No other exercise in the athlete's arsenal is as necessary as the squat. There are also several ways to do this exercise. Which is best?
No other exercise in the athlete's arsenal is as necessary as the squat.

A squat can be performed several ways with the weight placed in varying positions, such as the front of the body, overhead, the upper back, held at the side of the body (using dumbbells) and others.

The purpose of this article is to teach the reader the different type of stances used by strength athletes:


Squats - Power And Olympic


This week's article will discuss the differences; next week's article will discuss the "whys" along with a front comparison. Many answers will be provided as to why each squat is the way it is.

The Power squat - used primarily by power lifters to lift maximum weights
And -

The Olympic style squat - used primarily by Olympic lifters for greater mobility
Unless you are an Olympic lifter or a power lifter, there is no need to get locked into one particular style. In fact, I believe even if you are a Power lifter, you can benefit from using the Olympic style occasionally to develop strength in ranges of motion that do not get used often in your sport.

If you are an Olympic lifter, you can benefit from using the Power squat on occasion for greater emphasis on the posterior chain which is often the weak link in Olympic lifters and athletes in general.


Benefits & Drawbacks:


The Benefits Of The Olympic Squat Are:

Greater range of motion
More balanced loading between hip and knee joints
Less loading on the lower back
The Drawbacks Of The Olympic Squat Are:

Less weight can be lifted
Less emphasis on the stronger muscles of the hamstrings
More loading on the knees which can be prone to injury
The Benefits Of The Power Squat Are:

More loading on the posterior chain
Greater weights can be lifted
More emphasis on the hip joints and less on the knees
The Drawbacks Of The Power Squat Are:

Less mobility
Reduced ability to be dynamic -- in other words it is not a position you would want to catch a clean in.