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Thread: Low bar squat has completely killed my bench

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2020
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    I had golfers elbow in my left arm from low bar squats. The pain made bench presses and deadlifts really difficult to perform. I did the "pin firing" protocol and worked on my bar position/grip but the pain came back last week. I also had shoulder flexibility problems. I did the pin firing protocol again this past Saturday and switched to high-bar squats and was able to bench a new pr today (208x5x3) with much less pain than usual. I have done like 2 resets to 185 because if the pain. In the mean time I continue to work on my flexibility and hope to switch back to low bar when I sort out the problem. I de-loaded from 300x5x3 to 275x5x3, so it's not like you are going to lose a huge amount of strength. Bottom line though is if you feel like you are going to blow out your arm you should make an attempt to heal it (take a look at the pin firing) and then immediately get rid of the stress that caused the problem in the first place. If you continue to injure it something bad could happen. I thought I could fix the mechanical problem in my low bar squat but I wasn't able to, so high bar it is until I can be completely confident in my low bar technique. I suspect one contributor you might want to check for is squeezing the hell out of the bar and pulling down when you are grinding up squats. I noticed that I have a tendency to do this and wouldn't be surprised if it caused it. It is something I have to think a lot about now to prevent doing.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
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    Yoga.
    I'm a huge fan of it.
    To be clear, it doesn't necessarily 'heal' or 'fix' an injury, but I think (personal opinion based on anecdotal evidence, n=1) it helps align or realign the body in a way that translates well into other training movements.
    Flexibility is a side benefit of it, so that may help too, but again, it's not the main point.

  3. #13
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    Jul 2007
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    What do you mean by "alignment"?

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    What do you mean by "alignment"?
    Good question, for which I don't have a good answer.

    I probably should have put that in quotes so you realized it was just an -ill-defined, fuzzy concept (but it's yoga we're talking about, so that should just be part of the baseline assumption), also the emphasis on think, as in fanciful imagination.

    My anecdotal experience was from a case of posterior tibial tendonitis which was very bothersome for a few years despite 6 weeks in a boot, orthotics, supportive shoes etc. Ended up doing some yoga (not specifically for it) and that was the one thing that improved it, temporarily at first, but eventually it resolved completely (the usual prognosis is a lifetime of just dealing with it). Since then, it seems to help with those aches and pains that occur in the course of lifting or life in general.

    The 'alignment' thing is an explanation I heard from it's use in treating back pain, which, whether or not it's an actual realignment of the body's structures, it serves as a useful mental model for me. As opposed to the usual 'benefits' ascribed to yoga - 'strengthening', or flexibility, etc.

    Maybe it just teaches you how to deal with it. I don't know, but, in the end, don't really care - it works, and I highly recommend it.

    I like doing yoga and since I can squat 400+ and pull 500+, nobody really bothers me about it.

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