duane hansen on bottom pos squats
Doing squats like Dan John describes (starting at the sticking point and standing up; add weight as you can) is a surprisingly effective way to get stronger. I discovered that my sticking point in the squat (front squat, in this case) was just a bit above parallel. I also discovered that I could get under the bar and set up effectively several inches below this point. A sticking point, as I understand it, is the place where your leverage decreases to the point where your muscles are not strong enough to move the bar. On either side of this, however, you are apparently stronger (i.e., the bar keeps moving). What I did was set the barbell in the bottom position a few inches below the sticking point and load it up to enough weight so that I could get it off of the bottom but it would stall at the sticking point; I would keep grinding after it stopped. After a while I loaded the bar with a medium sized weight and added a lot of bands. This allowed me to move the weight off of the bottom, but as soon as I did the band tension would add up quickly and I would again have to grind where it was stuck.
The progression that I did (stand up from the bottom, then grind against a heavy barbell off of the bottom, then add bands and grind) gave me a lot of ability to stand up. It does take some tinkering to figure out heights and weights (especially if you throw bands into the equation), but it worked really well for me at the time. So well, in fact, that I have not done it since. I might have to try these again some day....
duane hansen on clean starting pos.
The start of a clean is different than anything else, although the similarities can be deceptive. The first thing you need to do is figure out your grip. Essentially, get you hands as far apart as you can tolerate with the bar racked on your shoulders (elbows at least as high as the wrists and more than just your index finger on the bar, please). This is where your hands will be from beginning to end; remember this position.
Set the bar on the floor and walk away for a minute. Squat down and try to get as compact as you can. The idea is to make yourself as small as you can with your heels still on the floor. Look at the position of your feet and remember this; the critical part is the angle created between your heels and your toes.
Go back to the barbell now. Grab the bar with the correct grip and set your feet at the correct angle. Arch your back and pull your hips down as close to your ankles as you can. Rock back on your heels (you should be able to wiggle your toes) and take all of the slack out of your arms. Chances are you will have to move the hips up, but make sure you do this by moving back. If you think "up" you will go up on your toes and everything will fall apart. Keep moving your ass back with your chest up until your arms are as straight as you can get them without lifting the bar off of the floor. This should be relatively uncomfortable, so just lift the bar off the floor (keeping it close, of course) and clean the barbell.
Any resemblance to this and a deadlift start is purely coincidental and probably useful, unless you happen to be a powerlifter.
duane hansen on freq training
I have found that lifts like the deadlift and the press can be performed quite often with medium weights. What I did, practically, was to leave a barbell sitting on the platform loaded to about 80% of my best deadlift and a barbell sitting on the squat stands loaded to about 80% of my best press. Every day I would go out and do ten sets each in the deadlift and the press: always singles in the deadlift and usually doubles in the press. Over time I added a bit of weight to each barbell (1-2kg at a time), but never so much weight that I couldn't ever just go out and lift the weights.
At the same time I was working hard on cleans and power cleans, jerks, snatches and squats. This training was done about every other day, often with as much weight as I could handle in the particular lift. I considered these workouts and the press/deadlift workouts to be two separate things.
Over time I got a lot stronger in all of my lifts, especially the snatch, C&J and squats. Eventually I added a heavy training session for the deadlift on the weekend, basically working up to a max single and then doing several more singles with a bit less weight (probably in the 90-95% range). When I did this, my best deadlift improved quite a bit, too
duane hansen on hvy OHS
That is very true: loading up your body with a heavy barbell will force you to find a new level of flexibility and mobility. The trick is to use the weight to force an adaptation without snapping your limbs in half. This is a brutal, blunt-force approach, but it does work. You can also use this concept to develop the mobility that you need to rack a barbell across your shoulders (like in a clean or a front squat).
duane hansen on percents
In the snatch and the C&J, 80% of your max is the low end for productive training; your best work will be done with 90% weights and higher.
I use 75-85% of my max in the deadlift for singles quite often; 10x1 is a good workout, especially if you do them on the clock. With squats, you will get good results from using 80-85% of your max for 5-6 sets x 2-3 reps.
This is what I have gathered from years of experience.
duane hansen on round back lifting
In my experience, injury to the low back has come from starting a lift with a strong arch and having the weight on the barbell pull my back into a rounded position. Starting without a strong arch (i.e., a neutral or rounded back) and then pulling my low back into an arched position at the sticking point has never giving me an acute injury. You will need to have a very strong low back to actually move a heavy weight from a rounded-back posture to an arched-back posture right at the sticking point.
Essentially, low-back injuries happen when you make the transition from flexed to extended. If you are strong enough to prevent this transition you should be OK. If you have the strength and skill to move from a rounded low back to an arched low back during a slow pull like a deadlift (without hurting yourself), even better.
But, when performing a quick lift like a snatch or clean you need to start and finish with an arched lower back. The combination of speed, weight and posture here requires a solid and fixed posture.
duane hansen on squatting
things that work for me:
1. Olympic shoes
2. Your feet can go wider than you think they can without turning the lift into a good morning, but you need to work on your mobility.
3. Aim to get your hips between your heels. They may not end up there, but you should try.
4. High bar vs. low bar is irrelevant; put the bar where it is comfortable.
5. Go as deep as you can, but do not worry about depth.
6. Getting deeper is a function of how much you can spread you feet and your knees.
7. Five sets x 3 reps should be your bread and butter workout. Five sets x 2 reps is easy (with the same weight) and 5-10 singles with 10-15% more weight is heavy.
8. You need to be able to squat six days a week or twice on three days/week. If you can't do that using weights 80% or more than your max, you have some remedial work to do.
9. PL squats and every day squats are two different lifts. Train them separately and keep records for each.