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“MUSCLES, MUNCHIES, AND MISCHIEF” is MOVING.

I will say it again. This blog is moving.

It has simply ceased to be. I will still have access to posts for reference, but I will not be posting here anymore as of today.

My blog and I have shared some good moments together, but it is time to move on. To bigger and better things, no doubt.

If you would like to still follow my training/diet/recipe updates, as well as some Q&A/random thoughts here and there, please hit the FOLLOW button for my new blog:

I Lift So I Can Eat

See you all on the other side!

My Thoughts on Carb Back-loading

“Man. Ice cream is awesome. Too bad I’m dieting.”

Poor soul. What if I told you there was a way to diet AND eat what you want? Sound too good to be true?

Sadly, people get way too stressed out about carbohydrates. They’re looked upon as “evil” or the “enemy” when it comes to fat loss. Some people would rather eat twice as many calories than include carbs in their diet because they believe the carbs are what is making them fat, far from the truth as it is. But getting used to carbs takes time and won’t happen overnight. At the same time, hardly anyone can say no to a plan that allows you to reap the benefits of eating carbs without the fat gain, all the while eating all the things you like.

Everyone, meet my friend carb back-loading.

When I first heard the idea of carb back-loading it didn’t really seem to make a lot of sense. I had experimented with my fair share of different eating methods and didn’t really seem to see any noticeable differences in terms of one doing something different than the other or being notably better. However, I liked the idea. Eat low/no carb during the day, and feast on junky carbs post-training.

Carb back-loading took the standard recommendations for dieting, ripped them into a million pieces, and set them on fire.

Carb backloading allowed me to say, “Fuck you, oatmeal!” and grab a donut with my coffee.

Ah. C’est la vie.

Now, there are some basic principles that must be kept in mind and followed if you want to ensure the success of a carb back-loading plan.

First and foremost, carb back-loading is NOT a diet.

It’s not something you go on for a couple of weeks and then begin eating “normally” again. It is quite simply a different way of eating. And to be quite frank, I haven’t really seen anyone who went back to regular eating after giving CBL a run, so I guess you could call it a “lifestyle”.

The method is founded off a couple of simple guidelines:

1. Eat low/no carb during the day
2. Consume shitty carbs post-workout (more on that soon)
3. Continue to eat whatever kind of carbs you want until your daily totals cuts you off

The catch here is that on non-training days (“cardio days” included), zero carbs will be had. Some much more active and muscular folks can get away with keeping it around 75-100g on a day off, but for most everyone, keep it <30. Think keto. That’s what your off days should look like.

“A bowl of oatmeal is discarded; a plate of bacon is eaten. Fair trade.” – John Hartigan

(Or I think that’s what he said.)

What’s wonderful about this way of eating, is that it can coincide with whatever way of eating you are already doing, minus ketogenic diets. (Note: The author of the Carb Back-Loading manual wrote up another diet that is more of a ketogenic diet called “Carb Nite”, but we’ll save that for another time.)

The most common questions are from those who are on an intermittent fasting plan, or something like the Warrior Diet. Fortunately, CBL not only works well with these types of “diets”, but is preferably done with them. At least in my opinion anyway. Though if someone was trying to gain muscle, optimally some more eating would be done during the day before training.

For those who don’t know, these are the main differences between the WD and IF:

Warrior Diet:

“Eat like a warrior”. In other words, think of scavengers and hunters. Very light “meals” during the day. Things like small amounts of nuts, seeds, and fresh or frozen berries are the best. Low calorie vegetables are also great. You could also have small amounts of fish oil, low-carb/fat protein powder, cream in your coffee, etc. The main thing is to keep the calories low, but still have some small and very light snacks during the day to keep your energy and spirits up. It’s also much better for those who have a problem with their blood sugar crashing from regular fasts.

At the end of the day, you would eat the rest of your calories. So even if you are on a low calorie diet, you should expect to eat a minimum of 800-1000 calories for your final “feast”. This is preferably post-training. If you are not used to eating so many calories in one meal, it can be separated into two meals, though just having one is largely more satisfying for some people.

If it is a training day, have some berries and/or veggies with a scoop of protein pre-workout. You will still be getting energy from your feasting the night before, and get to look forward to a large meal right after.

Intermittent Fasting:

IF is based on the idea of fasting for a minimum of 14 hours, to a maximum of 20 hours daily.

During the fasting period, calories are meant to be kept <50. So you may have sugar-free beverages such as tea, coffee, diet soda, etc. as well as some small amounts of sweeteners. It is recommended to drink plenty of water and to keep yourself busy during this time. The fast is broken after whatever time slot you have set out for yourself, which is usually pre-workout. Food is then consumed within roughly an 8 hour window, sometimes shorter for others depending on the length of the fast and the time of training.

If you are like me however, 20 hours is far too long and I would hardly recommend it for the average person, especially if you have an intense training regimen. On the flip side, 14 hours is pretty short and hardly enough to get the benefits out of IF in my experience.

(I say “like me”, because my blood sugar has a tendency to go completely bonkers if I go that long without eating anything. So in this case, I follow more of a Warrior Diet style to help keep my blood sugar somewhat more stable and avoid any unwanted crashes.)

I hope that clears things up for some of you who aren’t too familiar with the different terms. Regardless of what you choose, both ways of eating coincide extremely well with CBL, and I’d recommend giving both a try to see if either one suits your needs.

Now, one of the main concerns with not only CBL, but also the Warrior Diet, is:

“Will I get fat skipping meals and eating tons at night?”

Non-lengthy answer: No.

The problem with getting people to appreciate the beauty that is CBL and the WD(or even IF for that matter) is convincing them that eating this way will not make them overweight and unhealthy.

“Well, when I was a freshman in college that was basically my diet anyway and I gained 30 lbs.”

It is a common concern. But what people fail to understand is that your training and the types of food you are eating and when you are eating them plays a big role. Also, people tend to underestimate how many calories they are eating when they are sedentary.

A baconator combo from Wendy’s doesn’t seem to be all that intimidating. But it packs quite a calorie punch. Roughly 1600-1700 calories with a small size. So if you are coming home after eating nothing and then consuming that, combined with a poor training plan (if any at all), poor sleep schedule, and possibly some other midnight snacks and/or sugary drinks you failed to remember mindlessly eating while studying for your finals, that’s a pretty good way to gain weight. And not the good kind.

If you take a relatively sedentary person and give him a 2000 calorie meal to eat at the end of the day, and do the same for someone who just finished an intense weight training session with some heart-pounding cardio at the end of it, who do you think will make better use of the calories?

The difference with CBL is remembering that “bad” carbs are only there to reward a great training session. And especially after being in a relatively fasted state (or completely fasted depending on how you normally eat), your body is more than ready to soak up all the carbs to aid with your growth and recovery.

This is why we avoid junky carbs on days off from training.

Or any carbs that aren’t vegetables, really.

This is why I can afford to eat like an obese American some nights and not actually gain weight from it. It’s simple body science. Or nutritional science. Whatever you’d like to call it.

My dinner on Thursday nights, post-benching.

All I know is it works.

Something to keep in mind if you are thinking about starting CBL is you MUST get in your essential nutrients and hit your macros as well, unless you are having a “cheat” meal (hate that term). For some people who know there body very well, eye-balling portions is an option. However, most people need to follow macro guidelines especially in the beginning, as it is easy to go overboard.

And getting your essential nutrients means you can’t swap out your fish oil for bacon. Yes, bacon tastes better. No, it doesn’t have the same effect on your body. Can you still eat bacon? Yes. But take your fish oil first.

Vitamins and minerals are still important. Veggies are still important. Protein is still important. So just because you can eat junk post-training, doesn’t mean you should only eat junk.

By now you’re probably wondering, “Why junk post-training?”

The idea behind that, is that slower-digesting carbohydrates post-training have a dampening effect on the back-loading process. A direct quote from the author of the Carb Back-Loading Manual:

“We all know—or should know—that eating carbs before bed disrupts nighttime release of growth hormone. I’m not going to spend time talking about the benefits of growth hormone other than to reiterate its role as a fat burner and a lean tissue builder: something no one wants to screw up with poor food choice.The poor choice here is low-glycemic carbs. The body will not release growth hormone during sleep until roughly two hours after blood sugar and insulin levels return to normal4. Low-glycemic carbs keep insulin and blood sugar levels elevated for hours, while high-glycemic create a spike that ends within an hour or so of eating. Eating junk gives the benefit of replenishing glycogen stores without interfering with the nocturnal hGH cycle.

Eat like a fat kid and get jacked. End of story.” – John Kiefer

More on the studies/research behind why junk food is better post-training than regular carbohydrates is explained very thoroughly in the book by the man himself. If you are very curious about the effects, I highly suggest visiting his website and purchasing the book. It is worth the money and will clear up questions you may have regarding how to eat post-training and why one way is more beneficial than the other.

If it helps, in my experience and from viewing others, junk  most definitely works the best. No complaints!

Getting back…

Another pit-fall with CBL and any kind of fasting or semi-fasting meal plan is that some people find it very difficult to get in that many calories at once. This can be helped by eating higher calorie foods, and of course, conditioning your body for it.

If you are used to eating 8 tiny meals a day, it’s going to seem weird and even difficult to eat 600 calories at a time, much less 1000 or more. So you have to start out slow. If you are fasting, try splitting it up into 3-4 meals post-training. Then cut it down to 3, then 2, etc.

The problem is when people decide that, “Oh hey, I have to eat my veggies!” and opt for a huge salad and then have no room for anything else.

Which is why I recommend WD over an intermittent fasting plan, since it still allows you to eat small amounts during the day, and leave the juicy calories for the end of the day. Personal preference of course though.

Bottom line: hit your nutritional needs. That’s more important than anything else.

Anyway, before you slam your laptop screen shut and make a list of all the goodies you’re going to eat post-training tomorrow, there is something else that must be done prior to beginning backloading.

Induction phase.

Ew.

The phase typically lasts for 10 days. Some exceptions are made for those who literally cannot function on ketogenic diets. If you are someone who falls face-first into a cheesecake after 3 days of low-carbing or convulses just at the mention of the word “keto”, the induction phase can be shortened. Or if you are someone who has had a lot of experience with a ketogenic diet, the phase can also be shorted to 5 days or so just to kind of give your metabolism a kick without turning you into the walking dead.

But for most people, just stick to the induction phase.

During the induction phase, it is treated like a regular ketogenic diet. Under 30g of net carbs per day. After your first carb-up, your cycle begins as normal with carbs on training days, and no carbs on off-days.

Another great thing about backloading is the ability to eat MORE carbs on your training days than you were able to before. So for example if you’re someone who is used to eating 150g of carbs a day, you can start getting used to eating upwards of 200g. Of course this also depends on individual needs, but as a general rule, it is easier to eat more carbs on this plan.

I know this may seem scary to some of you who are not used to eating carbs, but I can tell you right now that carbs are a wonderful thing, and life is a very sorry place without them. Most people think they are more carb resistant than they actually are. But once you get into the world of higher carb eating and see the awesome stuff is does for your physique, you will never turn back.

Plus carbs are yummy. Don’t know if I mentioned that already.

So who can do this diet?

Honestly, anyone. I have seen very lean people use it for bulking or maintenance, and I have seen overweight people use it for cutting.

So if you are somebody who:

• Loves carbs
• Loves eating large amounts of food
• Loves eating a variety of different foods
• Loves sweet stuff but feels “guilty” about it
• Loves having energy
• Loves losing fat with ease
• Loves retaining muscle while stripping fat

Well then…CBL might just be for you.

And even if it’s not. Why not give it a try and see anyway? You’ll never know what to expect unless you do.

FINAL NOTE FOR NON-EVENING TRAINING INDIVIDUALS: For those of you who train in the morning or really any time before the evening, things must be adjusted. Supplementing with BCAA’s is a smart idea. Of course, training in the morning is not the most optimal thing for CBL, but again, you have to play around and see what works well for you. Ideally you would be training in the afternoon/evening for this to work perfectly.

Feast on, comrades.

Mobility Work For The Immobile

“Hi,

I had a request/idea for an article for you to consider. You seem pretty flexible, and I was wondering if you have tips/ideas for stretching/mobility work for dudes. I’m trying to get my big ass to be more bendy, to help cut down on normal muscle pulls/tightness. I’ve been stretching basically every other night, can’t really tell if it’s helping yet or not. Anyways, I thought it might make for an interesting article.

John”

Dear John:

This post is for you, and for any other guy out there (women too!) that could use some help with increasing their mobility to prevent injuries, but aren’t quite at a level where they can bend over backwards and grab their ankles.

Generally speaking, women are a little bit more naturally flexible, especially in the lower body. They also tend to develop extreme levels of flexibility and mobility at a faster rate than men do. I’m not sure why this is, but it’s just from what I have seen.

Regardless, developing higher levels of mobility and flexibility is crucial with training, to help prevent muscle pulls, tears, and strains, as well as to increase you range of motion (ROM) with your exercises.

If you’ve ever tried to squat without warming up, you’ll know how much of a pain in the ass (literally) it can be. Your hips and hamstrings cramp, your lower back feels like it’s going to cave in, your knees are cracking on the way up…it’s just brutal.

This can all be heavily minimized by introducing proper warm-ups and also practicing better warm-ups and recovery methods. It’s going to take some work in the beginning though, but don’t give up.

So to start off, if you are someone who has a lot of trouble with their mobility, you will need to dedicate 5 minutes EVERY morning to mobility work.  And make it 10 minutes on the days you aren’t training.

Yes, every morning.

This does not include the mobility drills that you should be doing before your upper and lower body training sessions. This is simply extra mobility work that is going to help you loosen up.

Now pay attention:

Every morning, you are going to wake up, warm up your muscles a little (since they will be stiff; running in place and/or high knees are pretty good), do your mobility drills, and then shower/go on with your day. IF you need to wake up 20 minutes earlier, so be it. But it will be worth it in the long run so that you can become more mobile and increase your athleticism.

A simple routine to do every morning is:

(1)   Hip stretch into hip drop

(2)   Pigeon

(3)   Frog

(4)   Duck walks

Remember, this isn’t a yoga class. The objective is to hold only for a couple of seconds and then release and repeat.

Here is a video demonstrating the entire drill. I cannot stress enough how much these movements have helped me:

For some more mobility exercise movements, refer to this video (also excellent, and a lot of these should be done before lower body training):

Now, these exercises can be done regardless of your level of mobility and flexibility. My number one suggestion is simply not to push it. Don’t stretch further than you can, and don’t get down lower than what is physically possible for you.

I promise that by introducing mobility work on a daily basis, you will start seeing noticeable results with your training and the way your joints and ligaments feel. It’s also a great way to wake you up in the morning.

NEXT BEST THING: STRETCHING

I find that guys have this weird thing where, in order to support their masculine image, shy away from stretch training and insist that it’s a practice only fit for “females and transsexual gymnasts”.

What they don’t realize is not only are they limiting the amount of muscle they will put on, they are also increasing their risk for injury.

Take for example, the hamstrings. The fascia is extremely tight in this area, and in order to optimize muscle growth, this area needs to be stretched. A LOT. It will also help increase your ROM, and limit the possibility for tears and strains in the muscle, which often seems to happen due to an over-tight fascia. Hamstrings, shoulders, pectorals, and quads are some of the most commonly torn muscles, and it’s my belief that a lot of this could be prevented by practicing better warm-ups and stretching more.

So forgo your “squats and deadlifts only, brah” mentality, and start learning to love and appreciate stretching. Yes it’ll hurt, and it’ll be uncomfortable, but if you hate it you still have to do it.

Now, as far as stretches for the hamstrings here are some good ones to start with:

You can also refer back to my glute post for some other ideas on glute and hamstring stretching.

Remember, with each movement you should only go as far as necessary  to achieve a good stretch. Your flexibility will improve with time.

Groin-pulling seems to be fairly common when flexibility is an issue. Along with bodyweight squats, this is an excellent stretch to help loosen up that area:

I suggest beginning by stretching your tightest areas on a daily basis, for about 15 minutes. This should be done post-workout when the muscles are loosened and you are warmed up, as static stretching when your muscles are cold is a recipe for disaster.

Each stretch should be held for at least 45 seconds. None of this half-assed stuff. If you are serious about improving your athletic abilities and mobility, you need to commit to stretching way more often than you do.

I’m not asking you to become a contortionist or anything. Simply to dedicate more time to the forgotten areas of training, so you can ultimately become better at whatever it is you want to do.

Finally: Self-Myofascial Release (SMR)

SMR is used to loosen tight muscles, break down and prevent scar tissue, improve your ROM, increase blood flow and circulation, and relieve pain. This isn’t only done with a foam roller. On the contrary, you’ll need another little torture device called the tennis ball.

The tennis ball is used to roll out the smaller muscle groups that are harder to reach directly with a normal foam roller, and can also be used more efficiently to pin-point certain trigger points. Some of the most common spots for tennis ball therapy are:

• Piriformis
• Teres minor/major
• Soleus
• Pectorals
• Deltoids
• IT band

Though you can pretty much roll out any muscle with a tennis ball, I find it more efficient to use a mixture of both.

You could also invest in a rumble roller, which is basically a foam roller with hard “thumbs” that is also great for finding trigger points. It does look and feel like a medieval torture device, but it works like a charm.

I’d suggest if you don’t already do some sort of SMR, start doing it at least 3x a week. Aside from the areas I already stated, some particular areas to pay attention to:

• Sartorius
• Hip flexors
• Quadriceps
• Hamstrings

BREATHING:

Also a very important factor. You need to make sure to breathe properly during all your stretching. A large inhale should be taken at the starting position, exhaling slowly as you move into your full stretch. From there, take deep breaths through the belly. Closing your eyes can help especially when the stretch feels uncomfortable.

If you take a deep breath and your shoulders rise, you know that you are breathing wrong.

—————————-

Bottom line: move more.

I wish I had something more interesting to add here, but it really is that simple. It just takes a daily commitment to doing your stretches and doing the extra mobility work to get your body moving the way you want to.

Whether you are an athlete or just someone who likes to maintain an active lifestyle, you want your body to be performing efficiently, and in order to achieve that you must go beyond simply doing your weights and cardio. How healthy you remain in all physical aspects happens outside the gym.

Stay safe, train hard!

Glute Activation and Training: Revised

Property of zee boyfriend.

2013: The year dedicated to bigger, stronger, better glutes.

Admittedly, in the past I hadn’t given enough thought to my glute training.

Shameful.

Within the past year or so however, I’ve become rather glute-obsessed. I’ve been dedicating lots of research into ways of activating and firing the glutes properly so that not only can I lift heavy weights more efficiently and improve my athleticism, but I can aid in the development of my glutes as well.

Throughout the years, my glutes have gone through various phases. I went from no bum at all, to kind of having a bum, to not so much bum again (after my figure competition), to HUGE (like, in every which direction), and finally down to medium-sized, though more lifted, rounded, and better proportioned. Though I have no issues with very large badonkadonks, I like to make sure that in whatever size bum my body is carrying, it is shapely in all the right ways, and functional.

Example of progress: The following picture on the left was taken in April 2009, just 6 months before I joined my first gym. The picture on the right was taken today, after 3 consistent years in the gym.

Left picture: 116 lbs. Non-functional, weak, not-so-existent glutes

Right picture: 129 lbs. Functional, strong, better-developed glutes.

The thing that made the biggest difference for me was properly warming up the glutes by performing glute activation exercises before my lower body training sessions. By doing this, I made sure that in all my lower body movements, my glutes were being incorporated as much as possible. I thank Bret Contreras. He’s kind of like a glute god, that I pray to daily. Kidding. Kinda.

Before I paid proper attention to this stuff, I couldn’t really feel my glutes working as much in my movements. I forgot what it was like for my ass to be sore. I saw this as a problem, because I wanted to feel them working in movements. They are the largest muscle group after all, and if you’re a powerlifter or just someone who wants to get stronger, having your glutes fire properly in things like the squat and deadlift (even the bench) will make a huge difference. Not to mention, it’ll whip them into shape. Win/win!

Now, I feel my glutes working with everything I do. So I’d like to share some of the knowledge I’ve gained over the past year or so, to help you achieve similar results with your training.

In fact, I felt like demonstrating some movements myself to save on some surfing time, since it can be annoying trying to find some of the movements in pictures and I’m not sure how much everybody likes having their picture posted on random websites. (Then again, this is the interwebs)

Bear with me though, I only had my phone on me so the pictures are not going to be professional quality or anything. Just appreciate my willingness to take photos in a very awkward fashion.

Also, my dog dragged her toys/blanket out of her crate. She seems to like doing that as soon as I start trying to take pictures. She needs to learn some manners.

ACTIVATION EXERCISE #1: Glute Bridges

You will start in this position:

And from there, by squeezing your glutes, not your lower back, raise your hips up from the floor, contracting your glutes and hamstrings hard:

Oh look, a blanket magically appeared…

REVISED GLUTE BRIDGE:

Alternatively, you could do single-leg glute bridges to isolate each side more.

ACTIVATION EXERCISE #2:  Single-Leg Glute Lifts

I don’t even know if that’s the right name for these things, but it’s what I like to call them.

In fact, I don’t even know if these fall under the classification of glute activation. However, I’ve been including them in with my little routines with pretty good results, so I’d say they work. Though, you do need to make sure that you are really only lifting with the glutes and not the low back, or swinging, or rounding, etc.

This would be the starting position. Take note that at my leg is fully extended, and my toe is slightly behind my bent leg, but my hips remain squared:

Weeeeeeee

Alternatively, you can get on your elbows rather than your palms. I find it’s easier to tell when you are using too much back from a position on your elbows.

ACTIVATION EXERCISE #3: Bent-Leg Glute Raises

While these are similar to the last exercise, they’re not the same.

Hips remain squared, and it is a straight up and down movement. The movement comes from contracting your glutes to raise your leg, with no swinging or fast motions, and no rounding or hyperextending of the back.

Keep your stomach tight, and really squeeze the glutes at the top, and also while lowering. These can be done resting on your palms, or on your elbows.

ACTIVATION EXERCISE #4: “Hanging” Glute Bridges

Once again…no idea if these are called that but I’ll leave it that way for now.

You’re basically performing a glute bridge, but with your shoulders and upper back up on a bench, as well as your feet resting on another bench in front of you (or couch and coffee table, if you’re fancy like me).

You’ll raise your hips up once again, by squeezing your glutes and making sure the abs stay tight and the back is not hyperextending or doing the movement for you. You will bring your hips to a full lock-out position at the top.

ACTIVATION EXERCISE #5: Lying Hip Abduction

I thought I would forget about these when I put aside my pilates days. But it appears I have reverted back to them for warm-ups.

Though I am up on my elbow for these for the sake of taking a picture, it’s preferable that you are lying on your arm or propping only your head on your palm. (Hence, “lying” hip abduction)

Doopdeedoo

That’s basically it. Nothing fancy.

Of course, there are so many different things that you could do to activate your glutes. Some of my other favorites involved banded work. But anyway I think that these are some pretty good basic movements that you can do along with your hip mobility drills to really help you fire your glutes properly with your training.

Some other movements worth mentioning:

• X-band walks
• Side clams
• Fire Hydrants

As for stretching the glutes, I’ve also demonstrated some of my favorite movements. I can’t tell you enough how difficult it is to perform exercises while taking pictures at the same time without a regular camera. But these are basic start-up positions.

#1: Leg Crossover

In this movement, you could either keep the non-stretched leg straight or bent. I prefer it bent, but this will depend on your own flexibility and comfort. The main thing is that the leg that is crossed over is getting a very good stretch. You will want to bring in your knee as close as you can to your body, while rotating your upper body in the opposite direction.

#2: Bent-Leg Hamstring Stretch Part 1

So of course, with this stretch you’ll want to reach down, grab your toes and bring your upper body down as close as your can to your hamstring to feel a good stretch.

#3: Bent-Leg Hamstring Stretch Part 2

Keeping your toe pointed, and hips squared, grab hold of your calf or ankle, and bring your upper body down as close as you can to your leg. If that isn’t possible, you could place both hands on the upper leg and simple push down lightly on the straight leg.

#4: Seated Glute Stretch

Starting position:

From here, keeping your back straight and your abs tight, lean forward towards your bent leg. Stop when you feel a good stretch in the glutes.

TRAINING THE GLUTES

I made a post awhile back about glute training, but since then have made some serious changes as to what I include in my training to target the glutes more efficiently.

Exercise #1: Hip Thrusts

The KING of glute exercises. Bar none.

Example:

Exercise #2: High Step-Ups

Exercise #3: Box Squats

Glutes respond very well to high AND low repetition workouts. A direct note from Bret Contreras to me when discussing this topic:

“There are no rules set in stone, except that whatever rep range you do you need to feel the glutes working maximally. Some days 3 x 5, some days pyramids, some days 2 x 20, etc.”

So make sure you add in that variety with your sets and rep ranges when training your glutes, and remember that glute training is about not only lifting heavy, but also lightening the load from time to time and adding a couple more reps in. And of course, whether you are doing 3 reps or 20, you need to feel your glutes contracting hard in every rep. If you are not concentrating and creating that mind-muscle connection when training your glutes, you will be limiting how much you can really develop them.

Anyway, kind of short and sweet. Hopefully you can add in some of this stuff with your regular training, and if all of this is nothing new to you, perhaps it could be a refresher or a reminder to start doing them again.

Here’s to creating better glutes!

Squatting: Your Questions Answered

Hello world. I apologize this took so long to put together. It’s been a crazy week.

Originally I had written this and was in the process of getting ready to post it, but hadn’t saved my document. So I suffered the consequences and had to re-write it all, which admittedly I procrastinated on just a little…kind of like when you work for awhile on a project and have finally gotten it finished, you don’t really want to start all over again from scratch, if you catch my drift.

But anyway, I really wanted to do a follow-up post for my last Squatting 101 article. As I was thinking of different things to write about, I thought it might be a better idea to ask the readers what THEY would like to know about squats, and have their specific questions answered. I thought it might be a little more thorough, and I’m sure I’ll be back to follow up this post with anything else I missed in the future as well.

Enjoy, and hopefully you can benefit from the answers as well.

Q: Low bar or high bar?

A: This is ultimately a personal choice. Do I have a preference? Certainly. I will almost always choose a low bar position over a high bar. However, there is always a mid-bar position which is right in between both high and low bar, and I find it works well for most people. There is no shoulder/wrist pain complaints like a regular low bar placement might give, and you can still get the power that you would out of a low bar position, just that it will help you to stay a little more upright and you will have less of a forward lean.

All I can say is experiment with both. Low bar is uncomfortable at first, but once you get used to it you will be able to squat much higher weights, which is why it is a favorite amongst powerlifters. Eventually you will find your groove, just keep on trying different things and seeing what feels the most stable.

Q: What do you think about squatting with Smith Machine? Is it better to do it with dumbbells when you don’t have barbell available?

A: Forget Smith Machine squats. They have no place in a program, regardless of what you train for. The only thing I might use the Smith machine for is the occasional incline work for chest, but even then I haven’t used it in almost a year.

If there is no barbell available, then perform heavy single-leg work. Bulgarian split squats are excellent. Walking lunges are also great.

Q: Can you tell me about mobility/stretching specific to reaching proper depth on the squat? And some ideas for recovery as well.

A: Prior to squatting, ALWAYS begin with mobility work. I’m going to post a good video below for some hip mobility drills.

Other ones you can do are hip swings. You hold onto the bar or squat rack, and swing your leg high from front to back, for about 15 reps then switch sides. You want to keep the leg nice an loose and really open up and warm up the hip joints.

A good dynamic stretch prior to squatting would be to get into your squat stance, and then squat down as low as you can. From the position, use your elbows to force your knees out and get a good stretch in the groin area. Hold for a few seconds, raise the hips, and then come back down.

As for recovery, I love foam rolling lightly before training for a few minutes, and then again a couple of times per week. Pay special attention to your IT band, piriformis, hip flexors, and sartorius. These get the most wear and tear.

Sitting in the sauna for a few minutes is nice and relaxing too. You can also take contrast showers. They’re a bitch, but they feel great after. And of course, don’t neglect stretching after your lower body sessions.

Q: What are some stretches to help drop your ass straight down? I’m having hip issues maybe where the crease of the hips doesn’t like to go below the knees!

A: I haven’t personally seen you attempt to squat, so it’s hard to say what the issue is here. Most likely just tightness in the hip flexors, glutes, and hamstrings. Tight calves and ankles are also common issues. Make sure that you are doing mobility work before every lower body session, and stretching often.

Here are some good stretches for you to do a couple of times a week to increases flexibility and mobility:

 

Q: What are some deep squatting techniques?

A: Again, if you are having trouble reaching depth there could be a ton of issues at hand here. Perhaps you’re leaning too far forward, or coming onto the quads/knees rather than sitting back properly. The best way to tell is to take a video of yourself and see what’s going on. Are you sitting back properly, or dropping straight down? Do certain muscles feel tight when you are attempting to squat low, or does your lower back round?

Refer to the stretches and mobility work posted above, and keep in mind that the closer your stance is when squatting, the easier it is to reach depth. I’d suggest starting with a closer stance while building up, and then eventually determining a stance that is most comfortable with your leverages once you have gained some more flexibility. Remember to keep the toes pointed out, and to sit your ass back rather than straight down.

Q: What are some proper warm-up techniques?

A: Refer back to my videos posted about mobility work. Walking lunges and high knees in place are also excellent.

Q: I want to know how to progress- auxiliary exercises, and when to add more weight, and how much. For example, I’ve done a top set of 115×5 twice in two weeks, I feel like I should progress to more weight, but I’m scared. 115 is so hard, and I’m honestly never sure I’ll make the last 2 reps. And any tips for managing the fear?

A: I hate to be a parrot or to sound cliché. But “just do it”, is all I can say when it comes to overcoming fear. You have to find YOUR zone. That means blocking out everything going on around you, not thinking about the weight on the bar or how hard it is. Just connecting with your mind, telling yourself that you are going to do it, and just doing it. There is nothing to be afraid of. It’s when you’re afraid that you’re encouraging accidents!!

Of course, always make sure your form is on point, because there could be many reasons why you haven’t been progressing with the weight. But I have a feeling that you are holding yourself back from adding weight because you’re scared it’s going to be hard. And so what if it is? Just push it.

What I can suggest is moving it up to 120 and going for a set of 5. Even when it feels hard, you have to keep going. Unless something begins to hurt or starts feeling REALLY out of whack, then there is no reason to stop. Video your set to make sure you are reaching proper depth and that your form is okay. Depending on how the video turns out, you can then make an educated decision on whether to stay with that weight for awhile, or move it up.

Sometimes, all that is going on is our mind telling ourselves that we’re tired and that it’s hard, etc. The body is never tired if the mind is not tired!!

Q: When you don’t want or can’t squat very heavy-what about higher rep squatting for definition?

A: This makes not a lot of sense. Definition comes with more muscle and a lower body fat percentage. You have to overload the muscle if you want it to grow. And that means lifting heavy weights, and really pushing yourself. Especially with larger movements, keep the reps somewhat lower. I’d say if muscle gain was your only concern, still keep it to around 8 reps max. I do like doing some “widowmaker” sets from time to time, which is your 10RM done for 20 reps, but beyond that I believe that the optimal rep range for squats would be between 5 and 8. And those sets should still be hard to complete.

 

Q: I had a torn meniscus and I wonder if I should not be squatting because of it. But I love squats so that would be a drag.

A: This is a tricky question. I’m not a physician, so keep that in mind. How long ago did the injury occur? If it has been awhile and if you have been squatting without pain or discomfort so far, I should say you’re safe.

What I can suggest is to invest in a pair of knee sleeves, and start out very light (if you haven’t been squatting). If you’re going to squat make sure that you are definitely going below parallel, since anything parallel or above will put a lot of unneeded stress on your joints. The main thing you’ll want to watch is your form, and that you are keeping your knees out at ALL times during the squat, and not letting them cave or shoot forward.

I know a lot of people who have squatted when they had previously torn something in the knee. I wouldn’t suggest doing any kind of running though.

Q: How do you “feel” depth without using visual cues? And how do you breathe for a set of five?

A: Good questions!! “Feeling” depth took me a little while too. What I found helped was to do bodyweight squats to the right depth, and memorize the way you felt in that position. NEVER look at yourself in the mirror while squatting to check for depth. You have to take consistent videos and have people watch from the side to see where your hip crease is. Eventually with enough practice, you will get to that perfect depth. When in doubt, go lower.

As for breathing, you’ll want to think of it like this: when your car runs out of gas and you have to push it, what is your natural instinct before heaving? You take a big breath, hold it, and give it all you got. You have to do the same for each rep of squats. At the top, take a big breath and hold it. You may let out a little bit of air on the way up if you wish (this helps relieve some pressure so you don’t faint or anything, especially when wearing a belt), but never exhale all the way before you get to the top. After you lock-out, pause for a second, take another breath, and repeat.

Q: Could you touch a little bit on Front squats with clean grip techniques?

A: Certainly.

Front squats done properly with a clean grip require a good amount of shoulder and wrist flexibility. To prepare for front squats, do some shoulder mobility work and very light, short stretches for your shoulders and your chest. Shoulder rotations/dislocations are excellent prior to front squats.

You’ll want to keep stretching your wrists as well, either with your hand or the barbell. It will take some time before your muscles and especially tendons are used to being in this position, and it may hurt at first but you will get used to it.

With front squats, you want to make sure that the bar is resting on your DELTOIDS at all time. Not your wrists. You should work on your flexibility enough that you can get your elbows high enough to support the bar on your front deltoids rather than your wrists. You want to have the bar up high enough that it is nearly (but not actually) choking you.

Your fingers are there only to keep the bar in place. You are not doing any kind of supporting with your wrists, only stability.

This is an example of proper front squat form:

 

This is what NOT to do, and is an example of poor flexibility and technique:

 

Once you’ve un-racked the bar and allowed it to settle, take two steps back into a much closer than regular squat stance. Turn your toes out more (this is to help you get deeper, keep your knees out, and also get your hips through at the top).

Keep in mind that a front squat is NOT a back squat. NEVER sit back into a front squat. You want to sit straight down, and keep your knees out on the way up and down. Really force them out hard to make sure you are opening up the hips. When you rise, rise with your chest and elbows first. Your elbows must stay up at all times, otherwise the bar will roll and you will tip forward.

 

Q: I want to low bar squat but feel like I can’t get my arms into the right position. Maybe it’s a flexibility issue? Curious about different way(s) to properly position the bar.

A: As I mentioned earlier, the three different ways you can position the bar on your back is high bar, mid-bar, and low bar. You will have to experiment. Without knowing how you squat, it’s hard to say what the problem is. But with pretty much any squat, you will want to get your elbows under the bar as much as possible, and “bend the bar” over your back, so to speak. Elbows should not be flared up in the back (especially on the way up), and you should not try to purposely flare them.

Keep your grip relatively close, and work on shoulder flexibility. Especially if you are squatting low bar, this is important.

Q: I’m wondering about half squats for glute targeting. Also, I only have access to dumbbells. Any variations on ways to use them for squatting?

A: What I think of when I think “half squat”, is squatting down only to about parallel or slightly above. If this is the case, forget about it. If you want to do a half squat from a dead start those can be useful (i.e. barbell resting on bars and you training only the lockout position) though I can’t say they work wonders for the glutes.

If you want to do something good for your glutes, try some straight-leg deadlifts and hip thrusts. However, doing half squats will only put stress on your knee joints.

You can do a lot of great single-leg work with dumbbells. Think Bulgarian split squats, lunges, and step-ups.

Q: How do I explain to the guy at the gym that having your elbows pointing directly down at the floor so you get ‘push’ from your arms is wrong…? Or is it just a different method?

A:  Actually, this is one case where the guy at your gym was absolutely correct. Elbows should be pointed towards the floor, as I mentioned a few times in questions above. Flaring the elbows is unstable and will only cause the bar to roll and your chest to fall. Keeping the elbows underneath helps raise your chest and makes sure it stays raised.

Q: Should I squat with belt? Without? When if ok?

A: You can if you’d like. I always suggest going up as high as you can without a belt, and then using the belt only for heavier sets. Just keep in mind that you need to be stabilizing by pushing your abdominals out onto the belt to protect your lower back.

Q: I just want a simple routine to follow for focusing on building MASS that covers basics like how many reps/sets/and days a week are ideal. I know some of that depends on frequency and intensity, but you are a female who has achieved good results so I’d like to hear which method got you there.

A: The tricky thing about leg training is that every single person is going to get results with different methods. I know some women who built their legs just by running track and lifting only moderately heavy weights occasionally. And then I have known women who could only build their legs with higher repetitions and so forth.

What worked for me was an increase in frequency as well as intensity. When I talk about intensity, I am referring to weight percentages, not just how hard I’m working. The most reps for my larger lifts (aside from when I ran Smolov) was about 5. I also added in assistance work which never really went over 10 reps. Mostly 6-8. So I was training legs 2x per week with high volume and high intensity. However, I’ve found that certain muscles (such as the glutes) respond to a variety of different intensities as well as reps. So some days I will train it from 4-6, and other days I will do 10+ reps, and so on.

Seeing as I don’t have the means to assess your own individual needs, what I can give you is a basic idea of how to switch things up and put on some muscle (providing your diet is also set to achieve the same goal)

1)            Train legs 2x per week. Glutes can be trained 2-3x per week.

2)            Have a quad dominant and a hamstring dominant day.

3)            Keep your volume and intensity up (but slowly build the volume over a period of time)

4)            Train HEAVY.

5)            Keep most larger compound exercises between 5-6 reps, and everything else from 6-10 reps, drop sets, and widow-maker sets (10RM done for 20 reps) occasionally.

6)            Keep working sets between 3 and 5.

7)            Train 4x per week (upper/lower splits work well for most)

Remember: experimentation is KEY. You must try different things to see what really works for you. But this is a good base to build pretty much anyone off of.

Q: How do you get past your fear or putting more weight on the bar… I find that the heavier I squat the more I psyche myself out by thinking about how much weight that is. I try not to but I still do!!

A: There is no one way to get over it. But what I can say is that your mindset is crucial to the outcome! You have got to just block out whatever is on your mind. Don’t even look at the weight on the bar. The moment you start over-thinking it is when you get anxious, over-psyched, and you end up missing the lift.

Eventually, you have to look at every increment as easy stuff. You cannot be scared of the weight. You can either control the weight how you want, or let the weight control you. At the end of the day, it all comes down to how bad you want it. You want something really bad, you’ll do whatever it takes to get it. You have to get under the bar and not just lift the weight, but OWN it. That’s how we get stronger.

 

Q: Do you have some tips on the ‘drive up’? My form on the way down is apparently pretty good, but I’m told I don’t ‘drive up with my hams’ enough. The problem is when I start focusing that I do the whole thing too fast and then the squat is generally just messy.

A: Perfect sense, actually. Unfortunately, there is no easy way around this. You have to start focusing on it, otherwise the squat will continue to get messier and progress will stall. You don’t want to raise your hips too fast, otherwise your chest will drop. But at the same time you want to make sure that you are really squeezing the glutes and hamstrings to help power up the weight out of the hole. Glute activation prior to squatting is a must.

Mark Rippetoe was a fan of the eyes down, hips driving up first way of squatting, but I have never been a fan and have always found that to be inefficient. One thing that really helped me to activate my glutes and hamstrings in the squat and also learn how to power through to the top with the hips is to do wide-stance box squats, sitting back to the point where your knees are parallel to your shins, so that it debilitates your quads and puts them at a big disadvantage.

Now, these should not replace your regular squats, only add as a supplement.

The tendency is to rock forward off the box, which is how you know you are using more of your quads than your hamstrings and glutes. You want to power off with your glutes and hamstrings to bring you back to a standing position. This can even be done at home with just your bodyweight.

Here’s some good examples:

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I hope that clears things up for those who asked the questions as well as some of you wondering similar things. If you have any other questions feel free to drop me a comment.

Baby Steps Toward Greatness

“The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.” – Vince Lombardi

Every journey requires a first step. Sometimes it’s small, simply a toe-dip into cold water. Other times, we make leaps, throwing caution to the wind and taking several chances. Either way, that first step is by far the greatest one.

The problem most people have with picking a goal and sticking to it is taking that first step. What people tend to overlook is that you can’t get anywhere without it. Not to your car, the kitchen, the gym, your bedroom, whatever. The initial step is everything. But people don’t seem to really want to reach their goals these days. They like the idea of possibly achieving something in life, but they don’t really ache for it. They aren’t completely committed to taking that step, and that’s why they don’t move forward in the direction they were aiming for.

Picture yourself alone in your apartment, sitting on the couch, watching your favorite game. Suddenly, you realize you’ve forgotten to grab a beer, and are now faced with a dilemma. Seeing as you have nobody in the house to do your work for you, you can either watch your game while sipping a delicious mocha porter that you just got off your ass to get, or you could continue to sit there wishing you had the energy to get back up from your comfortable position to get yourself one.

Something tells me, if you really are serious about drinking your beer with your game (as you should be), you’ll find it within yourself to get up off the couch to pop open a bottle of icy, hoppy goodness.

Oh baby!

So if you can find it in yourself to get up off the couch to grab a beer, what’s holding you back from getting out of your comfort zone and making a move towards greatness? When it comes down to it, both moves need some desire on your part, so in order to be as successful as you want to be, you have to want it badly enough to get up and go after it.

The second biggest problem people have with reaching their goals is continuing past the first step. Sometimes we dip our toe into the water and immediately retract it, screaming and flailing our arms, saying it’s too cold and there was no way in hell we were getting in. But usually the initial shock of the cold only lasts a minute or so before we adjust to the temperature, and before you know if you’re swimming in a warm, refreshing pool, and soaking up all the sunshine. But you’d never know unless you grit your teeth and got in all the way.

The first step is also the most challenging, however. It can be a big commitment. But if something is worth having, it’s not going to be that easy to get. You have to work for it, and I think most people have just gotten lazy. We were born and raised in a lazy society. People hardly work off of their own sweat and tears anymore. Half of us practically had life handed to us on a silver platter. We have every single opportunity in the world to make something of ourselves, but all we can do is complain and ask to be spoon-fed. While there are hundreds of thousands of people wishing they had access to even half the resources we do, we still continue to hold weekly meetings with the pity party and talk about how we’ll never get to where we want to be.

Get off the fucking breast milk and be independent. Realize that yes, life is hard, and yes, life sucks a lot of the time. But you can’t learn to fly if you keep clipping your own wings and refusing to face life. You’re too old to be in the safe nest you grew up in. You’ve got to build your own. No one is going to create your ideal life for you. Only you can. But you’ve got to take that first step, and you’ve got to follow it up with another one. And another one after that. It may take you a lifetime, but eventually you will reach the finish line. It all depends on how much you are giving into the fatigue.

To a professional athlete, pain and fatigue are just side effects of being the best. And as long as they continue to fight these things, they will continue to come out on top. It’s how they got there in the first place, and how they stay there. Nobody wins the gold by sitting on their ass eating potato chips. We spend too much of our time saying, “I wish I could” instead of, “I’m going to give it a try”. You want to be a pro gymnast? Train for it. You want to start your own business? Invest. You want to own a house? Work for it. Not all of us are lucky enough to have our life handed to us, and even then it seems the people that are aren’t really happy. They’re missing something. And I feel that what they’re missing is the pride and satisfaction that comes from knowing that you worked to your fullest extent and paid off every debt in life with real blood, sweat, and tears. Nothing can take that kind of satisfaction away.

You don’t always have to cannonball into the deep end, but you’ve got to get your feet wet before you learn how to swim.

So, You Want To Get Strong? – Part II

In my last post, we covered attitude adjustment, understanding of max effort, and programs. Moving on, we have the next steps I feel that everyone needs to take when first beginning weight training. A lot of this can also be used as reminders for those of us intermediate or advanced lifters that need an extra nudge in some areas.

STRETCHING, WARM-UPS, FOAM ROLLING, AND MOBILITY WORK:

Never, NEVER neglect any of these. Why?

Because if not, you will end up developing over-tight muscles which can lead to tears and other injuries, and you will also develop scar tissue, which can inhibit pain-free movement and overall mobility.

Mobility work is one of the most important things you can do for musculoskeletal health. It’ll help loosen and warm up your muscles, joints, and ligaments before training, or if done at any other time of the day can help support recovery and free movement, as well as flexibility. Trying to train without properly warming up is detrimental and is one of the easiest ways to injure yourself. It’s very easy to neglect warm-ups or to forget them, so you must make a conscious effort from the beginning to make mobility work, flexibility work, and foam rolling a habit in your training regimen. It’s just as important for getting stronger as eating and sleeping.

The areas that need the most flexibility/mobility work would be the hip flexors and the shoulders. I think that regardless of whether you’re training upper body or lower body, both hip and shoulder mobility drills should be done as part of a warm-up. Shoulder discomfort can be developed by squatting without properly warming up the upper body as well. And tight hips are extremely uncomfortable to bench with.

Some of the best hip mobility drills you can do are demonstrated in the video below:

A great shoulder mobility movement that I do before any training session are shoulder “dislocations”, or rotations:

For the shoulder movement, you can use a towel, band, or plastic bar. Begin with arms very wide apart, and keep the elbows locked. Attempt to bring it all the way around (like in the video). When you reach your limit, which would be when you can’t go any further without serious discomfort or moving your elbows, hold the position for a few seconds and return to the starting position. Do several of these rotations, and you’ll notice you can go a little further back every time. The point is to not do a static stretch, but to do short dynamic stretches to warm up the shoulders. The goal here being to eventually be able to rotate completely from back to front without discomfort. Once you can do it from a wide hand position, move your hands in a little more each time. By the time you can do complete rotations with hands only shoulder-width apart, you basically have perfect shoulder flexibility.

Hip mobility work is essential for improving your squat and deadlift. It’ll allow you to get lower in squats and prevent hip pain and injury. Do hip mobility drills every time you are about to begin a lower body training session. No static stretching though.

As for flexibility work, I am a strong believer that flexibility is conductive to a well-rounded athlete. Neglect stretching, and not only do your muscles get too tight, you will not be able to develop your muscles and mobility as well as you could if you stretched regularly. Making it a habit and sticking to your stretch sessions is only a few minutes sacrificed for a lifetime of save and effective lifting. Your hamstrings especially are very tight, and by not stretching the fascia you are limiting growth in your hamstrings. Also a lot of strains, tears, and aches can be prevented if proper stretching was made a priority.

I would say that full stretching sessions should be a part of any training program, and done from 2-3x per week. And that doesn’t mean two or three stretches held for 20 seconds each. I mean all-out stretch sessions, where the stretch is held for a minute or more. Lower body stretching is the priority, especially if you plan on doing a lot of squats and deadlifts. Calves, hamstrings, quads, hips, glutes, ankles, and the groin area all need to be stretched on a regular basis.

Foam rolling will help roll out kinks you may have in your muscles, and will help prevent scar tissue from developing, as well as breaking down existing scar tissue. It’ll loosen up the muscles, since as stated, tight muscles can promote injury. It’s basically a soft tissue massage that you can do yourself. You’ll notice less aches and pains and better recovery once you start making foam rolling a priority as well.

A pain-free body is a happy, strong, and healthy body.

CARDIO/CONDITIONING:

Conditioning is another important part of any training program. Other than helping with recovery, circulation, and cardiovascular health, conditioning will help you perform better and improve your workload capacity. If you are trying to gain weight, keep the conditioning sessions a little less frequent, but still included once a week or so. Those who aren’t trying to gain weight can afford and extra session in their schedule.

Some of the best conditioning workouts are done with a prowler, sled, tire, or sledge hammer. If you don’t have access to any of these, you could also do bodyweight drills, skipping, light barbell complexes, sprints, or kettlebell work. Keep the sessions short but intense.

CHOOSING ACCESSORY WORK:

When it comes to choosing exercises to help assist your main lifts (squat/bench/deadlift), you want to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. You don’t want to overdo the accessory movements, but you also don’t want to skimp out either because they’re going to have a large influence on getting you stronger.

Depending on the program you’re on, it’ll call for more or less accessory movements. For a fresh beginner on a 5×5 program, keep it simple and aim for movements such as hyperextensions, front squats, straight-leg deadlifts, close-grip bench press, incline press, seated rows, DB shoulder press, glute-ham raises, one-arm DB rows, and curls.

Yes, curls.

I have a love/hate relationship with these. Even though I feel tool-ish standing around curling, you should never exclude them from any strength program. They’re important in developing and maintaining strength in your biceps and from preventing tears. I’ve seen WAY too many people neglect proper bicep training because they feel as though they don’t need it since they’re “not a bodybuilder”. The moment you neglect training a body part, you either get weaker or you get injured…or both.

The exercises stated are good movements regardless of what program you’re on. If you’re doing something more along the lines of WSB4SB, you have more freedom to add in different exercises such as leg curls, lunges, box squats, flat presses, pulldowns, etc.

And what I mean by getting the biggest bang for you buck, is choosing movements that are tried and true to get you stronger and assist your main lifts in a big way. The smaller accessory exercises can be saved for when you are on a more advanced program when you need to think about specialization. For now, focus on less is more, and just put in your whole effort when performing these movements. You don’t need much more for now.
You never want to waste your time with exercises that aren’t conductive to your goals. You might really like leg extensions, but they’re not really going to get you strong.

TRAINING DIFFERENT BODY PARTS (REPS, SETS, etc.):

Understand that this section is a personal opinion, and keep in mind that different things will work differently for different people. Based on my own observations of myself and others, this is what I have found to be most effective, so take it as you will. Note that these are not meant to be recommendations for size gain, but solely for strength purposes. However, that doesn’t mean one cannot gain size/muscle using these recommendations if their nutrition is on point.

Remember never to train to failure on accessory movements. You want the weight to be heavy, but you also want there to be a rep or two left in the tank by the time you put down the weights. Higher reps have their time and place, but I think for most movements, the best strength gains are going to happen when training in the 5-8 rep range. Keep in mind this is regarding accessory movements only, so that excludes your main movements. Even 3-4 reps for certain movements can also be beneficial for strength gain, and can be used for some heavier sets, just not over-done. You don’t want to burn yourself out by trying to max-out on accessory work, but you don’t want to go too light either. Keeping the reps mostly between 5 and 8 will allow you to use a heavy enough weight that you can get stronger off of, but not so heavy that you’re working until failure, breaking down form, and sacrificing performance from your main movements. For those of you who do want to have hypertrophy in addition to strength gain, these rep ranges still work well providing your nutrition is on point as well.

Working sets can range from 2-4. I don’t suggest going too much beyond that, unless you are on a particularly high volume program. You can see plenty of results off of this kind of set range.

Also, here’s a great article by Jason Ferruggia regarding rep ranges:

“Are You Sabotaging Your Gains with the Wrong Rep Range?”

Tip: Kai Greene once mentioned in a video that while he is performing a movement and he wants to focus on a particular body part, he consciously thinks about lifting with THAT particular muscle. It’s called a “mind-to-muscle connection”. And believe it or not, this really works. You’ll notice a hell of a difference when you start to really think about moving the weight with the muscle you are concentrating on, rather than just thinking about the movement itself and nothing else. You’ll be able tou activate and incorporate that muscle/group a lot more if you concentrate enough on it.

 

FORM:

We could all learn a thing or two from a baby’s squat form!

It’s best to establish good habits from the very beginning. When I first started my programs, I wasn’t focusing on my form or technique. That actually set me back pretty far when I got to working with a coach that had higher standards for my technique than I had initially set for myself. So I could have actually been a lot farther along than I am now, had I known what I know now back then.

At the same time, I was extremely stubborn back then, so even when I was being corrected, I didn’t take the advice to heart as much as I should have. It’s crucial that in the beginning you take constructive criticism from others when warranted. Many times other more experienced people see things that you may not see, and it’s not that they’re trying to be hard on you, it’s that they’re trying to help you improve.

My best piece of advice is to acquire a camera, and video yourself as much as you need to in the beginning. Then, get it critiqued by someone who knows what to look for and who can spot out weaknesses and how to fix them. The lift will always feel different than it looks, so it’s important to know how the lift feels AND how it looks. How else can you fix your form if you don’t know what you need to fix?

I had written two posts on deadlift form and squat form which can be beneficial to read. One thing that really helped me was to go over certain steps quickly in my head before performing the lift so that I could remember. You don’t want the movement to be robotic, but you also don’t want to just let everything out and have the movement go to shit because you stopped focusing on keeping your form tight. It really is crucial for developing overall strength and preventing injuries. If you don’t get injured right away from poor lifting form, that doesn’t mean what you’re doing doesn’t need to be changed, it means that you are lucky enough to have not gotten injured…yet. But just because you’re new to training, doesn’t make you invincible. Take precautions and do things right from the start, and you will have much less to correct down the road.

DIET:

You can’t build a house without bricks. You also can’t build a body without calories. this doesn’t mean that because you are on a strength program is it a free-for-all (unless you are deathly thin and really want to put on some weight). It means that you eat for performance. If you have physique-specific goals as well, just keep it simple. If you need to gain some weight, eat a little more. If you need to lose some, eat a little less. If you’re a good weight, eat at maintenance but perhaps switch up your macros slightly so that it is performance-driven nutrition. You might even experience a recomp this way. The important thing to keep in mind is that you’re not going to build strength and muscle off of a big calorie deficit.

I say that if you are not very overweight, save the fat loss for a little later, OR keep a very small deficit. Another option would be to lose the fat first, and begin the program after you have taken a few weeks off from dieting and are back to maintenance calories. Prioritize a goal before moving on to the next one, as it is very difficult to achieve two things at once and get the most out of both.

Protein is a big staple, of course, but there is no reason to eat over 1.5g per lb. of bodyweight in my opinion. Higher carbs on training days can be beneficial, with lower carbs on conditioning/off days. You’ll want to play around with your carb levels to see what works best for you, but most people like cycling carbs. Keep fats in your diet always, as they’re very important for maintaining healthy hormone levels.

SUPPLEMENTATION:

While I don’t believe sports and health supplements are necessarily ESSENTIAL, I feel as though 95% of people don’t get all the nutrients they need from their diet already, so supplementation can be very beneficial.

What I would consider staple supplements would be:

• Fish oil (important for reducing inflammation, lubricating the joints, promoting insulin sensitivity, and improving cognitive function)
• Multi Vitamin (provides all the daily nutrients that you need for proper overall health and performance; will improve energy levels)
• Creatine (great for improving recovery, muscle endurance, and strength)

Optional supplements:

• Pre-workout drinks
• BCAA
• L-Carnitine

PATIENCE:

Results don’t always happen over night. Everything takes work, and you’ll have days where things feel heavy and off. Just don’t give up! Stick to the program and keep your goal in mind, always. It’s a journey, not a race, and if you try to rush bodily changes your body is going to fight against you. It’s just like trying to lose weight. You have to expect that it’s not all black and white, and you will need a lot of experimenting, trial and error, and time to find exactly what works for you.

Above all, keep a good outlook with your training. A positive attitude is a winning attitude, and in the end, the most successful person is the one who believes in himself enough to keep pushing despite difficulties he faces. And believe me, you will face them. Just be stronger than whatever life throws at you and you will come out on the other side triumphant rather than defeated.

Happy training!!

So, You Wanna Get Strong? – Part 1

A Curious Weight Loss Debate

It has come to my attention that most women of the world seem to think that some men are shallow, selfish pigs by thinking their wife or partner would be more desirable if she lost some weight.

Call me a traitress, but I see nothing wrong with the man’s point of view.

I believe that society has become far too endearing. Everything is excusable, and everyone gets over-offended about everything. We have all gone into bitch mode and don’t know how to handle some constructive criticism without falling apart. Therefore, nothing can be criticized out of fear of offending somebody…even if the criticism is warranted.

DISCLAIMER: Before you read this…I am not talking about a 5-10 lb. weight gain, and neither is the study. It is also not referring to women who began as underweight individuals and then gained weight up until a healthy level. This is referring to women who have gained 30+ lbs. for no reason, and continue to gain it without care.

There was a rather large debate on FaceBook awhile back regarding this topic. A survey interviewed a large number of men about various topics, such as sex, relationships, and lifestyle. This one however, caused the most controversy and the most heat among the females. Here is a result from the study, taken from AskMen.com:

“48% of men said they would leave their partner if she became fat.”

Now, while I don’t necessarily think it’s right that a man would drop his partner if she gained some weight, I can hardly blame him for losing attraction and having second thoughts if she refused to better herself.

In the same respect, women have been known to do similar things. If your man is suddenly broke and refuses to find a new job and just play video games all day, would you want to stick around that, regardless of how much you loved him? Unlikely. This isn’t because you are necessarily a gold digger, or very shallow. It just shows a lack of caring on the man’s part. Nobody wants to be with someone who doesn’t care, and who doesn’t take care of themselves. Nobody wants to be with someone who disregards everything and stops giving a fuck about what happens to them.

Not attractive either.

As far as men who want their partner to lose weight if she happens to let herself go…I’m sorry ladies, but a man is not going to change overnight for something that has been biologically programmed into his head since the dawn of time. A man sees what he deems an attractive specimen, and makes a beeline for her, subconsciously knowing that she would breed good children and make a good mate.

Attraction and love are two very different things. No one ever falls in love at first sight. They can however fall into lust. Have you ever seen a very attractive guy or celebrity and think, “Holy shit, I’m so in love!” This is why we have so much confusion these days. While some men may have been attracted to your personality, 99% of men upon first encounter will be attracted to your physical appearance more than “what’s inside” since the outside is the first thing they see.

Don’t take offense to this, however. There is no stopping a biological response to an attractive woman. A guy will see an attractive woman and approach her simply because she is attractive, regardless of what her personality is like. If he finds that she is intolerable, he may leave her. But you see what I’m getting at, yes? Attraction is always the first thing. A man cannot sense your personality from across the room without ever having heard you speak. But he saw your pleasant smile, lovely body, and confidence, and thought he would approach you and ask you your name.

Men were not programmed to see your inner beauty upon first encounter. Men look at Megan Fox and all they can think of is procreating with her because of her looks, not because they know her well and think she has a beautiful personality.

Wouldn't matter if she had a bitch personality. Megan is stunning.

“I didn’t have a perfect body when my husband fell in love with me! He loved me 50 lbs. ago and he loves me even more now, and I’ve gained 100 lbs. since our marriage!”

So…you managed to find a guy who looked past physical appearances and fell in love with you as a person. You’re pretty damn lucky, I won’t lie.

But how many of you get offended if your husband or boyfriend points out you need to lose some weight? COUNTLESS women will yell at him and cry and tell him he’s hurt their feelings. Despite the fact he gave you a chance and showed you that looks are not the only important thing, as soon as he asks for a little something in return to make you more physically appealing to him, you throw it in his face and whine to your girlfriends about how he’s “so mean”.

Your husband may still love you, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he is very happy. That being said, if your husband or boyfriend completely let himself go and gained 100 lbs, you might still love him, but you also might not be as attracted to him as you used to be.

Here’s an excerpt from an article I read regarding this subject as well, which pretty much sums things up:

“He’s found someone who he liked for non-physical reasons; somehow noticed the chubby girl standing in the corner with a Mai Tai and for some reason actually approached her while every fiber of his loins told him to instead saunter up to the moist mammal in the tube top whose ass is such an example of geometric perfection that Archimedes himself would have shouted Eureka at its sight.

He somehow saw the diamond in the rough that is you and is willing to help you hack at the overgrowth to get to the jewel.

He’s not insisting you develop a passion for midget wrestling or that you give up meat. He’s not asking you to give up your religious beliefs and instead worship the Rutabaga god that commands his faith. And neither is he asking you to submit to his sexual perversion, which involves nipple clamps, a bucket of canned meat, and a 15-horsepower leaf blower.

All he’s asking is that you lose 15 pounds.”

And you know what? He’s right. And more than likely, you probably need to lose a little more than 15. He’s just hoping you’ll get motivated after losing 15 and go on to losing another 25.

All men and their wants aside, why would you not want to do this for yourself, if not anyone else? You should be trying to maintain your appearance and health regardless of whether your partner thinks you’d look better doing so or not. The kind of women who complain about this are the ones that get married and turn into Jabba the Hutt, expecting their husband to continue to feel the same way he did when they met, without ever wishing for anything more. They feel like now that they have a ring on their finger, they don’t have to worry about attracting anyone anymore, so anything goes.

Let’s get real, ladies.

Despite how much he loves you, sometimes a man just can’t stand to watch their woman go from 10 to zero in a matter of years. Despite how much he adores you and thinks you’re a wonderful person, if he loses attraction to you and can’t get aroused because having sex is like playing hide and go seek with your fat rolls or making love to a butterball turkey, you can’t expect him to have a healthy relationship.

It’s hard to not be giving in to the temptress at the bar he goes to on the weekends with the perfect body and sultry eyes, simply because she is attractive. It’s not that he doesn’t love you, it’s that he isn’t attracted to you, and one cannot function very well romantically in a relationship if the attraction is fading.

I’m sure we would all love for men to see our inner beauty before our external beauty, but it’s just not how it works. Through history, beautiful women have brought kings to their knees, and other powerful figures to ruin. Beauty has more control over a man than you could ever imagine (don’t hate me for letting out the secret, guys).

Going from slim/normal to being fat as soon as you’re married shows a lack of care and respect for yourself. No man is going to want to be around that. TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY. Why wouldn’t you want your husband/boyfriend to find you attractive? Is having another donut and watching TV instead of working out more important to you than being healthy and keeping your man and more importantly, YOU happy?

And I say you, because I haven’t met a woman who gained so much weight in a period of time who was happy over the fact that she gained the weight. Most of the time they bitch and moan about “skinny girls” and how they’re “so unhealthy”, and then proceed to stick their face into a tub of ice cream, and complain about their fail genetics.

One of the reasons your man is not comfortable with pointing these things out to you is that 98% of the time if he told you that you needed to lose some weight, you’d probably cry and get defensive. And then when he gets fed up and leaves, it’s suddenly:

“Why didn’t he just say something about my weight? Jerk! I deserve better!”

It has nothing to do with being a “real man” either, so don’t pull that crap. A REAL man is more visual than a woman. Never put all of this on men. If a man gets fat in a relationship, it’s his fault…but when a woman gets fat, it’s suddenly the man’s fault. See what I’m getting at?

Responsibility for your actions is where it’s at. Respect for your partner is where it’s at. Respect for yourself and your body is where it’s at. If you love and have respect for the person you love, you will do things to help keep him happy. I know guys who gave up their lazy lifestyles and hit the gym just because they knew their girlfriend would like it.

So why aren’t women willing to do that for men?

Instead of expecting your partner to be happy to ride the waves, why don’t you just lose some weight? It’s not the end of the world. No one is saying you’re a hideous beast, and no one is forcing you. It’s not as difficult as people make it out to be either.

But this is a choice that YOU have to make. Nobody can change you for you. I’m just giving a fair warning of a strong possibility of what may happen if you stop caring.

MEN:

Same goes for you. If your lady if putting in the work and keeping herself in shape, it’s your responsibility to keep in shape as well. NOBODY should be letting themselves go. So put the bag of chips down and pick up a barbell.

Squatting 101

I’m happy that my last post “Deadlifting 101” got as much positive feedback as it did. For those of you who read it and could pull some ideas and information from it, I’m glad!

I got several requests after that article to do a squat tutorial. Since I had mentioned awhile back that I will do one, I will live up to my word. I will try to condense things and break them down as much as I can without you falling asleep in front of your screen, but the squat is a lot more technical than the conventional deadlift, and requires a little more explanation in order to completely grasp how the movement is supposed to be done.

So bear with me.

(PLEASE NOTE: While I understand the mechanics, how-to’s, and science behind a squat, I still have things to work on myself! It is hard, and if you’re not someone who “gets it” right away, don’t worry. It takes a lot of practice to remember the cues and have everything work together in a fluid motion. No lift is ever immaculate or perfect, and there are always technical flaws and things to be worked on. We are constantly learning. The important thing is that you know how it’s done so that you can correct problems when they turn up.)

THE SET-UP

First things first. If you’re one of the people who is in a rush to get under the bar and finish the lift, slow the fuck down. Rushing the set-up is the biggest problem a lot of people make. They will duck under the bar and lift it on their back within a second, which is when the grotesque chest dropping and upper back rounding occurs most frequently. Slowing things down and taking time to make sure you are very tight at the start will ensure that you stay protected and solid throughout the entire movement and look a little less like the hunchback of Notre Dame.

A lot of people don’t know how to set their hand width properly. They’re either way too wide, or not wide enough. I say that if you are not a very large person or don’t have a particularly muscular upper back, keep your grip width more narrow to create a shelf with your traps for the bar to rest on. If you are a much larger person, you can afford to have your arms a little wider. Unless you’re a 300 lb. super-heavyweight with a very muscular back (in which case you wouldn’t really be reading this tutorial), there is no reason to have your hands all the way at the end of the bar. It’s just silly and won’t help tighten your upper back if your back is not big enough for it. The best thing to do here is to play around with different hand widths before squatting your regular weights to see what distance makes your back the tightest.

A trick I learned recently from a fellow powerlifter is to set your hand width on the bar BEFORE getting under, so that when you dip down to get the bar on your upper back, everything is much tighter. I used to dip under the bar and set my hands after, but I found that doing it beforehand and not changing the position of your hands kept my back a lot tighter and made it easier to keep my chest up. Ladies, if you have long hair I suggest putting it in a bun or a braid kept to the side to make sure this is easier for you.

You’re going to want your upper back VERY tight. So tight in fact, that you could hold a pencil between your shoulder blades. You want your back to remain this tight throughout the entire set. As you tighten your back and get under the bar, raise your chest and make sure it is out and high. This is a huge priority, because it’s what will prevent you from doing a good-morning on the way out of the hole.

That's a tight back.

Don’t flare your elbows up behind you. Try to keep your elbows tucked under the bar as much as possible, and avoid bending your wrists. Remember, your hands are there to keep the bar in place, not to support the weight. Too much wrist bending can result in injury or tendinitis. If you have a problem keeping your wrists straight, wear wrist wraps to increase the pressure and keep them in line. I have to do this as well, and a lot of squatters also do this especially if they squat low-bar.

Bar placement depends on personal preference. I find that low bar squatting (bar on the rear delts) causes more forward lean,and involves more of the lower back, as well as putting a lot more emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings. It is harder to get very low in a squat with a low bar placement (though this is remedied by maintaining great hamstring/hip/glute flexibility). For a lot of people it helps them lift more weight, and it’s popular amongst powerlifters. A high bar placement is set at the top of the traps right below the neck, and is also referred to as an “Olympic style squat”. It helps you stay more upright and get lower, but a lot of people find that they squat less weight with an Olympic style than with a low bar style.

Then of course, there is always the in-between, where it isn’t quite low bar and not quite high bar. All in all, it’s really down to preference, and the only real WRONG bar placement that you can have is putting the bar too high up so that it’s resting on your neck and spine rather than your traps, which is just begging for injury. Find what suits you and your leverages and stick with it. Try not to go back and forth between low bar and high bar squats.

Moving on…

Get completely under the bar when you are setting up. Do not unrack it with one leg back and one leg forward (common error). Your neck and traps should be pushed back into the bar when you are setting up. You want to really keep it back in there and tight. Arch your back slightly, take a breath, and un-rack the bar. Let the weight settle COMPLETELY on your back before you walk back. Do not just unrack the bar and start walking back, or you will begin to come loose. Again, slow down.

After you have waited a second or two, you want to step back with as few steps as possible to make sure you remain tight and to conserve energy. The rule is 3 steps. Some beginners until they find a groove for their foot width will need a few more steps and some shifting to find their proper position, but this should be minimized as much as possible. Remember, use as few steps as you possibly can.

Foot width, like with the deadlift, is determined primarily by preference. While some people will choose to have a wider stance, some people will also prefer a much closer stance. What I don’t suggest for a raw lifter is to squat in a sumo stance. There is no real reason for this, and it will take too much of a toll on the hip flexors. It’s also much harder to get lower, and this is mainly a squat stance used by equipped powerlifters.

A general rule of thumb is to have your feet shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointed out slightly. The toes pointed will help take stress off the knees, and will also help you engage your hamstrings and glutes more so that you can get your hips through at the lock-out. The more narrow your stance, the more emphasis is placed on the quadriceps. Which is why I personally prefer something in between narrow and wider, so that I get a good balance of quad, hamstring, and adductor involvement. Stance takes experimenting to see what works best for you. Choose the stance that works best for your leverages and level of comfort (to a certain degree).

THE START

So now that you are in position with the weight on your back, it’s time to start the breathing. A lot of people neglect this part and will simply start dropping down into the squat. They don’t realize how important taking deep breaths and holding them before the descent is when it comes to staying tight throughout the rep.

The breath should always be taken deep into your stomach. Don’t breathe through the chest. Not only will the breath be shallow but it will be harder to hold, and your core will not be very tight. If you use a belt when squatting, you will want to take a deep breath and push out as hard as you can on the belt.

I prefer to take two quick breaths before finally taking in a really deep one and pushing against the belt. Remember that the entire time I am standing there, I am just as tight as I was when I first un-racked the bar. Never let your muscles relax while you are breathing.

THE DESCENT

After you have taken your breath in, hold it, push your abs into your belt very hard (or if you are not wearing a belt, just tighten your stomach). Push your neck and traps into the bar, arch your back, sit back, and go down.

You should set your point of focus the same as a deadlift. NEVER look completely down or in the mirror. Set your focus straight ahead and slightly down, or slightly up. Keep your head and neck in a neutral position and focus on one spot.

When you’re squatting, you have to push your knees out to the side as much as you can. As Dave Tate said, think of trying to spread the floor with your feet. Push against the side of your feet and open up. This is very important for proper hamstring and glute activation through out the movement.

You don’t want the squat to be a 2-3 part movement. As in, one part of your body goes down, and then the other, then the other, etc. Like the deadlift, it should be a fluid movement…down and up. Your knees and hips should be moving at pretty much the same rate.

Do not worry about knee travel unless your weight is coming onto your toes. If your knees are the first thing to come forward and you feel the weight shifting to the front of your body, it is because you are not sitting back enough, and you are transferring the load to your upper back and quadriceps, rather than your glutes and hamstrings.

Remember that the body will ALWAYS compensate for a weak muscle by supporting the weight with the stronger muscles. The body does not know what good form is, it only knows that there is a heavy ass weight resting on it, and it needs to lift it somehow. The key is training yourself to use certain muscles primarily. Your glutes and hamstrings can support a lot of weight if you train them to, and those are the muscles that most of the lifting should be done with.

Always break with your hips first, not your knees.

THE ASCENT:

Just like on the way down, you will want to keep your knees out. This will help you lock-out the weight better and will prevent that common sticking point mid-squat when you just can’t seem to get your hips through. Many times if I failed a squat mid-way, it was because I was not utilizing my hamstrings as much as I could have, and my knees were pointed forward which made it hard for me to get my hips through. So it’s important that you stay focused and remember to keep your knees out so that your hamstrings can be worked to their fullest capacity.

You will rise with your chest and head first. Imagine a string being attached from your chest to the ceiling, pulling it up. If you let your chest drop, that is when the bar rolls and the weight gets shifted to the front of your body rather than the back. If your chest is up, everything will stay tight, and will prevent forward lean.

Don’t raise your hips too fast, because this can also cause you to do a good-morning on the way up. Just like you descend in a uniform motion, you should come up in the same way. Drive your hips up to lock out the weight. You really have to squeeze your glutes very hard and force your hips forward. The lock out needs to be done with your hips, not your knees.

If you’re making a squat max attempt or near max attempt, I think it’s important to let out some air once/if you reach a sticking point on the squat, since your goal is not to pass out during the squat from holding your breath too long. Let out some air in a hiss when you hit that spot.

 

COMMON PROBLEMS AND HOW TO CORRECT THEM

1. Butt “winking”. This is when you reach a certain point in the squat where your lower back rounds and “winks” at the bottom. This can be dangerous, and you can injure yourself badly if you’re not careful. It’s caused by a number of things, including (but not limited to) inflexibility, lower back weakness, loss of your arch during the movement, and loosening of the lower back during the movement. My suggestion to correct this problem is to incorporate more PC work such as good-mornings, SLDL’s, hyperextensions, rack pulls (below the knee), and lots of hip flexor/hamstring/glute stretching.
2. Losing the arch. Pretty difficult one to overcome, and takes a lot of practice and concentration. You have to really be focused and know how it feels to keep the arch throughout the entire squat. Once you lose that arch, your back can get quite loose, which can cause the winking mentioned above, back rounding, and good-mornings out of the hole. You will need to strengthen your mid-back and lower-back muscles and also practice holding your arch for longer periods of time. Build your back with the assistance exercises mentioned above, as well as practicing your arch with lighter weights until you can build up to holding it completely when the weights get heavier.
3. Bar rolling on back. This is caused by your upper back not being tight enough. If the bar is securely on your back, there would be no reason for the rolling.
4. Knees caving in. This comes from mainly from a lack of hamstring and glute strength, and can be corrected with the proper assistance exercises. I recommend SLDL’s, good-mornings, GHR’s, hip thrusts, and wide-stance box squats. You also must concentrate on pushing your knees out throughout the whole movement, like I mentioned earlier. Mobility work and glute activation work is also important before beginning your squats.

 

QUICK TIPS:

• Think of “bending the bar” over your back. This will cause immediate tightness and help you keep the bar in place on your upper back.
• Do whatever it takes to help you get that weight up when it feels tough. Some people like to breathe out air with a hiss, while others let out a loud grunt. If it helps you lift it, then go for it. I don’t care, and most other people don’t care either. If they complain just throw them over your back and squat them for a clean set of 10.
• Start out with mental cues. Think, “Head up, chest up, arch back, hips back, knees out..etc” if it helps you to remember. If you can’t think of all that at once, get someone to yell at you “hips back!” or “knees out!” to help you.
• WEAR FLAT SHOES. I cannot stress this enough. Barefoot, even. Unless you have squatting shoes, which is just as good. Stop squatting in goddamn sneakers. Invest in a cheap pair of high-top Chuck Taylors/converse and squat in those.

Have fun, and remember to be patient with yourself. It takes time to master the technicalities of the movement. Always keep a learning attitude about you though, and remember that it is a work in progress. Don’t try to rush things or they get sloppy. Go at your own pace, and practice with lighter weight if you need to.

Also keep in mind that when performing a 1-rep max effort attempt on a squat, there are going to be more technical flaws than a weight you could do, say, for 3-5 repetitions. In the case of a competition, sometimes there are more errors in form simply due to the fact that the athlete is doing whatever he or she can to get the weight back up.

However in training, you should strive to keep your technique as clean as possible to prevent injury and ensure that you have a long life filled with many more days of squatting pain-free.

In training, 95% of the time it will be form over weight. You’re training your body, not your ego.