Anyone know if you have to have the weight bar on your shoulders to do squats?

Does holding 2 dumbbells by your side and squatting have the same effect?

Thanks.

as long as your body position does

ll miss out on the core strengthening. try walking lunges whilst you using an exagerated walking motion with your arms its a better option for all around strength.

No you don't, its a good way to start to get the technique correct before you proceed to a bar and weights, otherwise you could do yourself a lot of damage. I do squats without a bar and it really has improved my leg strength alnong with lunges.

You can do front squats with the bar resting on the top of your chest. This ensures that you keep a straight back, so less potential to damage your back with incorrect technique if you used a bar on your shoulders (ie; back squat)

I stick a dumbell on each shoulder sometimes, not very heavy ones though.

This is a good exercise…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPSVpo4mzNI

As FH mentioned squats is a great core exercise & does make a difference.

I would get down a gym or find someone to show you how to do them correctly, its will be worth it in the long run.

Been doing core free-weight training for the last two years after getting a free personal trainer via work.

Thanks for all the advice, don't do any leg excersises at present so hoping they will make me stronger (faster) next year.

Warm up your knees by starting with quicker shallow squats. Then do some slower deeper ones. Then stay low and pulse. Then try some squat jumps where you squat slowly then surge up into the air.

You don't need weights to stress your leg muscles 🙂 but by adding hand weights you can do lateral raises, straight raises or biceps curls as you squat.

Then stay low and pulse

What is Pulse?

1 legged squats are good too.

Does holding 2 dumbbells by your side and squatting have the same effect?

Yes, but obviously you can't use much weight.

You can do front squats with the bar held under your chin. Cross your wrists under your chin, gripping the bar with your elbows hight so the bar sits on your upperchest and the front of your shoulders.

Or.. hack squats… place the bar on the floor behind your ankles and lift from there.

"What is Pulse?"

OK, drop so you are in a lowish position and then just tense the muscles so that you lift slightly, about once per second between 10-50 times before returning to normal squats. Try not to bounce up and down, just tense.

We had this lady instructor who liked to do squat and ab sessions for 15 minutes, or until you cried. I think she got a kick out of watching men hurt.

Does holding 2 dumbbells by your side and squatting have the same effect?

Similar but not the same I would say

Using a free weight bar with weights, across your shoulder means you have to have a greater control of your balance when squatting, because you have to balance the weights as you move, which in tern will use other smaller muscles groups to do this.

How much of a difference this makes I am not sure of, but if you do both you will feet the difference, well I did 😉

Been thinking about this too because sqatting in the garage on your own with a bar doesn't seem such a good idea.

That is till I found out about the 'POWER RACK'!:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3056312805630178719#

Seems like a good idea until I saw the price. Now googling 'Homemade power rack' and getting ideas.

This cable stuff looks cool too for 'core' exercise