The box squat makes its way into a lot of programs that I write for athletes. It’s a decent way to learn how to squat, and it can help athletes train a squat pattern if they struggle with keeping a good position at full depth. But I’ve learned that athletes will use and abuse the …
Technique Tuesday: Breaking Bad Box Squat Habits Read More »
The Squat to Stand drill is one of my favorite warm-up exercises to help groove a nice squat pattern. However, some people have a hard time getting into the bottom position. Either they can’t keep their chest up or they can’t reach down and grab under their toes. This week’s Technique Tuesday shows you two …
One of the most common questions I’m asked is, “What should you do between sets?” Besides just sitting there and resting (which is totally fine), you can make good use of your rest periods by focusing on one of three things: Mobilization Activation Excitation This week’s Technique Tuesday explains how to attack these three areas between …
Technique Tuesday: What Should You Do Between Sets? (Squat Edition) Read More »
Learning to creative active versus passive stability is an important concept for any lifter. Most people create passive stability, meaning they rely on an end-range position or the bar to create tightness (not always a good thing). From a performance and health standpoint, it’s often better to create active stability, where you brace/contract certain muscles …
Technique Tuesday: Active vs. Passive Stability During the Squat Read More »
A few weeks ago, I hit my first 600-pound deadlift. Although far from a world-class number, it’s a big milestone for me. It was my first triple-bodyweight pull and marked a long road of retooling my deadlift from awful to not-too-shabby. I’ve made more progress on my deadlift in the past year-and-a-half than on any …
“You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” This quote applies nicely to powerlifting because technique ultimately limits the amount of weight you can lift, and your technique eventually breaks down due to your weakest link. This three-part series will focus on my favorite method for finding and destroying your weakest links: paused reps. We’ll touch …
Problem Solving with Paused Reps – Squat Edition Read More »
It’s official: this summer, Greg Robins and I are hitting the road to take our Optimizing the Big 3 powerlifting seminar to Santa Cruz, California. We’ll be taking our squat, bench press and deadlifting wisdom to the West Coast for the first time ever, so check the link below to register today! When: Sunday, June …
Seminar Update: Optimizing the Big 3 in Santa Cruz, CA Read More »
Simple as it may seem, squat form can be incredibly complex, especially if you want to get brutally strong. As a coach and lifter, it’s my job to make this daunting task a little more manageable for my athletes and myself. There are hundreds – if not thousands – of resources available to teach you how …
We continue to discuss powerlifting equipment during this week’s Technique Tuesday as we move on to wrist wraps and how to wear them for the squat, bench press and deadlift. Much like a belt, you want to wear your wrist wraps a bit differently for each lift to get you in the best position possible. …
Technique Tuesday: How to Wear Wrist Wraps for Each of the Big 3 Read More »
In this week’s installment of Technique Tuesday, I’ll discuss the subtle differences in how to wear a belt for each of the big 3 lifts. As we talked about previously, there’s lots to be learned from wearing a belt (and even more to be learned from NOT wearing a belt), and adjusting your belt placement …
Technique Tuesday: How to Wear a Belt for Each of the Big 3 Read More »
