What would you say is the better variation for core strengthening? never really tried overheads but fronts feel good so far.

Fronts.

You lift more weight so stress the core area more. Overheads do work though; esp shoulders & lower back.

But many people can't do overheads correctly due to shoulder health problems.

My recommendation is to stick to Front Squats. And only do max of 6 reps.

Ta mate

health4ni wrote:And only do max of 6 reps.

Why's that then? I go to 8 reps on mine.

Karlos wrote:

health4ni wrote:And only do max of 6 reps.

Why's that then? I go to 8 reps on mine.

I think health is on bout stabilizer muscle failure - on front squats the rhomboids support the shoulder position and are invriably the weakest muscle active in the movement. When front squatting at a weight worth bothering with, they normally start to give in after relatively few reps, 6-8 is probably the a safe limit to avoid form and postural problems and potential injury.

As for which exercise, I get more core ache from overheads, particularly in my obliques... but I don't think there's much difference overall (they are both superb exercises for the core).

^^ what he said about what I said here

Dtlv74 wrote:As for which exercise, I get more core ache from overheads, particularly in my obliques... but I don't think there's much difference overall (they are both superb exercises for the core).

I get the same, that's from trying to keep the bar in balance and since it always swings a bit more to the sides than front or back you hit the obliques more. At least this was what I've concluded from my personal trial

I think it may be due to people not doing Overhead Squats that often; then of course you'll always get sore in the core cos it's a different/new exercise that hasn't been performed for a while etc.

Front Squats primarily hit your legs (quads), so are a legs exercise with the added bonus of hitting the core slightly more than back squats.

Overhead Squats primarily hit your legs (quads) but far less so that Front Squats due to less weight. So, core, shoulders & lower back comes into play more.

Soooo people need to think about why they want to do the exercise in first place. What's of most benefit to you in your prog right now?

Or maybe do one week Fronts, one week Overheads?

Fronts are definitely more quads because you can go much heavier... overheads I find whilst lighter, are harder to stabilise because balance, as Tart says, is more of an issue. This is why I think both are equal for core as OH squats work the core harder than fronts in the sense of load/effort ratio, so the exercises even out overall. The rhomboids and other shoulder stabilisers also tire quickly in overheads - you experience this as sudden arm wobbling and a desire to lean forward to compensate, so again these should be another low rep exercise. I always include one or the other in my routine.

Im a fairly strong squatter so the 80kg i did on front squats yesterday was a walk in the park for my quads, so i was able to focus on keeping my abs tight and my shoulders back.. really felt it today in my lower abs so id say the front squats worked for me. Will try overheads on friday, my delts are pretty weak though so i think i may have to go too light on those.