26/11/2020
BASICS
They work & we *all* need more of them. Squatting, rowing, pressing - this is what movements are in their rawest form.
Basic doesn’t mean inefficient & dogmatic though (wat do u mean Luke?)
Guilty as charged in the past, I’ve Barbell Back Squatted forever - and never ever ever liked it. Finally, I no longer perform it (I don’t powerlift, so nothing is imperative).
Hack Squats, Smith Squats (shown) and so forth do a perfectly good (far superior even, in my case) at stimulating the quads which is the main reason most of us would perform a “squat”.
Point? Keeping your basics intact (squatting, in this case) and getting stronger, through a large range of motion is crucial - however the specific modality in which you choose to execute said movements is of less importance.
Dumbbell, Barbell, Smith, Hack etc. Spend less time worrying about which one and more time worrying about;
“Do I feel this in the right areas?”
“Am I mobile enough to perform this with full ROM?”
“Do I enjoy this? Can I progress this?”
With clients I make this decision for them after weekly analysis of ex*****on, progression, subjective feedback and so forth - which is why across 30/40 clients you’ll find many different modalities despite similar goals, potentially. I’m trying to check these boxes as effectively as possible.
Don’t ignore your basics, but don’t get lost in dogma, find what works for you, bro.
