Post Workout Quickie – Deadlift Grip
Posted: April 17, 2012 Filed under: 03 - Deadlift Tips | Tags: Back Strength, Deadlift Technique, Deadlifts, Leg Strength, Muscle Building, Power, Powerlifting, Strength 1 Comment »Last week in my Deadlift Setup article I touched on two deadlift setup approaches, the two count deadlift and the three count deadlift. In watching a new lifter last night, I captured one of the difficulties with the two count deadlift.
Notice in the picture to the right that the lifter’s left hand is at least a half an inch wider than his right hand. This is a problem I see frequently with novice lifters. When squatting down to the bar to set up, it’s difficult to watch your hands to ensure proper hand position. Improper hand position will lead to inferior pulls:
- When your hands are off-center like this, the bar will be off-balance, making the pull more difficult
- If your hands are too wide, it shortens your reach, forcing you to squat down farther to get to the bar; you then have to start lower and pull the bar farther
- If your hands are too close, they will drag across your legs, increasing friction, and impacting your grip on the bar
Quick pointers on hand and foot position for the deadlift:
- Feet should be ‘inside the shoulders’, this is a relatively close stance
- Hands should be right on the outside of your hips and legs; your arms should hang straight down from your shoulders, but not drag across your legs
- I like to keep my hands right on the edge of the knurling, so that I have a very easy time finding the correct placement; this is dependent, of course, on the width of your build and the bar that you use
Back workout of the week (BWOW) – Competition Training Week 3
Posted: April 15, 2012 Filed under: 30 - Back Workout of the Week! | Tags: Back Strength, Barbell Rows, ILS, Lats, Power, Powerlifting, Rows, Strength Leave a comment »
Three weeks into the competition training cycle, we will start drawing the volume back. The weight and the volume from your training may be taking a toll on the body. To be as strong as possible on the platform for your Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift, you need to lift smart. Back off on your assistance work and let your body begin to heal and grow strong.
For those who are not training for competition, I include optional exercises so you still feel like a monster when you’re done!
BWOW – Week 6
Goal: Medium Intensity, Light Volume/Horizontal Pulling
Remember to use the Rate of Perceived Exertion, as shown in the training worksheet, to make sure you’re using an appropriate weight.
Barbell Rows
- Warm up to your working set with barbell rows
- 5 sets/3 reps
- Warm up to a weight you would hit failure at 5 reps, the intent is to lift some heavy rows!
- Some cheating in your later sets is Ok (slight movement of upper body to use momentum), we are trying to move as heavy weight as possible
- You should be using a weight that you will need wrist wraps to hold the bar
- Rest 3-5 minutes between sets so that you are fully recovered
Dumbbell Rows – Supported
- 3 sets/8 Reps
- If you are in a competition training cycle, this exercise may be skipped
- Select a weight that you will fail at 8 reps
- Complete each round of the sets to failure
- Minimize cheating, use little or upper body momentum to complete your reps
- As with last week, if you have the breath you may want to mutter between sets
- Use wrist wraps if necessary to hold the dumbbells
- Rest around 3 minutes between sets so that you are mostly recovered
Hammer Strength Rows
- 3 sets/12 reps per set
- Select a weight that you are within one rep of failure at the end of each set
- Squeeze the lats at the end of the rep on the hammer strength; squeeze them tightly and pause for a moment on each rep before lowering the weight
- Your lats and biceps should be burning at the end of each set
- Rest around 3 minutes per set so that you are mostly recovered
- If your gym has multiple rowing machines that function at different angles, use a different machine for each set
- If you don’t have hammer strength at your gym, you can substitute a different rowing machine
Standing Hammer Curls:
- 3 sets/10 reps per set
- Select a weight that you are within 2-3 reps of failure at the end of each set
Coming Attraction: Next week we continue drawing down training intensity and volume, and increasing weight in preparation for the USA Powerlifting Masters National Championships. Since we did no vertical pulling work this week, next week will have a vertical focus.
BWOW Training Worksheet: Back Workout of the Week BWOW6 – Competition Training Week 3
Deadlift Setup – Creating a Powerful First Repetition
Posted: April 15, 2012 Filed under: 03 - Deadlift Tips | Tags: Deadlift Strength, Deadlift Technique, Deadlifts, Leg Strength, Muscle Building, Power, Powerlifting, Strength Leave a comment »
Deadlift is the easiest exercise there is, right? Bend down, grab the bar and pick it up.
Have you ever noticed how your second repetition in a heavy set of deadlifts is often easier than your first? How you set up and grab the bar can make a huge difference in powerful your first repetition is as well.
The Stretch Reflex: If a muscle is stretched rapidly, a contraction is triggered within that muscle. You use this reflex when you perform many of your exercises. During the eccentric, or lowering of the bar during the bench press for example, the pecs are stretched. This stretch, and the corresponding Stretch Reflex, assists you in driving the bar powerfully off your chest.
When deadlifting, there is no eccentric component to the first repetition. Just grab the bar and pick it up, right? On your second repetition as you lower the bar to the floor, your glutes and hamstrings are stretched, creating a stretch reflex that assists with the second and subsequent repetitions. How can you create a Stretch Reflex on your first repetition? Let’s start by walking through a typical deadlift. I refer to this as the Two Count Deadlift.
The Two Count Deadlift
- Squat down to the bar
- Grip the bar and pull
In trying to figure out why my own second repetitions were easier that the first, I came across a method of setting up for your deadlift that creates a pseudo eccentric component to your first repetition. I try to create the Stretch Reflex using a Three Count Deadlift.
The Three Count Deadlift
- Rotate forward at the hips, bending to grab the bar
- Rock back quickly, rotating at the knee to bring the hips down and chest up
- As soon as your hips hit the bottom of the lift drive up explosively, bringing the bar, your hips and shoulders up at the same rate
For both approaches, the concentric motion of the lift should be completed in one smooth motion.
As a competitive powerlifter, I focus on resetting after every rep using the Three Count Deadlift for all repetitions. In a competition, there is only one repetition, so I train for a powerful single repetition. However, although using the Three Count Deadlift may make your first repetition more powerful, you may find that using the Two Count Deadlift for the eccentric portion at the end of your first rep can make the rest of your reps easier. If you’re not training for competition, a hybrid approach (Three Count first rep, Two Count for subsequent reps) may allow you to pull greater weight and volume.
In the video demonstration, notice the transition to the Two Count Deadlift on the third repetition.
Try taking advantage of your body’s own reflexes for stronger pulls!
Post Workout Quickie – Squat Bar Placement
Posted: April 11, 2012 Filed under: 01 - Squat Tips | Tags: Muscle Building, Power, Powerlifting, Squat Low Bar Position, Squat Technique, Squats, Strength Leave a comment »
If you follow the strength training forums you’ll find frequent discussions on bar placement on your back: High Bar or Low Bar. Little attention is spent, however, on getting the bar centered on your back. Watching a team mate set up off center, and having to reset twice because the bar was off balance in tonight’s squat session drove the point home.
The setup is the most crucial part of your squat. Do it correctly and you are likely to nail your lift. Mess it up and you burn energy unnecessarily, give your head the chance to tell your body ”damn this is heavy!’, and give your spotter a chance to earn his keep. Getting the bar centered on your back can be done in three simple steps:
- Make sure your hands are evenly placed on the bar; use the edges of the knurling and the rings on the bar to make sure they are perfectly even.
- Make eye contact with the knurling in the middle of the bar, and make sure you are directly centered on it.
- Keep your eyes on the knurling as you duck under the bar, remain square to the bar and make sure you duck straight under it.
Once you’re under the bar, be careful not to change your hand or back position on the bar as you settle in for your lift.
This step is often (nearly always?) overlooked, and quite often getting the bar set up evenly is either through sheer luck, or spotter assistance. Follow these three simple steps, and improve your setup.
For a full description of squat setup, check out Squat Technique in our Brute Force Book of Techniques!
Back workout of the week (BWOW) – Competition Training Week 2
Posted: April 9, 2012 Filed under: 30 - Back Workout of the Week! | Tags: Back Strength, Back Training, Barbell Rows, ILS, Lats, Muscle Building, Power, Powerlifting, Rows, Strength Leave a comment »
This week we continue my drive to the 2012 USA Powerlifting Masters National Championships. It’s still early in the training cycle, so intensity remains high. This week had my muttering “what the … was I thinking” between sets, so it should rank pretty well on the smokededness scale.
BWOW – Week 5:
Goal: Medium Intensity and Volume/Horizontal Pulling
Barbell Rows
- Warm up to your working set with barbell rows
- 4 sets/6 repetitions
- With the medium rep range, barbell weight should be relatively high
- Select a weight that you can complete the sets with minimal cheating (ie swinging upper body to use momentum to complete the repletion); you should be within 1 rep of failure at the end of the set – some cheating in the later sets is acceptable
- You should be using a weight that you will need wrist wraps to hold the bar
- Rest 3-5 minutes between sets so that you are fully recovered
Dumbbell Row Drop Sets
- 3 sets to failure each set
- For round one of the drop set, select a weight you will fail at 6-8 reps
- For round two of the drop set:
- If round 1 is over 100lbs, select a weight 20lbs lighter
- If round 1 is under 100lbs, select a weight 10lbs lighter
- Complete each round of the sets to failure
- Minimize cheating, use little or upper body momentum to complete your reps
- Feel free to mutter between sets
- Use wrist wraps if necessary to hold the dumbbells
- Rest around 3 minutes between sets so that you are mostly recovered
Pull-up/Lat Pulldown Supersets
- 3 sets/6 reps (Pull-ups), 12 reps (Lat Pulldowns)
- Perform each set to failure; use spotter assistance or an assisted pull-up machine if you cannot complete 6 reps
- Complete your lat pulldowns immediately after pull-ups without resting
- Rest about 3 minutes between sets so that you are mostly recovered
Seated Hammer Curls:
- 3 sets/10 reps per set
- Select a weight that you are within 2-3 reps of failure at the end of each set
Coming Attraction: Next week we begin drawing down training intensity and volume, and increasing weight in preparation for the USA Powerlifting Masters National Championships.
Back Workout of the Week BWOW5 – Competition Training Week 2
If you want to start at the beginning, you can check out Back Workout of the Week #1 – BWOW1
Strength Training – Breathing Technique for a Powerful Squat
Posted: April 8, 2012 Filed under: 01 - Squat Tips | Tags: Breathing Technique, Leg Strength, Muscle Building, Power, Powerlifting, Squat Breathing Technique, Squat Strength, Squat Technique, Squats, Strength 2 Comments »
While training the other day I was distracted by a guy attempting to give birth…or so it appeared from the sounds he was making. I paused to check out how much weight he was squatting, it surely must have been impressive, right? Alas, the squat rack was empty! On further investigation I found that instead of Lamaze, he was bicep curling mighty 25lb dumbbells.
A week later I encountered him again, and he commented that you can’t get strong if you’re not making a lot of noise. I really didn’t have the energy to correct him – that it’s the faces you make that are important, but it does bring me to my subject. Beyond annoying the lifter’s in the gym, and drawing attention to lifts that should remain hidden in obscurity, the only thing all that noise is doing for you is reducing the amount of weight you can lift. Breathing correctly during your sets will make a significant difference in the weight you lift, and quite frankly a loaded down bar speaks for itself.
Although proper breathing technique has a positive impact on most, if not all of your lifts, I’m going to discuss the squat. Proper breathing technique helps increase your core stability which:
- Transitions power from your legs doing the work to your upper body supporting the weight (see the figure below)
- Reduces your chances of injury, by stabilizing your spine
The Technique
- Take a deep breath into your lungs, allow your diaphragm to press down into your abdomen
- Brace your core, as you would if you were about to get punched in the stomach, by simultaneously tightening your abdominals and obliques
- Continue holding your breath through the eccentric portion of the lift (descent), and begin exhaling slowly as you pass the mid-point in the concentric (ascent) portion, complete exhaling as you lock the lift out
How Does this Add Weight to Your Bar
The bar rests on the supporting structure of your shoulder girdle, rib cage and back musculature. Your power is driven up from the floor through your legs, which consist of over 50% of the muscle mass in your body. The transition point between these stable structures is your core (abdominals, obliques, and erector spinae). The most well defined six-pack will likely not be as stable as these two opposing forces.
- Filling your lungs with air, and bracing your abdomen creates intra-abdominal pressure which stabilizes your spine
- A solid, stable core allows you to keep your chest up throughout the lift, preventing excessive leaning
- Screaming for attention at the bottom of your squat releases the air from your lungs in an uncontrolled manner, loosening your core, and allowing your mid-section to crumple (no, your belt does not prevent this from happening)
Safety
There are safety considerations you need to take into account when squatting heavy.
- As my spotters can tell you, holding your breath for an extended period of time deprives your body of oxygen (during a period of extreme exertion) and creates a risk of blacking out
- This technique can create a significant increase in your blood pressure
In Summary
Squatting effectively is much more than stepping under the bar, bending your knees and straightening them again. Proper breathing, for example, stabilizes your core, reducing your tendency to lean or crumple at the bottom of the lift. Screaming loudly during the lift reduces your core stability.
Try lifting with good breathing technique. The plates will stack on more quickly and you will find your lifts much more stable.
Reference:
Jesse Irizarry. “Freakish Strength With Proper Core Training.” Testosterone Nation. 3/2/12. 4/7/12 <http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/freakish_strength_with_proper_core_training>
Back workout of the week (BWOW) – Competition Training Kickoff
Posted: April 1, 2012 Filed under: 30 - Back Workout of the Week! | Tags: Back Strength, Back Training, ILS, Lats, Muscle Building, Power, Powerlifting, Strength Leave a comment »This week’s back workout captures the commencement of my training for the 2011 USA Powerlifting Masters National Championships. As I’ve stated in earlier editions a strong back is key to your big lifts, particularly those executed in a powerlifting competition – the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Because of this, week one will be a fairly intense workout, although it may not take you to the level of the last workout (smokededness).
BWOW – Week 4:
Goal: Medium Intensity and Volume/Horizontal Pulling
Barbell Row/Dumbbell Row Supersets
- Warm up to your working set with barbell rows
- 4 super sets/8 repetitions on barbell rows/rep to failure on dumbbell rows
- Superset barbell rows and dumbbell rows – perform a set of barbell rows, then supported dumbbell rows no rest period between them
- On each set, alternate which arm you start with for your dumbbell rows
- For your barbell rows, select a weight that you can perform 8 reps without cheating (ie swinging upper body to use momentum to complete the repletion); you should be within 2-3 reps of failure at the end of the set
- Select dumbbells that you can complete 8 reps with when performing dumbbell rows separately; perform your dumbbell rows to failure
- Use wrist wraps if necessary to hold the bar and dumbbells
- Rest 3-5 minutes between sets so that you are fully recovered
Cable Rows
- 3 sets/12 repetitions per set
- You should be within 1 rep of failure at the end of each set
- Minimize cheating, use little or upper body momentum to complete your reps
- Squeeze your lats hard and pause for a moment at the top of the movement
- Rest around 3 minutes between sets so that you are mostly recovered
Upright Rows
- 3 sets/10 repetitions per set
- You should be within 2-3 reps of failure at the end of each set
- If you train your shoulders in a separate workout, you may eliminate this exercise
- Rest around 3 minutes between sets so that you are mostly recovered
Pull-ups
- 3 sets/6 reps
- Perform each set to failure; use spotter assistance or an assisted pull-up machine if you cannot complete 6 reps
- If you can complete more than 8 reps, complete them with extra weight
Biceps are important to powerlifting as a stabilizer muscle. It helps you to control the weight at your chest during the bench press. For this reason, this week I have two bicep exercises.
Preacher Curls
- 3 sets/8reps per set
- Use of the preacher curl should isolate the bicep completely
- Select a weight that you are within one rep of failure at the end of each set
Standing Hammer Curls
- 3 sets/8 reps per set
- Select a weight that you are within 1 reps of failure at the end of each set
- Minimize movement of the upper body to cheat during the exercise
Coming Attraction: Next week we continue competition training for the USA Powerlifting Masters National Championships.
Free download of this workout:
Back Workout of the Week BWOW4 – Competition Training Week 1
If you want to start at the beginning, you can check out Back Workout of the Week #1 – BWOW1
Back workout of the week (BWOW) – Vertical Pulling Smokdedness
Posted: March 7, 2012 Filed under: 30 - Back Workout of the Week! | Tags: Back Strength, Back Training, Barbell Rows, ILS, Lats, Muscle Building, Power, Powerlifting, Rows, Strength 4 Comments »
I received this text from a friend last week: “Yo Ken, I was wondering if you could send me an insane back workout plan for today. I want to hit it hella hard on my back, and you’re the man to talk to about it”.
Of course I can, and did, send him an insane back workout plan. I thought that you would love to share his pain, and that it was perfect for this week’s back workout of the week. Also it is right in line with our training schedule. This week we are going to shift from a basic strength building workout that focuses on horizontal rowing, to a high intensity workout that emphasizes vertical pulling. That being said, you can blame Jordan for your smokdedness at the end of this one!
BWOW – Week 3:
Goal: High Intensity/Vertical Pulls
Pull-up / Lat Pulldown Supersets
- Warm up using lat pulldowns
- Superset Pull-ups and Lat Pulldowns – perform your pull-up set, then lat pulldowns with no break between them
- Perform at least 6 pull-ups – use spotter assistance, or an assisted pull-up machine if you cannot complete 6 unassisted pull-ups; if you can do more than 6 pullups, perform weighted pull-ups
- Select a weight that you can perform 12 reps of lat pulldowns without cheating (ie swinging backwards as you pull the weight down); be aware that these will be much more difficult after pull-ups; you should be within 1 rep of failure at the end of each set
- Rest 3-5 minutes between sets so that you are fully recovered
- 3 sets/8 repetitions per set
- You should be within 1 rep of failure at the end of each set
- Minimize cheating, use as little upper body momentum as possible; if you cannot complete the sets without cheating reduce your weight
- Use wrist straps if necessary to hold the bar
- Rest around 3 minutes between sets so that you are mostly recovered
Barbell Rows – Drop Set
- 1 drop set/3 rounds
- Select a weight you can complete about 6 reps without excessive cheating
- Complete your first round to failure, reduce the weight, and keep rowing with no rest, repeat for your third round
- Set up your bar so your drops are quick:
- If your first round is in the 185-300lb range, drop a 25lb plate from each side per round
- If your first round is under 185lbs, drop a 10lb plate from each side per round
- Use a spotter on each side to remove the plates quickly between rounds
- If you’re using wrist straps, don’t unwrap them between rounds
- Each set of dumbbell rows will be to failure, and weight should increase for each set; select the appropriate weights for the following sets:
- Set 1: 15 reps
- Set 2: 10 reps
- Set 3: 8 reps
- Minimize cheating, use of momentum to complete your reps
- Use wrist straps if necessary to hold dumbbells
- Rest around 3 minutes between sets so that you’re mostly recovered
- Note: if the dumbbells in your gym aren’t heavy enough, I have discovered that you can use chains with dumbbell rows!
Hammer Strength Rows
- 3 sets/12 reps per set
- Select a weight that you are within one rep of failure at the end of each set
- I like the way you can really squeeze the lats at the end of the rep on the hammer strength; squeeze them tightly and pause for a moment on each rep before lowering the weight
- Your lats and biceps should be burning at the end of each set
- Rest around 3 minutes per set so that you are mostly recovered
- If your gym has multiple rowing machines that function at different angles, use a different machine for each set
- If you don’t have hammer strength at your gym, you can substitute a different rowing machine
- Finally, if your back and biceps are not completely smoked at this point, perform a drop set for your last set of Hammer Strength rows – this is done just like the barbell row drop set you just did
- 3 sets/10 reps per set
- Select a weight that you are within 2-3 reps of failure at the end of each set – note that at this point in the workout, that weight should be embarrassingly small
- Minimize cheating – bicep curls are meant to isolate your biceps, don’t turn them into an entire upper body workout
- Don’t curl in the squat rack!!!
Seated Hammer Curls
- 3 sets/10 reps per set
- Select a weight that you are within 2-3 reps of failure at the end of each set
For a printable copy of this workout: Back Workout of the Week BWOW-3
Coming Attraction: Next week is my first week in training for the USA Powerlifting Masters National Championships. The next eight weeks of back training will be built around my training cycle for that competition.
Note: I do reserve the right to make up words, such as smokdedness as dictated by the situation.
If you want to start at the beginning, you can check out Back Workout of the Week #1 – BWOW1
Back Workout of the Week (BWOW): Week 2 Building Your Back Strength
Posted: February 17, 2012 Filed under: 00 - Lifting Tips, 30 - Back Workout of the Week!, 90 - Brute Force | Tags: Back Strength, Back Training, Back Workout, ILS, Lats, Power, Powerlifting, Strength Leave a comment »
Last week I introduced you briefly to why training your back is so important (training balance, support your squat, deadlift and bench press, creating the classical ‘V-shaped’ upper body). In my own experience, a heavy emphasis on rowing exercises has led to a very strong bench press (two Washington State records, one USA Powerlifting national meet record, and a gold medal at the IPF masters world championships).
Week 2 training is very similar to week 1. We are still focused on building your strength foundation. Although the overall plan is very similar, we change the exercise selection to prevent your body from adjusting to the stimulus.
BWOW – Week 2:
Goal:Building Your Strength Base
T-bar Rows:
- Warm up to your working sets
- 5 sets/4 repetitions per set
- Select a weight where you are using nearly maximum effort to complete your reps, additional reps would require cheating
- Minimize cheating – avoid using upper body momentum to complete your reps; one of the reasons to switch from barbell rows to t-bar rows this week to reduce the tendency to cheat on the lift
- Use wrist straps if necessary to hold the bar
- Rest between sets should be sufficient to fully recover (3-5 minutes); emphasis is on building strength, not conditioning
Dumbbell Rows – Unsupported:
- 3 sets/6 reps per set
- Select a weight where you are using maximum effort to complete the set, you should be unable to complete more than the specified reps
- While we switched to the t-bar to reduce cheating on your primary exercise, the dumbbell row is performed unsupported to allow slightly more cheating; you should be able to pull more weight than last week when using the bench for support – force your back and biceps to move a little more weight than you normally would during your dumbbell rows
- Use wrist straps if necessary to hold the dumbbells
- Rest between sets should be sufficient to fully recover
Hammer Strength Rows:
- 3 sets/12 reps per set
- Select a weight where you are using maximum effort to complete the set
- Pull your elbows straight back and really squeeze your lats tightly to finish each rep; you really want your muscles burning when you finish each set
- Rest between sets should be sufficient to fully recover
- 3 sets to failure; use spotter assistance or an assisted pull-up machine if you cannot complete 6 reps
- Pull-ups should be extremely challenging after hammering your back and biceps
- If you can still complete more than 8 reps, complete your pull-ups with extra weight (and add more weight to your t-bar and dumbbell rows next time you do this workout)
Hammer Curls:
I know we did hammer curls last week, but to quote Louie Simmons (West Side Barbell) hammer curls are “something that should always be done” (Dynamic Bench Press)
- 3 sets/10 reps per set
- As with pull-ups, you will have to drop the weight from your normal bicep workout, your biceps should be spent by now
- Hammer curls are meant to work your biceps – don’t use your whole body to complete the reps; if you can’t do the work with your biceps drop the weight
Back Workout of the Week BWOW2
If you want to start at the beginning, you can check out Back Workout of the Week #1 – BWOW1
Brute Force Squat Review – Ken Gack
Posted: February 14, 2012 Filed under: 00 - Lifting Tips, 01 - Squat Tips, 95 - Brute Force Lifting Reviews | Tags: Leg Strength, Power, Powerlifting, Squat Technique, Squats, Strength 1 Comment »Having had a chance to assess a couple of lifts, and overall pretty happy with my skills at identifying problems I asked me to look at one of my own lifts:
As you can tell by the five big guys catching me at the end of the video, this lift ranks a solid ‘Crappy’ on the ‘Crappy to Great’ scale. I would actually rate it below crappy if there were a lower rating, because in addition to the lift being completed by the spotters, it was a bit high. So at what point did this lift become a group effort?
Setting Up: The setup was actually very solid and well executed.
- Feet placed directly under the bar and under my hips
- Hips under the bar and leg drive used to lift the bar out of the rack
- Three quick, stable steps back into the lifting position
Gack's Fancy Foot Diagram
Referring back to what has been dubbed ‘Gack’s Fancy Foot Diagram’, it looks like my setup was perfect, doesn’t it? What you don’t see is my feet. If you watch me setup today, after the walkout you will see me pause to turn my toes outward – I did not do that in this squat.
Eccentric/Descent: The squat actually continues to look good nearly through the entire eccentric portion of the lift:
- Very good speed on the descent – weight is controlled, but descent is fast enough to hit the hole and rebound back out
- Knees stay out during the descent
- Catastrophe: As I transition from eccentric to concentric (ie stop going down, try to go up), my knees buckle inward; this forces my hips backwards which results in five very big guys assisting with the concentric portion of the lift – and three red lights from the referees
Concentric/Ascent: Assistance of the spotters in the concentric portion of the lift in competition is never a good thing.
Lessons Learned: After returning from the competition my powerlifting coach, Kevin Stewart, went to work fixing my balance problems. The fix: turn your toes out. As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, by turning your toes out, you’re better able to keep your knees out during the lift, which lets you sink into the hole more easily, and complete your squat with less people picking you up out of said hole.
The fix has worked. Since that competition in 2009, I have not lost a single squat due to issues with my balance coming out of the hole.