Squats and Foundation 1

Hey guys, I've been progressing well in Foundation 1. I REALLY want bring weighted back squats into my foundation routine, so I perform them along with single leg squats. Would it be appropriate to do that, or to completely replace SLS to do back squats?

thanks for reading

Don't replace them, at least not at F1 level. My top suggestion is to squat once a week, after your SLS session for the moment. Once you are through F2, warm up for back squats with 10* SLS each leg and the series of iMs through F1-2.
That's me with a lot of patience and prioritising GST though. Someone with experience in being addicted to squats may have advice leaning towards the other side of the fence

In the long term, working through the full SLS progression will pay off massively for developing your weighted squat. The balance, mobility and connective tissue strength is well worth it.

No reason you can't be doing some weighted squat work in the meantime, though. Just be aware of how the weighted work and the SLS work are interacting with each other. If your SLS progress stalls, you might be hitting the weighted squats too hard. I would start with Jon's recommendation: weighted work after SLS work, at a light volume to begin with. Increase the volume if after a few weeks you feel it won't have a negative impact.

Thank you for the great replies, I suppose I will see how the back squats will affect my SLS. I figured that SLS would be hugely beneficial to general leg strength and flexibility. I tried doing squats after SLS but I was too exhausted too continue. Would doing squats before doing GST be alright?

I'm no expert but my preference would be to do squats before GST. You wouldn't want to something that exhausts your core like long hollow holds before squats.

You'll have to monitor your progress, because as the squats gets heavier and the GST gets harder it may be too much work even though it was manageable when you started. 

It's always going to be a tradeoff -- whichever squat variation you do last is going to suffer.  So you have to prioritize which one you value more, what you're trying to get out of it, etc.

Another idea to try, depending on which template you are using is to alternate your squat exercise every other workout, keeping the IM for both.  So one workout would be SLS with SLS/IM between sets.  The next workout would be back squats with SLS/IM between sets.  This would be particularly useful if you have sufficient raw strength but are lacking in the mobility.

Either way, be careful.  Like dritar said, all these different exercises have interactions, not just the squat varieties.  BS first will make hollow holds more difficult.  And hollow holds before BS could send you to the Emergency Room.

Alec O said:

... I tried doing squats after SLS but I was too exhausted too continue... 

There is your answer.  If you are too exhausted to squat after an easy exercise like SLS, you are not yet ready to re-insert squats back into your routine.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Alec, depending on where your back squat is all the lower back / oblique from SL + hamstring / knee series / quad work from SLS will keep you getting stronger and stronger for the lifts, not to mention the torso strength you'll be developing from the FL progressions. i only recently started learning about OL, so it goes without saying that I don't have much experience, I had never under taken weight lifting or any sort of fitness program before doing the Foundation series by GB.

I don't know much about what factors influenced it but working upto the progressions I have with hopefully living upto Coach's standards (verification coming soon at seminar) gave me a DL of about 320lb and a full BS of about 215lb for free. I was also being spotted on power Cleans last week and 135lb didn't tax me much for 8-10 reps i did for the coach to give me tips and fix on the spot after having given two gymnastic conditioning + mobility classes before hand. I don't do much in the adult class but the kids class is follow the leader style.

so depending on which route you want to go and based on your individual needs, you have routes to choose from. the one Jon is pointing to is the one i'm also taking as well. no serious weight lifting until SLS and iM's are upto snuff. /my2c

Before I started the Foundation program, I consistently used weighted squats as, for lack of a better word, the foundation for my leg training.  While never a standout, I feel I had developed reasonably good squat strength, through a full range of motion.  Since weighted squats were integral to my routine, it was difficult to give them up for a while.  More at an emotional level than anything else, as I was not accountable to anyone to keep any sort of quantifiable level of squat performance.  Weighted squats are like a good old friend.  

I was able to progress through the SLS more quickly than any other exercise in the program.  While I have terrible mobility in my upper body, my lower body was actually quite good.  My biggest challenge was the mobility element for SE5.  I am now working on mastery of SE9, which is now just  a matter of being too slow a pace.  It kills me; I can't do any weighted squats on the same day, or on another day (I do SLS work twice a week).  Muscle mass in my upper legs has probably increased of late from just SE9, sprinting, running, and jumping.  Once I have mastered SE9, though, I will probably add weighted squats back, and mix it up with lunges, SLS and weighted squats.  With fresh legs, I expect that my weighted squat ability will be as good as it was before, or will return shortly after some practice.  I will, however, have a greater ability to do other work with my legs, and better mobility, in the sense of stable, sound joints and connective tissue, which is something I can already ascertain.  

Wolf with one Ear said:

Weighted squats are like a good old friend.  

I know what you're saying.  Like an old friend, I miss back squats, and I know that after a long absence our friendship will be even stronger when we're reunited.