Benoit Mandelbrot coined the term "fractals" to describe the kaleidoscope-like, self-similar, self-repeating geometric shapes that are visible everywhere in nature. With the squat, what are the essential components (the FRACTALS) that we see repeated in healthy, athletic movement?
In a strong and healthy squat, we see:- healthy, uninhibited extension- solid posture- external rotation of the arms and hips- engagement of the glutes and lats- solid breathing patterns
Although, squatting is not always "fun", when done well, it has all the characteristics of playful movement. The squat is play... Just something to ponder...From Squat Talk by Boris Bachmann
Almost every time someone asks me how to bring up his squat, he's surprised when I suggest he isn't squatting often enough. If squatting is a skill that has not been developed, practice is what is needed. Every training session does not have to be a high-intensity, high-volume Smolov hell, but more frequent sessions with greater focus on technique and tension can't hurt.
For most beginner and intermediate lifters, it is a truism that squat training will help their deadlift numbers. The converse of this is not true, however; most people will NOT experience a commensurate rise in their squat numbers as their deadlift improves. I'm not saying anyone should slack in their deadlift training, but you have to work your weaknesses harder than your strengths if you want your weaknesses to become strengths.
If you are doing both the squat and deadlift in the same session, do your squats first. If you are doing both squat and deadlift work during the week, make sure squats come early in the week and before deadliest. Prioritize your squat by doing squats and assistance exercises and drills early in the week. I call this 'front-loading' your work week; by putting your 'money sets' in early and getting them over with, you avoid the tendency to slack off as the week marches on.
Squatting is your man making exercise.
When my squat is in the shitter, without fail, the rest of my training usually is too.
If my squat is kicking ass, the rest of my training is too. Even if it's not, it feels like it is. You know why? Because my squat is.
From: The Lifter Series - I Will Squat at Paul Carter's site, Lift-Run-Bang
While I'm sure the timed squats had a positive influence on our aerobic conditioning, the unexpected plus from doing the routine was the way it affected our mental states. Prior to embarking on this program, we always took five or more minutes between our heavy sets. Timed squats taught us that we didn't need much rest. ...that understanding of what the body can withstand under dire stress gave us a tremendous boost of confidence on the lifting platform. If we got rushed between attempts, it no longer mattered. It also helped us move through our regular sessions at a much faster pace, which enabled us to do more work in less time.
From Time To Squat by Bill Starr
Squatting high is easier, but easier doesn't work. You actually know this already, even if you keep the secret buried down below your brain stem. Easier has never worked, and you figured this out in about the fifth grade, provided you weren't in some remedial program mandated by your state.
When you memorized all your multiplication tables, arithmetic was a lot easier, wasn't it? When you diagrammed all your sentences, the next semester's writing assignments were easier, right? When you actually did all your homework, the test was easier. That type of easier does work.
Squats below parallel are your homework. The result of doing them is that you get stronger on all the other exercises, even the pressing movements, because squats make your whole body stronger - if you do them correctly. I know it's harder that way, and one of the ways you know it's wrong to do them high is that everybody else does them high. When was the last time that thing everybody else was doing turned out to be the right thing to do?
Deep squats done with a weight that's a little heavier each time you train affect your body in a way that no other exercise can. And believe me when I say that "other methods" have been tried. They just don't work. And it's not that they don't work as well, they don't work at all.
From When It Comes To Squats, Easier Doesn't Work by Mark Rippetoe
The Abbreviated Program
If you have problems gaining weight on the basic program, try this:
Bench Press 2 x 12
Parallel Squat 1 x 20
Rader chest pull 1 x 20
Bent over rowing 2 x 15
This program has worked some absolute miracles on people whose bodies defied development on countless other exercise programs, and these three exercises - the bench press, squat, and bent-over rowing - are Peary Rader's precise recommendation for "great results, both in the legs and the upper body" (Rader, 1964, p. 25). Just remember to work absolutely as hard as you possibly can on these exercises: Fight for every last rep and try to add weight to the benches and rows every workout, exactly as in the squats.
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