Squat Technique – Box Squats
Posted: May 29, 2019 Filed under: 01 - Squat Tips Leave a comment »I have two go to’s I like to use when a lifter is struggling with squat technique.
If the lifter is brand new, does not have lifting experience or a strength foundation to draw on, and struggles with squats I’ve found goblet squats a very good tool to introduce them to proper squat technique.
For lifters who do have experience and have developed some level of strength, and the subject of this article, I find box squats quite useful. This includes relatively experienced lifters who may struggle because of body mechanics (long legs and short torso for example).
I’ve found that if you get the stance right for a lifter, and keep the bar path straight up and down over the center of the feet, the rest generally falls into place. Box squats are a great way to find those positions for people with differing body structures.
You’ll find a myriad of technique styles for the box squat – what I share here is primarily focused on hammering the squat lifting pattern. Additional power out of the hole is, of course, a useful by-product.
Key points of the ‘technique’ box squat:
- Box should always be low enough to get below parallel when on the box (I can hear it now, ‘THAT box??? That box is WAY too low!!!’ No, no, it really is not).
- Come to a complete stop on the box, it’s not a touch and go. Coming to a complete stop allows you to think about the descent and ascent separately, and perform each movement more accurately – While on the box, remain tight, don’t relax on the box.
- Do not lean forward as you get to the box or forward as you start back up. Keep that bar right over the center of your feet at all times, even while on the box. The bar should move up and down as if it were on rails.
- If necessary, adjust the width of your stance until you can squat to the box without having the bar shift forward in front of your center of gravity, or backwards as you get to the box. Once you have that bar moving straight up and down over your shoe laces throughout the full ROM you should be in a good stance
This version of the box squat isn’t just for beginners, or for technique corrections – I’ve found it can also be a great accessory lift to help internalize that squat pattern and make it feel natural. I useful to cycle this lift into your programming occasionally.
Two Second Rule
Posted: May 28, 2019 Filed under: 00 - Lifting Tips, 01 - Squat Tips, 02 - Bench Press Tips, 03 - Deadlift Tips Leave a comment »Although ‘it doesn’t matter how heavy it feels’, there are times (particularly with deadlifts), a lift just feels impossibly heavy. When you review the lift’s instant replay, however, you find that it was in fact possibly heavy. All you had to do to finish it was to NOT GIVE UP…and now you want to kick your own ass for quitting.
Enter the Two Second Rule. I established this rule to curb the tendency to give up on a lift before breaking through the sticking point, and reaching the point where you’re sure to lock it out.
It’s quite simple: Even if a lift is obviously impossible, grind it out for (at least) 2 seconds before quitting on it.
I know what you are thinking – “are you fucking insane?!”.
Well yes, but that is beside the point. The Two Second Rule has a number of benefits:
- Even if you eventually fail the lift, you’ve just turned a failed lift into an isometric hold, and gotten some benefit out of it
- Even if you eventually fail the lift, you are teaching your mind and body to grind; this help you finish out the tough lifts in the future
- You may actually finish the impossible lifts
In the long run, you’ll be teaching yourself to grind through the tough lifts, and build greater mental as well as physical strength
Squat and Deadlift Head Position
Posted: May 16, 2019 Filed under: 01 - Squat Tips, 03 - Deadlift Tips Leave a comment »Someone asked me the other day what the proper head position is during the squat and deadlift.
My preference is to keep the head up and fixate on a spot on the ceiling well out in front of me. There are successful lifters and coaches who use the neutral spine approach, fixing on the floor 10 yards or so in front of the lift. While this can be a successful approach, the body has a tendency to follow the head (have you ever looked at your passenger while driving and found your car drifting towards the ditch?). Looking down can lead to a tendency to lean, bringing the chest down and leaving the hips high.
While head up and head down/neutral spine have have both been (arguably) proven successful, let’s touch on a couple approaches that are WRONG ???
Don’t look straight up. You’re not a bird. Stop it.
Don’t move your head around during the lift – once you start the lift, rep or set, maintain the same focus point throughout the lift, changing your focus during the lift makes it even harder to maintain a consistent body position during the lift.
When I’m lifting, I treat my head as an extension of the spine. For squats I watch my feet to walk out then pack my head back into my neck and focus on a point in the ceiling in the middle of the room during the lift. Provided I keep the proper body angle, my head does not move.
On deadlift, again my head is an extension of my spine. As I pull myself into the bar, and my hips come down/chest comes up, my focus point rises with my chest. Once set, I again fix on a point at the opposite end of the room or ceiling at the far end. I do not change that focus point until I’m locked out.
Your head should be an extension of your spine, fixated on one focus point – don’t create a moving target to shoot at during your lift.
Four Count Bench Press
Posted: May 7, 2019 Filed under: 02 - Bench Press Tips Leave a comment »Every individual has a limited capacity for training volume they are capable of performing in a given week or microcycle. Your training checkbook has a balance of weight, sets, and reps you can perform and overdrawing it has…consequences. You want to select the primary and assistance lifts for your program that will make the most impact on your training goals, whatever those goals may be.
If you’re reading my posts, your training goals are likely to lift as much weight as possible. When you’re deciding what assistance lifts to add to your program, start by looking at where your lifts are the weakest, and plug in (effective) training to fill those gaps.
You may have guessed that for this article the target lift is the bench press. The target portion of the ROM is the bottom end, generating power off the chest. An assistance lift I’ve found that helps this portion of the ROM is the four count bench press. What are some indications that this may be a good assistance lift?
- Your typical failure point is close to the chest, within 2-3” of the chest
- Your presses are sluggish and slow off the chest
- You have poor stability at the chest
The four count bench can help you with these issues by
- Increasing the time under tension within this target ROM
- Developing more explosive power off the chest, and control of the weight at this point
How do you perform this lift properly (my version of it anyway)?
- There are four distinct phases to the lift:
- Lower the bar to the chest.
- Press the bar 1-3” off the chest and stop – it is important to stop before you hit the point where power begins transitioning from a pec movement off the chest, to a tricep movement at lockout. This generally occurs somewhere in the mid point of the press.
- Lower the bar back to the chest again. (and)
- Press the bar to lockout.
- Each of the lowering phases should use a normal eccentric tempo
- Although there is not (necessarily) a pause, each stop should be very sharp and distinct
- Each upward press should be very very explosive, generating as much speed as you can muster
- If you are a competitor, you should use your competition form for this lift. For lifters with high arches and wide grip, for example, I often use a narrower grip and lower arch for other assistance lifts, but for this lift I have them use their competition position.
- My preferred rep range for this lift is 3-5 reps, using 80-85% of the weight you would typically use for that volume. (Note, this is not 80% of your 1RM).
- I like to incorporate them either after the primary bench on the primary bench day, or as the primary bench on a secondary bench day.
I do want to point out that if your primary issue with the lower portion of the ROM is instability, you likely have some other work to do to address that problem than just strengthening the ROM, but this lift can be a part of that correction.
Credit to Katja Lariola for recommending this lift!
Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
Posted: May 6, 2019 Filed under: 00 - Lifting Tips Leave a comment »
How often have you spent way too long adjusting your foot as you step under the squat bar or up to the deadlift bar? Do you shift your shoulders endlessly on the bench because it doesn’t feel ‘just right’?
It seems like ‘just right’ gets tougher as the weight gets heavier and your setup starts to become long and inefficient.
‘Just Right’ is a myth. Nothing good happens when you take too long to setup. You start to overthink the lift. Your amped up CNS starts to cool. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Make your setup an efficient rhythm, what my Air Force TI would have called ‘by the numbers’ in drill. Who cares if it’s just right, right is good enough. Put your hands and feet where they are supposed to be with a mechanical rhythm, the same way every time, and lift the damn weight.
Remember that lifting for power means being efficient, and spending the minimum time under tension!
Deadlifts – By the Numbers – ONE
Posted: May 3, 2019 Filed under: 03 - Deadlift Tips Leave a comment »I coach the deadlift ‘by the numbers’ – every part of the movement has a distinct action and sequence.
The first action (can you hear your drill instructor on the first day of basic training screaming ‘<censored> ONE’?) is tightening the back and pulling the slack out of the bar. Katja demonstrates this clearly here in her pulls. As she starts her setup, you can see her entire back tighten up and flatten out.
She does this by pulling her shoulder blades downward powerfully. This does a couple things:
– It tightens the back, creating a rigid lever; this helps to transfer power from the legs directly to the bar
– It reduces spinal flexion, stabilizing the spine and reducing the risk of injuring the back
– It sets the shoulders in place, so once the lifter stands up the lift is done – there is no need to lean back or attempt to pull the shoulders back at the end
– It creates tension between the lifter and the bar, which builds a better muscle contraction at the start of the lift
Maintain this tightness and upward tension on the bar as your drill instructor screams ‘<censored> TWO’!
A strong, tight back translates to strong pulls!
Squat Rebound
Posted: May 2, 2019 Filed under: 01 - Squat Tips Leave a comment »I originally discovered just how important the rebound is in the squat when doing high rep sets. At that point where your muscles are shot, your heart and lungs are shot, I found that the momentum created by the rebound was the only reason I was completing reps.
Most times you take the rebound created by the stretch reflex for granted. You don’t feel it working until EVERYTHING ELSE is shot.
If you watch to the last rep in this video, you can see how I generate a lot of speed out of the hole before the bands cinch up and try to kill me. A great deal of that momentum is created by the rebound, I kick in the ‘voluntary muscles’ to really accelerate and drive through the sticking point once the bar already has a head of steam behind it.
How, exactly, do I maximize this rebound? In my last post on the topic, Stretch Reflex in the Squat, I discussed the technique aspects to stay in position and prevent that energy from leaking. The other key is hitting the bottom with a bit of velocity, creating a strong stretch reflex, like bouncing a basketball off the floor.
One thing to keep in mind, if you’re a newer lifter, or hyper mobile, you may not be able to use this technique effectively until you effectively built a mass of muscle to rebound off…
PLQOD – Can’t Feel My Legs
Posted: May 1, 2019 Filed under: 20 - Powerlifting Quotes Leave a comment »
Can’t Feel My Legs!