This is just a quick article about my favorite two-leg squat, the lumberjack squat. It’s a true Garage Gym staple, an exercise that you can do with virtually no equipment whatsoever. It also really challenges your core and makes your upper body work together with your legs in a way that not even the front squat comes close to. So without further ado…
What is a lumberjack squat?
This is a lumberjack squat:
As you can see, you need a bar and some weights. You also benefit from having a bench or sturdy box that you can put the bar down on between sets. It’s not strictly necessary but it saves having to muscle the bar up into position every time. I use a standard 7ft bench press bar wedged into the corner of a wall like this:
I also like being able to move the bench closer or further away from the pivot point, which raises or lowers the height of the bar at the bottom position. This enables me to set the exact height of the bottom position so I can get exactly the depth I want. If you lack great hip mobility, like I do, then you can use this to increase your depth gradually, as you develop your mobility, and know exactly how well you are progressing without guessing.
So what does a lumberjack squat look like?
It looks like this:
What else do I need to know?
Not much, really. The only thing that I have discovered since using it regularly is that it’s hard to go heavy as you quickly use up the available space on the end of the bar. You need space to put your hands, you see. So I started using a sling to add extra weight, like this:
The sling keeps the extra weight out of the way of your hands while you squat, as you can see here.
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