[quote]parsley wrote:
Got a question for you, thought i’d post it here so maybe others reading this log could benefit. I think i may be “good-morning” my squats a little bit, and i also noticed that my torso seems to be bending a little more as opposed to staying upright. My lower back is still neutral or arched. However, i think that second part may be due to my holding the bar on my back a bit more towards my rear delts than before?
Either way, what causes someone to “good-morning” their squat, is it poor glute activation from the hole? Poor core strength and a lack of staying upright maybe?
Thanks[/quote]
Parsley,
I’m sure Scoops will weigh in on this too… I think you are correct that the glutes aren’t doing their job, but from the rest of what you describe it sounds like two things: your upperback is weak and your elbows aren’t tucked forward under the bar. Post a video and you’ll get more help. Everyone has weak glutes and upperbacks to start. The remedey is the safety squat bar.[/quote]
so i agree with jakerz, most people are weak in the upper back and glutes/hamstrings, safety bar def helps with the upper back issue. also if you have the bar to far down on your back you have to lean over more to make sure the bar doesn’t roll down your back causing you to be more leaned over. typically in novice lifters the elbows not tucked under the bar is another big issue, when your elbows flair up you are pushing the bar forward causing you to put more strain on the already weak upper back and then you “bow out.”
i wouldn’t worry about the bar position right now cuz i think if you do these things, it’ll fix that anyway cuz you’ll have to have the bar where it won’t roll down your back. first make sure your upper back is tight when you setup under the bar and make sure your elbows are pointing towards the ground and not straight back(also keep conscious of this when coming up from the hole). when you come out of the hole try to think of leading the squat with your head, try to push your head back into the bar. your hips will follow so i think it may start your movement in a good direction even though the glutes and hammy’s may be weak. your core may be weak as well so i would try some 10-15 rep squats with no belt and make sure and take a deep breath and push your stomach out as hard as you can on each rep. but a vid would be great to see exactly what’s going on.
Not going to quote everything in order to save room, but thanks to both jakerz and you for the quick and in-depth responses. I have been using the SSB and i am squatting 2x a week, one day doing safety squat bar box squats and the other day doing regular bar box squats. I feel this set up has increased my squat and strengthened my glutes and hams especially, and it was from you that i originally got this idea.
I am actually SSB squatting today, so i will try to “lead with my head” more, and i do not use a belt. Also, is it weird that with the lighter weights i feel my glutes more than with the heavier weights? I will try to get a new video to you soon and I think i have definitely made progress, both form and strength wise, since the last time i posted one for your critique.
straight bar, box- warmup- bar, 145, 235
325x1
325/80lbs chains x1 added belt
415/80 x1
505/80 x1 inzer wraps
595/80 x1 inzer
655/80 x1 metal wraps
725/80 x1 metal added plate
325x10 box -2
ghr- bw x15x2
face pulls- 80lb x15x2
reverse grip curl bar curls- bar and 10lb/side x25, x20
squatting went well, i ended up doing what i wanted. i wanted a lil overload and wanted 800 on the bar. it was heavy lol, not real pretty but i got it. i got vid of the 725/80. so i ordered a new belt, got a 13mm lever belt from titan. used that a little bit tonight to try to get it broken in, i was gonna use it for the meet but i may have to add an extra hole or two to make it smaller. on the plus side, i’ll be able to use it when i’m 250lbs hahaha. i also got in my titan ram that i’ll use on wed and my new metal jack suit should be in tomorrow!
[quote]parsley wrote:
Not going to quote everything in order to save room, but thanks to both jakerz and you for the quick and in-depth responses. I have been using the SSB and i am squatting 2x a week, one day doing safety squat bar box squats and the other day doing regular bar box squats. I feel this set up has increased my squat and strengthened my glutes and hams especially, and it was from you that i originally got this idea.
I am actually SSB squatting today, so i will try to “lead with my head” more, and i do not use a belt. Also, is it weird that with the lighter weights i feel my glutes more than with the heavier weights? I will try to get a new video to you soon and I think i have definitely made progress, both form and strength wise, since the last time i posted one for your critique. [/quote]
fat bar floor press- 160x3, 250x3, 270x3, 270x5
cable tricep ext- 120lb x20x2
reverse grip curl bar curls- 10lb/side x20x3
face pulls- 80lb x20x2
double underhand bb row- 135x15x2
incline db flye- 35lb x15x2
did some extra stretching and what not after. all the accessory stuff was a lil lighter with higher reps cuz my shoulders, elbows and back were still pretty fucked from squatting so i wanted to use the ram tonight to take a lil pain out of everything. it worked out pretty well. i think my tri’s are stronger cuz my 315x10 went pretty easy compared to the 315x8 the other week. my right pec is a little sore so i wanted to do some light flye stuff to work for some possible rehab. the ram worked out good, it worked what i wanted it to and everything felt pretty decent given how things felt without it. had intentions of taking some vid but it slipped my mind. hopefully in a couple weeks i’ll get some vid.
curl bar cable row- 187x15, 200x15, 212x15
cambered bench bar curls- 10lb/side x10, x12x2
reverse db flye- 30lb x15x2
that’s it, kept things light cuz my back and stuff is still pretty dominated from monday. worked off the blocks cuz that is my akward/sticking point in my lift, also focused on pushing my knees out on my conventional dead. worked really well.
jakerz used my new jack suit for his speed work. he said it was ridiculous, so i’m really looking forward to using it for my speedwork next week and finally getting to use it for some real stuff in the near future.
safety bar, squat box- warmup- bar, 170, 260
350x1
440x1
350 strong bands x2x5 added thin bumper, new jack suit
leg press- 2 plates/side x15x3
bb gm- 135x10x3
bb reverse grip curls- 50lb x20x2, 30lb x20
band pull aparts- x20, suppinated x25, mini band x20
ended with some band assisted stretching and some rolling. things went pretty well, very light and easy. added the bb gm’s to hit my back a lil different. new jack suit was nice, it’s big enough i was ablet to just slide it on but i’m looking forward to actually doing some real squat work with it.
would like to add, lil kyle had a nice deadlift pr day and big kyle had a squat pr, deadlift pr and block pull pr!
hey aj, you doin the big iron meet then? i am, and we’ll have 3 other people lifting too.
[quote]2-SCOOPS wrote:
howd squatting go tonight?[/quote]
I think its getting better, thanks for asking. Had SSB box squats today, hit a PR of 215x3 but i think i had more in the tank. I was really trying to focus using the glutes and leading with my head and i think it worked. I’m going for a 275x3 parallel box squat thursday, i’ll keep you updated. I might even be able to get a video.
[quote]2-SCOOPS wrote:
howd squatting go tonight?[/quote]
I think its getting better, thanks for asking. Had SSB box squats today, hit a PR of 215x3 but i think i had more in the tank. I was really trying to focus using the glutes and leading with my head and i think it worked. I’m going for a 275x3 parallel box squat thursday, i’ll keep you updated. I might even be able to get a video. [/quote]
awesome! 275x3!? progress is going pretty good then. keep it up.
Sorry man. I wish but I am actually moving that weekend to a town in the middle of South Dakota. Got a job lined up there once I graduate and I am disappointed I can’t be in Omaha. Should be a great meet with a lot of cool people there.
floor press- 95lb/120lb chains x3x5
shoulder press on leg press- 1 plate/side x15x3
incline db flye- 30lb x10x3
bb row, double underhand- 135x10x2
cable tri extension- 120lb x15x2
curl bar curl- 25lb/side x15x2
band pull apart- mini band (choke) x30, suppinated x30
got in real late cuz of meetings for school. got in got out. nothing much to note. other than the fat guy that thinks he’s jacked thats been coming in lately, he excessively grunts and yells on every rep on every movement. real annoying especially since the weights being moved are less than impressive unless you think 90lb decline db press for 3 reps is impressive for a 250lb guy or doing hang cleans with 240lbs for 2 is impressive, or 300lb deadlifts/some kind of rdl thing.
warmup- 135, 225
315x1
405x1
405/80lbs chains x2x5 speed work, add new belt
reverse band(avg band)- 535x2, 625x2, 675x2
straight leg deads- 135x10x2
straight leg deads w/ snatch grip- 135x12x2
face pulls- 80lb x20x2, 80lb x20x2 suppinated
curl bar curl- 25lb/side x12x2
that’s all, shoulder is a lil sore from a couple days ago, think i slept on it wrong. conventional form felt a lil off today. things went ok. took vid of my last speed set. i’ll put that up in lil bit.
ended with some rolling and band assisted stretching. soooo not a good day, pretty sure i’m still not recovered and i had some form issues. all in all it may be a good thing cuz i know i need to deload. hopefully i’ll get a decent bench day on wed and gonna see what i can do with a deadlift bar up with grettiron. then it’s real deload for a week then a couple days of warmups and some relaxing. gonna hit up some massage next week and the chiro.
warmup- bar, 95, 135
185x1
225x1
275x1 .5 board
315x1 .5 board
345x1 .5 board
365x1 1 board
385x1 2 board
405x1 2 board, ram
405x1 1 board, ram
315x1 .5 board, open grip (felt amazing)
315x10 open grip, ram
315x5 normal grip, ram
225x15 open grip
fat bar incline bench- 120lb x20, x15
cable tri ext- 150lb x10x2
chest supp t-bar- 2 plates and 25 x10x2, 3 plates x10
face pulls- 100lb x15, suppinated x15
reverse grip curl bar- 10lb/side x25, x20
that’s all, did a lot of pressing work. open grip felt amazing, did the 315 for a test run to see how it compared to my normal grip. may be using it for the meet, wish i had more time to test it out. my back is completey dominated from the workout, may have to try to get a massage and get in good working order for what will hopefully be a good day friday.
