What is the heavy squat??

The heavy barbell squat has been a topic of much debate among lifting enthusiasts. Barbell squats involve placing a large number of iron weights on a barbell positioned behind the shoulders and slowly lowering the body by bending the knees. It has been the mainstay of bodybuilding programs for the last decade.

During the mid-to-late 1990s, the resurgence of Dorian Yates as an abbreviated training proposition brought the squat back into the spotlight. Being one of the big three lifts along with the deadlift and bench press, the squat was considered an essential part of any training regimen. The squat is a lift that is difficult to perform with heavy weight prescribed form. This has led to it being classified as a true bodybuilder exercise.

Being preached by a parrot

“If you want to increase your arms an inch, then start doing heavy squats!” These were the words of a famous bodybuilding champion. Internet forums, being what they are, repeated this mantra for years and years. Legions of novice 150-pound lifters began taking this as gospel and ridiculing anyone who said squats shouldn’t be heavy and go all out. “Squat down until you drop,“was often a phrase used to respond to someone seeking to climb over a plateau. If you had any weakness in any part of your body, it was thought that the squat would magically remove this weakness.”Perform squats religiously and watch your chest grow,“It was quite common to hear.

repetitive mania

This went on and on for nearly a decade as rabid internet newbie bodybuilders continued to preach about the squat. This was very evident when the 8-time Olympia champion; Ronnie Coleman was seen squatting 800 pounds on video just weeks before the Mr. Olympia competition. Some attributed his mastery to never backing down on extremely heavy lifts. This included the deadlift, bench press, and squat. It was absurd that his fellow competitors were considered sissies and wimps because they never really went all out on the barbell squat.

Many bodybuilders were not squatting

As the bodybuilding cycle continued, the squat became less and less of a focus for electronic bodybuilders. With the fall of the incredible king Ronnie Coleman, the stocky mantra seemed to have faded. So, the super famous bodybuilder, Bob Cicherillo, publicly expressed that squats were not the “be all, end allThis has seemed to put an end to the squat craze. Dexter Jackson also put an end to the squat sensation that has taken the bodybuilding community by storm for years by winning the 2008 Mr. Olympia. Dexter Jackson is a heavy squatter.

The verdict

The bodybuilding scene is fun. When a dominant bodybuilder arrives on the scene, he magically transforms the basic principles of bodybuilding. The mastery of him seems to feed the desire of underdeveloped bodybuilding fans to place his success on a single bodybuilding principle. And this is exactly what has happened over the last few decades with the barbell squat. The past two decades have been dominated by strength-focused athletes: Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates. And being an intense strength exercise, the squat mantra followed his successes.

These two Olympians no doubt used the heavy squat as part of their arsenal to master bodybuilding. But others have done the same with relatively lighter barbell squats. Recent champions Jay Cutler and Dexter Jackson are not known for their extremely heavy weight training methods.

How does this affect the normal everyday bodybuilder? Use the squat as part of your arsenal. Never blindly follow the next fad in the bodybuilding industry. Just like electronic bodybuilders on most forums, fads come and go. Build leg muscles with the squat along with a comfortable leg press and less stressful leg extension.

If you want to grow your chest, do bench press.