| Detail February 1, 2004
|
Chantal Dicaire has been
incorporating Roman-chair squats into her leg-training program for less than two months,
but already the results are impressive.
(photo January 2004 by Doug Schneider) |
|
Long-Forgotten Exercises that Work:
Roman-Chair Squats
As the gym world becomes increasingly complex, more and
more free weights are giving way to machines that look like torture devices rather than
things you train on, and a good number of old-school exercises are being forgotten.
It’s unfortunate, because a lot of those old exercises are exceedingly valuable,
despite the fact that exercise might seem primitive compared to working out on these new
complex contraptions. This is the first in a series of articles that will detail extremely
effective exercises that few people even know about.
The first one I’ll discuss is Roman-chair squats, one
of the best thigh builders I’ve ever come across. Done right, it thoroughly isolates
the thighs, and offers muscle stimulation that can result in impressive growth. Canadian
national-level champion Chantal Dicaire has now incorporated the Roman-chair squat into
her leg-training routine and after less than just two months the results are impressive.
The first thing to know is that this exercise is performed
on a Roman-chair squatting device, not a Roman-chair sit-up/hyperextension
device which is far more common in gyms today but not at all suitable for the exercise
I’m about to describe. The squatting device is a small, simple little unit, usually
made of metal, and it has bars and pads that touch the top of the feet and the back of the
calves. Those bars and pads hold your legs and feet in place so that when you lean back
you don’t fall over. There are no moving parts.
The exercise is usually performed with only your
body’s weight. If that becomes too easy, I first suggest slowing down the movement
and making sure your form is ultra-strict before adding any additional weight. When
bodyweight-only becomes way too easy and you’re doing the movement properly with
minimal rest between sets, then go ahead and add more weight by holding onto a plate on
your chest, or by holding dumbbells to your sides.
While the late, legendary trainer Vince Gironda didn’t
invent the exercise, he was the one who introduced me to it, and since Vince only
recommended exercises that work, he knew as much about it as anyone else. His description
of how to perform the exercise is detailed in his book, The Wild Physique. Vince
describes the movement as follows:
Place feet 12 inches (30 cm) apart, toes and knees
pointing outward. Keep your back straight, hands on hips, and lower right down to the
maximum low position. Rise upwards without leaning forward, all the way to the extended
position, but do not straighten the whole body. Stop at a slightly rearwards-leaning angle
to maintain stress on the legs. Lower and repeat.
The key to the exercise is in the point that he makes about
"without leaning forward." The mistake most people make is to rise to a vertical
position so the upper body and legs are straight up and down and you’re resting flat
on your feet -- doing so takes stress off the thighs. You never want to release the stress
on your thighs -- you want constant tension. Once you are locked into the Roman-chair, it
is most important that you are always leaning back, even in the highest position -- this
keeps stress on the thighs between and through ever rep. That’s exactly why the
device holds the top of your feet and the back of your calves, otherwise you’d fall
over. The best way to tell if you are doing the exercise right is whether you feel it. If
your thighs don’t ache even just a little bit after one set, you are doing the
movement wrong.
Chantal Dicaire in the low position of the Roman-chair squat using additional weight
(she's holding a plate securely on her chest). |
Chantal returns to the top position of the movement, ensuring her back is straight but her
body is leaning back to keep stress on the thighs. |
A good starting point for this exercise is
to do 3 sets of 8 reps with an average amount of rest between sets (about one minute) and
only using your body’s weight -- remember to keep those hands on the hips. After
you’re comfortable with this and you have gained some strength, a real killer workout
is to do "8 of 8" with minimal rest between
sets (15 seconds!) -- that’s what Chantal is doing now. Surprisingly, if you do
Roman-chair squats correctly, those 8 sets of 8 reps will be all you will need for your
thigh workout to induce growth. Remember: This exercise is not about lifting heavy weight,
it’s about form and keeping constant tension on your thighs.
So, if you have the Roman-chair squat machine in your gym,
try it -- I guarantee you’ll like it and you’ll wonder why you weren’t
doing this exercise before.
...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com |
