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Squat Like a Boss

I recently had the pleasure (and honor) to have my very first article posted up on BodyBuilding.com at the tail end of last week. As it happened I was contacted by one of their fitness editors asking if I’d be interested in providing some monthly content, and I of course jumped at the chance.

But only under two conditions:

1.  That I’d have a fair amount of autonomy and be able to focus my writing towards universal themes such as placing a premium on strength as well as having the opportunity to teach/coach people on proper exercise technique (in addition to addressing common myths and fallacies such as squatting deep is bad for your knees or that Keanu Reeves is somehow, somewhere, considered a good actor.)

2. That they’d include a link to my blog on my bio page.  Their Alexa ranking (a site which ranks websites off of traffic and popularity) is 693 in the world!

That’s a crap load of traffic!

So, in case there’s anyone new visiting the site today – welcome! Hopefully you’ll stay around awhile…;o)

Nonetheless, I submitted my article last week and it’s already up – so they must have thought it was sorta good.

Squat Like a Boss: Learn How to Correct These Three Most Common Mistakes

 

So far the responses it’s been receiving has been great, and I’m really happy to see that many who have read it are on the same page as myself.

They’re obviously very smart and good looking….;o)

That said there have been numerous comments on MY comment concerning head positioning during the squat, and I’d like to take a few moments to address it.

A handful of people were a bit perplexed that I advocated to NOT look up when squatting.  Apparently all their football coaches told them otherwise, and then I had to come out of no where and ruin their world…..;o)

By that same token, some felt (and misinterpreted) that what I was actually advocating was for people to look down, which is also false.

In short, as coaches and fitness professionals, we’re constantly stressing the importance of maintaining the spine’s natural  curvature (a certain amount of lordosis in the lumbar spine, and kyphosis in the upper spine) while training.

In my experience coaching people to look up and to hyperextend their cervical spine isn’t a great idea in the grand scheme of things.  We’re always telling people not to deadlift or squat with a rounded LOWER back (which is part of the spine last time I checked) for fear of compromising its integrity and causing injury.

Why, then, is it perfectly okay to disregard the cervical spine?  Do we not want to prevent anything bad from happening in our neck?

Simply put, and as renowned strength coach and therapist Charlie Weingroff has repeatedly stated, maintaining a neutral or “packed neck/chin tucked” posture while squatting or deadlifting is a fantastic way to not only prevent injury, but it also makes you more stable, which in turn will allow you to lift more weight.

And as we all know when you lift more weight, you’re more capable to fighting off zombies when they inevitably attack. It’s standard procedure, really.

This teeny tiny deviation from the norm may throw people off guard, and it will definitely take some practice and some getting used to if you’re not accustomed to it, but in the long run it will pay huge dividends as far as overall squatting performance.

Outside of that, give the article a read and let me know what you think!

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

Squat Technique: Maintaining “Tightness” and Why It’s Important

Some of you may recall a video blog I filmed a few weeks ago where I discussed the importance of paying closer attention to the set up with regards to squatting.

It’s a component that I feel many people glaze over, and something that deserves a little more love. Unfortunately, many approach squatting – especially the set-up –  with a nonchalant attitude, and subsequently either 1) performance suffers or worse 2) someone gets injured.

What really surprised me was just how much attention the video garnered. It certainly wasn’t for my good looks.  I mean I’m pretty, but not that pretty.

What it told me was that it’s a topic that people are interested in and want to learn more about.

Or maybe part of the popularity was that it gave people an opportunity to debate.  I couldn’t believe how many people made a stink over something as nondescript as my preference to coach people to grab the bar with their thumbs (rather than set up with the thumbs over the bar).

Some made the case that it places more stress on the wrists.

Okay.  So what?  Correct me if I’m wrong here, but genrally speaking, squats suck.  Like, a lot.  We’re not picking daises and running underneath a rainbow here.  There’s going to be some level of discomfort going on.

And NEWSLASH: squats are going to place a stress on the body, wrists included.

If for some reason your wrists hurt while grabbing the bar, fine, do it your way.  I really could care less, and understand there is some degree of personal preference here.

The main point to hammer and what I felt was lost in translation was the notion that one PULLS DOWN on the bar to increase stability and tightness.

And it’s the latter point – the whole concept of “tightness” – which is the crux of today’s post.

What do we mean by “staying tight” when squatting?  And why is it beneficial?

In this short video I cover:

1.  Why getting your air, twice (which is something both Mike Robertson and Jim Smith have discussed in the past) is crucial.

AND

2.  Why, when box squatting, I’m not a fan of allowing people to rock/relax on the box itself.

While I didn’t mention it in the video, I liken it to a melting candle.  Which is to say:  losing tightness at the bottom is not going to do your back any favors.

Give it a look, and let me know what you think!