I started out squatting wrong, having fixed my technique I can now squat far heavier -it doesn't hit my quads as hard, though, how do I preserve them?

[Anonymous]

I started squatting wrong from the beginning, I started the movement by moving my knees forward and bending forward over them, this meant my main movers were my quadriceps but now I'm squatting properly the limiting factor seems to be by far my lower back.

I was doing bad squats at 115kg for 5x5 and can without pushing hard do 140kg for 5x5 good squats.

Basically I wish to preserve my huge and beautiful quadriceps but can't go back to squatting bad because is f*cked up my knees

[Theguyoverthere]

From what I've understood and felt with squats... your quads, hams, and glutes should all be getting worked. So I don't see how fixing your form eliminates the quadricep from the exercise. Also one reason I've heard for knee issues is the quad outgrowing the hamstring. Basically with your bad form issues your depth was probably not all there so your range of motion probably didn't go far enough to start working the hamstrings and glutes. I would actually suggest you have someone record a video and see if you're doing a full range of motion with the new form you picked up on as well. Most people don't go down deep enough to do a full squat. So many people who think they can squat 3 plates don't even go down deep at all. Their reps would never qualify in a meet.

I had to convert your kgs to lbs and that is a lot of weight. I have read that people use a lifting belt even before those points sometimes. Either use less weight until you can handle those reps without pain, or you a back belt.

[CourtJester]

The squat really works all of your lower half and if done right then it should workout your muscles equally, you can't avoid not working out your quads. Also, maintain your protein intake or even increase it a little bit so you won't loss mass. Guessing you're cutting?

[Flex4Ever]

Where the squat hits is based on how far your feet are from each other.
Wide: more hams/gluts
Narrow: more quads
I personally found wider stance effective. Try different stances and find out which one suits you best.