***Gym Exercise Guide, and Form Discussion/Feedback***
- Thread starter icecold
- Start date
Dayamn. Do your legs hurt by the end, too? That's too bad!
The bar should be up against your throat, but obviously not hard enough to kill you when you are driving out the hole...
Doesn't look like you're keeping your scapulas retracted. Your back should finish in the starting position. Appears to me they're rolling forwards, your shoulders that is. Doesn't look like a back musculature weakness just a lift mechanics issue. Keep them pinned back and your chest open.
Width is fine imo. Shoulder width there. Far too narrow for me though as I have my middle finger on the smooth rings so wrists over elbows basically. All about where you get the best activation, the narrower your grip the further down your body the bar will come unless you have snap city wrists.
Soldato
Try and keep wrist/elbow in a straight vertical line as well. Obviously applies to bench too.
Soldato
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- 11 Jun 2013
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Squatting with heels on some plates - how naughty am I? A little back story - I've had short achilles since birth and used to walk actually on my toes until two operations got me to get more of my foot down. But a heel strike is a conscious effort and I can feel the pull in my achilles.
When I started squatting I was concerned about this and a muscly friend suggested putting my heels on plates as "that's what Arnie did and it gets more focus on your quads". That sounded good to me and he can squat 150+ so I went for it.
However, having got more experience now I think I need to reconsider this approach. My ego is not so big that it stops me taking all the weight off the bar(last session was 5 x 5 x 85kg), taking the plates away and just working on flexibility so I can get down properly. Or are the plates under my heels fine and just getting as low as I can enough?
I think I know the answer, but it's always helpful to be told it out right!
When I started squatting I was concerned about this and a muscly friend suggested putting my heels on plates as "that's what Arnie did and it gets more focus on your quads". That sounded good to me and he can squat 150+ so I went for it.
However, having got more experience now I think I need to reconsider this approach. My ego is not so big that it stops me taking all the weight off the bar(last session was 5 x 5 x 85kg), taking the plates away and just working on flexibility so I can get down properly. Or are the plates under my heels fine and just getting as low as I can enough?
I think I know the answer, but it's always helpful to be told it out right!
Plates under heels are a useful workaround for insufficient ankle mobility, but the only real long-term solutionis better ankle mobility.
For squats that require ankle mobility (fronts or high bar), these will use more quad because of the torso position; low bar doesn't have as much ankle, therefore it requires more glute/hamstring.
More ankle mobility required!
For squats that require ankle mobility (fronts or high bar), these will use more quad because of the torso position; low bar doesn't have as much ankle, therefore it requires more glute/hamstring.
More ankle mobility required!
Soldato
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- 11 Jun 2013
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More ankle mobility required!
Yarp
Suggestions for a way forward then - do both?! Ie keep progressing with heavy ones with plates under heels and do some v low weight stuff without plates? Or stop entirely and start again. I don't mind stopping as I'd quite like to improve my deadlift (140) and bench (60 - don't laugh!) with a target of getting them good by Christmas so one less compund lift to improve is probably good for my CNS. But it also is clearly good to squat!
Related and also not, has anyyone ever tried this workout? Stick ~50% of your 1RM on the bar then squat AMRAP in 3 minutes, rest for two minutes, squat for two, rest for 1, squat for 1. Major leg DOMS the day after!
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Soldato
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- 9 Dec 2010
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Guys how soon would I be able to start exercising (jogging/weight etc.) after having a gallbladder operation? I've had the right hand tube about just over a week ago now but i'm still not feeling that comfortable in jogging or lifting heavy weight. I've basically been going on steady-ish 8-10 mile walks and curling 10Kg and I want to up it a bit but would now be too soon?
Yarp
Suggestions for a way forward then - do both?! Ie keep progressing with heavy ones with plates under heels and do some v low weight stuff without plates? Or stop entirely and start again. I don't mind stopping as I'd quite like to improve my deadlift (140) and bench (60 - don't laugh!) with a target of getting them good by Christmas so one less compund lift to improve is probably good for my CNS. But it also is clearly good to squat!
Related and also not, has anyyone ever tried this workout? Stick ~50% of your 1RM on the bar then squat AMRAP in 3 minutes, rest for two minutes, squat for two, rest for 1, squat for 1. Major leg DOMS the day after!
Regarding the routine, sounds a bit different, but whatever floats your boat.
For ankle mobility, it is just a question of the right stretching (resistance bands, fr bystander) and high bar squatting slowly with low-ish weight to push your mobility...
Soldato
So, reference the Riptoe SS book I have been reading. I have been applying some of his principles to the squat. Namely the following....
Bar at a position of the back so it falls in like with the middle of the feet
Bar low on the back supported by the muscle shelf created by pulling your elbows back (and thumb over the bar, not round it)
Knees pushed out
Face/Head in line with your neutral back plain (looking down ahead of you 4-5ft).
Deep squats with a bounce out the bottom.
If any of these principles are incorrect I'd appreciate some education. Apologies for being needy on advice, however, I can't watch the form videos as they won't load here (bandwidth innit).
Bar at a position of the back so it falls in like with the middle of the feet
Bar low on the back supported by the muscle shelf created by pulling your elbows back (and thumb over the bar, not round it)
Knees pushed out
Face/Head in line with your neutral back plain (looking down ahead of you 4-5ft).
Deep squats with a bounce out the bottom.
If any of these principles are incorrect I'd appreciate some education. Apologies for being needy on advice, however, I can't watch the form videos as they won't load here (bandwidth innit).
Soldato
Put those in to practice and post a vid and then Ice will let you know for sure
Soldato
Yarp
Suggestions for a way forward then - do both?! Ie keep progressing with heavy ones with plates under heels and do some v low weight stuff without plates? Or stop entirely and start again. I don't mind stopping as I'd quite like to improve my deadlift (140) and bench (60 - don't laugh!) with a target of getting them good by Christmas so one less compund lift to improve is probably good for my CNS. But it also is clearly good to squat!
Related and also not, has anyyone ever tried this workout? Stick ~50% of your 1RM on the bar then squat AMRAP in 3 minutes, rest for two minutes, squat for two, rest for 1, squat for 1. Major leg DOMS the day after!
Get some Oly shoes + work on ankle mobility.
Getting really despondent over this again, not looking for sympathy. Back to basics, what the hell actually is lower back rounding because it's referred to in loads of videos as different things. Is it having a concave or hollow just above your arse or is it a completely flat back which then curves out at the bottom?
54 seconds in this video, he says he is rounding his lower back but to me it looks 100% straight!? Of course there's curvature at the bottom that looks entirely natural to me.
Then at 2:18 he's squatting with 'proper form' but I can't see any bloody difference
So confused/frustrated. There's only so much practicing in front of the mirror with a sodding broom a man can do
54 seconds in this video, he says he is rounding his lower back but to me it looks 100% straight!? Of course there's curvature at the bottom that looks entirely natural to me.
Then at 2:18 he's squatting with 'proper form' but I can't see any bloody difference
So confused/frustrated. There's only so much practicing in front of the mirror with a sodding broom a man can do
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your lower back (lumbar) naturally has a curve (see diagrams on t'internet). 'Neutral spine' is when you hold this natural curve, 'hyperextension' is when you exaggerate this curve, and 'rounding' is when you bend the curve the other way.
So when that guy is at the bottom of his squat, he loses neutral spine and his butt tucks under, bending his lumbar spine the other way.
I hope that makes sense.
So when that guy is at the bottom of his squat, he loses neutral spine and his butt tucks under, bending his lumbar spine the other way.
I hope that makes sense.
That makes a lot of sense and I'm sure if your quote was the first result in a Google search of 'in simple terms what the hell is lower back rounding' a lot of people would be helped out
I still struggle to see the difference though. Are we talking about something which is incredibly subtle to spot? The right hand image is the 'correct' technique.
I still struggle to see the difference though. Are we talking about something which is incredibly subtle to spot? The right hand image is the 'correct' technique.