FREE shipping directly to United States! Advanced Exercises with Eastern European Names: Part 2
By Tony Boutagy www.tonyboutagy.com............. Read More
Advanced Exercises with Eastern European Names: Part I
Advanced Exercises with Eastern European Names: Part I............. Read More
After seeing you are an avid advocate of box squatting
After seeing you are an avid advocate of box squatting, I would be keen to hear your views on why you use them and what you think of them in terms of being dangerous. From a personal perspective I have always found Olympic squats best for developing lower body strength/power-Hopefully you will be able to enlighten me as to benefits/reasons for using box squats. Recently I have heard that when box squatting it can cause compression of the lumbar spine when in the ‘sitting’ position on the box. I would be keen to hear what your views are on this topic. Also why do you use box squats and why not Olympic squats? I would also like to congratulate you on the information that you provide via the getstrength website as I find extremely informative and helpful in my job and as a young strength & conditioning coach it is interesting to read about your journey into the world of strength & conditioning. Also sorry to see the All Blacks and Australia go out of the world cup-Go Dad’s Army!............. Read More
The Olympic front squat
“The Olympic front squat, as opposed to the silly ‘bodybuilders hands crossed over the bar front squat’, is one of the best exercises that can be performed in the gym. It uses practically every muscle in the body, takes the joints through a complete range of motion, and strengthens and stretches the body more than most other lower limb exercises. Most strength coaches find it irritating, therefore, when their athletes cannot perform the front squat correctly due to shoulder injury, insufficient mobility in the shoulders, elbows and wrists or have bony school girl deltoids and can’t rack the bar comfortably. Getstrength’s Front Squat Harness allows everyone to enjoy the benefits of front squatting, even if they suffer from the above complaints. It is comfortable, durable and can take heavy loading. I highly recommend it for every gym, personal trainer and strength coach.” ............. Read More
Simplicity
Simplicity
Ashley Jones............. Read More
Front Squat Harness Report
Getstrength Front Squat Harness® – The Front Squat Harness is must for all serious strength athletes.The front squat will increase leg strength and core stability. By using the front squat harness you will get maximal results.My opinion is that the front squat is the most under rated exercise in the world .............. Read More
Front Squat Harness World Records
GS Front Squat Harness World Records Official Board
............. Read More
Getstrength Front Squat Harness T-Nation Review Full Review
Getstrength Front Squat Harness T-Nation Review
Training Zone – GS Innovation
Getstrength Front Squat Harness
The front squat is one of the best exercises for developing powerful quads, but few people use it because of discomfort, lack of flexibility, or not being able to hold onto the bar. The GetStrength Front Squat Harness can help. This padded steel frame can hold over 600 pounds. For more info, checkout GetStrength.com.
The reviews are now in! See below!
Rating
Pro’s:
This product is awesome!! I’ve always shied away from doing front squats because they were so uncomfortable to do. Now I look forward to doing them again.
That alone makes this product well worth its asking price. You overcome your excuses for skipping this very important excercise.
The Harness was solid and well built.
It felt comfortable on my shoulders with the right amount of cushion.
The directions were simple and easy to follow. The pictures showed the proper hand and elbow placement.
Con’s:
The only Con I could think of was the harness pins were hard to hold onto while going really heavy. My hands would get sweaty and start slipping off the ends.
It could possibly need some small knobs on the end to help the give the hands something to grip.
How was the overall quality of the harness?
Top quality product should last for years.
How did you use/test it?
Tested it by doing the Front Squat.
Would you recommend that T-Nation readers buy this product?
Yes
Overall rating:
Comments:
I was able to get two workouts in using the Front Squat Harness. The amount of soreness on the front of the legs was amazing. Far different from the soreness in doing the back squat.
I had my two boys use it as well and they both liked it. My 18 yr. old is 6′8″ 300 lbs. and it fit him with no problem. My 15 yr. old is 6′2″ 160 lbs. and it fit him just fine. The ability of the Front Squat Harness to adjust to all the different sizes was a big plus for me.
I was able to work up to 245 lbs for three reps on my second workout. My goal is 315 lbs. for 3 reps in the future.
The two biggest things to remember when using this product is to be balanced when coming off the rack and to keep your elbows up thru out the movement. Both are very important especially when go heavy.
Thanks to GetStrength and T-Nation for this opportunity!
Report Post
Rating
Pro’s:
1. Comfort. This piece of equipment maintained an extremely high level of comfort no matter what weight was placed on it. I found it completely comfortable with upwards of 450 pounds on the apparatus.
2. Adjustability. My training partner and I had no issues whatsoever using the harness and our sizes are completely different. 5′7 190 and 6′4 235. The harness adjusts to your size almost naturally. You simply find the comfort spot for you and go to work.
3. Allows user to perform very effective front squats without needing to hold a clean grip. My partner found this very helpful considering he cannot hold the bar comfortably in the clean position due to wrist inflexibility. This allows new trainers to gain the benefit of front squats immediately.
4. It is very easy to assist your training partner with a spot by simply pushing up on the elbows of the trainer. This will allow the usage of greater weight and greater variability in training with things such as forced reps.
Con’s:
1. The main con that I can find with this equipment would be based on the packaging of the harness itself. There was no explanation or directions on how to use the harness in the box. This may be a problem for a new trainee.
2. The only issue that I could think of in the operation of the harness is to make sure that you line up the pegs so the bar is balanced from side to side appropriately.
How was the overall quality of the harness?
I found the quality to be exceptional and it appeared to be capable of lasting a lifetime with repeated use and abuse.
How did you use/test it?
Multiple techniques. See comments.
Would you recommend that T-Nation readers buy this product?
Absolutely!
Overall rating:
Comments:
First off I would like to thank T-Mag for selecting me to use this product. A few years back I attempted to purchase a front squat harness that I found on the WestSide Tapes. It did not continue being manufactured and I gave up on the pursuit. This was truly a blessing to receive this product.
How did you use/test it?
My partner and I put it through every possible squat/lunge variation we could think of. We felt that the size difference in us would be truly beneficial to review a product such as this. It was so simplistic to adjust for each of us it was an absolute no brainer.
The first exercise we tried was the full ass to the floor front squat. The harness worked perfectly for this. With a shoulder width stance the harness descends perfectly between thighs in the deep squat position. The bar does have a tendency to feel that you would be going forward. I found this to be an absolute plus due to the fact that it would force me to keep my back lined up properly.
The second exercise we attempted was the box squat. Here is where it really got exciting for me. I have trouble sitting back in my box squats. This bar, when I sat back, caused a tremendous amount of tension in my upper spinal erectors. The only equivalent I can come up with is it reminded me of the description I have heard of the safety squat bar. The safety squat bar has been known to increase the lower back strength of many squatters. This can be extrememly beneficial, in my opinion, to the tall squatter who has difficulty with leaning forward while squatting. The development of this particular portion of my back with the help of this harness
should allow me to break strength barriers of the squat in the future.
The lunge. I decided to try the lunge with the front squat harness and found it very effective. This is an exercise that is traditionally done with the bar placed on the back or with dumb bells held in hands. This was a great variation on this exercise. This also worked very well with one legged bulgarian squats. At no time is there any question whether the bar will roll off the supports forward. This was one of the concerns I had seeing it on its website and these questions were definitely answered.
Another variation I wanted to try was to see how effective this would be using bands for regular front squats as well as box squats. Again, thumbs up, no issues whatsoever, it worked perfectly.
The one exercise that I could not do was REA squats. This is a type of pliometric squat where the trainer pulls the feet up from the ground then accepts the force of the ground and presses back up from the squat as quick as possible. The reason it would not work was the bar would fly up off of the supports of the harness. One way to work around this is to use an over speed method by simply attaching bands around the bar to hold it on the harness securely. I found this to be amazingly effective in accomplishing this exercise. I expect this to help increase my explosive power tremendously.
In summary, this was an amazing piece of equipment and I feel incredibly lucky to have received it. Thank you so much T-Nation for this and all of the amazing knowledge I have gained from your site.
Your life long supporter,
jsal33.
Rating
Pro’s:
1. Lets you hold more weight without putting undo stress on the wrists.
2. spreads the weight across the shoulders not the collarbone or delts
3. makes the legs work harder, seems to target them very well.
4. blood cleans off really easy.
5. good and confortable padding
Con’s:
1. It has a learning curve to it using it properly takes consentration.
2. puts the weight higher not by much but is noticable.
3. at first using it, it feels like it’s trying to pull you forward and drop the bar.
4. if you have to dump the weight it is much harder if you can’t lift it.
How was the overall quality of the harness?
Very good
How did you use/test it?
followed the instrutions
Would you recommend that T-Nation readers buy this product?
very much yes
Overall rating:
Comments:
This allowed me to use more weight than I’ve been able to use before, it took me awhile to get a feel for it. had to try a new pr for me, I popped A nose bleed(first time that happened). I also had two other big boys try it and a couple of women (had to use a towel under it for the women to make them thicker) they all seem to like it, I taught most of them how to front squat useing this peice of equipment.
I’m more than willing to test anything else your willing to send me:)
Report Post
Hey Guys, Thank you for the great feedback, we will be taking all comments on board.
Jsal33 great review, thank you for your time and effort.
Big Guy your idea for the pins would be great, the only issue would be the safety factor. i.e if the bar needs to be dumped at any stage of the movement.
Subhuman “blood cleans off really easy”.Brilliant!
Cheers
Steve Thompson
Getstrength ltd
sthompson@getstrength.com
Report Post
Subhuman…
I am almost afraid to ask, but how did you get blood on it?…hehehe
Report Post
kungfudude wrote:
Subhuman…
I am almost afraid to ask, but how did you get blood on it?…hehehe
I was thinking the exact same thing. I am guessing it was from the nosebleed you “popped” while lifting? I’ve never even heard of that happening before… LOL
Report Post
that thing is cool. One trick I learned is to use lifting straps around the bar if you dont have flexable wrists.
just a thought
It was the nose bleed that helped me find out that the pads wipe clean easy, I guess it was the “heavyload” at least for me. 355 when the most my wrists would permit me to do was 225. it happened on rep 2 I still went to 6 before I had to dump the weight. the group that was helping me test asked why I kept going when I knew it started all I could say was “I wasn’t done yet!” it was COOL.
Report Post
Do you know anything about the Sting-ray front squat device??? How do they compare???
Report Post
I own Both and the sting ray may never see the light of day again.
Get your T-Nation Rating Front Squat Harness here!............. Read More
Front Squat Harness – Ashley Jones Crusaders Head Strength Coach
I consider the front squat to be one of the most important lower body options available to strength coaches. Often I will prescribe it first when teaching young athletes to squat as it reinforces the chest up position that is required when squatting. Also it is important in strengthening the receiving position of the clean and by being able to front squat in excess of your clean weight you have the confidence to trust your leg strength when you are coming up out of a heavy clean.............. Read More
Full squats, Front squat harness and Rules of 5, 4, 3, 2, & 1.
Full squats, Front squat harness and Rules of 5, 4, 3, 2, & 1.
By
Dr. Daniel Baker,
Strength Coach,
Brisbance Broncos Rugby League Club
Unless you are a showboat, the reason to lift weights is to improve performance (sports peformance or health/fitness performance for life in general).
The Australian Strength & Conditioning Assocation (ASCA) has determined that there are 5 desired outcomes of a lifting routine aimed at improving sports performance. They are 5a; Improved body/limb/joint Control and Stability 5b; Increased generalized muscle Size and General Strength 5c; Increased Maximal Strength 5d; Increased Power 5e: Increased Strength-endurance.
The full squat, with the top of the thigh below parallel with the floor, is a key exercise for improving sports performance. But what if you don’t like full squats?
Then you have 4 options. They are: 4a. become someone who embraces full squats, 4b. go to the Big House of Mirrors and have a good long hard look at yourself, 4c. Invite Carson and QE blokes over for a make-over or 4d. glue your toilet seat down.
Full squats are not the be all and end all of lower body training. Full squats, be they back, front, overhead, box etc are just one portion of one group of lower body exercises choices ~ but they are important.
Lower body training exercises can be categorized into 3 groups – 3a; the Squatting group (Back, front, overhead, box etc), the Pulling group (Deadlifts, Romanian deads, stiff legged, reverse hypers etc) and the Split leg group (Split squats, lunges, step-ups, 1-leg squats). (For power training, eg. 3a. band box squats & jump squats, 3b. power cleans/snatches and other olympic lifting pulls 3c. split jumps, power lunges).
In rugby league and union (and other sports), there are 2 types of trainers ~ 2a. those who embrace full squats and 2b. those who don’t do them or seek to avoid them wherever possible (“I am sore, can I do leg press instead?”).
At the Broncos, we embrace full squats as the cornerstone exercise for improving leg drive. We do not have a leg press, leg extension or leg curl machine. I tell the players what execisdes to do, what weight to lift, sets and reps, rest period, everything. If you are at the, Broncos, you are full squatting.
However, we realise that due to the intense physical collisions in rugby league, that players get bothersome injuries time to time that preclude them from safely or effectively doing free weight barbell squats. So what do we do?
We have a number of strategies we use, depending upon the injury. Here is 1 of our strategies.
Pictured is David Stagg, who holds our club tackling record. As he only weighs 97 kg and has great endurance, he has to do plenty of tackling (ie. the bigger blokes run at him and he keeps aiming up at them every single............. Read More
-
Today’s Red Hot Special
-
Join our mailing list and receive a free bonus gift
Follow Us!
-
About Steve Thompson
Managing Director and founder of Getstrength.com International. Strength Coach since 1999 New Zealand Powerlifting Record holder. I have competed in two IPF World Powerlifting Championships and was the coach for the Worlds Masters Powerlifting Bench Champs in Miami, USA 2006.
