As we grow, I feel a little refresher is in need on this topic.  It has come up recently with a lot of people, not just one.  When I write these workouts I have a training stimulus I want to achieve.  Sometimes I want you to go heavy at the sake of rounds or time and others I want you to move fast and keep moving at lighter weights.  However one thing is always the same:  NEVER GO HEAVIER OF FASTER THAN FORM CAN HANDLE!!!

This is true on strength work as well, lift what you can proerly with good safe form and complete range of motion.  If you move properly and go full range of motion you will get stronger faster even if it means checking your ego and taking a step back first.  You may be new and maybe you could squat 350 with crap form and half ROM, great good for you but now we are going to scale back to what you can do with solid form and full ROM.  Yes, it may hurt the ego and it may feel weak but trust me it is better in the long term to do it right with less weight. 

Also, there are some really good athletes and strong people in the gym do not try to keep up with anyone else.  Get you stronger and better before worryiing about beating someone else or lifting as much as them.  That is a recipe for disaster, just worry about you getting better.  If you then want to compete we'll talk and get you ready to do that.

If you are ever unsure about what to do for weights in a workout talk to me and I will get you set, also start tracking and writing down what you are doing, this will help.  There are all kinds of Droid/iPhone apps to track WODs, use them.

Friday:
Front Squat 2 x 5

OH Squat 5@60%, 5@70% AMRAP@80%

Olympic Strength:
Clean: Floor, Hang, Mid Hang x 7

WOD:
10 Sumo Deadlift 225/155
15 Wall Ball 20/14
Rounds in 8 Min

This is another good one from Neghar Fonooni about Progress.  It doesn't always have to show in a PR, it could be better movement, your old PR feeling easier or moving a submax weight more as in the AMRAP round of Wendler.  Getting 80% 3 more times than last month is progress whether your 1 RM changes or not!

progress

n[ˈprəʊgrɛs]

1.movement forward, esp. towards a place or objective

2.satisfactory development, growth, or advance

3.advance towards completion, maturity, or perfection

 

We talk a lot about "personal records", or "PR's" in our line of work. The focus is usually on moving more weight, moving the same weight for more reps, or moving something (including yourself) faster. It's always about the numbers. And if you didn't set a PR, you're on a plateau.

 

That's all well and good if you have a young training age. The younger your training age (time spent in the gym, doing serious work), the more measurable progress you will make. In the first year you will make amazing gains. I remember a few years ago, going from front squatting basically zero, to front squatting 115 and being insanely excited. Fast forward a couple of years and A LOT of squats later-and I haven't gotten past 160. I used to beat myself up for it, trying to figure out why I sucked so badly at front squats. I had it programmed in my mind that if I wasn't moving more weight, I wasn't progressing, and lack of progress is a coach's (and athlete's) worst nightmare. To be fair, I did have to take a solid seven months of off squatting in the middle of those years due to my knee surgery, but I still felt as though my "numbers" should have been higher.

 

Unfortunately, my training age is so much higher now, that gains don't come on rapidly, and are harder to see and feel. I might only put 15 pounds on my squat in the course of a year, and that's being generous. So, in an effort to keep my sanity, and to stop berating myself for my squatting inadequacies, I began to change my paradigm as it relates to "progress."

 

The thesaurus sites the following words as synonyms for progress: Development, advancement, growth, gain, and improvement. If you are training intelligently and consistently, chances are you have experienced these things on some level-even if you haven't put more weight on your squat (or dead lift, or press, etc). Because here's the thing: Better is not "more", better is better.

 

I got to thinking about this when I realized that although I was still squatting 125x5, 145x3, or 160x1, for example, I

was doing it better. I may not have added load, but I added efficiency. Heavy squats felt easier, and smoother. Valgus of the knees was basically non-existent. Form and technique were sharper. The feeling I had after a set of squats was one of exhilaration-not fatigue. Isn't this progress? Isn't moving the same load more, yet more efficiently, a substantial form of progress and improvement? If you move a lot of weight, and set a "PR", but do so with sloppy technique, is it still progress?

 

I see a lot of videos on YouTube and Facebook of people and their PR's. And do you know what I see? A lot of sloppy turkish get ups, ugly squats, not-so-strict overhead presses, and round back dead lifts. This does not impress me. More is not better-better is better. Intelligent training, efficient movement, beautiful strength, perseverance-this impresses me.

 

Part of the problem is we are PR obsessed. I PR'd in volume today-I lifted one more rep. I PR'd in weight today, I added 2.5 lbs. I PR'd in time today, I rested 20 seconds instead of 30. It's a little absurd isn't it? Next thing you know we'll be setting PRs in time to put on vibrams or shake up a protein shake. It's ridiculous. We feel as though if we do not regularly set PRs, we are stagnant and weak. All that serves to do is mentally destroy any ability to actually progress, and perpetuates the cycle.

 

I have found that when I stopped trying so hard to progress, I progressed immensely. True, the only way to get stronger and more powerful is to progressively place a demand on the body. But does that have to mean "more" or "heavier"? Not necessarily. Simply moving more efficiently, performing the same lift, but doing so with relative ease-this is progress. I'm still doing get ups with a 28kg kettlebell, just like I was 5 months ago. But now when I do it, it's smooth, it's solid. I pick it up and know that without question, I will complete it without fear of losing it. I'm not in a hurry to move up to the 32kg, in an effort to set a "PR". I'm not ready. Rushing to PR would be foolish and premature.

 

Should you strive to get stronger, faster, BETTER? Absolutely. But chances are that stressing out about setting personal records is not the most efficient way to get there.

 

Practice. Train. Groove good movement patterns, and challenge yourself consistently and intelligently. If you do that, progress will become an inevitable outcome.

 

Thursday:
Front Squat 2 x 5

Press 5@60%, 5@70%, AMRAP @80%

Jerk Practice

WOD:
15 Thruster
15 Pull Ups
Rounds in 7 Min

SuperFit 2012: Male Compilation Video from Antwone Walters on Vimeo.

The ladies got the love yesterday so here is the guy's SuperFt Video.  I did not pick the music or have anything to do with the video...

On Sunday March 4 we will be having a Gymnastics Seminar that will run from 9 AM until about 1 or 2.  The cost is $75 and will cover Kipping, Muscle Ups, Ring work, Handstands (push ups, freestanding and walks).  It will be taught by Mike Prolifko, one of the coaches at Apollo Gymnastics.  Every Monday I watch his 7-10 year olds do stuff on the rings that you guys all wish you could do.  If Muscle Ups and Handstands are important to you than this is going to be well worth it.  Everytime I mention how we want to work muscle ups he laughs and says how easy they are and are hardly a skill.   I need 10 at least, I will put a sign up on the wall tomorrow!

Wednesday:
Front Squat 1 RM or 2 x 5

Deadlift- 5@60%, 5@70%, AMRAP @80%

WOD:
5 Power Clean 155/105
5 Burpees
7 Rounds

SuperFit 2012: Female Compilation Video from Antwone Walters on Vimeo.

I pulled this one for the ladies...  It is titled Strong is Sexy and is from Neghar Fonooni and her site:

Eat, Lift, and Be Happy

This is a great article and I was going to highlight some of my favorite parts for you but ended up bolding pretty much the whole article:

Recently a very good friend of mine decided she might pick up kettlebell training to battle the onset of body fat that she has finally chosen to face. She asked me for advice on how to begin, because I am an RKC II and a Performance Training Specialist-and I just plain like to lift heavy things. "What size kettlebell should I start with?", she asked. The choice was between 7 pounds or 10 pounds. Bless her heart, but I had to chuckle. My four year old son could train with a 7 pound kettlebell! It's not her fault though-she'd always been told to "lift light".

This is yet another example of the common misconceptions of strength training as it relates to females. We are under the impression that we should lift tiny pink weights in order to get "toned" or we shouldn't lift weights at all and we should stick to yoga or pilates for "long, lean muscles". Don't get me wrong, yoga is GREAT for so many reasons, but it won't get you the body you want and it won't get you crazy strong. Unfortunately though, an alarmingly large percentage of women think if they lift heavy weights they will get "big" or "bulky".

I'm here to tell you that is complete BS. I am extremely passionate on the subject of women and strength training because once upon time I was a girl with a lot of these common misconceptions, training inefficiently and nowhere near maximizing my athletic or aesthetic potential. Now, not only do I maintain 13-14% body fat and an athletic physique, but I have accomplished things with my body that I never even imagined. Such as: deadlifting 250 pounds, strict pullups witha 16kg kettlebell, pistols with a 24kg kettlebell, single leg deadlifting 135 pounds and snatching a 60 pound dumbbell-all at 123 pounds body weight. Those examples are not intended to brag or boast by any means, but rather to drive home the point that ANYTHING is possible. If I can do it-anyone can.

Tuesday:
Front Squat 1 RM or 2 x 5

Olympic Strength:
Snatch: Floor, Hang, Mid Hang x 7

WOD:
5 Hang Power Snatch 95/65
20 DU
Rounds in 7 Min

More Front Squat Love from Ben Bruno:
Since writing Front Squats Made Easier, I've received questions from lifters having difficulty with the exercise. It's not surprising – front squats are damn hard, and there are bound to be some growing pains, literally and figuratively.

In this article, I'll address some of the finer points and common issues I see, and show you how to fix them.

With no further ado, let's pimp your front squat!

Every time I front squat, the bar is pressed up against my throat and I feel like I'm getting choked out. What can I do to fix that?

Sounds like you're doing it right. The bar should be touching your throat. Now, literally getting choked to the point that you can't breathe is obviously a problem, but most of the time it's just mild discomfort.

I'd just stay the course. You'll get used to it.

My wrists are killing me to the point I can't think about anything else. I can back squat way more than I can front squat, so I know my legs have more in them, I just can't hold the weight. I stretch my wrists ad nauseum but it doesn't seem to help.
Troubleshooting the Front Squat

This is a common complaint, and one that I can relate to. I'm going to assume you're using a clean grip because that's the usual offender. If that's the case, the simplest fix is to switch to the strap method or even the cross-armed "bodybuilder grip." That should take care of the problem right away. Consider it a Band Aid.

If you're intent on the learning the clean grip – which is extremely important if you're going to be doing any Olympic lifting – or want to fix whatever is causing the pain, then that's a different story.

Keep in mind that the ability to get into a good rack position isn't just a matter of wrist flexibility. It also requires good shoulder mobility, thoracic mobility, and flexibility in your lats and triceps, so you'll want to hammer those things as well.

When you work your way back into the clean grip, you don't need all your fingers wrapped around the bar; just two will suffice, the index and middle fingers. This helps many lifters with limited wrist flexibility use the clean grip effectively.

In the interim, don't try to force it. That's just asking for trouble. Stick with the strap method until you can use the clean grip pain-free.

I feel a sharp pain on my collarbone. Do you think one of those bar pads might help?

Dude. Do not use the bar pad (a.k.a. the Maxi-Pad, the tampon) unless you're ready to turn in your man card and add the Oprah network to your cable package.

You probably aren't keeping your elbows up as much as you should, which is causing the bar to slide down onto your collarbone. Ideally, the weight should be resting in a nice groove on the anterior deltoids. Try working in some hands-free front squats to help reinforce proper bar position.

I love front squats but I can't deal with all the pressure on my shoulders. Should I pick a new exercise?

No.

This is the biggest complaint I hear regarding front squats – they are uncomfortable on the shoulders. I've searched long and hard for a good remedy and polled numerous strength coaches, and after it all, I'm left with only one conclusion.

Just man the frick up.

The one caveat is someone with an AC joint injury. Direct pressure will really aggravate it, so unless you access to a safety squat bar, choose a different exercise.

The key difference here is pain versus discomfort.

Pain = Don't do it
Discomfort = Suck it up, Buttercup.

Front squats are supposed to be easy on the lower back, but mine still bothers me, even when I wear a belt.
Troubleshooting the Front Squat

"Easy" is a relative term. Sure, front squats will typically be easier on the lower back than a back squat, but I still wouldn't call loading 300+ pounds on your shoulders low-back friendly. Friendlier, maybe.

That said, low back pain during front squats is often a result of either going too heavy too soon or squatting too low. The solution to the first issue is clear; lighten the load, master the form, and only progress as long as your form stays tight.

The second issue isn't so cut-and-dried because I don't believe that everyone should necessarily squat to the same depth. There are many "ass to grass" zealots that believe if you aren't leaving butt sweat on the floor you're somehow cheating.

On the other side, you have those that think that no one should ever go a smidgen below parallel under any circumstance.

I'm somewhere in the middle. I think you should only squat as low as your body structure and flexibility will allow before your pelvis tucks under and your lumbar spine begins to round.

That point will be different for everyone. Some lifters are just built to squat and will be able to go pretty darn low without issue. Others will struggle to make it even to parallel with significant lumbar flexion. In this case, forcing them into a deep squat – especially under heavy loads – is just asking for back trouble.

Find the place where you lose neutral spine and stop there. If it's rock bottom, so be it. If it's higher than that, who cares? You may have to deal with some ribbing from the YouTube form police (who interestingly never have videos of themselves), but I'd much rather deal with that then deal with back pain.

Most people, however, should be able to front squat to the point where the top of the thigh is at least parallel to the floor (it's easier to get low in a front squat). If you can't get that low, take it as a sign you seriously need to improve your hip, ankle, and/or thoracic mobility.

If you're over an inch above parallel, I might even recommend canning front squatting all-together for the time being and use single-leg work to get a training stimulus for your legs while you work to develop sufficient mobility to squat safely.

As for using a belt, I'm fine with it in certain situations, but it definitely won't protect you against crappy form. I also think they're often misused and abused. The belt shouldn't be seen as a crutch, but rather as insurance for stronger lifters on near maximal attempts.

As such, I wouldn't worry about using one until you can front squat at least 1.5 times your bodyweight, and even then, I'd only use it on attempts over 90% of your 1RM.

Don't be that guy that leaves it on for the whole workout.

My knees always ache after front squatting. What gives?

It may turn out that front squats are just not for you, but before you rule them out, first check to make sure your form is up to par.
Troubleshooting the Front Squat

Deep squatting is often thought to cause knee pain, but I'm more concerned about the lower back during deep squats than I am about the knees. Knee pain is more often a result of valgus collapse (knees caving in) and improper sequencing. Let me explain.

Valgus collapse. Ideally, the knees should track over the middle of the foot. If you find them caving inward, it's a sign your glutes aren't engaged. The solution may simply be cueing to "push the knees out" or "spread the floor." If that isn't enough, try putting a small band around both legs directly below the knees and concentrate on keeping the band pushed out as you squat.

Improper sequencing. Front squats are deceiving because while it's a primarily knee-dominant movement pattern, you still want to initiate the movement from the hips first and push your butt back before breaking from the knees.

It's an almost simultaneous hip/knee break, but it's important that it happens in that order: first back, and then down. Breaking from the knees first will create excessive sheer forces on the knee – not good.

To help ingrain the idea of sitting back, it may be helpful to put a box behind you for a little while. This isn't your typical box squat where you try to keep a vertical tibia and pause on the box. Your form should mirror a regular front squat and the box just there as a reminder to initiate the movement from the hips.

Set the box up so that one corner is between your legs with your feet on either side. Something about having your calves in close contact with the sides of the box at the start of the movement seems to encourage pushing your knees out, and there's big incentive to push the hips back so you don't sit down on the corner – ouch!

Another factor to examine when it comes to knee pain is footwear. To assist in staying upright, lifters will often elevate their heels while front squatting, either with specific weightlifting shoes or by using a heel wedge. While I think this is fine for most, it may be prudent for folks with knee pain to wear a flat-soled shoe or go barefoot to help keep the weight on the heels and prevent the knees from traveling forward as much.

If you're still experiencing knee pain after trying these suggestions, it's probably time to cut your losses and go in a different direction. Sorry, no exercise is for everyone.

What are some good assistance exercises for the front squat?

Of course, the best way to get better at front squatting is to front squat. However, that's certainly not to say other exercises won't help.

Single-leg work can help tremendously by strengthening the quads, glutes, and hip rotators, thereby improving stability and preventing valgus collapse, as well as evening out any imbalances between legs. For even greater carryover, try doing exercises like rear-foot elevated split squats and lunges with a front squat grip to increase core strength and practice holding the bar.

For some, the ability to hold the bar will often be the biggest limiting factor, not the legs. If this is you, then you'd better spend time working on your lats (think pull-ups, chin-ups, lat pulldowns, etc.), upper back (think rows, face pulls, etc.) and core stability (rollouts, Paloff presses, etc.) or all the leg work in the world will be for naught.

You may also want to incorporate some front squat iso holds where you walk out a heavy weight and hold it for a prescribed time, say 20 seconds. This will smoke your upper back and anterior core in a manner specific to the front squat and help you get acclimated to heavy loads, so you won't feel intimidated by the weight. I call this the "oh shit!" factor. If you've ever lifted heavy then you know exactly what I mean.

If you have access to a giant cambered bar, that's another great way to improve your ability to support the weight while still getting some good leg work in.

I tried these on Eric Cressey's recommendation and they're definitely tough. You won't be able to handle as much weight as you could with a barbell, but when you go back to the barbell it'll feel like nothing. I typically won't go over 5-6 reps when doing front squats because the upper back fatigues much faster than the legs, but when using this bar I go a bit higher because my main goal is working the upper back anyway.

It should also be mentioned that the front squat is actually a good assistance exercise in its own right, especially for the deadlift and the Olympic back squat.

I've hit a plateau and can't seem to break past it. My current max is 315 pounds at a bodyweight of 200 pounds. What are your favorite techniques to help break out of a rut?

You're clearly a pretty strong guy and have put your time in, so you may just need some variety in your programming and/or exercise selection. This could mean dropping front squats for a month or so and trying something entirely different (not a bad idea), or it might mean just doing a different variation of the front squat to provide a slightly different stimulus while still keeping the same basic movement pattern. Since this article is about front squatting, I'll go with that.

There are tons of different variations you could try, but I'd start with paused reps first because they're relatively simple and give you a tremendous bang for your buck for both strength and muscle gains.

Now, not all paused reps are created equal, and which method you chose will depend on your goals.

Using a brief 1-2 second pause at the bottom of every rep is a great place to start. Everything else remains the same as a regular front squat. It's important to maintain core rigidity in the hole to keep from falling forward, and you'll need to pay special attention to keeping the knees pushed out as you transition from the eccentric to concentric as they'll have a tendency to collapse inward if you're not careful.

This is how I do the majority of my own training because the short pause serves as a great way to the keep my form in check, which is crucial for staying healthy over the long haul.

It forces you to control the eccentric portion to the rep (no dive-bombing) and keeps you from bouncing out of the hole, which can be potentially injurious to the knees if done in excess.

Furthermore, it's harder, so you aren't able to handle as much weight. If you have a history of back pain, less weight is a good thing because it equals less spinal loading. I'm always looking for ways to get more out of less.

More time in the bottom position also means more time developing hip mobility. Think of it almost like a weighted squat stretch.

If you want to focus more on your starting strength coming out of the hole, you could increase the length of the pause to 3-4 seconds. I highly recommend using the pins if you decide to go this route to take pressure off the knees. A brief pause may actually help the knees feel better, but anything over two seconds can become problematic.

The longer pause will dampen the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) so you're forced to do more work to overcome inertia coming out of the hole.

The rationale here is very similar to why a powerlifter might chose to do a paused box squat, but I don't find box squatting works as well with front squats because it encourages an increased forward torso lean, which can make it difficult to hold the bar.

Although thousands of powerlifters have box squatted successfully without injury, the compressive forces that come from wedging your spine in between the bar and the box could be problematic for some. Pausing on the pins eliminates this scenario while still allowing for the removal of the SSC, which makes this variation appealing to those with back issues.

Note that this is not an Anderson squat. Normally I couldn't care less what an exercise is called, but in this case I think it's an important distinction. An Anderson squat is a version of a paused squat, but it's done starting "bottoms-up" as opposed to "top-down."

The dynamics of the lift change considerably when you get rid of the eccentric preload. Suddenly your core is forced to fire in a new way and you must explode off the pins to get the bar moving. Consider it the squatting equivalent of the deadlift.

One potential issue is that unless you're Paul Anderson and do them standing in a hole or have absolutely freaky flexibility, it can be nearly impossible to get into a rock bottom starting position.

Thus, if you were trying to work on your strength from the deep position, I'd recommend starting from the top down. Otherwise, for every other sticking point, use Anderson squats. I recommend doing these as singles and literally stepping away from the bar and resetting on each rep to really get the full effect.

For a whole new level of awesomeness, make like Paul and do them with two hot chicks sitting on the plates.

I just want diesel quads. Whaddya got for me?

Get really strong on front squats and you'll have the diesel quads you desire. Ever seen Olympic lifters? I rest my case.

If your joints can't tolerate all that heavy loading day in and day out, all hope's not lost. You can also try taking a lighter weight and doing piston-like continuous reps without locking out at the top. This will keep constant tension on the quads and ensure that you'll be hating life for the entire duration of the set. It won't take much weight at all for these to suck, badly.

You'll probably be cussing me out after your first set of these, but remember, you asked for it.

Wrap Up

The good news? Hopefully this article has given you some ideas about how to fix some of the problems you've been having with front squatting.

The bad news? Now you have no excuse not to do them. Get to it!

Monday:
Front Squat 1 RM

Bench Press 5@60%, 5@70%,AMRAP@80%

WOD:
10 Push Press 115/85
10 Ring Dip
10 Goblet Squat 24/16
5 Rounds

With Front Squat February here I thought this article from Lee Boyce would be a good way to start:

When most lifters boast online about their Herculean squat numbers, I'd guess that 80 percent or more are referring to back squats.

It's the most popular squat variation in the world – and I'll be the first to give it the credit it deserves – but there are times when it might be advantageous to give your traps a break and incorporate front squats.

So why does the front squat so often get thrown under the bus? For one thing, front squats are hard work, something that many commercial gym heroes tend to avoid like egg yolks and body hair. Since moving heavy weight for the cell phone camera is priority number one for your typical egocentric meathead, most stay in their comfort zone and bang out leg presses, leg extensions, and sordid half-rep back squat perversions, complete with more mid-set grunting and groaning than a porn casting.

After all, they reason, what can you get from front squats that you can't get from back squats? Good question.

Why Should I Be Doing Front Squats?

Front squats will do three things if you do them correctly:

• Increase depth achieved
• Improve core strength
• Activate glutes

When a barbell is loaded on the front of the body, the pelvis gets to tilt backwards somewhat, which makes the hamstrings less taut. This gives them the freedom to allow a greater ROM at the bottom of the lift. This pelvic tilt also allows the lower abs to contribute to the lift more, and takes the hip flexors away from "blocking" the movement.

So, just like a goblet squat, you get a hell of a lot lower then you do in a back squat. The torso also gets to stay more upright, which requires the obliques to provide stability.

Finally, due to the tremendous knee extension involved, the front squat is rightly seen as a major quad developer. Since the thighs drop far below parallel to the floor, it's safe to say that hip flexion is greatly increased too, forcing the glutes to assist the concentric half of the lift.

With all of these kick-ass benefits, it seems like a no-brainer that front squats should make a regular appearance in a typical program.

Why You Suck At Front Squats

Other than the obvious (you aren't doing them enough), there are a few things that limit lifters from achieving a decent front squat.

Your Abs Aren't Strong Enough

Front squats require considerable core involvement. You'd do well to incorporate some exercises for anti – extension (to prevent overarch) and oblique work so they function well as stabilizers.

Your Elbows Won't Stay High Enough

The goal should be to keep the elbows pointing as far upwards as possible to promote parallel lines between the upper arm and the floor at all times.

If you've noticed that every time you front squat your elbows start pointing towards the floor after only two reps, causing you to rack the weight prematurely, there's a reason for that.

In this case, the first thing to do would be to activate your rotator cuff. If these small muscles aren't playing their part in externally rotating the upper arm, your elbows will drop faster than Tiger Woods' "Just Do It" promo.

You Can't Stand Tall

Proper thoracic extension is very important for front squats, as the Turtleback syndrome affects many when they have to bear a front load.

Take a barbell and perform a set of five front squats. Do you notice your mid-back rolling like the Andes? Have someone watch you if you have any doubts.

Something to keep in mind though – studies have shown that after the sixth rep of a typical set of front squats or front loaded work, the rhomboids begin fatiguing and can no longer hold a constant isometric. For this reason, try to keep sets of front squats towards the lower end of the repetition continuum.

Getting a Grip

Many lifters will use the "California" style or cross-armed grip on the bar to allow it to rest on the shoulders when performing a front squat. Big mistake. Since one elbow stays higher than the other on a cross-armed grip, under substantial load, it can act against proper structural alignment of the shoulders, and has the potential to refer imbalances right through to the hips and knees.

For this reason, I highly recommend using a clean grip, which also has better carryover to proper techniques involved with any Olympic lifts as well as overhead pressing. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but remember to keep a proud chest and get those elbows up!

It's okay to remove a finger or two from under the bar (I like to remove my thumb and pinky finger as it helps take stress off the wrists and allows for the elbows to stay up). Otherwise, make sure the lats, triceps, and forearms get a good stretch before beginning. (See picture below.)

The Cues

Here are some basic tips to look out for when doing front squats.

• Keep the toes pointed slightly outwards, and make sure knees track in the direction the toes point
• 
  Keep the chest up proud
• 
  Elbows high at all times
• 
  Hinge from the hips, and let the glutes fire to come back up
• 
  Press through the full foot, keeping the heel on the ground
• 
  Breathe deep on the eccentric, and hold full of air at the bottom to increase intra-abdominal pressure
• 
  Don't panic – the legs have loads of fight – or – flight in them. You'll get out of the hole!

Lifters Who Should Be All Over Front Squats

Tall Lifters. It's asking a lot of someone who's over six feet to get far below parallel during a back squat. Front loading allows the center of gravity to shift backwards slightly, and unloads the low back and hips enough for them to achieve this depth. Your chicken legs may be due to lack of back squatting depth.

Lifters With Tight Hamstrings. As noted, a front load will make the hamstrings less taut, and therefore promote more range of motion during the negative phase of the squat.

Squatting to Oblivion!

Adding load to the body effectively trains muscle, of course. Contrary to popular belief, though, the answer isn't always throwing on heavier and heavier weight. You'd be surprised how added ROM, improved technique, or a bit of both can be game-changers for tapping into sleepy motor units or just plain increasing difficulty.

Moreover, they just may be the missing link to make you the guy whose chicken legs flew the coop.

Friday:
Strength:
Deadlift 1 RM
or
Romanian Deadlift 2 x 5
12 Minute Cap

Press 3 x 10 @60%

Olympic Strength:
Snatch Pull x 3
High Hang  Snatch x 3
3 Rounds @ 80% of 1 RM Snatch
12 Minute Cap

WOD:
5 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
10 Wall Ball 20/14
Rounds in 7 Minutes

Misha crushed all 15 HSPU strict! 

Now that New Years is long past some of your resolutions may be fading so here are some tips from Matt Kroc on how to keep up the motivation:

No matter how driven you are, if you stay in this game long enough, you'll eventually run into a period where you just aren't as motivated to go to war with the iron as you used to be.

This can be the result of outside influences. Perhaps you're working a lot or studying hard in school and the stress is wearing on you. Maybe you're in a relationship with a partner that isn't supportive of your lifting, or you've had to relocate and the training partners in your new gym just don't measure up.

Sometimes the reasons are internal. You're frustrated with your lack of progress and seem to be getting injured constantly. Or maybe training is just starting to seem a little too much like work.

I'm sure when you first hit the weights your enthusiasm and desire were strong. I was no different. As long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be big and strong. I remember as a child seeing some jacked dude and immediately thinking, "That's how I want to look!"

By the time I was nine years old I was training regularly with makeshift weights and doing anything that I thought would help me achieve my goals. I trained hard all year round throughout adolescence and high school, regardless of the sport I was playing.

While in the Marines I'd even train while we were in the field by doing chin-ups from tree branches or push-ups with a loaded pack on my back, and invented many other ways to keep training under less than optimal conditions. When living in the barracks I'd sometimes break into the gym in the middle of the night and train in the dark.

Even when I was going to pharmacy school, working countless hours and raising a family at the same time, my motivation to train and compete never wavered.

Despite being as driven as I was, I eventually reached a place where the hunger suddenly wasn't there. My goals didn't seem as vital as they'd once been. Surprisingly, it happened at the least logical time.

It was just over four years ago when I experienced my first real lack of motivation and what I later realized was essentially psychological burnout. Oddly enough, I was coming off some great finishes and things couldn't have looked better for me. In 2006 I'd won the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic WPO Powerlifting Championships and followed that up in 2007 with a runner-up finish at the same event. I was training in preparation for a prestigious pro-meet with a substantial cash payout and hoping to break the all-time world record total in my weight class.

Yet in spite of all these factors, for the first time in my life I suddenly lost that deep desire to go to war with the iron. Fortunately, I was able to rekindle my desire. Here are the key strategies I used to keep the fires of motivation burning within me.

Focus On Your Goals

My goals have always driven me. On days I come home from work feeling exhausted and stressed, instead of crawling into bed I think about my goals and how rewarding it will be to achieve them. I know that if I continue to work hard that it's only a matter of time before they're realized.

I thrive on winning, and there's no bigger high for me than celebrating a victory at a big competition or achieving a goal that's been a long time coming. I live for those moments, and I know the only way they're going to happen is if I work harder than everyone else trying to beat me.

Remember Your Critics

Next to my goals, my critics motivate me more than anything. There are few things in life as rewarding as proving a naysayer wrong. I've been told all my life that I'd fail. Early on, many important people in my life, like my coaches, teachers, and my peers would dismiss my aspirations; even my own friends and family members have mocked me at times.

Sometimes I'd hear about it through others or overhear someone else's conversation, but often it was said to my face, as if my dreams were ridiculous and completely impossible. As painful as this was, it stirred a resolve deep within me.

I developed the mentality that if someone told me that I couldn't do something, I was immediately determined to prove them wrong. Even now while I'm training, in between sets I'll think about those that have said that I'd never achieve anything and then visualize doing exactly what they said couldn't be done.

Surround Yourself with Like-minded People

Good training partners are invaluable. I've been fortunate enough to train and compete with some of the strongest guys around and many of these individuals have become my closest friends. We've pushed each other further than we thought possible – at times maybe even a bit too far – but there's no doubt that training with a group of guys like this can increase your odds of success ten-fold.

No matter how bad of a day you may be having, with the right group of guys it's nearly impossible to not give 100% every time you set foot in the gym.

We'd feed off each other's energy and competitiveness, which often led to challenges within the group. Usually it was only for pride or bragging rights, but sometimes money would be thrown down on the gym floor to try to get each other to push even harder, especially when one of us might not have been having our best day.

The key was having guys within the group that not only wanted to succeed themselves, but also wanted the others to succeed just as bad or even more. While none of us ever wanted to lose a challenge, there was never any jealousy or back stabbing. We all supported one another 100% and were elated over each other's success.

If a new guy came into the group and exhibited selfishness or looked for his own success at the expense of another's, he was quickly given the boot, and over the years that happened more than once.

Unfortunately, our lives have lead us to different places and today we're spread all over the country, but we all stay in touch and continue to support and motivate each other.

When All Else Fails – Take a Break

No matter how bad-ass or hardcore you might think you are, the possibility of burnout still exists. I learned this the hard way. While many top competitive lifters would schedule breaks after big meets, I was always the type of guy that was back in the gym a day or two after a competition, no matter how beat up I felt. I saw any amount of time off as a wasted opportunity for progress.

Yet despite that level of drive, I reached a point after more than two and a half decades of training and over ten years of frequent competitions where I suddenly experienced a lack of motivation. While there were a number of factors in play, I realize that my penchant for pushing myself at a relentless pace led to an inevitable psychological burnout.

I was in the middle of preparing for a big meet when this feeling of apathy began to creep up within me. It started slowly but grew steadily, and soon my training was uninspired and lacked the usual intensity.

Shockingly, my training cycle was still going well, so I decided to compete as planned, but with the lack of desire and focus, I was called high on all three squat attempts and I bombed out of the meet.

The worst part about failing to get a single lift was that afterward it didn't even bother me. Instead of feeling immense disappointment and immediately resolving to do better, I experienced a sense of relief as if a great burden had been lifted from me.

Never having experienced this before, I saw it as a clear indication that it was time to walk away from the sport I'd been passionate about for so long. While my decision was rash and probably extreme given the situation, it seemed perfectly logical to me at the time.

I soon realized that all I really needed was a break. Along with my recent success had come an increased level of expectations and pressure. Without having allowed myself any type of break, it was only a matter of time before I started to feel overwhelmed and my desire faded. As simple as it sounds, it was a revelation for me.

However, it only took three weeks of not setting foot in a gym or picking up a weight. I woke up one morning and my desire for lifting had returned and in spades. I couldn't wait to chalk up my hands and get back under a heavy bar. I immediately threw on my training clothes, strode out to my garage gym, loaded up the bar and picked up right where I'd left off less than a month before.

Thursday:
Strength:
Deadlift 1 RM
or
Hang Deadlift 2 x 5
12 Minute Cap

OH Squat 3 x 10

WOD:
5 Thrusters 135/95
5 Toes to Bar
7 Rounds

Rosie at SuperFit!

This is a good one, it is geared to bodybuilders but also highlights athletes and people who do strength training.  It highlights some of the issues of a strict paleo diet as it pertains to performance.  It also talks about what I have been mentioning in terms of Carb Cycling and making sure that first meal post workout has carbs (rice, oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes) in it.  Here is the article by Nate Miyaki:

Advice doesn't have to be complicated to be effective. The simpler the advice, the more likely it will be applied in the real world, thus the more likely it will produce the desired result.

If you can't summarize your theories in less than a few minutes, then either your kohai (student) won't understand it, you don't really understand it, you're trying to sound too smart, or the material is so complex that it won't work in real life situations.

Since I'm coming close to the end of my rookie season here on T NATION, I figured I'd give you a short, practical summary of what we've covered so far regarding fat loss nutrition. Colleagues, clients, and friends have called it a Paleo-meets-Sports Nutrition hybrid approach.

Here are the Cliff Notes:

• A Paleo/caveman-style diet is a simple template from which everyone can start. Eliminating most man-made, modern, processed, and refined foods and emphasizing natural foods that we evolved from can go a long way in improving health markers while helping achieve physique enhancement goals.
• However, high intensity exercise creates a unique metabolic environment and changes how the body processes nutrients for 24-48 hours upon completion of a training session. If you exercise 3-5 days a week, your body is virtually in recovery mode 100% of the time. It's an altered physiological state beyond pure resting conditions, thus its nutritional needs are completely different from the average, sedentary, overweight office worker.
• We should keep in mind that surviving in the wild during caveman times is different than achieving elite performance or physique goals in modern times. "Life extensionism" at the cost of a sickly appearance, low libido/Testosterone, and an overall lack of "bad-assery" is not what the average T NATION guy is looking for.

At the same time, an awesome physique at the cost of poor health or early death isn't what the majority are seeking either. How about an intelligent plan with some balance?

• Just like the sedentary person shouldn't get caught up in following Food Pyramid dogma, the strength-training athlete shouldn't get caught up in following no-carb dogma. Treating sick populations (insulin resistant, obese, etc.) is not advising athletes. Targeted carbohydrate intake can help the athlete fuel, recover from, and respond to intense strength training sessions.

The athlete should look at adding back in some low fructose, non-gluten, or "anti-nutrient" containing starches (potatoes, yams, rice) into their plan.

This is my approach, based on my education and experiences. But it's not the only way. I encourage you to take some personal accountability and self-experiment to find what works best for you.

Just remember, there's more than one way to skin a cat, or more appropriately for us, to peel off body fat.

The Lost Art of Post Workout Nutrition

I've talked a lot about Paleo Nutrition specifics. This time around, lets talk about some Sports Nutrition specifics. Efficiency means starting with the most important thing first right? The key, core concept in Sports Nutrition is post-workout nutrition.

Before the rise of information overload, practical advice regarding post-workout nutrition was simple – down some damn protein and carbs as soon as you can after finishing your workout.

Lately, I've seen a disturbing trend rising amongst the gym population, particularly amongst those who fall victim to over-intellectualizing or over-theorizing everything. Turns out some scientist or evolutionary theorist somewhere stated that carbs in the post-workout period inhibit the fat burning environment created by exercise.

Thus, people are starting to believe that to maximize fat loss, you must go low carb all the time, even in the critical post-workout window.

I can hear Donnie Brasco right now, "Forget about it."

The result is that the Sports Nutrition principle that's more important for producing physique development results than anything else, namely combining protein with carbs in the post-workout period, has been lost. These days I have to fight with people to get them to include some damn carbs in their post-workout meal.

That's crazy!

Unfortunately, a few T NATION readers have fallen under this spell. I've had to help several regular Nation readers uncover the underlying problem concerning their lack of physique enhancement results despite consistent and intense training protocols.

The #1 culprit was a lack of carbs in the post-workout recovery period. For too long, many of us have been living on "A Nightmare on Carb Street."

It's time to wake up.

What to do can be explained in a sentence: down some Surge Recovery and/or eat a post-workout meal combining protein with carbohydrates in a 1:1 to 1:2 ratio after every strength training workout. Whole food examples include fish and rice, egg/egg white mixtures and rice cakes, chicken and yam, steak and potato, etc.

If you're already doing that, you're done. You're probably getting good results and don't need to read on. The rest of this article is geared towards those who've somehow been confused into thinking that post-workout protein/carb combos are detrimental to their physique goals.

Unfortunately, the why – the science behind simple practical recommendations – can get pretty complex. However, it's a worthwhile endeavor to learn a little bit. It gives you the knowledge-base necessary to separate fact from the brown stuff that comes out of a bull's backside. It helps you stick to the fundamentals of physique enhancement and not get pulled off track by highly intelligent theorists, but equally lacking in real world practical experience.

The Problem with No Carbs Post Workout

When most people think of getting shredded, they think of fat loss only. This often results in extreme calorie/carb cuts and exercise protocols that can be counterproductive in the long-term due to the presence of a chronic catabolic environment. For example, hours of cardio a day and cutting out lettuce because it contains 1g of carbohydrate.

Short-term catabolism is beneficial, as it helps us break down stored energy nutrients for fuel, both as glycogen or body fat. But chronic, long-term catabolism is highly problematic for physique enhancement goals. This ultimately leads to muscle loss and body fat gain despite high activity levels and low food intake.

So physique athletes can't just think about "burning" stuff off all the time, even during fat loss phases. We also have to pay attention to recovery and muscle growth, or at the very least, lean muscle maintenance. Enter post-workout nutrition.

I like to think of this as the "yin & yang" of physique enhancement. We need balance in everything in life.

When one side is unbalanced, such as when a sedentary person consistently eats refined carbohydrates, insulin is chronically elevated, and there's too much "anabolic" activity – the body is always in storage mode, including storing body fat. If this isn't offset with "catabolic" activity or the burning off of stored nutrients through exercise, the net effect is "Pillsbury Doughboy-ville."

What happens when the other side of that equation becomes unbalanced is a little more complicated.

If you lean too much in the other direction (i.e. performing intense activity while chronically restricting calories/carbs, especially post-workout), there are negative consequences. Most notably, a lack of physique development and body composition change despite sincere effort.

Exercise is a catabolic activity. We all know it causes microscopic damage/tears in the muscle tissue. But what some have forgotten is that this catabolic process must be offset with an anabolic recovery period for physical adaptation to take place. Muscular repair – an anabolic process – only occurs with proper nutritional intake.

If you perform high intensity strength training but don't include some protein and carbs for recovery, what you end up with is cortisol over-dominance and a constant catabolic state. This over-dominance of cortisol is compounded by two lifestyle factors:

• Our modern lifestyles, especially those of career-driven professionals, are highly stressful. Cortisol levels are chronically high due to the stress of corporate life. You don't want to add to this negative hormonal environment with improper post-workout nutrition. Otherwise, what's intended to be beneficial (exercise) ends up being counterproductive by contributing even more to chronically elevated cortisol levels.
• Those who lack real anaerobic fuel from carbohydrate intake often make up for it with artificial energy coming from stimulants (coffee, energy drinks, fat burning pills). Now there's considerable research that caffeine, in moderation, is beneficial for fat burning, but the key, as with most things in life, is moderation.

Needing to drink 84 oz. of coffee or 6 energy drinks just to get through the day is not moderation. It's chemical dependency. If overdone, cortisol remains chronically elevated, and contributes to the "stubborn body fat" syndrome.

This is the exact scenario that plays out with many strength-training athletes who strictly adhere to low carbohydrate diets. They're confused, thinking the low carb diet plans that are the best for sedentary populations are also the best for them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The result of this hormonal environment is the "Skinny-Fat Syndrome." Guys and gals who consistently train hard, follow the low-carb trend, think they're doing everything right, are lean everywhere else, but hold flab right around the midsection. Oddly enough, it's too low of a carbohydrate intake, and it's the refusal to offset catabolic activity with an anabolic recovery period that's keeping them fat.

These athletes may be improving performance parameters (improving strength, endurance, ability to perform a specific like max pull-ups, deadlift max, etc.), but their appearance isn't changing. In many instances, it's getting worse.

It's much easier to improve performance on a sub-par diet than it is to improve appearance. Fact is, for the person with average genetics and choosing a natural route, it's impossible to improve appearance on a sub-par diet.

Yes, if carbs are overeaten it will inhibit the fat loss process. Chronic elevation or overproduction of insulin can of course lead to fat gain. But in the right amounts and situations (i.e. following an intense workout where insulin sensitivity is high), it can be a good thing (anabolic, anti-catabolic).

As counterintuitive as it sounds, some carbs in the diet can offset the catabolic activity of exercise (insulin is a counter-regulatory hormone to cortisol), can initiate the recovery and repair process, can help build lean muscle, and can help burn fat in the recovery period.

I've worked with physique athletes who got over their misconceptions and "carbophobia," leaned up, and reached personal, record low body fat percentages by adding carbs back into their diet; starting of course, with the post-workout period.

Wednesday:
Deadlift 1 RM
or
Romanian Deadlift 2 x 5
12 Minute Cap

Bench Press 8 x 3 @60%
40 Sec Rest

WOD:
Power Clean 185/125
Explosive Push Ups
5,4,3,2,1,2,3,4,5

Great piece by Mark Rippetoe.  I think this is EXACTLY what Rip means when he says "Drag the bar up the leg to lockout"  This is the last week of daily deadlift/hamstring work.  We will be pulling 1 RMs later this week for deadlift.  Here is the article:

It's not always apparent, and is often poorly understood. Stated succinctly, stupid is not your fault – you were born that way. You're just dumb. You can't learn.

Ignorance means you just don't know. Ignorance probably is your fault, because you've failed to inform yourself. This is especially true since the advent of the internet has enabled the most universal and thorough dissemination of information in the history of human communication.

The obvious problem is that 95% of that information is wrong, which follows my popular maxim: 95% of all the shit that occurs everywhere is completely fucked up. The internet is no different.

But you can, with a little diligence, tease out the facts if you want to. If you're interested in a subject, it eventually falls upon you to distill the truth from the bullshit.

This you'll do gladly, if you're interested enough to devote significant amounts of time and effort to it, because an intelligent person realizes that bullshit is a waste of time. A stupid person might not appreciate this, and therefore continue to be ignorant of the truth of a matter.

Take the deadlift, for example. It's the most basic, obvious movement in barbell training, the one with the most carryover to everyday tasks and the easiest to learn of all the basic exercises.

You just step up to the bar with a vertical-jump stance width, with toes out and your shins about an inch from the bar, grab it just outside your stance with your knees still straight, then bend your knees forward and out a little bit until your shins touch the bar, squeeze your chest up until your back is flat, take a big breath, and drag the bar up your legs until you're standing up straight.

See? One (admittedly run-on) sentence describes the whole thing.

But just because a task can be described simply doesn't mean that there aren't any important details. Fortunately, they can be built into the instructions, if the instructor is clever. Our one-sentence deadlift instruction carries a lot of important information, and if it's followed correctly and intelligently, it'll result in a perfect deadlift every time.

Let's take it a step at a time and see what we can learn from this simple approach to an uncomplicated movement.

The Uncomplicated Deadlift

Stance Width

The stance width of a vertical jump is narrower than most novices' deadlift, but it shouldn't be. A push into the floor should have the mid-foot directly under the hip joint, and this is the stance width that allows you to push the floor without losing force to any shear that will develop along a laterally-angled leg (the sumo stance intentionally widens the stance to artificially shorten the legs, and trades the benefit of a more vertical back for the inefficiency of the angled legs – but we're not sumo-ing right now).

Toes

Most people jump with toes pointed slightly out, and this toes-out stance is very helpful for the deadlift. It gets the thighs out of the way of the belly, which helps set your back flatter and it gets the groin muscles and the external rotators involved in the pull. Konstantinovs demonstrates this when he pulls, as have many great deadlifters through the history of powerlifting.

Bar Position

Placing the bar about an inch from your shins puts the bar directly over your mid-foot, precisely where the bar wants to be anyway, because that's the point over which the load balances.

When you stand up straight with your feet even, where are you in balance? On your toes? On your heels? Bad idea. In either of these positions, you have to exert more effort to stand than when balanced in the middle. The mid-foot is the place that's furthest away from both those positions of imbalance. This also applies to the deadlift.

An intelligent person will verify this by watching YouTube videos of heavy deadlifts where he'll see that every heavy deadlift travels up in a vertical path, sliding up the shins from a fairly vertical shin angle. Even if the lifter starts with the bar forward of this position, the bar will roll back to the mid-foot before it leaves the ground.

Likewise, this same intelligent person will notice that the bar locks out at the top directly over the mid-foot. Why would you intentionally pull the bar from a position that's horizontally different from the one you're pulling it to? Well, you wouldn't unless you're stupid, so that's where the bar starts.

Grip

Your grip should be designed to make the bar travel the shortest possible distance to lockout, and this means that the arms will hang parallel to each other when you grip the bar. This is accomplished by taking the narrowest grip you can without your hands rubbing your legs on the way up. So your grip will be where your hands line up with the widest point of your stance.

Most novices take too wide a stance, and therefore too wide a grip. Most elite lifters take a close grip. Verify this for yourself. If your stance is correct, your arms will hang straight down when seen from the front and you'll have pulled the bar the shortest distance it can travel to lockout.

During the process of taking the grip you do not move the bar, because you just intentionally put it exactly where it needs to be, over the mid-foot.

Setting Up the Pull

You haven't bent your legs yet, but now you need to drop your knees forward until your shins touch the bar. This motion places the shins at a slight forward angle that leaves the bar over the mid-foot while in contact with the shins.

If you drop your hips, your knees will travel forward and shove the bar forward of the mid-foot. So don't drop your hips.

Remember, don't move the bar. That would be stupid.

Just after you touch the bar with your shins, push your knees out very slightly. This keeps your thighs lined up with your slightly pointed-out toes and allows your groin muscles and lateral hip muscles to engage during the pull.

If you're a bigger guy, you'll immediately notice that it's easier to get in position over the bar if your thighs are out of the way of your gut, as mentioned earlier. The knees-out motion takes full advantage of the toes-out stance, the smartest thing to do as you prepare to pull.

Chest Up, Back Set

Now comes the most important part of the procedure. Squeeze your chest up to set your back. Don't drop your hips like everybody else does, and like you've been doing, too. Just leave your ass where it is after your shins touch the bar and set your back from the top down by squeezing your chest up into thoracic extension and letting that wave of extension carry itself down to your low back.

Watch Brad Gillingham do his 881-pound deadlift and you'll see that it can be done quite effectively without a drop of the hips. It's hard, because your back is fighting with your hamstrings for control of your pelvis and your back has to win. It may feel odd the first couple of reps, but as you warm up it will get easier. Regardless, the chest-up motion will always be the hardest part of the setup.

The fact is, if it's easy, you did it wrong.

The Deadlift is Not a Squat

You must understand this: you're not trying to squat the weight off the floor with the bar in your hands. This doesn't work, as you may have noticed if you've watched enough deadlifting to be informed about what really occurs when heavy weights are pulled off the floor.

When the weight gets heavy, you can drop your hips as low as you want to and push the bar as far forward as it takes to make you happy, but what actually happens before the bar leaves the floor is always the same: the bar comes back toward the mid-foot, the hips come up until the shoulders settle into position just in front of the bar, and the bar comes up in a straight line, if you haven't fucked up the pull too badly.

The shoulders-just-in-front-of-the-bar position is a feature of all pulls that are heavy enough, whether deadlift, clean, or snatch. I take a shot at explaining why in the new 3rd edition of Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training (hint: it has to do with the lats).

By now you've looked again at all the deadlift videos and seen this position establish itself every time, regardless of whether the lifter initiated the lift correctly or incorrectly (if the lifter initiated the lift incorrectly, the hips rise and the back angle changes until the shoulders are just in front of the bar anyhow).

You can identify this position because the arms don't hang straight down plumb, but rather hang at a slight angle when viewed from the side. While you were looking at them again, you also noticed the bar travels a vertical path. In fact, if you fuck the pull up too badly (i.e. let it get forward of the mid-foot anywhere in the pull so that the bar path isn't vertical) it won't go up – unless it's a sub-maximal attempt.

So squeezing the chest up as the best way to set your back merely incorporates the facts that you've gathered by watching the videos and informing yourself. If you set your back in the position it likes to pull from anyway, you minimize wasted motion before the pull and you create a simple procedure for doing it the same way every time.

The Lockout

All that remains is dragging the bar up your legs to lockout. "Dragging" implies contact, and contact all the way up ensures the vertical bar path; if you let it go forward as it passes your knees on the way up, you'll have let it drift forward of the mid-foot, and thus gotten out-of-balance.

But if you've set your back correctly and started the pull with the bar over mid-foot, it will come up your shins and your thighs in a straight vertical line, which I'm sure you'll agree is a mechanically pleasing configuration.

Less Bounce to the Ounce

Of course, you have to keep your back flat, and that takes strength in the lumbar erectors that can only be built with heavy deadlifts done correctly. It has become fashionable in random exercise/"functional movement" gyms to permit the use of bumper plates and a bounce off the floor for all the reps of a set of deadlifts after the first one.

This isn't "functional" – no sane, responsible person picks up a heavy object by bouncing it off the floor because that might break something. An informed person knows that if you don't use a muscle, you won't train that muscle. Common sense dictates this fact, and no particular intelligence is required to arrive at this conclusion.

Simple observation tells us that people who bounce their deadlifts aren't very strong off the floor. Experience informs me that if a 185-pound man with three years of barbell "training" comes to my seminar lacking the ability to deadlift 300 pounds with a flat back, he's probably been bouncing his deadlifts.

The lumbar erectors are the muscles that hold the lumbar spine in extension. If you fail to use them for that purpose during a deadlift, they won't adapt to this isometric task, and you'll have turned the most basic back exercise in the gym into a ridiculous circus trick.

Let's be honest: you bounce your deadlifts because it's easier to do more reps that way. But you know this already, because you were never that ignorant.

Reset all your reps and make your low back get strong enough to hold itself flat during a maximum deadlift attempt. Even if more reps are the goal, a stronger back is the only way to achieve it.

There may be a slight tendency for the bar to drift forward as it comes off the floor. When this happens, it's usually because you've rocked forward during the setup so that your weight is forward of the mid-foot. Shoes with heels can do this, as can a misperception of your start position.

If this happens, you're probably too far forward, with your shoulders too far in front of the bar and your back too horizontal. To correct this, rock back off of your toes, reset your chest up, and think about actually pushing your mid-foot into the floor, instead of pulling on the bar.

That Wasn't So Hard, Was It?

Deadlifts are one of the easiest lifts to learn and do correctly. It usually takes me about five minutes to fix an incorrect deadlift, and everyone I fix tells me that the movement feels "shorter." We know that the trip from floor to lockout is pretty much the same distance, wrong or right, unless your grip is very wide, so what is responsible for this change in perception?

There are two components of the system – the lifter and the barbell. If the bar travels the same distance from floor to lockout, it can't be the source of the difference in perception. It's the lifter, whose ass is no longer waving around in the air before the lift starts. This decrease in body movement and increase in efficiency results in the perception of a shorter pull, even though the bar travels the same distance.

So, now that you're not ignorant, stop acting like you are. Do your deadlifts correctly, efficiently, and with impressive weights. Usually, the simplest method is the smartest method to use.

Tuesday:
Box Front Squat 10 x 2 @ 60% (fast)
Rest 40 Sec

Speed Deadlift 8 x 2 @60%
Rest 40 Sec

Olympic Strength:
Clean Pull x 3
High Hang  Clean x 3
3 Rounds @ 80% of 1 RM Clean
12 Minute Cap

WOD:
10 Box Jumps 24/20
10 KB Swing 32/20  or Move up a KB from what you normally swing
Rounds in 5 Min

Even though we are finishing these up, I found this while doing other research and thought it was perfect to finish with why we were doing them as part of Deadlift January.  Here are the reasons from Anthony Mychal:

Why Snatch Grip Deadlift?

If getting "walking-like-you-have-Sidney-Crosby's-Olympic-Gold-winning-hockey-stick-up-your-ass" syndrome after a heavy session of snatch grip deadlifts isn't enough proof that they "work," here are some other reasons to do the exercise:

1. Upper-back development.

Olympic weightlifters have very impressive back development. Outside of pulling from the floor with insane frequency, one thing they do that most others don't is pull with a snatch grip. So if band pull aparts aren't exploding your posterior delts and upper traps as planned, consider adding this lift into your program.

2. Posterior chain development.

Conventional deadlifting is known for developing a muscular back more than it is for developing muscular legs. This is because, all things considered, the lift doesn't require a lot of range of motion in the hips and knees.

Even though you're not lifting as much weight when you use the snatch grip, it's more of a leg exercise because of the starting position depth. Your hamstrings and glutes gets stretched considerably more, and this is what packs on the size.

3. Assisting conventional deadlifts.

The deadlift, for all practical purposes, is like a half-squat. There's nothing "normal" about the height of forty-five pound plates, they're that size because of tradition. To increase ROM, many lifters will pull from a deficit.

The snatch grip deadlift is essentially a deficit pull because the wide grip forces you to get deeper in the starting position. You can now stop balancing on stacked plates like a jackass.

4. It can boost your vertical jump.

I've researched vertical jump training thoroughly to prepare my athletes that go onto combine-esque tests. Although journal articles are insightful, nothing compares to analyzing video footage of people attempting vertical jumps.

I'm looking at two stills taken from YouTube. The quality is too crappy to post here, so take my word for it. Both shots show jumpers stopped in the amortization phase of a vertical jump.

The guy on the left boasts a 30" vertical. Honestly, with the setup he's using, I doubt it, but for the sake of conversation, let's say he's telling the truth. The dude on the right boasts a near 50" vertical. Since that's very high, I'm going to bump it down to 40" to account for YouTube inflation.

We're left with a 10" difference. Apart from the guy on the right being noticeably more muscular, they have dramatically different body positions. The guy with the higher vertical is relying much more on hip extension, which equates to more glute and posterior chain use. The other guy is all quads and calves.

Although there are probably many reasons why the one is jumping higher, his body position isn't hurting him. And strangely enough, it's a position that resembles the beginning of a snatch grip deadlift.

Strength:
Snatch Grip Deadlift 2 x 5
No Platform go heavier

WOD:
5 Power Snatch 95/65
5 Burpees
Rounds in 5 Minutes

Rest 5 Minutes

10 Push Press 95/65
10 Sit Ups (AbMat or Anchored)
Rounds in 5 Min