The Lab: Strength

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New Braunfels, TX
The Lab: Strength

Helping people with injury prevention, motivation, healthy food choices for their body, strengthening, and athleticism. I use.

Holistic approach to helping people reach their goals.

01/14/2026

Most people need to change up their movements.

Changing how you squat.

Back squats load the system differently than front squats.
Front squats demand more upright posture, core engagement, and upper-body mobility.

Back Squat
Emphasizes the glutes and posterior chain while still training the quads. This allows the more load but comes with more forward lean and higher spinal stress(which requires spinal stability with proper core control. Best for building maximal lower-body strength.

Front Squat
These emphasize the quads more so, the core, and the upper back due to a more upright torso. May have to start with lighter loads, but improves posture, transverse abdominal activation, and knee-dominant strength. Limited mainly by upper-body mobility rather than leg strength.

Bottom line:
Back squats build force. Front squats refine mechanics and redistribute stress.

So... you want to try the front squat.. but..

Can’t hold a clean grip yet?
That’s not a failure—that’s information.

Use straps.
Reduces wrist stress
Accommodates shoulder or lat tightness
Improves balance and positioning
Keeps the front squat in your program
The goal isn’t forcing positions.
The goal is to progress to those new positions you don’t currently own, over time, while still training.

So,
Change the squat.
Keep progressing.

11/03/2025

Your 30-minute warm-up might be doing nothing for your body?
The stretching, jogging, and foam rolling could just be busy work disguised as “preparation”?

Here’s what’s going on — most people think they need to “get warm” before they can train effectively. People/trainers say it raises core temperature, wakes up muscles, and prevents injury.

But really?… hmm.
If your body needs half an hour just to start moving right… doesn’t that mean something’s off in the first place?

The Real Purpose of a Warm-Up

A warm-up isn’t supposed to be busy work. It’s supposed to get your body ready for the exact movement you’re about to do.
That means specific — not random.

If you can pick up a barbell cold and press it overhead without pain or tightness, your body’s already ready.
If you need 30 minutes of band work just to do the same thing, that’s not a warm-up problem. That’s a movement readiness issue — this means something deeper (mobility, stability, or imbalance) needs attention.

What Actually Works

You don’t need to jog for 20 minutes to lift weights.
You don’t need to stretch everything just to do one lift.

Try this for a more effective progression:
If your goal is a 95-pound overhead press, do a set of 10 with 45 pounds first. That’s a specific warm-up — not a random one.

Thirty minutes on a treadmill won’t prepare your shoulders for pressing. It just wastes your session time. And if you want the most out of your sessions, warm up before you see your trainers/PT/Chiros/massage therapist.

Address

New Braunfels, TX

Telephone

+18322574464

Website

https://www.anthoneyq.com/

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