improve their native sport and train for college once High School has concluded. Its pretty awesome to see such a strong community form in a relatively small area. People from different walks and different cliques lay it all down to kick the can after school, and I'm really glad to be apart of it.  I haven't been able to grab a one on one with the schedule I've been running, but I really want to introduce some more of my peers that spend time at the weight room. 

Since I'm pretty new to this whole blogging thing, I've been spending the last few days organizing an upload schedule to Steemit. Temporarily, thats a tad less content for a short bit while everything gets sorted out. I'm going to have more stuff for you guys in a few days, don't worry. With that being said, this blog post has been wrapped up! Thanks for reading, and if you like what you see, drop a comment below! Go Steemit!