Squats with a barbell on the chest is one of the most effective and simple ways to keep yourself in great physical shape. Thanks to such exercises, you can not only lose weight, but also build muscle, tighten your hips and buttocks.
What muscles are involved?
Probably no better exercises than squats with a barbell on the chest. What muscles work and are involved in this, the athlete will feel after a short load, among them quadriceps, buttocks and spinal muscles.
The greatest pressure falls on the quadriceps femoris, which are one of the largest in the human body, is also involved in the work and semi-membranous with semi-tendon.
At that moment, when the athlete is in an upright position with a barbell on his chest, his whole back muscles are also activated, which makes it possible to keep her in this position.
And when the moment of squat occurs, then almost all the muscles of the legs participate in this , in order to stabilize the exercise and body position.
Where to start squats?
Squats with a barbell on the chest themselves must be started first without weighting, in order to work out muscle memory. Such exercises can be performed immediately before the main training or in the morning. As before any power work, you must first stretch. For such a case, ordinary squats are best suited.
It is worth understanding one very important nuance. In the event that squats with a barbell on the shoulders are selected as a warm-up, then they can be considered as separate exercises. This is due to the fact that often the warm-up weight in this case is 90%, and sometimes all 100% of the one-time maximum. Despite all this, it is this approach to training that is considered the most optimal, due to which there will be much better indicators in the chest squat.
Squats with a barbell on the chest: how to perform?
There are some techniques and methods through which you can learn how to properly perform the exercises. For example, squats with a barbell on the chest must be performed exclusively at right angles. But it is worth noting that this advice will be relevant only for beginners. This is due to the fact that their calf muscles are still poorly developed, and because of this, it will be very difficult for them to perform a full squat and not to lift up on their toes.
The right angle rule can not be respected if you manage to perform the squat as deep as possible while not taking your feet off the floor.
The maximum possible (full) squat is very useful, as it is observed:
- getting rid of excess fat mass, along with this muscle building occurs as quickly as possible;
- metabolism improves;
- working out the maximum possible amount of muscle.
Squat with a barbell on the chest: execution technique
On the simulator, you must set the bar to a level slightly below your collarbone, then you need to sit under it so that the bar is on the front deltoid muscles. The grip with the hands should be slightly larger than the width of the shoulders, the palms are looking up, as if under it, the elbows are slightly moved forward. The legs should be shoulder width apart, maybe a little more, while the pelvis and feet should be under the barbell. Now, straightening, we take the starting position.
It is necessary to take a breath and, without exhaling, try to sit down slowly. The pelvis moves back and down. As soon as the hips become parallel to the floor, you can immediately begin to climb up, without delay and fixation in this position. After the so-called dead center has passed, that is, when the peak itself has been passed, you can exhale.
Repeat can be done after a short pause.
It is very important not to round the back when doing the exercise, even if there is no way to go down all the way, it is best to start lifting earlier. After a certain number of workouts, when the muscles get stronger, you can do the exercise to the end.
By the way, it is thanks to the holding of the breath that you can keep the spine in the correct position. To avoid injury to the lower back, do not move your head to the sides and lower your chin down. All the time during the exercise it is necessary to keep all muscles in good shape.
Improper execution: consequences
Frankly, hard exercises are squats with a barbell on the chest. The benefits and harms of such physical education go side by side. Of course, sports mainly bring only positive aspects. But if you work with so much weight and neglect the safety rules and the technique of the exercise, you can doom yourself to great risk. In this case, you can severely injure the spine, knees and lower back. But if you work out all the movements and bring them to automaticity, then you can very quickly and greatly strengthen complex many muscles.
In no case should you neglect the correct squatting technique and choosing the optimal weight for yourself. During the exercise, you can’t take your feet off the floor, and while lifting with the bar you can’t climb on toes.
Tips for strengthening and developing muscle
Squats with a barbell on the chest should be performed in tension of the muscles of the back. At the same time, if the athlete has just come to the implementation of this exercise, it is necessary to adhere to some recommendations regarding the optimal working weight. So, for women who have just come to the gym, the recommended weight is not more than 15 kg, with a repetition of 8-12 times. For novice men, the working weight can be up to 30 kg, up to 15 repetitions.
During the exercise, the body should not deviate to either side. It is necessary to lower as slowly and carefully as possible, and to rise a little faster.
Important:
- in order to make it easier to hold the bar with a working weight, you need to position your elbows as high as possible;
- if during the exercise there is a goal to work out the inner part of the hips more, it is necessary to keep the legs wider, but not to lose balance;
- when the legs are set as narrow as possible, then the front of the thigh will be worked out;
- during low squats, the back of the thigh is more involved.
In order to increase the load on the gluteal muscles, the athlete must perform frontal squats.