Craig Smith

[Alcoholiday]

Kara posted his latest front squat video over on MM. He's just straight up crazy. Here's some vids:

working up to a 605 zercher (crazy!)




605x3 on deadlifts:



555 pound front squat

[Simon C]

605 x 3! Very Nice!

I'll get there some day haha

[bigDman]

strong ass guy the pulls looked easy

[AFI82]

Damn, that front squat was awesome. He just stepped out, dropped, and was ready to rack it. It takes me at least 5 seconds to even get set up once I back out from the pegs.

I liked the guy in the background doing crunches.

[Mahler]

The guy is amazing. He makes it look so damned easy. Step up, do it, step back.

[Alcoholiday]

i like the people watching in the back of his front squat video. The zercher actually impressed me the most. I can't imagine having that much weight in the crook of my arms.

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by Alcoholiday

Does Craig ever do back squats, or does he think front and zercher are superior?

Originally Posted by kara

craig hasn't had a bar on his back in over 10 years due to some major lower back injuries, but i think he also feel that for what he competes in zerchers and fronts have been an awesome...particularly for core strength. i'm sure he'll elaborate.

Originally Posted by Craig Smith

Zach - as the wife stated above, i haven't had a heavy bar on my back since 1997. It wasn't by choice, but after choosing the route of zerchers and fronts, i doubt i would change much, even if i could. I think heavy loads on the front of the body develop a much different, much more functional, type of strength than any back squat could. Building a better athlete, that's what it's all about, imo.

.

[AFI82]

Hmm, that's very intriguing. Back squats hurt my shoulders sometimes, I wonder if switching to zerchers would be a reasonable change. That's not to say I won't work on shoulder flexibility too.

Any thoughts on switching from one to the other? It seems like the change in the CoG would make a huge difference.

[Alcoholiday]

i think as long as you're squatting, it's good. you're not going to handle as much weight as if you were to back squat, but it's still good. Only negative would be the stress on your biceps for zerchers.

[Lost Dog]

Zercher squats really hurt the crook of your arms. I've done up to 225 for a few reps. They really, really hurt.

There's a trick you can do with a plank of wood, but Craig there doesn't seem to need it.

[Alcoholiday]

i use the gay back pad when i do them.

[Lost Dog]

Why do you even have a back pad?

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

Why do you even have a back pad?

for zerchers!

[Frank.S]

I think you would loose out of some things by never back squatting. Straight bar back squats are not ideal for some people (me included to be honest) due to limited shoulder rom and elbow problems caused by old non-training injuries.

Ive had great luck with using a cambered bar. If I had access to a saftey squat bar / buffalo bar I would be using them constantly.

[Susan4]

::noob peeks in the door::

Amazing vids!

::noob scurries back out::

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by Frank.S

I think you would loose out of some things by never back squatting. Straight bar back squats are not ideal for some people (me included to be honest) due to limited shoulder rom and elbow problems caused by old non-training injuries.

Ive had great luck with using a cambered bar. If I had access to a saftey squat bar / buffalo bar I would be using them constantly.

what would you lose by never back squatting?

craig is one of the top competitors for Highland games, and is plenty strong by doing front and zercher squats. I really don't think you would lose much, honestly.

[Matthew]

Depends what your sport is.

I think there are enough things you can do to make up for any potential losses though.

[Lost Dog]

Maybe only a powerlifter loses out?

Do strongman comps have back squatting? From the events that I've watched, it seems like squatting more vertically, squatting with weight out in the front, and deadlifting would be most valuable.