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Other/Mixed Anyone have any experience with kang squats?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Vulcan300

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Hello all,

I've been doing the Bryce Lane 50/20 workout (For those interested) for awhile now. Using a sandbag, I do clean and presses as well as zercher squats (each exercise twice a week). I've recently learned about another squat variation called the kang squat (Described here). Its basically a blending of good mornings and back squats. I've been looking for an exercise that could really work the lower back, but I didn't want to add another exercise since 50/20 wears one out. Kang squats seem like a good compromise.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience (negative or positive) with kang squats that they could post? Even better, any experience with zercher-kang squats?

Thank you
 
Yeah, I do kang squats every once in a while in a weighted fashion as an accessory lift if I'm pressed for time, and regularly using an empty barbell as a warm up.

They're useful in weightlifting for mobility / warmup purposes before doing cleans and snatches (the context I use them for), but I don't know why anyone else would pay much attention to them.

As a strength exercise, I've you're already doing weighted hip hinges (e.g. good mornings) and squats, the only advantage the Kang squat brings is efficiency.
 
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I used to do good mornings and good morning squats (lower as a good morning, sink the hips, squat to upright) as regular exercises in the rotation. I actually just started including them again last week.

I like GMs with different stances as a great supplemental lift for the squat and deadlift. The GM squat is a strength move with a bit of a mobility challenge to put yourself back into proper position to rise out of the hole.

I actually don't see what this variant ("Kang squat") would do that a regular good morning would not. Maybe learning and grooving positioning, or as a kind of mobility exercise I suppose.
 
I actually don't see what this variant ("Kang squat") would do that a regular good morning would not. Maybe learning and grooving positioning, or as a kind of mobility exercise I suppose.

Mobility is the only use I have for them.

You can't really use them as a strength exercise, as the usual loading range for a good morning done for reps (say 20-40% of your back squat) isn't enough work to really challenge your legs.

Unless you had freakishly weak legs relative to your lower back.
 
Mobility is the only use I have for them.

You can't really use them as a strength exercise, as the usual loading range for a good morning done for reps (say 20-40% of your back squat) isn't enough work to really challenge your legs.

Unless you had freakishly weak legs relative to your lower back.
Yeah, agreed. They remind me of "bootstrap squats" (I think that's what people call them) - a kettlebell squat variant I used to see more often in warm-ups.
 
I used to do good mornings and good morning squats (lower as a good morning, sink the hips, squat to upright) as regular exercises in the rotation. I actually just started including them again last week.

I like GMs with different stances as a great supplemental lift for the squat and deadlift. The GM squat is a strength move with a bit of a mobility challenge to put yourself back into proper position to rise out of the hole.

I actually don't see what this variant ("Kang squat") would do that a regular good morning would not. Maybe learning and grooving positioning, or as a kind of mobility exercise I suppose.
I agree that they are not too different from a good morning. I want to utilize zercher kang squats to target my lower body and back in one swoop rather than incorporating an additional exercise.
 
This write-up is pretty comical:

By way of putting the back squat and the good morning together, the Kang squat boasts an impressive degree of muscle activation — including the shoulders, back, glutes, quads, and hamstrings. These muscles, all found on the back side of your body (except your quads), are also known as the posterior chain.

No, dude, by putting them together, you're getting the lowest common denominators between the two movements.
 
I agree that they are not too different from a good morning. I want to utilize zercher kang squats to target my lower body and back in one swoop rather than incorporating an additional exercise.

Unless you're an absolute newbie:

Any weight that will challenge your legs is too much for your lower back to do for reps.

And any weight that will challenge your lower back for reps will be too light for your legs.
 
Hello all,

I've been doing the Bryce Lane 50/20 workout (For those interested) for awhile now. Using a sandbag, I do clean and presses as well as zercher squats (each exercise twice a week). I've recently learned about another squat variation called the kang squat (Described here). Its basically a blending of good mornings and back squats. I've been looking for an exercise that could really work the lower back, but I didn't want to add another exercise since 50/20 wears one out. Kang squats seem like a good compromise.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience (negative or positive) with kang squats that they could post? Even better, any experience with zercher-kang squats?

Thank you
My go-to warm up is: Kang squat (stop at the bottom), Sots press (stop at the top), reverse overhead squat (starts and ends up at the bottom), Sots press (just the lowering portion) and then stand up doing the ascending phase of the Kang squat.

It takes a while to get used to do it in one fluid motion, but it really leaves no stone unturned.
 
Mobility is the only use I have for them.

You can't really use them as a strength exercise, as the usual loading range for a good morning done for reps (say 20-40% of your back squat) isn't enough work to really challenge your legs.

Unless you had freakishly weak legs relative to your lower back.

I'm curious, why such a light loading range for good mornings? I think I've seen it elsewhere in weightlifting circles as well.

I don't think it's universal and thus we shouldn't come to this conclusion for every trainee in every sport.

I think my good morning comes 10-20% behind my back squat for similar rep ranges. I would imagine some Westside powerlifters would load the good mornings even higher.

Does it come to "freakishly weak legs relative to your lower back"? I suppose one could turn it around and ask the same question...
 
I'm curious, why such a light loading range for good mornings? I think I've seen it elsewhere in weightlifting circles as well.

In weightlifting, it's an accessory move -- your low back just needs to be 'good enough' to support your snatch & C&J and the training volume.

And a lot of the use of the good morning in weightlifting is to reinforce the proper lower back arch as it is to make the lower back have more endurance.

If the deadlift was a competition lift in weightlifting (like it is in PL), it might make sense to try to drive up your good mornings. But powerlifting isn't weightlifting.

When it comes to primary strength work, squats dominate weightlifting training because of the importance of leg strength.

Pulls and overhead work (push press, jerks) come in 2nd tier. Accessory back work like good mornings, reverse hypers, etc, are 3rd tier.

Lastly, fatigue management -- if you push real hard on the good mornings, you're not going to be able to practice the competition lifts as much the next day if your low back is fried.

Finally we have physics:

The moment arm of a good morning is much longer than a squat. You just don't need to load it as heavy when it's perched out on the end of your torso parallel to the ground, several feet from the pivot point of your hips.
 
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Does it come to "freakishly weak legs relative to your lower back"? I suppose one could turn it around and ask the same question...

Dunno...how much do you squat?

My back squat is 153 kg, my snatch pull is 138 kg, and my clean DL is 191 kg, but I don't usually do good mornings for more than 65 kg for 8-10 reps.

Could I do a 100 kg good mornings? Probably, with a couple weeks of building up to it, but why bother?

It would just make me tired, introduce extra recovery debt, and my totals are limited by my jerks, not by my cleans.
 
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It's an accessory move -- your low back just needs to be 'good enough' to support your snatch & C&J and the training volume.

And a lot of the use of the good morning in weightlifting is to reinforce the proper lower back arch as it is to make the lower back have more endurance.

If the deadlift was a competition lift in weightlifting (like it is in PL), it might make sense to try to drive up your good mornings. But powerlifting isn't weightlifting.

When it comes to primary strength work, squats dominate weightlifting training because of the importance of leg strength.

Pulls and overhead work (push press, jerks) come in 2nd tier. Accessory back work like good mornings, reverse hypers, etc, are 3rd tier.

Lastly, fatigue management -- if you push real hard on the good mornings, you're not going to be able to practice the competition lifts as much the next day if your low back is fried.

Finally we have physics:

The moment arm of a good morning is much longer than a squat. You just don't need to load it as heavy when it's perched out on the end of your torso parallel to the ground, several feet from the pivot point of your hips.

Dunno...how much do you squat?

My back squat is 153 kg, my snatch pull is 138 kg, and my clean DL is 191 kg, but I don't usually do good mornings for more than 65 kg for reps.

Could I do a 100 kg good mornings? Probably, with a couple weeks of building up to it, but why bother?

It would just make me tired, introduce extra recovery debt, and my totals are limited by my jerks, not by my cleans.

I understand that the good morning isn't that important in weightlifting. By no means am I even qualified in any way to say how things should be in weightlifting, that's why I asked. But I also said that I wouldn't take the ratio of squat to good morning from weightlifting and generalize it to all sports and goals

Still, I'm not sure of the big recovery demands of the exercise. Or the injury risk some like to always mention.

My back squat 1RM is 250kg. I typically train in 130-170kg range on good mornings with a safety squat bar. I think a set of eight on the SSB GM equals a set of eight with 200kg on the straight bar back squat with relative effort.
 
I understand that the good morning isn't that important in weightlifting. By no means am I even qualified in any way to say how things should be in weightlifting, that's why I asked. But I also said that I wouldn't take the ratio of squat to good morning from weightlifting and generalize it to all sports and goals

Still, I'm not sure of the big recovery demands of the exercise. Or the injury risk some like to always mention.

My back squat 1RM is 250kg. I typically train in 130-170kg range on good mornings with a safety squat bar. I think a set of eight on the SSB GM equals a set of eight with 200kg on the straight bar back squat with relative effort.

Your example made my point as it pertains to the Kang squat:

If you have a typical strength balance, the limiting factor on a Kang squat will be what your lower back can handle for reps, not your leg strength.
 
We probably need to clarify bar position on any discussion of good mornings, good morning squats, or Kang squats. Where the bar is placed makes a huge difference as far as comfort, safety, load, and leverages.

Fwiw, any good morning or variant, for me, is going to be low bar. If I do it high bar, I might as well just do hyperextensions because the load will have to be really light. With low bar, the load is totally different.
 
We probably need to clarify bar position on any discussion of good mornings, good morning squats, or Kang squats. Where the bar is placed makes a huge difference as far as comfort, safety, load, and leverages.

Fwiw, any good morning or variant, for me, is going to be low bar. If I do it high bar, I might as well just do hyperextensions because the load will have to be really light. With low bar, the load is totally different.

Both bar position and range of motion are something to address.

That said, if anyone mentioned a squat, I would always expect it to mean a depth of at least IPF competition requirements. However, we don't have such rules with the good morning. And we have different good mornings as well. So it's always a discussion which requires more context if we want to go into it
 
If I do it high bar, I might as well just do hyperextensions because the load will have to be really light. With low bar, the load is totally different.

I pretty exclusively do high bar GMs because I don't have a GHR or other mechanism to do hypers.
 
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