Squats make you slow?

i know alot of people who focus around the squat and deadlift but dont seem to get any faster and by faster i mean versatile power. the kind used on the sporting field.
if you move small weight slowly dosent it make sense that is what your body is going to get used to or heavy weight even slower? skill players leave squats to the linemen, let them get slower. : )

Could be because they concentrate more on their squats than they do on speed- But the truth is, you can actually train for both and get good results- I've seen some pretty large men with monster legs who can really move. It's two different types of fitness, really- And sure, those who concentrate solely on strength will gain more strength than those who try to get both strength and speed- but doing squats and deadlifts is not necessarily a guarantee that you'll end up slow. It all depends on the person, and the type of training they're willing to do.

skill players leave squats to the linemen, let them get slower. : )   

In actuality, this should read- Skill players add squats to their routine, and work even harder to keep up their speed. It makes a better athlete, in any sport, to have a good leg and lower back workout, bottom line.

No squats dont make you slow. By increasing your squat your increasing the output of your leg muscles. Combine that with speed training (pylometrics) which increase your muscle reaction time will have the most improvements in your speed.

We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon. - Jimmy Carter

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kelly11.htm
 
He knows his stuff

We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon. - Jimmy Carter

ORIGINAL: st0ne

i know alot of people who focus around the squat and deadlift but dont seem to get any faster and by faster i mean versatile power. the kind used on the sporting field.
if you move small weight slowly dosent it make sense that is what your body is going to get used to or heavy weight even slower? skill players leave squats to the linemen, let them get slower. : )

do high hiiigh reps on your legs if you're wanting speed.. I do sets of 20

Like andy said, if you want speed, train for speed.  You're right, what you train for is what you get 

"If there's nothing else that's relevant, I'll be leaving now"

"Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground"

the only way you get slow from squats is not running and not stretching out, if your legs get bigger and tigther youll lose alot of speed, i do polymetrics 3-4 times a week and sprint twice a week and stretch every day so that i stay loose
 
20 rep squats are amazing by the way 

Always Faithful- Honor, Courage, Commitment


age:16 Weight:184 Height: 5'10"
Bench-220
Squat-305
Dead Lift-295

Goal by football spring training in may
Bench-225
Squat-350
deadlift-350

well keep squating and you will never get an outsanding 40 and vertical jump i promise u. 20 reps of squats target your slow twitch fibers used for endurance, fast twitch fibers only fire expolsivey for 5-10 seconds depending how efficent your atp supply is.. squats and plyometrics together is the worse thing u can do your are wiring your muscles for two different types of movements thats why your making no gains on the playing feild.

plyometics with power output training, and explosive weight training is the way to go. most people build such imbalances in their quads and hams with squats. t

If you train low weight high reps....u will get get faster. If u train low weights low reps, fast reps(i.e. speed squats) u will develop fast twitchy muscles. ANd if u squat high weights low reps u will get strength in speed (by that i mean be able to run people over quick like).
 
a combination of these will create a machine that neither man nor beast can conquer...MWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
 
J/p but seiroulsy do all three of em.

Urgh...  Im guessing you havent lift before. So you will need to start lifting once a week with 8-12 rep area with 6-9 sets. To build muscle as well as a little strength that way you get experience with lifting and build new cells for strength to process threw when you go threw strength phase. While your doing this you need to be doing the sport your training for also. After a solid 2 months of lifting in this area you should of added some good size in your legs. Then you need to get into strength specific training you should also have been training your upper body so your size is evened out threw your body. The training you change into from there is 3x3 so you will have a bench day, squat day, and deadlifting day such as a powerlifter. This is for building strength into your size you have gained. After doing this for a solid month you should have gained alot of strength. From there you get into pylometric 2 days a week and doing 2 days a week of full body exercising days to maintain your strength. After a month of this you will be at your prime. This is the long process of going threw it the proper way of how it was to go. But many just change it week by week. Like 1st week you do bodybuilding. 2nd week you do powerlifting. 3rd week you do pylometrics

We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon. - Jimmy Carter

Im not into bodybuilding type training to much mass for my position. Mass is too heavy it slows you down. im a FUCTIONAL weight lifter. Plus you wont build speed off doing low weight high reps your fast twitch will only fire for 5-10 seconds, than your slow-twitch endruance fibers take over.   People always focus on starting acceleration exercises: explosive cleans. explosive straight leg deadlift or squat. Noone ever targets Power output or progressive acceleration. Want to know a good progressive acceleration exercise? Water Plyometrics : )

I do squats every other day in football and deadlift only once a week and im faster than i was before.

---

Age-15
Weight-185
Height-5'7
Bench-195
Squat-305
Deadlift-420
Power Clean-190
Military-155
 
 

Squats do not make you slow. By doing squats, you open up the lung cavity, which enables you to take in more air. More air, faster results. By adding on leg muscle, and specifically training for whatever you plan on doing, you will get faster. I don't know where you heard that squats make you slow, if you don't train for what you want to do, you won't go anywhere. Simple as that.

You speak as a "functional" weight lifter, and how exactly do you do "water plyometrics". I've done aqua jogging, swimming, junk like that for track. It doesn't build acceleration at all, it keeps your cardio up. If you do what a few of the other posts said, you will get faster. There is no one "set" way in gaining speed.

ok first off i agree with Andy in that some of you are getting some info that is whack!!
 
1. Squats have been proven to increase testosterone levels and build overall body mass quicker than any other ex
 
2.  They are needed if you are going to play any type of sport.
 
3.  When doing them, you should do the squat EXPLOSIVELY.  Lower the weight under control, and Excel up QUICKLY, but do not lock out your knees.  My strenght coahc in college (one of the best in the nation) had us do this.  I came in there with a 23 inch vert jump and left with a 35 inch vert.
 
4.  Want to really be explosive?? Then do power cleans, snatch. All Olympic lifts make you quicker.
 
5.  So overall squats wont make you slow.  if they did, then i doubt NFL and NBA players would do them at all. 

SAID Principle

Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands.

"How do I get better at squats?" - said the grasshopper?  "Should I keep jumping rope and climbing this hill?  If I get really good at basketball and my legs are stronger will I some day be able to squat 405 lbs?"

"Grasshopper, if you want to get better at squats... then squat."  - said the guy posting this who just read a cool chapter in a book

Lesson:  Your body will adapt to what it's demand load is.  While we can all do foundational training at all times, at some point you will have to do the sport in question if you want to excel at it.  Squatting won't make you slow but if it's speed you are after, you'll want to train hard using other methods and incorporate squats for general leg strength.

If your goal is explosive power, then you must train for explosive power.  If your goal is endurance, you should train for endurance.

People also get run into problems when they have multiple training objectives.  It's hard to train to be a bodybuilder at the same time you want to be a powerlifter (of course you can go from one foundation to another but at different times)

I highly doubt the world's best sprinters are also the world's best squatters and deadlifters.

While leads to the Specificity Principle (yet another one I'm pulling from the hat)

You need to move from general training to specific and sometimes highly specialized training as your final objective. 

For example, you will get stronger in squats by doing squats as opposed to leg presses.  You will acheive greater endurance for the marathon by running long distances then you will by cycling long distances.

So no, squats won't make you slow as you are not training for speed.  They will make your legs bigger and your overall body grow.  Your strength will increase and they are a great exercise as a fundamental to any good exercise program.

And if your goal is to squat or have larger bodybuilder legs, they are even sweeter!

Marc C. David - NGA CPT
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

That is why you guys will guys will never have a 32 in vert like me : ). you will build bulky, unblanced, injury prone legs.
I think squats caused my knee dislocation  i never had a problem untill i started squating that one summer. I do actually squat 2 times every 6 weeks just to keep my base strong but thats it. I promise you if you ever really start to increase your performance you will soon find out that speed and jumping has alot more to do with your neurological capacity than the muscle mass you build from squats.

Actually, i really depends on ur sport and what u mean by 'speed'. If u mean football and ur a lineman u need to be strong fast to push someone quickly(squats help)..running back u need to run people over srongly and get outside(squats).
 
Baseball, run to each base as quick as possible(speed squats help).
 
In my opininon squats help with everything whether u do them fast with light weight or heavy. Ur legs gotta be strong.

squats are great exercise enough said.
 
i always hear people saying squats don't work.
they only don't work if ur not doing them right
 
personally i hate squats. but i do them ne way cause they
are proven to work. squats are the top exercise for
nfl,nba, and mlb and probable nhl and mls.
 
ur vertical jump is 32. im 5'7'' and can dunk think about that.
and run a 4.59
then tell me squats don't make you faster

WOW ! ok I was a wide reciever and played varsity my sophmore and junior year of highschool....I ran a 4.59 40 yard dash (that was my best time) and i weighed about 180. (broke ankle summer before senior year so had to give up football). I did squats 2 times a week plus sprints sprints sprints and other stuff. While doing squats i didnt do high rep low weight (that builds mass)...I did low weight high high rep (to build endurance). Squats are a great all around exercise and work your back and calves as well as your glutes and hams. WHOEVER SAYS SQUATS SLOW U DOWN....NEEDS TO BAN THEMSELVES FOM SPEAKING. Beig a reciever you need to be explosive....So i would very slowly lowerthe weight, then explode and try to get up as fast as possible,,,also did jump squats with dumbells. Its all about how you approach the squats I also wore a weighted vest and did sprints. Now "st0ne" I dont know what your talking about but i mean really just think...Your legs get stronger by doing squats so therefore it takes less effort to move your ass down the field....got it? Squats alone wont build speed but they definatly lay the foundation for your lower body....Ya gotta have a well balanced body.. DO SQUATS

sad thing is you will never make it to division 1, if your that slow and squating that much. power output is far more superior than bodybuilding squats. Squats should only be done 1-2 ever 3-4 weeks. even linemen are doing it less, because it progressively slows you down, when you mix it with plyometrics. You dont add a bodybuilding routine with a sports performance routine.

Y would u post this question if u already have ur chosen answer.
 
And when u said a 32 inch vertical cannot be achieved by squatting..ur def wrong....u could be somewhat right about the speed thing, but squats will always increase ur verticl jump.

stone if u have a 32 inch vertical jump like u say u do. imagine what it would be if u actually squated!!! probable at least 38 inches.
but if ur one of those people who wants to get fast without doing the work then ur in trouble. i hate squats but i know they are a very good excrise
 
just curious what position do u play? and whats ur 40?

squats make u faster

"st0ne" really is like a woman driving lol

i'm 19
incline bench press 160lbs 100reps
incline dumbells curl 100lbs 2 reps
stiff leg deadlift 220lbs 100reps

heh

with that kind of 40 are you playing college ball?

ok im taking this statement back to some extent. if your already very fast squats will make you faster. if your slow and have a strong squat 1.5/bodyweight, squats will not make you faster, if thats all you do for leg training. it will make you slower! so you slow white guys will likely need to squat before your able to start plyo's. wouldnt it be nice just to be naturally very fast, and just have to weight train?
 
If you are weak in squats, they will make you faster too some extent.
So i take back some of what i originally said.

worrying is a waste of time, when you know Gods in control.

ebbbears im in strength phase right now, i need 10 pounds for football. so i am squatting/deadlifting/power clean heavy and have increased my vert 3in in about a month. i play OLB, my 40 is 4.7 when im not practicing the 40 drill, usually i can  take another couple of tenths of a second off. Full squats are also alot better than parallel.

worrying is a waste of time, when you know Gods in control.

ORIGINAL: Cdub05

While doing squats i didnt do high rep low weight (that builds mass)...I did low weight high high rep (to build endurance).

I'm sorry but I couldn't take you seriously after you wrote this. Ive never heard of a man that could do something while never doing that thing.

I started laughing when I saw this topic thread...

I used to play HS football, I was going to play college, some things in my life happened and I opted out. Now I am playing semi pro. And if there is one thing in the weight room that will always be a staple for me to get faster, and jump higher its squats.

Squating is essential, as long as you do it right. Hamstrings, quads, glutes, hips, calves, core, it all gets worked. Go down and explode up? ever hear that?..

I dunno man I just strongly disagree with ya.

There are other great exercises to do for speed as well, I know. If your training for speed you should be doing some kind of a squat imo.

6'3"  @213

Squat 1x20x275

press:200, Deadlift:475, Bench:300, P.clean:235, Squat:385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"