Tips of the week Squats
The trick is to start with a high box and slowly reduce the height as your confidence increases. You should also be careful never to just drop onto the box, lose your body tension or do any of the other stupid shit I see everywhere online. The box is a tool, not a springboard. Sit down, hold the tension and maintain control.
Another way to do this is to use a power rack. Placing the safety pins slightly below the lowest position of the movement can give the exerciser the peace of mind they need to move the weight all the way down without fear of not being able to get back up.
Master the excitement
Understand that there is such a thing as too much arousal and too little arousal. Although not being ready to perform an exercise can obviously be a problem, being too aroused can be a huge energy drain, especially when you're under the bar.
Forget the excuses
Any exerciser who performs modestly on squats has a plethora of excuses for why they suck at squats. I don't have time for people like that. If you suck at squats, then annoy someone else with your excuses who might be interested - i.e. nobody. And if you hate squats, then don't train squats. Do something else - and preferably far away from me. Do you seriously think that anyone cares about your weak knees or your back problems? Every exerciser has problems they need to take care of. So go to the doctor and shut up.
Squat training is hard - accept it
There's no way around it: a set of squats with 10 to 15 reps will make you feel like your heart is about to explode. One repetition with your 1RM weight can make you see stars. There are no magic tricks that will make squats suddenly feel easy. Man up and get under the bar!
Here's something I've never understood. Squats are so problematic for so many exercisers and yet everyone will struggle with hard stool on the toilet at some point. And what do you do then? Take a deep breath, push yourself, push like crazy, get a bright red head and give it your all. If this doesn't work, then keep at it until you have completed your task. So most exercisers work harder on the toilet than in the squat rack.
Tip: Find your ideal squat stand
Most powerlifters are better off with a wide stance, but you need to use what's right for you. Here's your guide
By Dave Tate
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-find-your-ideal-squat-stance
Proper squat technique is a complicated topic because there are so many different styles of execution that can work. For example, I advocate a wide stance, but this doesn't mean that this is the ideal style of exercise execution for every exerciser. So the first thing you should do is find the best stance for your physiology, injury history and goals.
Here are some criteria:
- If you suffer from shoulder problems, choose a medium to wide grip
- If you have a short back, then choose a medium to wide stance
- If you have a long torso, then choose a medium-wide stance (the longer the torso, the narrower the stance should be).
- If you have long legs and a long back, then choose a narrow to medium-wide stance
- If you have long legs and a short back, then congratulations - you can do squats any way you want
If you're using supportive equipment, a wider stance is obviously better as the equipment will support the hips. The reason I like wide squats so much is the efficiency. This way of performing the exercise shortens the distance the bar has to travel to reach the lowest point, which is important for powerlifting.
A good squat
Next, you need to do the right thing. A good squat looks like this:
- Body tension (from your hands on the bar to your feet on the floor)
- Arched back
- Chest up
- Elbows under the bar
- Tight upper back
- Belly is full of air. Breathe into your stomach and not your chest. Look in the mirror - does your chest rise when you inhale? If so, learn to draw the air into your stomach. The reason for this is as follows: if you draw air into your chest, what happens when you breathe out? Your chest falls and the bar drifts forward.
- Grip the bar as tightly as possible without feeling any discomfort in your biceps or shoulders.
- Load your hips first and then bend your knees. This increases gluteus and hamstring involvement.
- The knees move in line with the ankles.
More important than anything else is that you consciously pay attention to the path of the barbell. Seen from the side, the barbell should move straight down and straight up again, as if you had simply dropped it vertically. The bar should move along the line that describes a plumb line hanging vertically downwards. This is possible with any stance and depends 100% on how the trainee is built. If you are unsure whether your stance is correct for you, then start here.
However, it is very difficult to go from a narrow stance to a wide stance. It can take up to two years to relearn the movement and develop the necessary flexibility, especially if the exerciser is very tense. Many exercisers will give up and simply go back to their original stance and I can't even blame them. However, if the plumb test - vertical movement of the bar - reveals that you should use a wider stance, then you will never reach your full potential if you don't change your stance.
Watch your knees carefully. Some forward movement is fine (this is unavoidable with a medium-wide stance), but the knees should never go beyond the middle foot and should never move inwards or outwards if you don't want to tear ligaments or tendons.
You should also remember that if your knee moves forward, this will increase the distance you have to travel until your thighs are parallel to the ground. The most extreme example of this is Sisyphus squats - at the lowest point of the movement, your knees are almost on the floor. You're so damn far down, but your thighs aren't even close to being parallel to the floor. So you have to compensate for any forward movement of your knees with additional force.
Don't get me wrong, I like Olympic-style squats with a close stance. I think these are great looking squats and I know a lot of very strong men who do squats this way. However, the fact is this: For those for whom this works, it's because this is the right type of squat execution for them. Most powerlifters, on the other hand, would be far stronger if they used a wider stance.
Tip: Rethink your recovery days
For faster gains, perform some non-eccentric training on your training days. Here's why.
From TC Luoma
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-re-think-your-recovery-days
No one makes progress by training. Instead, we make progress when we recover from training. Rest and sleep are essential, but too many people overdo the concept of recovery. Unless you've just run an ultra marathon with an Atlas Stone, you don't need to spend your non-training days mimicking a corpse on the sofa.
Instead, you should use active recovery techniques such as weight sled work, kettlebell swings, sledgehammer work, medicine ball throws or cycling uphill.
Training with weights involves both eccentric and concentric movements, but it is the eccentric movements (lowering the weight) that cause muscle damage and soreness and it is the eccentric activity that you need to recover from.
The best exercises for active recovery are non-eccentric or mainly non-eccentric movements. As such, you can perform them on your recovery days to increase your blood flow, which will improve your recovery and burn a few extra calories after a cheat meal on your recovery day that would otherwise be stored as fat.
You don't have to do these exercises on every single non-training day, but there's no reason not to do them twice a week and enjoy a completely non-training rest day. It could look like this, for example:
- Monday: Training
- Tuesday: Training
- Wednesday: Active regeneration
- Thursday: Training
- Friday: Training
- Saturday: Active regeneration
- Sunday: Completely training-free rest day
Tip: Perform motorcycle rowing for the latissimus
Vary your back training with two variations of this latissimus exercise
By Christian Thibaudeau
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-the-motorcycle-row-for-lats
This exercise has become one of my favorite bodybuilding exercises for the back. It is quite simply second to none when it comes to focused latissimus dorsi development with a targeted emphasis on the lower part of the latissimus. This exercise is derived from Vince Gironda's Motorcycle Rowing.
The classic motorcycle row
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-9oVuWe1_s)
I prefer the same movement pattern, but with only one arm. The unilateral aspect of this exercise allows for greater activation of the high threshold motor units in the latissimus while allowing for a greater range of motion.
The angle of the trunk prevents the involvement of the rhomboids, which means that most of the effort is concentrated on the latissimus. The key aspect is to achieve a really good extension of the latissimus in the starting position and pull towards the hip with the elbow of the pulling arm.
Tip: Perform deadlifts for an increase in total body strength
This brutal deadlift variation will make you stronger for pull-ups, Olympic weightlifting exercises and more
By Christian Thibaudeau
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-sweeping-deadlifts-for-overall-strength
I started using this exercise to teach my athletes to use their latissimus more in deadlifts and Olympic weightlifting exercises, but I quickly found that this variation can turn deadlifts into an even more comprehensive and complete exercise for the entire back.
Deadlift deadlift
Regular deadlifts work well for training the lower and middle back, as well as the trapezius. There is some latissimus involvement to keep the bar close to the body, but this is not enough to stimulate maximum growth.
By using a resistance band attached to the bar and an immovable object in front of your body, you can dramatically increase the force your latissimus needs to produce. This deadlift will help you build strength in all the muscles of your back. This is such a good exercise for building total body strength that it will even help you with your pull-ups.
Perform 4 to 6 sets of 4 repetitions. Use a weight that is about 70% of your maximum weight for deadlifts and go far enough back to feel good tension in the latissimus.
An even better exercise for the upper back and latissimus is the same exercise using another handle. Alternate between the two. Use about 15 to 20% less weight for the wide grip variation.
Tip: Train heavy lockouts to develop bigger triceps
For thick, strong triceps you need to train the lateral muscle head. Here's the best way to do this
By Christian Thibaudeau
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-for-bigger-triceps-do-heavy-lockouts
The best way to increase the thickness of your triceps is to get the lateral muscle head of the triceps to grow. Heavy lockouts during pressing exercises are the key here.
Flat bench presses, reverse incline bench presses and shoulder presses are good choices for training in the lockout position (hyperextended elbow position). Place the safety pins of the rack in the power rack so that you can only move the barbell 20 to 25 centimetres during these exercises. The lateral muscle head of the triceps responds best to heavy weights and these are the exercises that allow you to load the triceps with the greatest resistance.
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-break-mental-barriers-to-squat-heavy
From Dave Tate