Are Back Squats REALLY Useful?! | Dan John

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Dan John has spent his life with one foot in the world of lifting and throwing, and the other foot in academia. An All-American discus thrower, Dan has also competed at the highest levels of Olympic lifting, Highland Games and the Weight Pentathlon, an event in which he holds the American record.

Dan spends his work life blending weekly strength training workshops and lectures with full-time writing, and is also an online religious studies instructor for Columbia College of Missouri. As a Fulbright Scholar, he toured the Middle East exploring the foundations of religious education systems. Dan is also a Senior Lecturer for St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London.

His books, on weightlifting, include Intervention, Never Let Go, Mass Made Simple and Easy Strength, written with Pavel Tsatsouline as well as From Dad, To Grad. He and Josh Hillis co-authored “Fat Loss Happens on Monday.”

Dan is one of the original practitioners of the "Kettlebell Swing" in the US and is widely renowned to be the inventor of the "Kettlebell Goblet Squat". He is the host of the weekly Dan John Podcast; discussing all things strength, kettlebells, Olympic weightlifting and athletic performance as well as doing live workshops, coaching and online personal training.

#danjohn #strengthtraining #nutrition #onlinepersonaltraining #danjohnpodcast #kettlebell #powerlifting #kettlebelltraining

[Vilain]

Still amazed how this legend man is still so humble about his experience & knowledge

[allisonfalin]

180lbs back squatting is what took me out. Goblets from now on. I am getting to the point where as a 50 year old female, it isn’t beneficial to be completely knocked out of lower body lifts for months because of one move. Thanks for the info.

[DM-jtrh]

💯% FACTS - totally agree - I started a back squat program hoping to dunk a basketball (I’m 6’3 by the way) in my younger years and it actually lowered my vertical jump and slowed me down! Fast exercises combined with plyometrics + sprints + bounding allowed me to go from not being able to touch the rim to dunking the basketball within 12 months.

[lukebates]

A fantastic coach you are Sir Dan John.

I have dropped back squats as my performances have dropped. Front squat, split squat and goblet squats.

[farhanhussain_]

Dan, you are pissing off Mr. Ripetto😁😁😁

Joke aside, I agree what you said. Back squats are more important for powerlifters just as front squat and overhead squat are important for weightlifters.

Low bar squat is so much hip dominant that I consider it in hip hinge category just like deadlift variations as it works the same muscle and posterior chain although differently.

You are also right about bench press that its carryover in sports is not much. I believe that variations of overhead press and deadlift are more valuable for on-field performance and real life carryover.

[cameronmiller]

Firas Zahabi said he noticed little to no difference in the power of an athletes leg kicks going from 1-2x bodyweight in the back squat. He was George st Pierre’s head coach for most of his career.

[duchaneaux]

I completely agree with you about squatting everyday. Even just doing some bodyweight squats either for a few quick sets in your living room or throughout the day is good. They don’t have to be loaded heavy, you just need to do the movement one way or another.

One of the things I also like to do are “5-minute squats.” You just get into the bottom squat position and sit there for a few minutes. I like to do it with a kettlebell and sit there goblet-style just so I can get in the position easier. I’ll do this sometimes at work if I’m not feeling right physically, but usually I’ll do it at home after being on my feet all day at work, and that relief I feel when I get in that position feels so good. After that then I’ll either do a bunch of weightless bodyweight squats or mess around in my home gym.

Also doing high rep breathing squats in the morning (or kettlebells swings) is a good way to get your lungs going and wake up. That’s my coffee right there!

[VincentTanner]

Dan, increasing my back squat has really helped my powerlifting.

[squatrx]

I've been doing "6 point rocking" for years - now I have something to call them!

[PoohBear]

I used to love back squat, and as I have aged & have less time to workout I moved full range of motion front squat. In general compound movements that hit more and have functional/stability ROIs. As we age, we want the return on in investment to translate to our health and functionality.

[stephenraybrown]

I used to love low back squatting, but cervical stenosis now makes it impossible - the bar sits right on the problematic discs, and pulling back the shoulders intensifies the pain and numbness. I have also found I need to minimize compression forces on the spine in general, and I never got very good at front squatting - I end up feeling it more in my front delts than my legs. Long story short, back squat was great for me, until it wasn't. I watch the young guys doing it and say, right on. But this old guy has to find other ways to stay fit and strong. Always appreciate the insights, Coach!

[zen]

Appreciate that perspective Dan!
As someone just trying to stay strong and in good shape, but not an athlete, the way the back squat was 'presented' to me was that it's the best exercise for building overall muscle mass.
Personally I find the most joy in rotating between squats like front, back, zercher, etc.

[GalickGon]

I’d say like all things there’s probably diminishing returns in terms of fatigue and power output after a certain weight/rep scheme. And the funky thing will be it will be different for each athlete depending on their body mechanics too. Love squatting but these are all good points you bring up.

[gnperdue]

All exercises are tools, and almost all tools have a purpose. The question is never “is this tool hood or bad?” - it is, “how do I use this tool?”

[MrRufusjax]

I went down the high rep back squat rabbit hole over 20 years ago. I don't regret it. Two other lunatics and I went on a crazy program.consisting of 20 rep or more set of back squats with some hang cleans or bench press as an accessory. I got up to 325 for 21 well below parallel. I was 25 and eating (and drinking) like crazy .It gave me muscle I still have despite at times due to circumstances taking a year off of training.

[jculbert]

If you need to be massive, or be a pro power lifter, hard to beat low bar... Nothing puts mass on like it. But if your goal is general strength, fitness and physical preparedness, you have to weigh risk/reward. Not to mention if you lift at home without spotters. My program rotates some kind of squat all three days: 2kb rack squats, goblet squats and front squats, with fairly heavy Bulgarian Split squats thrown in too. It's more than enough for leg development, and much less risky.

And if you think you NEED it to be huge and powerful, ask yourself how often you see squats at the Arnold or World's Strongest Man.

[nathanbateman]

I’m big on the back squat - my record is 405 for 20. It’s been instrumental for my strength and size. I’ve always been a ‘natural squatter’

However, when I was doing MMA (and when I’m not in a strength/size phase) I always prefer the Zercher squat. I find it really gets the same ‘feel’ that you get when you dig in and pry the opponent off their feet before a dump. For me, the Zercher squat, the bear hug sandbag carry, and the over head press have had the best carry over into the sports I’ve done (wrestling, Muay Thai, MMA)

[casperthegst]

For athletes there is diminishing returns on the back squat. There is study showing that a 2x bw squat is the upper limits of what you would get from carryover to sport from the back squat. Diversify your training after that.

[DukejamesE]

I had the opportunity to learn the Olympic lifts from a man who lifted weights for over 60 years he passed away at the age of 93 - the rumor was he was still lifting 4 months before he passed away his thoughts were the back was for power n strength and the front squats are for Athletics football baseball running shot put by the way he was a strength coach for our local high school football program, once again experienced in the gym taught this man what books are written on nowadays.
When we trained in the winter months we did back squats spring came front squats also he said the front squats will do amazing things for your power cleans.
He was definitely correct.
Enjoy your workouts .

[KarthikVenkataraman]

I'm no expert but deadlifts and front squats made me play sports better. When I started getting strong in back squats, my running speed uphill and sports performance suffered.