Failure on squats, and deadlift progress question

[Peter_k]

Hi,

Just have two questions:

1) If you are finishing a heavy set of squats and are getting stuck at a certain point, how is form most likely to break down?

I ask because when this happens to me, I feel like I'm pushing entirely with my quads (rather than driving with the hips) to finish the rep. This happens when I'm keeping my back rigid. Is this acceptable? Before my form was half-decent, it felt like I was using my back too much.

Can you explain the mechanics of this? Do I feel it in my quads simply because the hip drive is over with and I'm taking a few seconds to do a motion that usually takes less?

2) Deadlifts - I'm stalling around 300x5 at a bodyweight of around 190. I seem to have trouble off the ground. Is it too early to contemplate speed deadlifts, etc? I've tried backing off a bit and going up, but for some reason it's not working completely. I get progress from time to time, but not weekly. I'm not sure if periodization is the answer yet? 300 seems a bit low still

Thanks for the help

[Mark Rippetoe]

From your questions on both the squat and the deadlift, it is obvious to me that your form is not quite right. The squat is seldom missed high in the movement where all that is left is basically quads. I think you may be shifting forward/raising your chest prematurely, taking your posterior chain out of the movement early.

And at your bodyweight 300 is a light deadlift to be stuck. This generally means you're pulling it off the floor wrong, with too vertical a back position. Both these things indicate to me that you have not read my book, and probably need to come to one of our BB weekend seminars. Or you could post a video, the cheaper way.

[Peter_k]

Thanks for bringing up the "raising the chest" issue.

I'm a bit confused about it (though I have read the squat chapter in SS pretty thoroughly, I think).

I understand hip drive and keeping the chest up, but don't seem to get what it means to do both at the same time.

When I think about my hips driving in a squat, I feel like my torso see-saws a bit, putting the weight on my toes and sometimes shifting the bar forward on my traps; I end up good-morning the weight up. But if I think about keeping the chest up, it seems to put me in a more upright position, using the quads more.

As for the deadlift, if I try to keep the torso more horizontal, it feels like I'm using my lower back too much, almost like a stiff-legged deadlift.

Does this make any sense? Or would I need a video to really figure it out?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I understand hip drive and keeping the chest up, but don't seem to get what it means to do both at the same time.


It means that you maintain a constant back angle while driving your ass up in the air. At first, this usually gets interpreted as a "goodmorning", but as the weight increases most trainees will begin to maintain the back angle -- the "keeping the chest up" part.

The video would help.