The
Problem: Your Core is the Weak Link on All Your Strength-Focused Leg Exercises...
When you squat with heavy weight, do you find that your core tends to "fold over" when you're trying to come out of the bottom?
If so, you've got MASSIVE potential leg strength and muscle development just flying out the window on every single set you do. You're basically "leaking" power because your core can't properly support your body and the load.
The Solution: One-Shoulder Barbell Squats
This
exercise will ATTACK your core, developing rock-solid strength that carries DIRECTLY over into all your other "big" leg exercises like barbell squats...because it IS a squat!
First, set up the power rack just as you would for a normal squat, with the J hooks just one notch lower than you would usually set them. This will make it easier to get the bar into the start position. I also recommend using either a barbell pad or rolled-up towel for padding this exercise.
Stand perpendicular to the bar then set your shoulder underneath it.
DO NOT set your shoulder in the exact center of the bar. You want to set it a little bit forward of the centerpoint so that when you stand up and the bar is balancing on your shoulder, it actually feels like it's falling backwards a little.
The reason for this is that you'll be gripping on the FRONT end of the bar...the competing weight of the back end of the bar pulling down will allow you to LOCK the barbell solidly onto your shoulder. If your shoulder is directly in the center, the bar will actually be more unstable and unbalanced on your body (strange but true!).
Get your core solid and tight, then stand up. Make sure the bar is within your base of support (inside where you planted your foot) when you unrack it.
Now take a few small steps to the side, set your feet in a fairly wide stance with your toes point out about 30 degrees, then squat down.
As you squat down, use your grip on the bar to keep it as horizontal as possible. Then, using glute and leg power, come back up.
Just holding the bar on one shoulder will challenge your core strongly...when you hold the loaded bar on one shoulder while doing a full SQUAT, you get MASSIVE workload on the deep muscles of the core...the ones that are directly involved in supporting your torso coming out of the bottom of the squat.
I recommend working this exercise for fairly low reps...e.g. 5-7 reps per set. This will allow you to use more weight and really challenge your core muscles strongly.
When you've completed your reps, set the bar back on the J hooks CAREFULLY, making sure the bar always stays over your base of support so you're never off balance.
Take a 60 to 90 second rest period here, then repeat facing the other way. Always do even numbers of sets with the exercise for optimal core strength balance.
The first time you try this exercise, start with just the bar, to see how it feels. Once you get a feel for it, you can work up to some to fairly substantial loads!
The Bottom Line:
If your core strength (or lack of it!) is killing your squatting strength, this is an exercise you need to add into your arsenal right away. It's totally targeted to developing the "steel girder" core strength necessary for performing perfect-form squats, no matter how heavy the weight.
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