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
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.