DOC SQUAT… Old Doc Squat aimed always for power, used every aid available, knee wraps, lifting suits, thick belt, more sophisticated style, using feet spread beyond shoulder width, the bar carried as far down the back as your P.L. rules will allow, (below the delts) a considerable amount of forward leaning to let the glutes and spinal erectors (low back) share the load with the thighs and in powerlifting the lift is considered complete as soon as top of the thighs hit parallel.
It makes quite a big difference using the P.L. technique as your lifts can be increased by an incredible 20% in weight, that is if with compare this to more upright and deeper squat techniques that are used in bodybuilding. I am a great listener when it comes to what Fred Hatfield has to say about lifting, and he encourages the use of padded towel in order to reduce your neck suffering from the bar that is across the vertebral column. He also repeats on a regular basis that you should never relax while in the low position, cause this will no doubt damage your knees.
Someone who doesn’t have a genetic advantage is the great Arnold and would you believe that he too fell into the trap of only training his upper body. Once he had rectified that mistake by really training hard on legs he began to see the most incredible results. He actually managed to train just squats for an amazing 3 hours and up to 50 sets, and the standard squat producing the best results. Arnold just like the rest of us has had to learn the difficult way, and he also advices lifters not to bounce when in the low squat position and also try and use simple controlled movements.
Possibly the strongest and certainly best recognised bodybuilder for his leg development is Tom Platz. Tom who began bodybuilding when just I4 yrs old, and remembers his first squats were I set of IO reps with 9Olbs/4Ok, became a powerlifter at I9. His early training was tough with basic squats his main exercise. He would choose a weight of around 25Olbs/II3.3k and just squat for IO minutes at a time, working up to I5O reps, resting and then repeating.
In 1982 at the Mr Olympia contest, the guy did 2O reps with 5I5lbs/233.5k and 8 reps with 635lbs/288k at a mere 22Olbs/99.7k bodyweight, and incredibly enough without using knee wraps. I must admit that I have always looked up to Platz’s strict controlled form and it’s still pretty welll the same. Squats is must for all champs and make sure you get a good look at Ronnie Coleman’s amazing legs.
When Flex Wheeler, Chris Cormier and Kevin Levrone do a front ab and thighs, every fibre shows just how hard they have worked for their development. Squats and squat varieties are a must in any champs program. All we ask is for you to take care, use common sense, don’t overtrain, don’t use bad form, or too heavy weights.
The whole idea of this exercise is to make your muscles work hard and the amount of weight you use is irrelevant, so don’t worry what anyone else might be lifting and concentrate on what works good for you. You should try lighter, high reps squats as this will favour someone looking for development rather than just wanting to power lift. So even if you hate squats, do them and feel good about it afterwards.