How Come We Never See Huge Zercher Lifts?

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[quote]DJHT wrote:

[quote]pushharder wrote:
FWIW, the benefits of front squats listed here: Fix Your Front Squat

The Zercher squat IS a front squat.

I can vouch for the “Increase depth achieved” point in the article. This has translated to better depth for me on back squats. In fact, I have “prepped” on back squat day by doing warmups with Zerchers.[/quote]

Push at what weight did you have to get sleeves? Under 200 pounds I dont have any pain or problem with Zerchers, but I havent tried heavier yet. What is your opinion? and since I am asking you questions at what age did you start doing them?[/quote]

Shut up guys. You are getting in the way of an honest discussion about zechers.

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<—Can’t tell if reading a T NATION forum on Zercher squats…or watching “The View.”

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[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:

[quote]DJHT wrote:

[quote]pushharder wrote:
FWIW, the benefits of front squats listed here: Fix Your Front Squat

The Zercher squat IS a front squat.

I can vouch for the “Increase depth achieved” point in the article. This has translated to better depth for me on back squats. In fact, I have “prepped” on back squat day by doing warmups with Zerchers.[/quote]

Push at what weight did you have to get sleeves? Under 200 pounds I dont have any pain or problem with Zerchers, but I havent tried heavier yet. What is your opinion? and since I am asking you questions at what age did you start doing them?[/quote]

Shut up guys. You are getting in the way of an honest discussion about zechers. [/quote]

Shit my bad, I will just PM Push then, dont want to interfere with Greg and his bathroom trials and tribulations. Which in truth he was flogging the dolphin with his laptop and had to zercher to the sink to clean off his spunk. So the curling motion of the flogging and then the laptop Zercher is what caused the problem proving a theory. I think.

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[quote]pushharder wrote:
FWIW, the benefits of front squats listed here: Fix Your Front Squat

The Zercher squat IS a front squat.

I can vouch for the “Increase depth achieved” point in the article. This has translated to better depth for me on back squats. In fact, I have “prepped” on back squat day by doing warmups with Zerchers.[/quote]

Okay, what kind of depth can you get with zerchers? I don’t get anything near what I would on a front squat because my elbows hit my thighs. It’s helped a bit by holding onto a belt around the back of my neck which keeps my elbows up a bit.

Thanks for the link. The guy front squatting has some serious long femurs. I always felt like my butt had to travel far to hit depth but that guy is much worse.

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[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]DJHT wrote:

[quote]pushharder wrote:
FWIW, the benefits of front squats listed here: Fix Your Front Squat

The Zercher squat IS a front squat.

I can vouch for the “Increase depth achieved” point in the article. This has translated to better depth for me on back squats. In fact, I have “prepped” on back squat day by doing warmups with Zerchers.[/quote]

Push at what weight did you have to get sleeves? Under 200 pounds I dont have any pain or problem with Zerchers, but I havent tried heavier yet. What is your opinion? and since I am asking you questions at what age did you start doing them?[/quote]

I use knee and elbow sleeves all the time anyway regardless of my exercise selection. I put 'em on regularly just like my shorts. Year 'round. On the occasions when I have forgotten the sleeves I’ve still zerchered anyway up to around the 300 lbs. mark.

I started the Z’s about 6 - 8 months ago. I had realized that I was somewhat inadvertently at times bumping my front squats out of my routine because of my shoulder problems. TBH I was dreading the front squats. I simply can’t do the clean grip for them and the cross arm method was too stinking awkward for me; it became more of a balancing act than a weight lifting exercise. Plus I would rub my anterior deltoids raw after any more than ~15 total reps. Then I’d have scabs on my shoulders for awhile that would prevent more front squatting til they healed.

So I started saying to myself, “Push, you whiny bastard, what are you gonna do, just eliminate an altogether awesome exercise from your routine or figger sumthin else out?” I decided to give the Z’s a go. At first they were very cumbersome and they did hurt my pansy ass lil forearms so I was wrapping a towel or the tampon on the bar and doing 'em. That worked for a bit but as I moved to the heavier poundages I realized I needed that bar to snuggle down real good into the crooks of my arms for stability. So I just said “Fuck it” and started doing them with just the sleeves or even bare-armed.

Like I mentioned earlier I had some initial bruising and soreness but it DID go away and now it does NOT bother me.

I’m confident they have helped with my deadlifts because my weak point on deads is right off the floor and I think the Z’s train me well for that.

Again as I mentioned before they also help me with my back squats in getting me deeper more comfortably (and more erectly) and I have to agree with Lee Boyce that they help with tight hammies.

One more thing: IF soreness is an efficacy measuring tool compared to other leg exercises then my quads think the Z’s work very well.[/quote]

Did you ever try straps for your front squats? I cant rack it due to wrist flexibility and damage. Here is what I do with the straps.

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DJ do you soak in Palmolive?

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[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:

Okay, what kind of depth can you get with zerchers? I don’t get anything near what I would on a front squat because my elbows hit my thighs. It’s helped a bit by holding onto a belt around the back of my neck which keeps my elbows up a bit…[/quote]

I know what you mean.

I used to Z squat lower by moving my arms in a bit and spreading my legs. This allowed my elbows to end up inside my legs at the bottom of the lift. Then one day my elbows bumped my thighs on a 300+ pound rep and I dumped the whole bar and “there arose such a clatter” that I decided to make the point of my elbows lightly touching my quads the designated stopping point for the eccentric bottom. I videoed myself to check my depth and it was still below parallel for me so I decided I was good to go.
[/quote]

These are zerchers at 185 last winter (hence the beanie) You can see the belt keeps my elbows higher so my depth isn’t really all that bad. It kind of acts like a harness. Before I tried the belt, reps were limited because my arms tired out. Like this, the stress is more on my traps.

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[quote]MattyXL wrote:
DJ do you soak in Palmolive?[/quote]

Every day after I bring home the bacon and the wife makes me a sammich.

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[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]DJHT wrote:

Did you ever try straps for your front squats? I cant rack it due to wrist flexibility and damage. Here is what I do with the straps.

[/quote]

No. I might try 'em one of these days but like I said it’s my shoulder mobility that drive me nuts on front squats.
[/quote]

I have the same problem Push with my shoulders and wrists give it a try at least give you some variation. Thanks for the answers also by the way.

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[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]on edge wrote:
ah HA! Pretending to be all gentlemanly and wanting this to come to an end, then throwing in this little bit of back handed smack. No no you are enjoying this too much and want it to continue.

[quote]Loudog75 wrote:
I was wrong for dumping on the little dude in the video (which was not the op). I think we both apologized.
[/quote]

And X has never sincerely apologized in his life. I don’t even need to read back to know this.[/quote]

Edge, I’ve rarely if ever seen ANYONE apologize on these forums. And why would any of us if we feel that what we’re saying is truth? Usually a thread will just cool down when points have been batted back and forth several times with no resolution.
[/quote]

They don’t see themselves. They are too busy trying to critique me.

I am now wondering WHO in this thread has apologized about jack shit over the last year here.

Please raise your hands and give specifics.

Otherwise, shut the fuck up about it.
[/quote]

I apologize all the time on this site. The only example that springs to mind right now was in a PM to Thewannabe so I can’t give specifics but I can assure you he’s not going to say I never apologized to him.

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[quote]DJHT wrote:

[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]DJHT wrote:

Did you ever try straps for your front squats? I cant rack it due to wrist flexibility and damage. Here is what I do with the straps.

[/quote]

No. I might try 'em one of these days but like I said it’s my shoulder mobility that drive me nuts on front squats.
[/quote]

I have the same problem Push with my shoulders and wrists give it a try at least give you some variation. Thanks for the answers also by the way. [/quote]

I don’t like straps on Front Squats. Since losing the wrist flexibility to do them with a Clean grip, the only way I’m comfortable with heavy weight is using the arms crossed method.

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Zercher Squat. Ed Zercher came up with this squat variety many years ago. In 1966 or 1967, I read about a prisoner by the name of Robert Barnett, who had just pulled a 675 deadlift at 165 BWT. He related that the Zercher squat was responsible for his success. He reported that his best was 395 x 5 reps done off the floor. The article also said that Alexander Karelin, the famous Soviet wrestler, had done 440 for 5 reps while visiting Finland. I was sold on this exercise and have been doing them for years. I found them tough right after my right bicep tendon rupture in 1979. I finally came up with a device called the Zercher harness, TO TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF THE BICEPS. Our deadlifts started going up again when we added heavy Zerchers into the rotating program. Thanks, Ed Zercher, wherever you are.

That was written by Louie Simmons, Westside barbell, it seems like he wanted to take the pressure off the biceps and so came up with a harness. Is this a powerlifter who thought zercher squats put pressure on the bicep?

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[quote]kickingking wrote:
Zercher Squat. Ed Zercher came up with this squat variety many years ago. In 1966 or 1967, I read about a prisoner by the name of Robert Barnett, who had just pulled a 675 deadlift at 165 BWT. He related that the Zercher squat was responsible for his success. He reported that his best was 395 x 5 reps done off the floor. The article also said that Alexander Karelin, the famous Soviet wrestler, had done 440 for 5 reps while visiting Finland. I was sold on this exercise and have been doing them for years. I found them tough right after my right bicep tendon rupture in 1979. I finally came up with a device called the Zercher harness, TO TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF THE BICEPS. Our deadlifts started going up again when we added heavy Zerchers into the rotating program. Thanks, Ed Zercher, wherever you are.

That was written by Louie Simmons, Westside barbell, it seems like he wanted to take the pressure off the biceps and so came up with a harness. Is this a powerlifter who thought zercher squats put pressure on the bicep?

[/quote]

Boom goes the Dynomite!

<uh, just cuz I hella wanted to write that>

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[quote]kickingking wrote:
Zercher Squat. Ed Zercher came up with this squat variety many years ago. In 1966 or 1967, I read about a prisoner by the name of Robert Barnett, who had just pulled a 675 deadlift at 165 BWT. He related that the Zercher squat was responsible for his success. He reported that his best was 395 x 5 reps done off the floor. The article also said that Alexander Karelin, the famous Soviet wrestler, had done 440 for 5 reps while visiting Finland. I was sold on this exercise and have been doing them for years. I found them tough right after my right bicep tendon rupture in 1979. I finally came up with a device called the Zercher harness, TO TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF THE BICEPS. Our deadlifts started going up again when we added heavy Zerchers into the rotating program. Thanks, Ed Zercher, wherever you are.

That was written by Louie Simmons, Westside barbell, it seems like he wanted to take the pressure off the biceps and so came up with a harness. Is this a powerlifter who thought zercher squats put pressure on the bicep?

[/quote]

STRAWMAN

Seriously, that is interesting. I hope he’s up for the witch hunt.

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[quote]Davinci.v2 wrote:

Back from quite a few pages but have you ever done a barbell hacksquat? You can do those straight from the floor with just a bar…

Not all that confortable but a decent variation to have in your arsenal with limited equipment…[/quote]

One of my favourite ‘awkward’ squats… feel the quads and hams burning after this…