Squats: Are they REALLY necessary?

artofeightlimbs said:
My legs have a good size, I prefer the leaner, warrior type physique verses a bodybuilder one.

I also train Muay-Thai and play sports only for fun so I don't need the extra mass.
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Like Adam Levine. He looks like a warrior.
 
ballhawkdawk said:
Like Adam Levine. He looks like a warrior.
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Yeah, don't want to get too big...

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artofeightlimbs said:
That being said, for the last year I have switched to single-rep weighted pistol squats. The reason is because my legs got very big with regular squats and my body began to look disproportionate. My body had the V type shape except upside-down. I noticed people began looking at me, and looking right to my legs. It took a lot of focus of my upper body like chest and abs in my opinion.
.
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Kinda of a Freudian slip there admitting that you should have brought your upper body up instead of bringing your huge wheels down.
 
^ lay off that dude, he's a warrior not a bodybuilder.
 
First rule of S&C: no video = no happen. Unless you're Squatr of course in which case I would beg for mercy for ever thinking such blasphemy.
 
Just like to say thanks again to JRT6 for telling me to squat a few years ago. (not sure how long). When I go to the gym (1-2x per week) I squat. I will do dips and pull ups or maybe an incline bench press and some dead lifts. I never go too hard, but i always squat. I think it has played an important role in my overall health and injury prevention.

I train jiu jitsu too much to take weightlifting seriously. It's a time/fun factor. I like swimming, hiking, and biking too much to only do weightlifting as a cross training. I squat in a random cycle or periodization. I just started the 20 squat program this week. I can already feel something...Gotta love the benefit of increased blood flow to your lower body and T boost...:-)
 
There is also a soreness factor involved with doing lifts like barbell squats and deadlifts.
This is why most real sports have their serious lifting done in the off seasons.
They still lift in season but its usually more maintance or with minimal goals of gainz.

For a fighter it can be tough to program heavy lifting when they can get a short notice fight whenever.
I guess doing something like a basic ross template could work well and then just add heavier blocks into that.
 
artofeightlimbs said:
For what its worth, I used to do your standard 3x5 rippetoe style squats, or reverse pyramid, or 5-3-1. I do think it helped overall to give my legs a good foundation of strength. I hardly ever squat now but when I do I retained a good amount of strength.

That being said, for the last year I have switched to single-rep weighted pistol squats. The reason is because my legs got very big with regular squats and my body began to look disproportionate. My body had the V type shape except upside-down. I noticed people began looking at me, and looking right to my legs. It took a lot of focus of my upper body like chest and abs in my opinion.

I worked along side this trainer who had worked with a few clients for acting jobs and what not. He told me as respectfully as possible that my look looked a little sleazy with my legs too big and my upper body too long and lean. He recommended the one-rep pistols and told me I wouldn't miss a beat in strength but I wouldn't put on more size. He was right.

The single rep pistol squats have helped me gain strength in my legs and more importantly gain an athleticism I didn't have before. I was athletic before, but now things like box jumps have gone through the roof and that never happened squatting. I am also happy with the size of my legs so I am glad the single rep keeps it to where I gain strength but not size.

I am much happier without squatting often and feel much more explosive and quick as well. I hope this helps.
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How much did you squat and how much did you weigh?

Size generally comes from diet and volume, not absolute strength. That's why you can have 160lb Oly lifters clean and press some monstrous amount of weights and such.
 
magick said:
How much did you squat and how much did you weigh?

Size generally comes from diet and volume, not absolute strength. That's why you can have 160lb Oly lifters clean and press some monstrous amount of weights and such.
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I was weighing 165 and the most I squatted was 315 for 6. It may not be a lot of mass compared to a bodybuilder, but I have a very long and lean, surfer type frame. It looked bad on me. Even the other trainer noticed it. I was also competitively playing soccer at the time and wasn't looking to blow up my upper body for no reason.

Now I am 160, and happy with my strength.
 
JRT6 said:
To me my squat and my running are independent. I'm a lifter who runs not a runner who lifts so that's my frame of reference. I have found though through repeated trial and error that too much speed work and too much HIIT kills my squat much more than LSD.
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I think this sums up the entire thread pretty nicely. 'Are you a lifter who does mma(or x, y,z), or are you an MMA guy that lifts'
 
Can this thread go away? I think this thread stopped serving a useful purpose by the second page.
 
Don't forget the dirty jeans. Bitches love dirty jeans.
 
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