Well maybe you island guys squat more often we do. I feel the event organizers are pretty stuck in their ways and don’t do a lot of new stuff here. I have no idea if there ever was squatting in German strongman comps but not in recent years
Hey but maybe you will get to wear wraps and a suit. That hurts a lot and makes it even harder, haha.
Just checked our local events for past few years, don’t see any squats, rubbish!
I have wraps I’ve never worn, but probably should try out some time, but I’ll pass on the suit!
Everything about them is awful, haha. Yet I really prefer squatting in wraps. They make my squats feel a lot better from a technical standpoint.
Interesting does the video evidence back this up?
I’ll have to give them a go now (although I’ve been saying that for ages).
I feel my lower back is less taxed if my knees are wrapped, even if the wraps aren’t super tight.
This is 162,5 kg without wraps as a comparison to today. The difference isn’t glaring but I think I’m folding over less. Then if you watch my squats with 167,5 kg from two weeks ago, you’ll see a huge difference but that was also a bad day.
I recall Dave Tate saying that in training they don’t go to comp depth. They work on that a few weeks out from the meet for the sake of the hips.
But Dave competed equipped for all I know. I think that might make a difference.
I’m not overly concerned with pl depth, as I don’t compete in pl. I just want to meet my standards as shown in the screenshots, so that I have a base to track my progression.
I don’t know. I should’ve been a bit more explicit. He said, in some video, that with his athletes they don’t go competition depth in training. They go about as deep as you did in the second screenshot, because there are a few angles outside of the range that you train that still become stronger. It’s by this argument I posit that you could have that be your “training” standard and it’d still be useful for you to track your progression.
It is my understanding that the slightly higher squat will be less strenuous on the hips, which adds up over decades of training — and I hope you intend to train for a long time, and it is a bit easier physiologically to stay that “far” up when lifting.
I assume, with no meets planned, they’d cycle full-depth in occasionally.
As far as equipped goes, I don’t watch a ton of Dave’s stuff, I don’t like digesting information from videos but from the little that I have seen he’s been quite good at pointing out when and if they make a difference between equipped athletes and raw, and therefore when he doesn’t make the distinction I tend to assume that what he is saying applies to both.
Ideally, shouldn’t we all be squatting to a box in training and maybe 1/3 of the sessions are box-less that way we always have the same depth and comparing performances becomes less subjective? However, I’ve fully adopted the mentality of @T3hPwnisher . I do not fret so much about keeping my stance or grip widths the same as I want to become strong all over.
I think I remember Ray Williams saying he didn’t squat to depth outside of comps, for similar reasons.
Maybe you’ll be able to squat comp depth indefinitely, and obviously that is more specific practice, but the motivation is also emotional as it so often is with depth. If the risk is reduced going slightly higher, and you still get a training effect, training “high” is a smart bet - more like an investment. Pre-emptive investment in long-term pain-free movement.
There are certainly different approaches here. Most raw lifters/ coaches I know preach to always squat to depth in training because you can’t properly plan your progression off of high squats and transfer that to the platform.
For me those thoughts are only partially relevant. I am much happier with a clean squat (good mechanics) that is at a questionable depth, than a deep one that feels all wrong in terms of muscles being used.
Hard agree. People obsess about squat depth and ironically not on their own that is.
Ca. 2 hour walk before this session. Weather was nice.
1 sots press
8 @ 30 kg
8 @ 32,5 kg
8 @ 35 jg
8 @ 37,5 kg
2 deadlift (see notes)
6 x 2 @ 175 kg - fuck, I was supposed to do 8 sets!
Felt easy but wasn’t exactly fast, which is okay. Bit tired.
3 btn press
4 x 12 @ 52,5 kg
Fatigue has reached the shoulders
4 pendlay rows
3 x 15 @ 90 kg
5 side bends
4 x 12 @ 32,5 kg
Notes:
Okay if any you strongman guys (and anyone else who has an opinion in this) fancy a discussion, let’s talk straps! I follow this guy named McCall on instagram. He is a strongman coach and competitor from Australia. A few days ago I watched one of his deadlift videos a little more closely and noticed how he uses his straps in a way that he just barely holds the bar in his fingertips and has his thumb not around the bar at all. A more famous example for this would be Novikov, who has gotten some flag for doing this in wsm. This trickery is pretty similar to figure 8’s (which I a) don’t like and b) are banned from competition here).
So I tried it today and I don’t know how much you can see it but my t-spine feels more extended and I gain a few cm of way in my start position.
I don’t know what this would feel like on heavier weights (today was 76%) and if there comes a point where you might lose control or won’t be able to grind the weight out. It ks an interesting experiment for sure.
Have any of you guys tried this? Is there something I’m not seing why I should/ shouldn’t try this? Does it even make a difference for someone with a 230 deadlift? @T3hPwnisher @strongmanvinny2 @strongmanbrett @FlatsFarmer @flipcollar
That’s pretty much the only way I use straps. I always go thumbless. Wrapping the thumb around the bar never made sense to me using straps.
If you google “Mythical Strength DEADLIFTING WITH STRAPS: SECRETS AND TECHNIQUES” you’ll find a post I made on my blog that details strap set-up you may find helpful.
That was eye opening and showed me that I’m doing even some of the basics wrong! Thanks a lot mate.
In the final photo, you are holding the bar “in alignment with the middle knuckle of your fingers”. Have you tried even lower? Like nearly full open hands and the finger tips pressing against the straps?
This is the guy I’m talking about and that I tried to emulate today. If you press pause at 6:33 you see exactly what I mean. He basically has his hand open and has only his finger tips flexed to press against the straps.
Yeah, especially in comps. Works very well.
I feel a little stupid, just learning about this now, haha.
That’s how every deadlift is for those long armed bros, and look how strong they get.
The few cm you gain in starting position makes the DL just ever so slightly less rough on your lower back, and let’s you drive with hips and legs ever so slightly more. So you’re still getting good lifting in and making it slightly easier to recover from.
Like squatting in your loose wraps, or not hitting 100% PL depth in squats like you bros were talking about.
The ultra strict internet crowd may not like it. And there are some guys who need everything to be 100% the same as it would be in competition that might get thrown off. But who cares about those guys!?
It looks like lifting in tight spaces has been good for your technique. Log looks really sharp and walkouts are nice and short for squats.
Thanks for weighing in man, you are making excellent points
I don’t know if anyone caught that but on one of those sets I actually walked back too far and into the door frame that the bar is crossing through. You really get an eye for the details under these circumstances, haha.
Talking about straps with figure of 8s do you need a separate pair for axle deads?
I’ve only got lasso type but don’t really like straps so would be interested to see how much difference 8s make. I’ve seen a few lifters say they make a night and day difference.
Nah, they only need to be long enough.