Parallel Squat

[BigRed62]

I am a sophmore w/ a slightly below average bench, average power clean, and a horrible squat. I injured my MCL my freshman year and I have never really made good gains on Parallel squat in a long time. Of course my knee feels great now but i still can't squat nothin. Could someone tell me some good auxilaries to do to help boost my squat. Thx alot. Yall take it EZ

[Blue21SallyAt7]

lunges, glute and hamstring work, and most of all.......STRETCH!!!!

[JPATS5]

one of the best exercises for building leg power is hiking--i mean real hiking. a 5-7 mile hike, with rolling hills is a great way to start. trying doing this 3 times a week. after about six weeks, do 8-12 sets of 50 yard sprints(after hiking). for the sprints, on the first 3-4 sets, only give about 50% of your effort; on the next 3-4 sets give about 80% effort; on your last 3-4 sets run like a scalded dog. oh, i most forget, after each sprint walk back to your starting point. all together, this training should be for about 9 weeks. also, during this 9 week period, do 5 sets of push-ups and pull-ups, going to the max on each set(do this,too, three times a week) after this, you are ready for some serious weight lifting--do only deadlifts, squats, powercleans, and calf raises for your lower body workout. for your upper body, do only bench presses, military presses, seated-pulley-rows, and pull-ups. at your age this is all you need. good luck.

[JPATS5]

yeah, do light stretching before and more intense stretching afterwards.

[boneal52]

Try some sets of forced reps when you finish your normal workout, or incorporate them into it. It helps get your body used to the pressure of more weight and helps break any psychological blocks you may have. Just get a good spotter to help you and put on more weight than you know you can do by yourself and do reps with it, using your spotter. I dont know if this works for everyone, but it helped me. I remember being younger and having a horrific time pushing past four plates. I would stay after and do forced sets with my coach with five wheels on there. So when you go to max out, four plates and a quarter dont look so mentally frustrating. Good luck.

[tlove13]

The main problem I see with high schoolers in the squats is the inability to "strain". The second it gets to the sticking point, most teenagers can't drive it out. I suggest loading up the bar fairly heavy and do some partial squats. Meaning-the kind of squats you see the "has-beens" doing at Gold's Gym. Implement these partial squats in with your parallel squat, and improvement will occur. Another small but important fact, while squatting, don't loosen your grip. Demonstrate a death grip during the whole set. What this does is keep your back tight, which in turn, makes you solid throughout your squat.Good Luck Dude.

[captain]

I agree with boneal and blue - do lunges and weighed lunges to help improve your squat and your range of motion. Work huddle drills and snatch squats to improve your hip flexibility. Get a good spotter to help train your muscle to work at an increased load. A lot of times, just having a person behind you that you trust can help you mentally. Lots of kids forget to use their hands and shoulders to help drive the weight up.

[thekeg55]

Stretching is big, if your muscles are tight then you are done. As mentioned earlier having a spotter you know and trust, can help alot, and this person must be able to push you and challenge you, also make sure it is the same person every time. Good luck man, be patient you will get stronger, what is your squat right now?

[Justadad]

I think obviously you need to become more flexible. In addition to the other suggestions people have given you, I recommend the box squat. You will need a box or a bench to sit on as you squat. You go down, sit on the box, and than stand up. This gets your body used to handling more weight, and it will improve your squat. Most importantly you need to stretch and do lunges.

[bigA52]

Douglas, what can i say? Well ill start off by telling you i know you are one of the hardest workers in the weight room, so belive in yourself and you will overcome this little obstacle, belive me i know what its like to have a knee injury and suffer in the weight room from it. Ok on the squats, more concentration on legs, such as dont try to work more than one major muscle group on squat day. Concentrate only on legs, lunges are miracle workers and to add variety and explosion box squats are a change. Extensions and curls help with unision and knee injury prevention. Like the above replys have a good spotter that will encourage and help, (im here Dougie D) and most of all continue working.

You still have me wooped in the powerclean department, but not for long!! lol

A

[JPATS5]

i don't hear anybody mentioning the value of deadlifts. this exercise is old and is quite boring. but, when done correctly, this exercise can strengthen the entire lower body, especially the all-important lower-back muscles and hamstrings. furthermore, you can add more weight quickly to this exercise than any of the others mentioned. trust me! it is the base for building a strong physique.

[BigRed62]

Thank u all 4 all tha suggestions. I will incoporate several of these exercises into my workout. I appreciate the info. I havent done dead lifts and glute ham work in a long time and I believe they will help me alot. lata

 

 

O yea and wat u talkin bout Cut! You ain't never gonna catch me on powerclean. Lol. And get ready to loose our bet cause i'm puttin u in tha bush. No Doubt. lol

cya