View Single Post
 
Old 07-02-2008, 07:10 AM
Andrew.cook Andrew.cook is offline
Banned
Rank: Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Lancaster, Ohio
Posts: 353
Default

the "sitting back" statement really depends on your squatting style. As previously alluded to, there in no real reason to do this unless you are chasing a 600+ squat. The main reason I say this is that hip break squats utilize the posterior chain to a greater degree than knee break squats.

Easy way to figure out if you knee break or hip break is to watch yourself in a mirror. When you squat down, what moves first? knees or hips... easy.

Anyway, since there is greater strength in the posterior chain, and subsequently most support gear is built around this. Thus, if you see a guy with a 1000lb squat, I can say for sure he is hip breaking and that he "sits back" while squatting.

I don't know that I've ever seen anyone put up more than 600lbs in a knee break squat... which is more typically found in olympic lifting/high bar squats/front squats/overhead squats. Because the bar is moved forward, the knees have to track out over the toes in order keep the bar over your center of gravity. Power lifters tend to drop the bar far down the back in order to keep balance when leaning into the squat.

I think the natural squat of most people falls inbetween olympic and West Side squatting. I think that powerlifting has shown the benefits of hip breaking for strength reasons, but the leg development from powerlifting rarely is as aesthetically pleasing as the leg development from olympic lifting. So... in the end it probably doesn't matter what you do so long as you are safe and getting stronger. Most trainees won't be catching a 500lb clean in the full squat position or looking for a multi thousand pound total in competition anytime soon.
Reply With Quote