Squating

Something happened to the video that I had originally posted but this video contains some of the same elements and actually the same women competitor. Remember as you are reading this that there are comments that don't match up to this video. However, the general idea is the same. The girl is able to perform a squatting movement effectively and the guy struggles. Notice that the man's knees break forward too far over his toes and he ends up coming up on his toes because he lacks the ability to balance himself.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_OHSComp.wmv


Here is a good side by side comparison of to people with completely different lever lengths (i.e. torso, femur, and tibia).

The man here has muscular well developed quads yet can barely perform this overhead squat movement yet he has incredible leg development. How could this be? He attributes his struggle to flexibility. I have a different take. Look at how far his knees have to break over his toes for him to get to parallel.

Now look at the girl. Her knees barely break forward. even when going significantly beyond parallel. Are you going to tell me that these two are doing the same exercise?

Don't get me wrong, squatting is a great exercise. Maybe it is the best. However, it has to be modified for different individuals. Squats and steroids have an odd similarity. People see these hulking dudes on T.V. and want to do everything they do to get "swole" or "cock diesel" yet they don't know the hidden truth that the person is on steroids. Squats are the same way. Around the gym we will see these guys with massive leg development and big squats. People want to get huge legs so they ask "super leg guy" how he got his legs so swole. What is super leg guy's response? Squatting. What is the hidden reality. Standard squat form does not work for everybody. Therefore, squat as much and as hard as you can, and you never reach your objective. Why? because the hidden truth of squatting is that it is often ineffective for certain body types leaving the bulk of the thigh muscles unstimulated.

So now I swear by smith squats. It was my solution. I have achieved massive gains in leg size and strength. Now this has been my "fix." However, I don't want to pretend know more than I do and suggest that smith squatting might increase your leg development in a dramatic way. Moreover, me pontificating about what will work for you makes me like anyone else who claims to know something about weight lifting. But, what I am suggesting is that if squatting seems to be a waste of time then you should begin to consider alternatives.