10 Tips for Success...
10 Tips for Success in Squatting
- Keep your chest out and upper torso erect. Head should be looking straight forward. This helps keep the body in line.
- Start the descent by thrusting your buttocks backwards. Do not begin by bending at the knee. Begin the ascent by driving the hips back in and up.
- Have a slight pause at the bottom of the lift. Rebounding will help you lift more, however, the momentum will take emphasis away from the quads and glutes, not to mention, may add to injury potential.
- Sit the bar lower on the traps rather then the neck. This takes pressure off the cervical spine, but more importantly keeps the body in proper alignment.
- The bar should travel vertically. That is, horizontal movement will cause shear forces preventing proper development and contributing to excess stress on the knees and back.
- Depth. It is not as important as quality. If you do the movement properly, depth will come with time.
- Do not put blocks under your heels. This is a result of poor calf (the achilles tendon) flexibility. If you have poor flexibility, work on it, do not encourage it. In addition, tight heel cords (achilles) may prevent proper leg extension and knee mechanics.
- Keep your weight on your heels. Do not let your knees go over your toes resulting in horizontal bar movement. If the bar path is vertical, your body will move about its joint segments, keeping proper distribution of weight and better emphasis on the working muscles.
- Vary your stance. While some people believe this works various quadriceps muscles differently, biomechanically, the evidence is lacking (this doesn’t mean that this notion is false, body position is more likely the key). However, hip stabilizers, adductors and abductors will certainly be emphasized greater as stance is wider.
- Breath holding. While no doubt, holding your breath will likely increase your strength (increases intra-abdominal pressure aiding in spine and torso stabilization), blood pressure will likely increase proportionately times 2 (if you gain a 20% increase in strength, you may increase up to 40% systolic BP). Values over 400mmHg systolic have been recorded in elite squatters. You be the judge.
- The Belt. Look for a future article as “new research” indicates contradicting views on the role of the belt. For now, don’t rely on it, but be safe.
10 Tips for Success in Bench Pressing
- Keep your butt on the bench. This is not a hamstring exercise despite popular gym belief!
- Keep your head in contact with the bench. Lifting your head, sends vertical forces horizontally. Instead, drive your head into the bench.
- Push in a straight line. Popular theory shows to send the bar in an arced movement. Physics says force is greater in a straight line. This will ensure a smooth more defined force output. The next few points show you how to achieve this.
- Keep your elbows at 90o and 90o. That is 90o arm to side of body (armpit) and 90o elbow when bar is at chest.
- Keep your wrists straight. The bar line of force will transcend directly down your forearm. If your wrists are back, the bars line of force is parallel to the muscle force line creating a shear force and causing the bar to raise curvilinearly (not straight).
- Use a “monkey grip.” For heavens sake, take some of the error out of spotting. When you begin to fatigue, the bar may fall out of your hands and crash down on your chest. I’ve seen it happen with 500lbs at a bench press meet – ouch (the lifter did survive!).
- Vary your grip. Evidence does support varying grips for increasing and decreasing emphasis on different body parts. Remember, for optimal force however, check point 4.
- CPR is not part of bench pressing. DON’T BOUNCE THE WEIGHT. Trying to use momentum, takes the emphasis off the muscles trying to be worked. Give a slight pause at the bottom.
- Use your legs. Elite bench pressers rely heavily on their legs. It is a good idea to have a good stable environment, press them into the floor. Have your feet beside the bench, not on or in front of it.
- Progress properly. What’s up with trying to impress the chicks, they don’t dig, especially when your male parts are hanging out of your shorts while your butt is in the air.
David Sandler, MS, CSCS*D
Co-owner/President of StrengthPro Nutrition and its parent company StrengthPro Inc. of Las Vegas and former University of Miami Assistant Strength Coach and Head of Baseball. David has been a consultant and advisor on strength and power for 17 years working with many diverse organizations and clients groups. He has delivered more than 100 presentations worldwide and authored or co-authored four books and more than 75 articles in both peer-reviewed and lay publications. He is completing his doctoral degree at the University of Miami.
Co-owner/President of StrengthPro Nutrition and its parent company StrengthPro Inc. of Las Vegas and former University of Miami Assistant Strength Coach and Head of Baseball. David has been a consultant and advisor on strength and power for 17 years working with many diverse organizations and clients groups. He has delivered more than 100 presentations worldwide and authored or co-authored four books and more than 75 articles in both peer-reviewed and lay publications. He is completing his doctoral degree at the University of Miami.
