Paul Horn SSC: The LBBS Stretch

[Ozbar]

So is the idea to use this stretch until the correct position is obtained and then take a not so wide grip to perform the squat?

[Paul Horn]

So is the idea to use this stretch until the correct position is obtained and then take a not so wide grip to perform the squat?

The idea is to use this stretch until the correct position is obtained and you can squat with the bar in the right place. Once you get there, and continue squatting correctly, you'll probably be able to narrow your grip a finger-width or two over time.

[Leanne M. Lloyd]

Thanks, Paul. Should help my mom! She's just about an inch short of getting the bar low enough for doing a LBBS.

[Ozbar]

The idea is to use this stretch until the correct position is obtained and you can squat with the bar in the right place. Once you get there, and continue squatting correctly, you'll probably be able to narrow your grip a finger-width or two over time.

Thanks for the excellent tip.

[ICTRob]

Coach Horn, 45-year-old software developer here. During the transition period, after you perform the stretch from the video, do you squat with the bar as low as you can manage that day, and gradually transition from HBBS to LBBS, or do you wait until you can put the bar low enough to do a full LBBS, and make the switch at the end?

In other words, is it OK to morph your HBBS to a LBBS smoothly over time, or is that a Frankenstein Form to be avoided?

Thank you for all that you and the other SS coaches do here.

[Paul Horn]

Coach Horn, 45-year-old software developer here. During the transition period, after you perform the stretch from the video, do you squat with the bar as low as you can manage that day, and gradually transition from HBBS to LBBS, or do you wait until you can put the bar low enough to do a full LBBS, and make the switch at the end?

In other words, is it OK to morph your HBBS to a LBBS smoothly over time, or is that a Frankenstein Form to be avoided?

Thank you for all that you and the other SS coaches do here.

Exactly. Spend 5-10 minutes working this thing down your back. Then, proceed with your workout, and do the best you can. That might mean high-bar or someplace in between. It may also mean bent wrists. Over time you will be able to get into a better position.

[ChessGuy]

Paul:

I did a set of LBBS tonight for the first time ever. However, I had a lot of discomfort in my right elbow area that felt the same as when I had 'Golfer's' elbow 2 years ago...any advice?

[Mark E. Hurling]

I started this stretch on Monday. I was very careful the first couple of bouts with it and pushed it harder today. My chiropractor worked me over yesterday and she has seen better shoulder mobility as well as a better and less flat curve in my lumbar spine. So far, so good. I haven't yet got the bar to the spine of the scapulae, but it is moving farther down my cervical vertebrae and traps with, wonder of wonders, straight wrists. I think another week or two will get the bar in position with straight wrists and a very wide grip. Then, I'll start working my hands inward.

Thanks Paul. This was a great Christmas gift.

[ChessGuy]

Just an idea, and no, I'm not a Chiropractor, Medical Doctor, nor SS Coach. I found it helpful before my squat stretches, to do a few pulldowns and then a few OHPs to warm up the shoulders a bit. I don't like stretching cold.

[Paul Horn]

Paul:

I did a set of LBBS tonight for the first time ever. However, I had a lot of discomfort in my right elbow area that felt the same as when I had 'Golfer's' elbow 2 years ago...any advice?

I'm going to make another video about this. The elbow tendonitis is typically set off by you actively cranking down on the bar as you squat. What keeps the bar in place is the tension from the narrow grip, NOT you white-knuckling the bar down into your back. The best way to understand this is to do a few empty-bar sets with your hands open. Obviously, we want your fingers on the bar for added security, but notice how you can keep the bar on your back with your palms open. We explain it as "tight but loose." Tight, in the sense that the grip is very narrow and everything is wedged in. Loose in terms of the effort the hands and arms are exerting on the bar.