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The I-Hate-Squats Workout

Q: I’m so frustrated. I constantly hear and read bodybuilders saying that you have to do free-bar squats to get big. You even put squats as the Ultimate Exercise for quads in your Ultimate Mass Workout e-book. It’s supposedly the best quad exercise and also stimulates overall mass gains. But I always get hurt when I squat heavy. My lower back craters, and I’m tired of it. Can’t I just use leg presses instead?

A: Some trainees simply aren’t built for free-bar squats. Because of leverage factors—usually long legs, the upper body pitches forward, which can put the lower back at risk. Heavy weights also compress the vertebrae. (Is it really beneficial to have 500 pounds sitting on your shoulders pushing down on your spine? Hmm.)

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Ultimate Exercise for Hamstrings

Q: I have both the Ultimate Mass Workout and the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-books. Congratulations on such well-researched, pertinent information and programs. My gains with X Reps and POF have been well above my expectations. My question concerns hamstrings. The Ultimate Mass e-book says that feet-forward Smith-machine front squats is the ultimate exercise for hamstrings, but the Smith machine at my gym isn’t bolted to the floor, so it moves easily. I don’t want to risk an injury, so I’ve been using feet-forward hack squats on a hack machine, but I don’t feel my hamstrings working when I do those. Should I try walking lunges instead? I’m 6’4” tall if that makes a difference.

A: Both feet-forward Smith-machine squats and feet-forward hack squats can be hard to feel in the hamstrings; we’re so conditioned to think about quads when we squat, it’s difficult to grasp that the opposing muscle group should be doing a lot of the work. Then there’s the fact that the front-squat version on a Smith machine can be uncomfortable for some people (Jonathan hates it with a passion, but he did pose for the photo below)…

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