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Old 03-26-11, 10:13 AM  
gladgirl
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
squat...

I understand that the squat is a compound move and I want to incorporate it in my early a.m. gym routine.
I wonder if someone can help me out and explain "which" squat would be more glute/hammmy centered than quad centered. Tell me about the descent...how low do you go?
There are different foot positions....feet together, feet shoulder width apart, plie style, etc.
Is there a squat that is more glute/hammy centered, or not?

I've been doing deadlifts, but I want to have back up plans and I do like the squat!
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Old 03-26-11, 10:24 AM  
ldy_solana
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lynchburg,Virginia
http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

maybe this site can help? i figured the squat worked all muscles/joints in the legs that is why it was referred as compound. but ones you might not recognize as squats might be of help. like the Bulgarian split squat, which is nothing fancy just a stationary lunge with your back foot elevated. i do find plies hit the inner thighs but also the glutes a touch as well. but if i am looking to hit more ham/glutes i usually rely on the split squat aka. the lunge or the single leg squat, in variations in addition to regular squats.
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Old 03-26-11, 12:30 PM  
marmalade
 
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^^I second the exrx.net site, it's a wonderful reference. And I too feel more glute-ham in split squats than regular squats.

Still, it's my understanding that until you get below 90° (ie: deep enough that the crease at your hip drops below your knee) squats remain overwhelmingly quad-dominant.

Robert Dos Remedios breaks lower body compound movements into knee-dominant and hip dominant:
Knee dominant: Squats, split squats and deadlifts. He says that even though split squats and deadlifts do increase posterior chain involvement, so you're right to think of them as hitting the glutes too, they're still a knee-dominant movement and so are predominantly a quad exercise.
Hip dominant: Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, back extensions, supine hip extensions (bridges) and swiss ball glute-ham pull-ins. The hip joint is primary for all of these so the posterior chain does most of the work instead of the quads.
I've found this a useful way to think about lower body work. More info in his books, which are worth reading, I think: http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Dos-Remedios/e/B001JP7LAW

On a related note, I read somewhere recently that turning your toes out vs. having them forward encouraged more or less glute activation in squats. But I can't find the reference, remember which way it was, if the source was reliable, or even feel the difference myself, but then I tend to have lazy glutes. Anyone know anything?
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Old 03-26-11, 05:39 PM  
cardiomama
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Curtsey lunges are a great lunge variation that target the glutes & hams moreso than the quads (even better w/ a gliding disc for the traveling leg). I really like the single leg deadlift variations (non-working leg bent, non-working leg straight) for glute & ham focus (can super set, bodyweight or light weight for the bent leg version and moderate-heavier weight w/ fewer reps for the straight leg) vs. just the standard deadlift (both legs). Step-ups are another good glute/ham focused exercise (w/ or w/out weight), and bonus that it has cardio effect, too.
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Old 03-27-11, 12:00 PM  
gladgirl
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Thank you the for site...it will be so useful to me...and DH loves it, too.
Funny you should mention curtsy lunges, I admit, I feel like a true beginner with these because my balance needs improving to get correct form. But I am working on these.
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Old 03-27-11, 02:00 PM  
marmalade
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Curtsy lunges hit the gluteus medius more. Since the glute medius acts as a stabilizer when you do one-leg work like curtsies, if they're weak that can cause you to have balance problems.

If that's what's going on for you, try miniband walks, which really isolate that muscle -- I used them when I was having knee difficulties in my squats that turned out to be due to weakness in my glute medius, and it really made a difference.
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Old 03-27-11, 02:28 PM  
PeakFitness
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Southern USA
Oxygen mag had a chart a couple of years ago that I kept:

SQUATS:
Quads, hold a barbell in front of you.
Glutes, Hold a barbell behind you.
Balance, Extend arms out in front of you.

LUNGE:
Quads, Shorten your step forward.
Glutes, Take a bigger step forward.
Balance, Hold a barbell across your upper traps.

BRIDGE:
Quads, N/A
Glutes, Hold one leg straight out
Balance, Hold your leg out straight and bring it out to the side and back

STEP UP:
Quads, Use a higher step and stand closer.
Glutes, Start farther from the bench.
Balance, Hold a barbell across your upper traps
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Old 03-27-11, 03:52 PM  
PeakFitness
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gladgirl View Post
There are different foot positions....feet together, feet shoulder width apart, plie style, etc.
Is there a squat that is more glute/hammy centered, or not?
Also meant to add, feet together is more quad.
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Old 03-27-11, 04:06 PM  
Jane P.
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If you do a traditional squat, you get more glute work by squatting deeper. Go as low as you can, a$$ to the grass squats as they call them. You'll have to lower the amount of weight you're using, but you can slowly build up.
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Old 03-27-11, 05:27 PM  
lfcjasp
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Gladgirl, thanks for starting this thread and asking the questions...I've learned a lot here...always just liked squats for working all the lower body muscles But now I have some great ideas to try and play around with these...

Kassia, thanks for posting the link to that site. Very informative!!
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