| Over the past couple weeks I’ve been reading the “Vince Gironda Manifesto” and it’s an awesome book that’s jam packed with the old-school training and nutrition methods that the bodybuilders of yesterday did to build their classic lean muscular physiques. |
One of the things that really stood out as I was reading the book is that Vince Gironda HATED doing regular barbell squats the way most bodybuilders and powerlifters do them.
In his opinion, squats over developed the hips and glutes and ruined your symmetry.
Now I personally DO NOT think squats are a useless exercise like he did, I certainly feel that squats have an important part in any muscle building program, but I can see where he was coming from in his point of view. After all regular back squats do heavily work the hips, glutes, and hamstrings.
However, just because Vince didn’t do back squats didn’t mean he never trained legs hard. In fact, one of his favorite leg moves was his “Special Gironda Front Squat Variation”. I did this move in my leg workout the other day and trust me it’s a Killer Quad Workout!
I just posted up a video clip showing the specifics on how to do this exercise.
You can check it out below…
Click PLAY To Watch The Video Clip Below:
Note: if you can’t watch the embedded video clip above, then you can watch it directly on my
YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuTUE-gI39Q
(You may even find this move better than regular squats for building up the quadriceps!)
P.S.
And if you want to get some more interesting old-school bodybuilding tips & tricks, be sure to pick up a copy of the Vince Gironda Program at: www.VinceGirondaProgram.comThis book is jam packed with 334 pages of absolutely inspirational and fascinating info for any bodybuilding fan. It’s one of those books that you can just get lost in…
Once you start reading, you won’t want to put it down, it’s that good!
And right now you can pick up a copy of this for yourself for a huge 50% discount over at:
Vince Gironda – The Iron Guru & Trainer Of Champions!
21 Comments
salmi
I did this exercise in the seventies.I felt my legs exploding.but with time i forget it.
I recommend it to people with thin legs.thanks Lee for the reminding.The man
who is squatting is DON HOWORTH;a legend of the sixties.
Richard Paxton
I’m going to give these a try, I’m stuck in a lifestyle gym with just db’s smiths and some machines, I’ve nearly maxed the leg press out one legged but for some reason regular squats on the smiths don’t seem to do anything, been stuck on the same weight for like 6 months, prob cus it hits the glutes too much…
Alex
Sure looks like a killer quad work.. but i think that to do it on the smith machine will take all the core work away, one of the most important parts of it.. also putting extra, unnecesary, tension on the knees.. breaking with the inherent old-school total free weight filosophy of it
Michael Pearson
Lee,
Vince was one of my early heroes. I was so inspired when he trained Mike Mentzer and a kid named Casey Viator doing only one set of everything. They did the entire body in workout. I remember at the end of this training cycle both Mike and Casey were huge.
He was very unconventional but a genius. He let the bodybuilders get all the stardom and you seldom saw anything said by him. I used to do front squats and look forward to giving these partial rep squats a try.
Thanks,
Michael
mike
Hey Lee, whats the logic/benefit of elevating your heels?
leehayward
Cool, thanks for sharing that!
leehayward
Actually, in the book Vince Gironda did recommend this particular exercise variation to be done in the smith machine because you can place the feet ahead of the bar and keep the body upright.
leehayward
When you elevate your heels you place more of the workload on the quads. It also makes it easier to squat deeper.
Try doing both variations (i.e. with elevated heels and with your feet flat on the floor) and you should be able to notice the difference for yourself.
eric
every time now when i do regular squats my lower back goes ou. Is this squat easier on the back or should i do something else for legs
Anjohl
I used to do these 1-1 with regular squats…they focus more on the quad than the ham or glutes. Killers, but use less weight than with a normal squat, I recommend 35-50% of normal squat weight.
Andrew
I gave these a shot, damned if I can do ’em. My gym has a angled smith machine(maybe 80+ degrees?), I tried both looking in and out with both the crossover grip (had the bar rolling off), and the clean grip (hurts my wrists); so I guess I got stuff to work on before I’m doing 8 sets of 8. I can tell they will be killer however. Should I face in or out on this style machine?
leehayward
This variation is easier on the back because your back is kept straight and you don’t have to lift as heavy as you do for back squats.
leehayward
I know the type of smith machine you are referring to, but I’ve never used one myself. I’d suggest trying both variations (facing in and facing away) and see which one feels the best for you.
Bencher
I gave this a shot but found the weight difficult to balance. It was also very painful to have resting on front delts. It was 40 Kg er 88 lbs and really uncomfortable. How are you supposed to hold the bar and where do you rest it? Too far up, I was choking with the bar pushing against my neck; lower down and it kept rolling off. Really unpleasant. Any hints and tips, Lee?
Erick
I finally got around to doing this. It was a bit awkward for me at first because of trying to get comfortable with the bar in front, the set up of my feet and the angle of the smith machine. I finally got the hang of it, and I can say my quads were burning by the time I finished. I wasnt’ able to a lot of reps, but I can tell it works. 6 hours after the work out and I can still feel the pump. Will definitley be doing this more regularly.
Suneet - SebastianFitnessSolutions.com
Whats the benefit of doing it this way?
leehayward
Watch the video clip above, right at the beginning of the video I cover the benefits of this squat variation.
Chad Cook
Lee correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you misunderstood how to do this Vince Gironda exercise. It’s called the ‘sissy squat’ and here is a video of the man himself explaining how to do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RqNPstpdaw
You could be thinking of a completely different exercise than I am, but if you were in fact talking about the sissy squat, then the above link is how to properly do them.
Love your videos and articles Lee, keep them coming.
P.S. Do not take this the wrong way I didn’t mean for it to sound offensive or critical or anything.
leehayward
=====================
Thanks for the comment and sharing the video, but I actually meant to cover the front squat, NOT the sissy squat.
They are 2 totally different exercises, even though you hold the bar similarly in both moves.
It’s almost like comparing a barbell bench press and a lying tricep extension. Even though you are holding a barbell at arms length and laying on a flat exercise bench in both exercises, they are 2 totally different moves.
Chad Cook
leehayward,
Oh okay, I had just never heard Vince explain this front squat exercise, only the sissy squat so I assumed you just had your facts wrong haha. I guess I was the one with my facts wrong.
Lenny Fortes
Hi Lee,
I would like to try this variation but I have a question concerning the rep count. Does ascending to both the halfway and 3/4 way positions constitute one rep? Or does coming up halfway count as the 1st rep,then up 3/4 count as the 2nd rep,etc…? Please clarify.