I'd say I find back squats to be better. Both are good though. My favorite exercise is deadlifts, standard, Romanian, and single leg all have their uses.

Remember that front squats tax your core more so you can't do as much weight. Good exercise though. It's good to mix things up so one week do back and then the next do front. Or alternate every other leg day. Don't neglect the push pull system so you have a balance. If one side is stronger than the other leads to imbalances that will lead to chronic issues. Don't forget the upper back if working the chest. Quads and hammies. Core and back.

For the first question, I’m starting to think the answer is “yes.”

Give me 6 months and I’ll know for sure. For simplicity (and results), back squats are easier to load heavy, and from experience they transfer well to a great bike split when used in combination with big-gear hill sessions. Keep the reps low enough (2-3 reps, reasonably heavy, as strict as you can do them) and they don’t have a negative affect on running. Whenever I went high-reps the quads would balloon and running fell off.

Just achieved enough shoulder mobility to do proper front squats, and they’re a more difficult movement, but I think the payoff for Triathlon will be greater long-term as the upper body is much more involved. It feels like extra demand on your back muscles might transfer to run as well as bike.

Currently stacking front squats with trainer intervals, the real test will be in the spring with a squat/hill work combination.


For the second question:
-pull-ups. I’ve yet to see them hurt an athlete.

-an overhead press with a Barbell, or dumbbell, or Kettlebell.

-TRX “T” “I” and “Y” movements are ridiculously good for keeping Triathlon shoulders balanced and healthy.

-picking heavy things up and carrying them have a huge effect on all other training. Might even be better than individual “set and rep” movements as it keeps the bodyweight low but seems to develop a lot of relevant strength, particularly in maintaining the best form possible at the end of an off-the-bike run.

Hope that helps!

both are good, but work slightly different muscle sets;

Front: emphasizes more the quads and upper back due to the more upright posture. It minimizes loading on the lumbar spine and forces increased core stabalization. Front squat also requires better flexibility to perform properly, specifically within the range of motion of shoulders. Safer if doing alone as can dump weight easily.
Back: emphasizes the glutes (all) and lumbar spine. Because you are using bigger muscles and really activating your glutes you can lift more (either by rep or by weight) from the back. The simple placement of the bar is also more conducive to heavier weight as well rather than resting on the collarbone.

Neither is better than the other, it really depends what you are trying to work. Both are going to hit quads, ankle, knee and hip.

In the off-season i really focus on building leg strength, though if you spend any time over on the wattage google forum there's a fair bit saying strength training is negligible for building bike speed. I do it because i don't just ride bikes on road, and I like lifting heavy things and putting them down again.

Few workouts - not all to be done in same workout, just examples
5x5 squat heavy either front or back
5x10 squat lighter but hold in the hole for 5s before exploding up
box jumps
back squat walking lunges 25m
deadlifts 5x5

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19002072

Count me as a vote for the front squats.

Thanks all. I love doing squats and strength training as I believe it does have a great effect on the ability to withstand big training. As well as help with a more comfortable hard bike effort. Great insight!

TL;DR: Back squats, specifically low bar back squats are the way to go. Starting Strength method from Mark Rippetoe.


Longer:
If your goal is overall strength, you need to choose the exercises that engage the most muscle mass using multi-joint movements the way your body is meant to move . . . as a system. That means squats (low bar back squats), deadlift, bench press, overhead press, and power cleans. All done with barbells, not machines.

All of these movements, when done correctly and with a progressive overload training routine (adding a bit more weight to the work set during each training session) will develop overall body strength, especially in the muscle groups that drive all major movements . . . including those in triathlon. Specifically, that means stronger overall 'core' strength - meaning the entire abdominal and back 'wrapper' that constitutes the core, the entire back, the legs (i.e. cycling and running benefit) and shoulders/chest/arms (swimming benefit).

Obviously sport specificity rules . . . train for tri to be good at tri.

But for improved overall strength for better overall living and improved swim/bike/run performance, the Starting Strength program is the way to go. Highly, highly recommend buying the Starting Strength book. There is also a very good Youtube channel with great how-to / why-to videos (I'd also recommend the video series they did with the Art of Manliness guy).

x2.

Where I work we use this as a primary way to train our athletes, and work off alternatives if needed for athletes. Our endurance community from triathletes, to ultra runners, hikers etc have all done very well with low bar back squats. We still do front squat it's just not our primary method of squatting for our population. We have had more success and more positive feedback from our athletes with the low bar method.

Either is fine, but functionally, front squats are more realistic.

However, everyone here should be using a routine produced by Ryan Flaherty (Nike High Performance Coach). Essentially it is a graded Hex/Trap bar dead lift followed by plyometric squat jumps. If completed correctly over time, you have to possibility to greatly increase force produced with each step, and reduce your overall run times.

Have a listen to this podcast with Tim Ferris. If you do any session per week, i would do this. I have seen some amazing results with myself and other athletes, from sprinters to marathon runners. In one athletes words "I went into Beast Mode just after 6 weeks of doing this once per week"

https://tim.blog/...05/07/ryan-flaherty/

The correct answer is both. I personally am a big believer in front squats, but I will never neglect either one as they are both important.

Front squat form is much easier to gauge. If you have bad form the weight simply rolls off and there are so many cheats to helping anyone hold the bar properly (straps are my favorite). Anterior loading also is beneficial as many of us may experience back problems in our life, and anterior loading helps avoid putting weight on the lumbar spine.


BUT you do need back squats in your life. One of the things that almost any weight lifter will tell you is that in order to progress you need to hit things from different angles and in different ways. Doing only front squats will get you only so far. But by mixing various squats in (pause squats are great) you hit the muscles in different ways forcing them to adapt to multiple stimuli and grow. Varying reps/set schemes will also be key.


If you are just starting off a strength routine, I highly suggest getting onto some kind of program. Starting strength is a fantastic one as it focuses on significant volume of the key lifts. Reddit.com/r/fitness has a very good wiki with links to various programs. For squatting I do highly suggest doing lunge work. I found that my legs were much more stable (wouldn't cave in) after significant time lunging - as you learn/strengthen your glutes to stabilize your legs.

front squats, back squats, either one. just remember.... ass to grass or they don't count. don't be a half reper

Well, actually, for runners, specifically long distance, going so deep in a squat forces far more eccentric muscle activation which builds muscle. This is usually counter productive to tris and marathon where we need to stay lean and not put on muscle mass.

Just my personal observation, I find going deep works the hip flexors better and helps more with other stability issues. You're not going to build mass by accident. As endurance athletes with burn way to many calories for that to happen