What is the fastest way to getting a bigger squat, single leg work or just doing normal squats?
An athlete recently ask me the above question. Just like many questions in strength & conditioning, the answer starts with "It depends...". The first big thing that the answer depends on is why you want a bigger squat?
If you're a powerlifter, or just someone that wants to have the biggest strict squat at your gym, then if I had to choose between the 2 choices in the question, I'd say stick with "normal squats". But even in that case, there is much more to do then just doing normal back squats. If you're in this category, check out this article on T-Nation by Dave Tate, Master the Squat.
In this article, they break down improving your squat into mental, technical, and physical parts. If you look in the "physical" section, you'll see they give helpful hints on the traditional back squat, but also talk about assistive exercises like Romanian Dead Lifts and Good Mornings, so there is more to it then just doing the normal squat.
Although they list assistive exercises, they don't list any single leg variations. Some say that you training unilaterally will not help you increase your true squat, but check out this article by Ben Bruno, Single-Leg Training Put to the Test, and you will see that you can. It does also state, however, that if your main goal is to increase you bilateral squat, then you need to focus on your bilateral squat and save your unilateral training for assistance work.
Although Ben Bruno makes an argument to include single leg training, Mike Boyle takes it a step farther and says bilateral training is not even needed. He has many articles out there on the subject, but here is just one that article, 5 Superior Single Leg Exercises, that states his fews on the subject as well as list 5 good leg exercises to include in any program.
Since I tend to work with mainly traditional sport athletes, I think that mixing both unilateral and bilateral is the way to go. If I had to choose only one for athletes, I would however, choose unilateral training. Unilateral training has a large carryover to the playing surface. Most of the time in most sports, athletes are performing game actions on a single leg.
Besides the physical aspects of unilateral vs. bilateral (which you can read about in the above articles), there are some mental advantages to each style. I find there are more mental advantage to unilateral training. Some athletes, such as certain females or taller individuals, are hesitant to use as much weight as they could on the traditional squat either because it makes them feel uncomfortable or they believe the heavy weight is going to get them to big and bulky. Although we know the latter is not true, these issues can be avoided by while still developing great leg strength by implementing single leg training because the lifter doesn't feel like he/she is actually lifting as much weight. I use single leg training with all athletes, but because of these mental advantages, I have had great success with female soccer players and male basketball players, which are two groups that traditionally don't like to squat at all.
The traditional squat also has a mental advantage as well, being that many guys, and some gals, just like confidence built by seeing a large amount of weight bending a bar.
In Summary
My quick answer is that if you're only worried about increasing your traditional squat, you have to do the traditional often and go heavy. If you want to increase your squat, but at the same time improve speed, athleticism, agility, and power, I believe both unilateral and bilateral squat variations should be used, with a slight emphasis towards unilateral training.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.
Visit the Speads Performance Facebook Page.
To see how to gain leg strength with only dumbbells, see my past post, DB Versions of the Top Weight Training Exercises
If you're looking for top of the line health and fitness products, try b:hip. For information, go to My b:hip Page and click on Products
Although they list assistive exercises, they don't list any single leg variations. Some say that you training unilaterally will not help you increase your true squat, but check out this article by Ben Bruno, Single-Leg Training Put to the Test, and you will see that you can. It does also state, however, that if your main goal is to increase you bilateral squat, then you need to focus on your bilateral squat and save your unilateral training for assistance work.
Although Ben Bruno makes an argument to include single leg training, Mike Boyle takes it a step farther and says bilateral training is not even needed. He has many articles out there on the subject, but here is just one that article, 5 Superior Single Leg Exercises, that states his fews on the subject as well as list 5 good leg exercises to include in any program.
Since I tend to work with mainly traditional sport athletes, I think that mixing both unilateral and bilateral is the way to go. If I had to choose only one for athletes, I would however, choose unilateral training. Unilateral training has a large carryover to the playing surface. Most of the time in most sports, athletes are performing game actions on a single leg.
Besides the physical aspects of unilateral vs. bilateral (which you can read about in the above articles), there are some mental advantages to each style. I find there are more mental advantage to unilateral training. Some athletes, such as certain females or taller individuals, are hesitant to use as much weight as they could on the traditional squat either because it makes them feel uncomfortable or they believe the heavy weight is going to get them to big and bulky. Although we know the latter is not true, these issues can be avoided by while still developing great leg strength by implementing single leg training because the lifter doesn't feel like he/she is actually lifting as much weight. I use single leg training with all athletes, but because of these mental advantages, I have had great success with female soccer players and male basketball players, which are two groups that traditionally don't like to squat at all.
The traditional squat also has a mental advantage as well, being that many guys, and some gals, just like confidence built by seeing a large amount of weight bending a bar.
In Summary
My quick answer is that if you're only worried about increasing your traditional squat, you have to do the traditional often and go heavy. If you want to increase your squat, but at the same time improve speed, athleticism, agility, and power, I believe both unilateral and bilateral squat variations should be used, with a slight emphasis towards unilateral training.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.
Visit the Speads Performance Facebook Page.
To see how to gain leg strength with only dumbbells, see my past post, DB Versions of the Top Weight Training Exercises
If you're looking for top of the line health and fitness products, try b:hip. For information, go to My b:hip Page and click on Products