Thread: Introducing front squats

After years of back squatting twice per week, with the exception of swapping in fronts to recover from low back injuries, I’ve decided to swap them in once per week for the following reasons:

Low back has been giving me **** so I’ll be doing them on deadlift day

Quad growth ain’t so hot

Nor is back squat progress

They’re fun

So, questions:

I usually squat before deadlifting for the low back (deadlift can’t crush you if you fail) and for a bit of a warmup. Since spinal loading and overall posterior chain fatigue won’t be as much of an issue, but warming up is still a thing, should I squat before or after deads? I want to bring my deadlift #s up, and for fronts I’m more concerned about hypertrophy. Deadlifts are 2x4-6 and fronts will be 3x7-10. I still have to consider upper back involvement, right?

Should I expect my back squat so suffer from reduced frequency, or can fronts still effectively count as overall squat frequency and help my back squat? Back squats will be run 4x6-8 if it matters.

I forgot to say that I really *want* to deadlift first for a change of pace. But that I was worried too about front squats’ carryover to back squats when their progress is going to be impacted by sort of putting them on the backburner, and like... could I lose some of the groove of busting into the gym and attacking squats right off the bat? I guess it’ll either be that or the reverse, just in that I’d be benefiting from the reduced monotony or something. I’ve been missing some variety, I think.

Yup that’s why I’m worried about the back fatigue.