C'mon, squat!
Words of wisdom from the incomparable Mark Rippetoe:
Matt: You mentioned that your beginners squat every single workout. What is it about squatting that works so well at making kids so strong and big?
Rip: It’s because they’re so goddamn hard. They load the whole system, not just a piece of it. They essentially work all muscle groups underneath the load--which is all of them except the neck, and that is used isometrically. Its range of motion--when done correctly--is greater than a deadlift or power clean. Done with sufficient intensity and volume, it produces enough stress to evoke a hormonal response, something no isolation exercise--or circuit of isolation exercises--can do. Squats, better than any other single exercise, load the whole body in a way that causes the body to respond as a whole. [From an interview by Matt Reynolds.)
Matt: You mentioned that your beginners squat every single workout. What is it about squatting that works so well at making kids so strong and big?
Rip: It’s because they’re so goddamn hard. They load the whole system, not just a piece of it. They essentially work all muscle groups underneath the load--which is all of them except the neck, and that is used isometrically. Its range of motion--when done correctly--is greater than a deadlift or power clean. Done with sufficient intensity and volume, it produces enough stress to evoke a hormonal response, something no isolation exercise--or circuit of isolation exercises--can do. Squats, better than any other single exercise, load the whole body in a way that causes the body to respond as a whole. [From an interview by Matt Reynolds.)
Couldn'ta said it better ourselves.
ouch! (but i'll be back)
Posted by
neil |
3:46 PM
That may be the most -relevant- quote from the interview, but by far the -best- quote is the one in which he “regards American Corporate Beer and the people who prefer it as a serious cultural problem, much worse than homelessness and poverty.” I got a little choked up at that point.
Posted by
Sean |
12:42 PM