Barbell squats for tall people. Squat technique with a barbell on the shoulders. Bench squats

Bill Starr
IM No. 8, 2000

Since squats are the backbone of any strength program, you should know how to be successful with this exercise. Often, when progress slows down, athletes get lost and start looking for replacements in the form of lunges, leg presses, and a whole host of other leg exercises. Of course, changes in training programs bring certain benefits. But by overdoing these exercises at the expense of the squat, athletes are actually taking a step back in leg strength development.

And this is completely unacceptable.

At the very beginning of any program, special attention must be paid to squat technique. This also applies to those who start training after a break. Many of those who have squatted in great shape before, when they resume training, show simply terrible technique - usually because they are in too much of a hurry to achieve their previous results. The same can be said about newcomers. They are too preoccupied with squatting with a certain weight, forgetting about the form of the exercise.

If you don't develop the right technique early in your bodybuilding career, your progress will not be as good as it could be, and the end results will be far below potential. In addition, the wrong technique of movement is a kind of "invitation to the traumatologist." All this is so elementary that it would seem that it does not need to be repeated. But in many gyms, people who are called upon to follow the correct technique of performing exercises are so concerned about getting their wards to reach certain numbers that they allow them to lift weights in the wrong form that they are clearly not ready for.

From time to time in my hall there is such a situation. I am informed that a new athlete will come to my gym to train, who squats with a weight greater than the record for my gym - 285 kg. Usually they give a figure of about 320 kg. It all sounds very convincing until I see the squat itself, which is usually a half squat. When I force the "record holder" to drop below parallel to the floor, then the usual 320 kg squat suddenly becomes 175 kg. Sometimes the blow to the athlete's pride is so strong that he can never recover from it. None of these great "squatters" ever did a real, full squat. And it is rather the fault of the coaches. High scores put them in a good light. Often this happens in big sports. Ultimately, the athlete himself loses the most.

The second important point in the science of squatting correctly is the polishing of technique in the process of increasing strength. Experienced athletes also make mistakes, but they are of a slightly different kind than beginners. Most often this happens to those who are most successful compared to the rest in this room. It is assumed that they know perfectly well what they are doing, and no one will dare to reprimand them. Otherwise, they are the best! But the fact is that every athlete at any level of development needs to monitor compliance with the form of the exercise and look for weaknesses.

Another important aspect of achieving success is the time required to create a power base and gradually improve it. It seems that I again said a completely obvious thing, but after all, many athletes, for the sake of their ego, forget about this in pursuit of numbers. Here is a comparison with a pyramid. The stability of the top depends entirely on the width of the base. The same goes for squats or any other strength exercise. Your final results depend entirely on the underlying work done. This process cannot be customized. Anyone who is in a hurry in this matter will certainly end up with an injury or overtraining, or even both at once.

So, if you want to achieve something in squats, constantly improve the technique of performing the exercise, gradually increase the total amount of work, look for and overcome weak points. The value of a good coaching eye here is hard to overestimate. An experienced mentor will notice if any of the muscle groups is lagging behind and offer an exercise or a whole program to work it out.

It is also important to understand that in such an exercise as a squat, each person has certain limitations. Even if a person has developed an excellent form and spent half his life laying down a power base, the result largely depends on the own weight of each individual person and on his anatomical features. You may see here a contradiction with what I said earlier. Understand that you must strive to realize your real potential at the moment. An athlete weighing 75 kg will never be able to squat from 205 kg, but from 185 - completely. If he wants to cross this line, he needs to put on weight. Many, however, do not want this. They stop there and continue to squat to keep fit or improve in another sport.

I once worked with an athlete (he was a cycling sprinter) who made excellent progress in the squat until he reached 194 kg. We tried to increase the weight and reduce it, but the result remained the same. The only way to overcome this obstacle was to increase his own weight, but he did not want this. Squats from 194 kg is a pretty decent result, and if he put on weight, it would negatively affect his results in the cycling sprint. Therefore, he continued to work with this weight to maintain shape.

It's no secret that some people are designed by Mother Nature to never be able to squat with huge weights, no matter how big their own weight is and how much they train. But even such super-heavy-growing people can greatly increase their strength if they are diligent enough. Perhaps the weights they lift will not impress others, but for themselves they will know that they have achieved something and this is quite enough for them. Whatever your experience, your goals and genetic background, you can reach your potential in squats.

The main attention in developing the technique of performing squats should be paid to the position of the neck and legs. This is very individual, but there are some general rules. Most people feel comfortable with their feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. The toes should be slightly turned out, but not too much, otherwise it is fraught with knee injuries. According to my observations, a wider stance is comfortable for tall people. The wider it is, the less socks should be turned outward.

It is also more convenient for taller people to lay the neck slightly lower than usual. And the usual position of the neck is the top of the trapezius muscle. If tall lifters place the bar this way, they tend to push their torso too far forward during the squat. If you are tall, place the bar lower. But do not overdo it, too low a position is fraught with shoulder injury. Also, if you're not a powerlifter, you need deeper squats.

However, despite everything said above, you should experiment with the position of the feet and neck for some time and choose the best option for yourself. The only thing you have to be afraid of while building your form is the bad habit of leaning forward while squatting. Yes, powerlifters do this on purpose - in order to lift more weight. But don't forget that they do a great job of strengthening the psoas beforehand. And before you have significantly strengthened them, leaning forward is quite dangerous.

One of the very important requirements for the technique of performing the exercise is to remain very, very tense throughout the entire range of motion. You must tighten your muscles almost to the point of cramping. Many athletes relax their muscles slightly when lowering into a lower position. Their thoughts are occupied with how they will rise up. This is not so bad if you are working with light weights, but not in the case of extremely heavy ones! Relaxing while lowering is dangerous for many reasons, one of which is the knees. With such a relaxed descent, there is a tendency to "beat" in the lower position, which is very dangerous for the knee joints - especially for beginners and those who resume training after a break.

It is quite difficult to tighten all the muscles needed to lift from the bottom position when the bar is already moving. The body must be ready for this in advance. If you move the bar up, already fully assembled and prepared, then you can easily bring it through the dead center.

It is best to prepare for this even before the start of the movement, tighten all the muscles and focus on it. After removing the neck from the rack, begin the preparation process. "Cling" to the floor with your feet, let the wave of tension rise up all over your body - legs, pelvis, back, shoulders. I always advise my students before they start to go down, to imagine that they are going to squat with 300 kg. Tighten the trapezium, as if trying to lift the neck with them, take a breath and start moving. If all the muscles are tense, then it will be much easier for you to rise.

In addition, it helps to bring the neck into the correct position at the bottom. This point is missed by many, but if you go down to the wrong bottom position with a lot of weight, your chances of getting up are greatly reduced. Keeping your torso tight allows you to lead the bar in the right direction. If you come down relaxed, then the rise will be even worse, especially with heavy weights.

Do not miss this preparation even during the warm-up set. After a while, this will become a habit, which is what you need. Once you learn how to do each rep as if it were the only one, and with the maximum weight, your results in squats will begin to steadily increase.

How about head position? Some coaches teach their trainees to look up, some to look down. This is also very individual. I have seen many experienced athletes holding their heads in different ways. But in any case, you should not force her to be in any particular position, that is, look up or down. This is quite a lot of stress for the upper spine, which already gets a lot of stress during heavy squats. Your head should be in a comfortable position for you.

If I notice that the lifter is leaning forward too much when coming out of the bottom position, I advise him to raise his head slightly. And vice versa, if it deviates - lower it. Like gymnasts, athletes should use their head as a balance during squats.

I teach my trainees to hold the bar very tightly, not letting it move on their shoulders. Many come to me with the confidence that the neck should lie freely on the trapezoid, and the habit of a very wide grip - almost under the discs. But this does not allow you to control the neck when working with heavy weights. Too many wide-grip athletes simply lack flexibility in their shoulder joints. A few weeks of stretching easily solves this problem.

When you start training after a long break, stick to the "5 out of five" scheme, use heavy, medium and light concepts. Some advise beginners to perform 10 or more repetitions, thereby trying to limit the working weights. But most often the guys get tired quickly and lose their technique by the end of the approach, which is completely unacceptable. At five reps, you can always keep a close eye on the form, and if you want to give more load, increase the number of sets.

I especially advise beginners to arrange an easy day, it will help to concentrate on the technique of performing movements. After a while, you will be able to perform heavy sets of three reps on a moderate day, and also add a final set of 8-10 reps on heavy or moderate days. These are the first steps in building your power base.

I have always stuck to a squat program three times a week. After many years of working with people, I have come to the conclusion that such a scheme leads to the best results. Doing squats twice a week doesn't provide that kind of loading and doesn't allow much variation in your squat routines. But as the weight increases, you may feel the need for more muscle recovery time, and then it makes sense to switch to squats twice a week. If it works for you, great.

Many athletes lift weights for only three or four months of the year and then move on to training in other sports. In such cases, doing squats three times a week will be the best scheme for hard training. In such a short period of time, athletes need to increase leg strength, and they do just that with a three-day program. I know a lot of athletes who have added 100 kg or more to the bar in three months, and this, in my opinion, is a good result.

And now the program of my students. Monday is usually a busy day. They do five sets of five reps, the last one is at the limit. Then the final set is done with reduced weight, which helps to add some work without much stress. This set also helps them adjust their technique if necessary. With what weight to perform it? It depends on the results of the main program. If it was successfully completed, I make it moderate in load, if not, more difficult. The guys call it "penalty", and I agree with them.

My rule of thumb for the final set is 20kg less than the heaviest of the workout. For example, if you did 3-5 squats with 165 kg, then in the final set you should work with 145 kg for eight repetitions. However, this is not a dogma. If I notice that the exercise was performed with a violation of technique, then I put the weight even less so that the athlete can correct it. After all, with a lot of weight, he will not be able to do this. After working five sets of five reps with a 230-pound barbell, he already loaded his quads enough to work with another 200 kg. All he gets is overtraining. So I have him do a set with 175 kg, which is also not a "gift" after hard work, but not too tiring either.

In conclusion, I want to emphasize once again the importance of the correct technique for performing the exercise. Having mastered the technique, the athlete begins to progress with weights, then I look for his weaknesses, include new exercises or techniques to eliminate these weaknesses. In the second part of this article, I will go into more detail about the technique of doing squats. In particular, I will address the issue of developing explosive power when lifting from the bottom position, strengthening the adductors and biceps of the legs, as well as moving through the dead center, which will allow you to take your squat results to sky-high heights.

Helping lanky athletes avoid danger and inconvenience is not an easy task. The proposed measures will make this task easier and help tall guys become strong and muscular!

The gym is a real torture chamber for tall guys. In order to get into the right starting position and perform the exercise correctly, lanky athletes often have to dodge and place their levers at an awkward angle, and this increases the risk of injury and increases the distance of the working weight.

A daunting problem for the tall gym occupants who constantly have to adapt basic movements to their anatomical and biomechanical features.

If you're not sure if you need to adjust your work in the gym, let's first decide who counts as "tall" in relation to strength training.

In this situation, we are not talking about guys with slightly above average height. We are talking about men who are over 192 cm and women over 178 cm. We are talking about real skyscrapers.

If you calmly look down on a professional basketball player, and in the gym you find it difficult to cope with your long legs, then you need to deal with it somehow. I am ready to offer you simple solutions that will help correct technical errors and eliminate long-legged and long-armed interference.

1. Basic isometric exercises

Due to the long legs and arms, it is extremely difficult for you to take the correct starting position, and this leads to poor performance of the entire exercise. Isometric exercises, in which you hold a static contraction, provide an opportunity to develop the correct position. They teach lanky athletes how to start and finish the exercise correctly.

Over time, isometric exercises will help the athlete feel the correct range of motion. If you're having trouble doing half squats but can easily do quarter squats, then start with a quarter squat and gradually work your way down and deeper. So you will systematically improve the technique of deep squats and increase the overall range of motion without experiencing physical discomfort.

Isometric holding will make you stronger, even if your flexibility is limited by your height.

Do not miss the very essence of isometric movements: this is not a long and tedious waiting for the weather by the sea, this is active work, albeit in a static mode. Whatever position you take, you must hold it with the help of the whole body.

Stay in a static position until you feel fairly tired, but not so long that your posture begins to resemble a deformed garden chair. Start with 10-15 sets of 10-15 seconds, move forward, increasing the duration of the set, decreasing the total number of sets, and gradually moving to the correct position.

2. Leave only the concentric phase

Guys who constantly bang their head against a doorway have some difficulty with proprioceptive sensitivity and motor innervation. As if the signal from the muscles to the brain and back goes a little longer than usual. As a result, the eccentric, or negative, phase of the movement, or rather, its outcome, becomes a matter of chance: either the fixation of the body is lost, or the arms are crooked. In a word, the whole exercise is down the drain.

By emphasizing the concentric (contraction) phase, such as doing the bench press in a squat rack or squatting in the same manner, lanky athletes will get at least some relief, because the basis of these exercises will be isometric movements. They will improve the range of motion, stabilize the starting position, and perform the exercise with enough vigor and energy to develop strength and volume. And you don’t have to worry about the forced reduction in working weight.

The success of a concentric exercise depends on acceleration. Even with a lot of weight, you need to focus on moving the projectile from start to finish as quickly as possible. Stick to 3-8 reps for concentric exercises. If you do fewer reps, you turn the exercise into a quasi-maximum, into a non-productive movement.

3. Weakened negatives

Once you've mastered the concentric exercises, add in loose movements that involve the use of straps to facilitate the eccentric phase of the bar movement - mainly when doing bench presses and squats.

For weakened negatives, tie one piece of webbing to the top of the squat rack and wrap the other around the bar. As the projectile descends, the strap will stretch, which will reduce the load during the eccentric phase and help start the concentric stage of movement.

Elastic straps fixed to the squat rack will help you maintain the correct position in the eccentric (downward) phase of the movement and give you momentum for the concentric phase of the movement

This strategy is designed to help the athlete transition from concentric exercises to full range movements. Isometric exercises teach you to take and hold the correct position, concentric presses teach you to develop maximum effort from the starting position, and weakened negatives teach you to cleanly overcome all phases of the movement.

4. Medium reps

Tall athletes have long leverage that interferes with proprioception and movement control. An overly intense load with high weights and low reps amounts to a dangerous, painful, and potentially traumatic set. Fixate on extreme weights and one-rep sets and your performance will drop much faster than in the case of athletes with normal leverage. Quality reps and a long sports career are built on medium reps.

Embrace this strategy and do sets of 5-8 reps. If you want to gain mass, increase the volume of the load by increasing the number of sets in the training session or in the training cycle. To increase strength, carefully focus on the starting position and perform quality repetitions that develop frenetic tension.

Training program

Being tall doesn't have to hinder your strength training success. Success depends on many factors. Learn to hold position with isometric movements, develop starting strength with concentric movements, and learn to handle the eccentric phase with weakened negatives.

Master these techniques with medium reps and you will solve all the problems of a lanky athlete.

A tall athlete looks much more imposing than a short one, but it is more difficult for a tall athlete to gain weight. According to our data, only 10% of those whose height exceeds 188 cm do not experience problems with gaining muscle mass.

It is also worth pointing out a certain visual point: people with the same body mass index and the same body build (for example, ectomorphs) look different, having significant differences in height, and the advantage here is on the side of those who are shorter - they seem more massive.

There is one more problem. Let's call it "mechanical" - this article is devoted to it.

Exercise mechanics in tall people

The mechanical problem is one of the significant obstacles limiting the progress in gaining muscle mass in tall guys. The essence of this problem is as follows: high growth is, first of all, long limbs (legs, arms). Especially if a person is an ectomorph in his bodily nature. All the main (basic) work in the gym is carried out by the limbs.

In this case, it is necessary to understand the importance and peculiarity of the length of the limbs. After all, the longer the limbs, the longer the mechanical lever. What is a lever? Imagine a simple experiment: two people hold bricks on a shovel (the shovel is held at its end with hands). But in one person a shovel is 1-meter, and in another - 2-meter. Imagine that the shovels are the same weight. Who is more difficult to hold a brick on a shovel? Of course, the one with the longest shovel!

In addition, the long lever creates the conditions not only for additional effort, but also for a greater range of motion. All this cannot but affect the performance of exercises and their effectiveness.

For people with long limbs, this problem is quite noticeable in exercises such as the bench press, bench press, and squats.

In these (and some other) exercises, tall people (with long levers) usually demonstrate below average strength indicators (see Table 1). In turn, the inability to reach heavier weights (due to long leverage) can prevent you from gaining muscle mass. The main thing is not to be disappointed, but to understand the essence of the problem, and then look for ways to solve it.

Tab. one. Averages of the maximum results
in some exercises (for amateur bodybuilders)

It is appropriate to quote the words of Arthur Jones from one of his articles when he compared the strength indicators of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu: “Arnold Schwarzenegger has at least three times more muscle than his friend Franco Columbu, and yet Franco can lift more than Arnold which means absolutely nothing. Arnold's forearms are three inches longer than Franco's, so Arnold needs to lift the weight a greater distance in a bicep curl. That is, even when lifting the same weight, Arnold will have to move the bar six inches further than Franco, and thereby do more work.

But in some other exercises - primarily in the deadlift - high growth, on the contrary, is an assistant in the performance of exercises, which allows you to have strength achievements above average. Here the effect of leverage is the opposite. Remember Archimedes and his famous phrase: "Give me a point of support, and I will move the earth." With a deadlift, the fulcrum is the floor, and the lever is the legs + torso. And the longer the lever, the easier it is to lift heavier weights. By the way, purely technically for a tall deadlift, it may not work with certain proportions of the length of the legs, arms and torso. With such proportions, the positive effect of leverage will fade into the background.

How to solve the problem?

First option. People with long levers should spend a lot of time experimenting with movement techniques in order to find the positions of the smallest radius of the lever. That is, the minimum task is to find the most optimal vector (direction) of movement in a particular exercise.

Second option. People with long levers are allowed to experiment not only with the vector of movement, but also with the amplitude of movement. Judge for yourself: the longer the lever, the greater the amplitude of movement. Compare two people in the bench press with a difference in height of about 30 cm (for example, 190 cm and 160 cm) and observe how much distance (how many centimeters) the amplitude of the movement of the bar takes from the position of straightened arms to touching the chest. You will find that a shorter person lowers the bar a distance that, for a taller person, would be about half their range of motion.

On our part, there is no call to switch exclusively to half-presses and half-squats and forever forget about full-range movements. However, we strongly recommend that you do not ignore these exercise options (read about options in and) and do not perceive them as some kind of technical error (which is how many approach this issue). Remember, if you are tall (with long levers), you have every right to act contrary to the recognized rules, because these rules were clearly not written with you.

Poll in the article: Pirron M. 5 tips for thin and tall guys to gain muscle mass // Bodybuilding for hardgainers, 2013,

Jones A. Size and strength // Ironman. 1972, no. 1.

2014 © Bodybuilding for hardgainers

Some argue that barbell squats for girls are not required, if not harmful. Say, not only buttocks, but also quadriceps grow from them. And that and the unaesthetic legs of a football player, and other joy, which we do not want at all, going to the gym for harmony.

Another thing is that no constructive replacements are usually offered. At most, they advise doing a plie with a dumbbell. Or the Bulgarian split squat, which, as you know, is a little more difficult than a simple squat. And it’s practically impossible if the beginner’s technique is zero. To be fair, the quad works in all types of squats, and you can't isolate it. So some growth will have to come to terms. But with the right technique, the buttocks work more.

Barbell squats for girls: benefits and harms

The problem with everyone who excludes the squat from their training is not only that they lose the fun and the reason to look very cool in the eyes of their male gym brethren. The trouble is that by giving up squats and deadlifts, we get training without the right hormonal response.

Compound exercises cause a massive increase in oxygen consumption under exercise, and a surge in GH levels.

These two factors not only help you recover better from the two dozen isolation swings for the "nut" that we all practice, but also burn more fat before, during, and after training. So the whole point is not only in roundness, but also in their absence in unnecessary places.

Barbell squats for girls also solve the following problems:

• allow you to get rid of stooped posture. You just won’t go down into a squat if your shoulder blades are “spread” over your back, your lower back is bent forward, and your stomach is thrown out for all to see. Gathering is the first thing a proper squat teaches. Pull and lower the shoulder blades, fix the native lumbar region by rigid retraction of the abdomen. These skills are very suitable for everyday life. For example, those of her periods when she desperately wants to look slimmer, but does not work;
• strengthen the abs in static better than a million twists at different angles on all sorts of strange objects. It is the strength of the transverse abdominal muscles that is not enough for those comrades whose stomach falls forward, despite the huge amount of work done on the press;
• with the right technique, they help to avoid injuries in typical “female” activities like high-rep training for muscle quality, and 100 forms of running to burn fat;
• help to reduce the amount of cardio performed to reasonable limits, by increasing calorie consumption, and, finally, spend less time in the gym

But with sloppy form, barbell-on-the-shoulder squats can be dangerous. Strictly speaking, the bar should not lie on any shoulders at all. It’s worth starting to learn from the “bar below the trapezium” position, continuing to put weights on top of the trapezoid, as soon as they learn how to remove the buildup, and lifting the shoulders.

It is not easy to squat correctly with a barbell also because there are individual developmental features that must be taken into account when setting up the technique. Often on the Internet you can find the opinion that a girl should squat with a barbell on her shoulders, a pelvis to the floor, deeper than the parallel. And an excellent explanation of the methodical "calculations" - they say, the girls want to pump up their buttocks, so they work there. “There” they do not work for everyone, and for many such a squat is contraindicated due to lumbar lordosis. In general, it is better to decide on an individual technique in advance.

Everyone can do a barbell squat correctly

The standards of this movement are different in powerlifting and bodybuilding. The peculiarity is that the lifter's version is more anatomically conditioned:

• they go under the barbell with the stomach already drawn in and the shoulder blades tightened to the spine, the neck is set quite low, just below the midline passing through the rear deltas;
• they check their posture, gather, remove the projectile, step back, place their legs at a comfortable width in two steps and begin the exercise;
• the feet are at the width that is convenient for the hips, and does not allow the kneecaps to move inward;
• the neck lies low, which eliminates the dilution of the shoulder blades and loss of stability, accompanied by a back injury, usually;
• socks are moderately spread apart, adding stability to the posture;
• the movement begins with the pelvis down and back, according to this, the knees bend. This squat is similar to how we usually sit on a low bench;
• throughout the entire movement, the press is retracted, the back is in a natural deflection, the forward tilt is very moderate, the body does not lie on the hips;
• at the point of maximum depth, the lumbar region does not “unwind”, and the pelvis does not make a characteristic “peck” down. Squatting with this movement is sometimes allowed, but not for beginners training for aesthetics. "Pecks" and "beats" due to bending of the legs can take place during squats for "power", with small jumps, they are not used in health fitness;
• This is followed by a smooth lifting of weight due to extension in the hip and knee joint.

Individual squatting technique includes determining the available depth and maximum forward lean. Stand in profile to the mirror and sit down. As soon as you notice that the lumbar region “unwinds” and the pelvis “pecks” - you have reached the maximum depth, fix on it, you should not force it anymore.

The slope should be the same as if you sit down with your knees on the wall with socks at a distance of 10-15 cm from its surface. Lowering the chest is not worth it.
Well, the separation of the feet and the distance between the knees is selected so that there is no transfer of body weight to the socks, and various fluctuations of the hips (their information and dilutions).

The barbell squat technique is best taught by a trainer. Self-study is also good and useful, but after you automatically take the weight from the racks correctly, gather, and smoothly perform both lowering and lifting the weight. In most gyms, you can take a few personal training sessions, this will help.

A coach is also needed to determine what additional exercises will help you break bad habits in the squat. Such habits are developed by the way we walk and sit from childhood, and can be very harmful when the weight becomes large.
Don't want to squat with more weight? Strength training should be progressive. You cannot achieve results by training with an empty bar all your life. Usually engaged girls reach one and a half of their own weights on the bar in a year or two sessions in the “three workouts per week” format, and this is not a record, but quite a typical indicator.

Types of barbell squats

In addition to the so-called lifter's squat, there is a weightlifting option - it involves a high position of the neck, on the trapezius muscle, and exceptionally large flexion in the hip joints. In the practice of fitness fitness is used extremely rarely.

The variations used in bodybuilding involve "playing" with the width of your feet. A wide squat with toes spread apart - plie, is considered loading the buttocks. Position with a narrow setting of the feet and the abduction of the pelvis back - to work out the front surface of the thigh

According to the type of position of the neck, squats are distinguished by:

• frontal - the barbell is placed on the chest, and is held either with a hook grip (the forearms are parallel to each other, the barbell lies on the shoulders), or by crossing the arms;
• with a bar above your head - or rather, the neck lies a little behind your head. The bar is taken from the floor with a jerky (hands almost under the pancakes, wide) grip, and jerked up, turning the shoulders and directing the projectile just behind the head. In this position, a squat is performed. Beginners are often given the movement in a simplified format, with a light gymnastic stick. It helps to correct minor postural disorders and learn to hold your back correctly.

Related to the barbell squat are the exercises of the same name in the Smith machine and the hack simulator. They are aimed at isolating the legs, and create a slight load on the stabilizers.

For a beginner, it will not be a big problem to squat every workout if 3 sessions per week are performed. As the weights increase, it is necessary to organize your exercises on the principle of "only squat, or only deadlift" in order to avoid overloading the central nervous system.

In our women's team at fitness training, almost everyone has their own problems: someone needs a bigger ass, but the figure is boyish, someone can’t get rid of annoying “pies” and “ears”, and someone whines that everything would be fine, but the belly is too big, although the hips are narrow. Men have about the same problems, only they do not trumpet it right and left, but try to keep quiet and either puff in sports clubs, or try to pass off their disadvantage as an advantage.

It turns out that if you want to get rid of certain problems, you need not just to work hard according to the general program or peep it from a neighbor, but to build your own, and preferably with a coach at least at first. Since what suits your stocky neighbor is unlikely to suit you if you are 187 cm tall. Trainer Adam Bornstein gives useful tips to help you achieve the desired result without injury.

1. Bench press - for those with long arms

The bench press is a very popular exercise, but due to the fact that in its standard variation it is only suitable for those with an average figure. If you are not one of the lucky ones, you need to correct some points. In the case of tall guys with long arms, the standard option does not work, as their shoulder joints are more prone to rotator cuff problems.

It is proposed to replace the standard bench press with a bench press from the floor, and not from the bench, work with dumbbells, simple push-ups and push-ups with weight.

Bench press from the floor

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Push-ups with extra weight

2. Barbell squats are for tall guys

The main problem that tall guys face when doing this exercise is lower back pain. Familiar? It is not necessary to completely abandon this exercise. You just need to modify it a little and remove a lot of weight. It can be replaced with standard lunge squats, Bulgarian lunge squats, barbell front squats, Romanian deadlifts, and Good Morning barbell bends.

Lunge Squats

Bulgarian lunge squats

Front squat with barbell

Romanian deadlift

Bent over barbell "Good morning"

3. Deadlifts and pull-ups - for men with short arms and long legs

They say that the smaller your arms, the less weight you can lift. Grip strength, the strength of your hand, can be one of the most underestimated in all arm lifts. In this case gym clearly not your place. Instead, try the best sumo deadlift, rack deadlift, or just take your average weight and walk with it as long as you can hold it. Gradually increase the load when you feel that you can withstand longer.

Sumo deadlift

Rack pull

In principle, girls can take note of the same exercises, but usually they have slightly different problems, which we will discuss in another article. ;)