Front Squat Zercher Harness

There's no two ways about it: front squats are awesome and should be included in the training of any serious athlete.  The guys at EliteFTS list just some of the many advantages of the front squat:

• Front squats are more quad dominant, bodybuilders like this that are paranoid about getting their butts too big.
• Front squats are easier on your back because your torso is more erect and obviously less weight is being handled.
• If you go forward on a front squat you lose the weight, so it ‘s impossible to lean forward too excessively.
• Front squats are also a good tool to teach someone to back squat with an erect torso.
• Front squats offer great transference to jerks, push presses and Olympic lifts. More core stabilization is required.

We would add to that list that the ability to keep the torso more upright in the front squat results in more easily accessible depth for most lifters, especially taller lifters.  This means a greater range of motion through the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, which in turn translates into greater pushing and driving power for athletes as diverse as rugby players to bobsled and luge athletes.

Unfortunately many people don't have the requisite flexibility in the wrists, elbows and shoulders to get a decent clean grip for the front squat, and without the clean grip suboptimal positioning of the shoulders can throw everything else below out of whack, negating many of the above-mentioned benefits of the front squat. (We can't all be Dimitry Klokovs...)

Never fear, the Get Strength Front Squat Zercher Harness has been specially engineered in New Zealand to make the front and zercher squat available to all – even those previously limited by injury.  The harness sits on the shoulders and holds the weight in place, allowing optimal alignment of the shoulders and therefore the rest of the body.

The Get Strength Front Squat Zercher Harness comes in two sizes: medium (chest circumference of 116cm) and large (chest circumference greater than 116cm) and is hand-forged from approximately seven kilograms of steel.  There are six pins fitted onto the front of the harness; two lower down for a zercher squat position and four at approximately shoulder height for the front squat.

The harness is lined with pvc foam to provide just the right amount of cushioning under load and, of course, has been tested to support in excess of four hundred and fifty kilograms (that’s one thousand pounds, to those of you still suffering under imperial measurements).

For more information on getting the Front Squat Zercher Harness in Australia click here.