Now the Doc Squat is about power and the use of all possible aid like lifting suits,thick belt, knee wraps, much more sophisticated style, by spreading feet past shoulder width. After that the bar is carried as far down the back as your P.L. rules allow you to, (below the delts) with a lot of forward leaning so that the glutes and spinal erectors (low back) can share the weight with the thighs. In the sport of powerlifting this actual lift is given as completed once the top of the thighs hit parallel.

It makes quite a big difference using the P.L. technique as your lifts can be increased by an incredible 20% in weight, that is if with compare this to more upright and deeper squat techniques that are used in bodybuilding. I am a great listener when it comes to what Fred Hatfield has to say about lifting, and he encourages the use of padded towel in order to reduce your neck suffering from the bar that is across the vertebral column. He also repeats on a regular basis that you should never relax while in the low position, cause this will no doubt damage your knees.

Incredibly enough good old Arnold did not have a genetic advantage with his extra long legs, but he too started off by making the common mistake of training his upper body a lot harder than his legs. He recalls though that after he had trained hard on legs that he really began to make progress. He was able to train 3 hours or more on just squats, managing about 5O sets and continually making his best progress with the standard squat. Arnold like anyone else that has had to learn the hard way, warns not ever to bounce when in the low squat position and to try and use just controlled movements.

Possibly the strongest and certainly best recognised bodybuilder for his leg development is Tom Platz. Tom who began bodybuilding when just I4 yrs old, and remembers his first squats were I set of IO reps with 9Olbs/4Ok, became a powerlifter at I9. His early training was tough with basic squats his main exercise. He would choose a weight of around 25Olbs/II3.3k and just squat for IO minutes at a time, working up to I5O reps, resting and then repeating.

At the I982 Mr Olympia he did 2O reps with 5I5lbs/233.5k and 8 reps with 635lbs/288k at just 22Olbs/99.7k bodyweight and did not use knee wraps. Platz always stuck to good, strict controlled form. Since then nothing much has changed. All champs use squats. Ronnie Coleman has legs to die for.

When Flex Wheeler, Chris Cormier and Kevin Levrone do a front ab and thighs, every fibre shows just how hard they have worked for their development. Squats and squat varieties are a must in any champs program. All we ask is for you to take care, use common sense, don't overtrain, don't use bad form, or too heavy weights.

What we are really trying to achieve with this type of exercise is to make the muscles work really hard, so the amount of weight used is not the important factor. We need to get it into our heads that this is not a power lifting exercise, but a development exercise so make sure you do lighter, high reps squats. You probably just hate squats just like the majority of bodybuilders, but try a few sessions and you will soon see what it can do for your muscle development.