[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Fear is a biggie for me.
One thing I learned yesterday that’s nice about training with other people – SAY you’re going for a PR. That way you have someone to disappoint if you fail. T-Nation can kind of substitute, I guess; if you announce your goals you have to live up to them.
I was so scared on my squat PR yesterday, but if I say I’m going to do it then I’m going to do it.[/quote]
When I was younger, I was much more attuned to the expectations of others of me. Now I am almost exclusively concerned with meeting my own expectations of myself.
That said, I am motivated by both the hard work of others, and having to confess my shortcomings on my logs. But my focus is on effort not results.
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Ha ha! Did the waiter set fire to his eyebrows? (That I would have paid to see).
Wild boar is pretty awesome, I’ll agree.[/quote]
No, the poor lad didn’t set himself on fire. But it was so cute to see his instructor pantomiming to him which bottle to pick up and how to move the pan.
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
looks like you stayed tight in your second set at 90.
Nice work. [/quote]
Thanks for looking at that vid.
I have to think about this all. the. time. or I get cave-in. And, there are just so many other things to think about with this damn squatting business.
[quote]I used to squat ATG and usually front squat and struggled with back squats.
Box squats taught me how to stay tight,
get my ass back- and knees out
not the greatest phrase a man can say
but it is a good way to squat. [/quote]
On losing form on the squat, I bet you are losing core tightness. You probably have the strength but need to pull everything really tight before and during the rep. I’m only saying this because when I start to flail around, I can sometimes get it back by tensing everything in my torso. pay attention to your breath.
Hey, I am always available to provide comedy entertainment for readers of this here log! Should anyone wish to see me pinned to the box on my 90# squat attempt on Friday, click here:
And this is immediately after the pinning, when I am pissed off enough to complete two reps at 90#.
Good times.
Arachne, you are probably dead-on right. Core tightness is something that I am working on, but its far from perfect. I also still suck at the breathing part of lifting.[/quote]
same thing my knees do - I haven’t yet figured out the mental cue that will enable me to push 'em out on the heavy sets.
wow!! i can never get the squat up if i get pinned down to the box unexpectedly. good on ya!
[/quote]
Similar to this is squatting up from pins. I tried this when I thought my PR was 125 and I could barely! push up much less than that. My form was all wrong, feet in the wrong position, back forward… I learned a hell of a lot that day about depth!
same thing my knees do - I haven’t yet figured out the mental cue that will enable me to push 'em out on the heavy sets.
Nice come-back there![/quote]
Thanks, dog. I first started squatting in Dec. 2008. Struggled mightily with knee cave until some combination of ditching my running shoes in favor of barefoot, getting stronger and slightly better technique clicked in about six months later.
Now with the legal depth, the knee cave is back, but not as bad as it was. Some progress.
Similar to this is squatting up from pins. I tried this when I thought my PR was 125 and I could barely! push up much less than that. My form was all wrong, feet in the wrong position, back forward… I learned a hell of a lot that day about depth!
[/quote]
I’d love to squat up from pins, but the non-adjustable rail on the ONE squat rack in my gym is too low. Probably a true box squat would be similar, aye?
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
your kinda tallish right? Have you experimented with your stance when you squat? I squat almost sumo I supposed, cause I feel more stable…
But I also have to make sure I mix it up and do front squats as well.[/quote]
I’m only 5’4", so “tall-ish” I ain’t. The rail is just really low.
I have experimented some with stance. I am now at about shoulder width with a pronounced outward point to my feet. Going wider makes it even harder to avoid knee cave.
Front squats are a GREAT idea. I’d love to do those. But when? Do you train front squats one week, back squats another? Or do you train both in one week?
well, when I was training 4x/week or more, I would do front squats on deadlift days…
Now, yes, I swap squats out weekly…the knees were just getting too beat up trying to squat heavy all the time…and I was neglecting the other muscles and stuff…I now have a really nice quad sweep though,
I checked out your vids (I feel like a great big heffer after looking at your dainty form!) and your squat form is way, way better than mine. If you want to have a laugh, check out the horrible photo in my thread. Note the feet. cringe
I’m using the same type of step as you. I’m a little taller so five risers takes me to parallel. I’m pretty certain I couldn’t get that low without the step there, though.
Re: front/back - you’d alternate sessions, I guess? I try to do squats twice a week - I’m not moving huge weights so I don’t need a whole week to recover.
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
well, when I was training 4x/week or more, I would do front squats on deadlift days…
Now, yes, I swap squats out weekly…the knees were just getting too beat up trying to squat heavy all the time…and I was neglecting the other muscles and stuff…I now have a really nice quad sweep though, :D[/quote]
For the moment, I’m not gonna do squats on deadlift days. I need to concentrate on my form on each of those lifts and mah head hurts enuf with remembering the cues for one lift, much less two.
Front squats might just have to wait until my back squats get more comfortable…
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
I checked out your vids (I feel like a great big heffer after looking at your dainty form!) and your squat form is way, way better than mine. If you want to have a laugh, check out the horrible photo in my thread. Note the feet. cringe
I’m using the same type of step as you. I’m a little taller so five risers takes me to parallel. I’m pretty certain I couldn’t get that low without the step there, though.
Re: front/back - you’d alternate sessions, I guess? I try to do squats twice a week - I’m not moving huge weights so I don’t need a whole week to recover. [/quote]
Without that step there, I know I would cheat depth. Not on purpose. But as soon as I get the least bit tired in a set, the depth would creep up without the step to keep me honest.
Trust me. Dainty is NOT an advantage under the bar.
front squats don’t have to be heavy to really feel them! just try em randomly for a couple sets…I bet you’ll love them!
I thought you were taller for some reason…I have a love/hate relationship with any sort of squatting…I’m 5’10"
That newer article that just came out, speaks volumes, and I will be lowering my reps now!
When I have athletes buckle their knees on squat I wrap a light mini band around their knees so they have to consciously think about pushing them out while squating. It usually fixes the problem within a session or two. Just an idea
[quote]rcfromdb wrote:
When I have athletes buckle their knees on squat I wrap a light mini band around their knees so they have to consciously think about pushing them out while squating. It usually fixes the problem within a session or two. Just an idea ;)[/quote]
That is a great idea. I just tried an air squat with my mini Woody band doubled and I think that would be a helpful cue. Thanks!
Yet, a phrase used appropriately here.
