Being an Upright Citizen, Not an Upright Squatter

[Gary Gibson]

Smolov Week III, Day III: 350x5x7 @ 172 lbs

Here's my third set. The last rep got cut out because the camera cut out again.

You'll notice a slight dip and pop on my right side. This is because my right leg is still catching up in terms of size and strength. The dip used to be much worse and I had a hard time keeping that leg in the movement.

You'll also notice that I get bent over more as I fatigue. If I set the bar any higher, however, I have to use less weight and less hamstring. It really becomes a standing leg press or "front squat with the bar on my back." Still, I think the first rep has me maintaining a good back angle so it's not too much of a good morning. Believe me, I felt my quads in each of those reps as I struggled to lock it out, no matter how bent over I seem.

Soliciting thoughts.

[Paul Sousa]

Hey Gary, one thing I noticed is it looks like you lower your head a split second before you start your hip drive. I know Rip teaches to keep the neck neutral, but I wonder if you are overcompensating the 'look down' cue?

[nisora33]

Gary, I really see no problem with that small bit of change in back angle. The question is gonna be whether that small change becomes an even bigger one in the coming weeks and months (big changes start out as small ones). But honestly, if that's all the change in back angle we're talking about, I see no problem. Just take it workout by workout, you know?

-Stacey

[nisora33]

Gary, I assume you've tried all the usual fixes outlined in SS and in the forums?

-S.

[Mr.City]

I just broke a PR on my squats today and had a similar feeling about my quads. Since the emphasis is on hip drive, I'm always paranoid that I'm somehow not using enough when I feel a strain on my squads. However, I know difference between a squat with and without hip drive. Sometimes I set the uprights too high, hit them with the bar and have drive the bar sans hip drive. It was really fucking hard.

[Mr.City]

Oh yeah, what's with the color? Are you going for something artistic?

[Gary Gibson]

Oh yeah, what's with the color? Are you going for something artistic?

Um...Yeah...Artistic. Yup, that's what I was going for.

Notice the soaring empty space above me. It suggests the cathedral like nature of the gym. The squat rack is a place of holy communion. I lift my barbell in praise. The washed out colors suggest the bright light emanating from the powerlifting gods, like a too-bright sun.

Seriously...I hit something on the camera and have no idea what I did or how to undo it.

Remember, fellow travelers: this is just under 90% for a shitload of sets of five. When it gets this heavy and you get that tired, things aren't going to be perfect. If you want to see me squat perfectly, check out the vid of me doing my very first rep of the session with a piddly 315 a few days ago.

The dip to the right only happens every now and then these days. Mr. City, sometimes I hit the stops with the right side and yes, it is a real bear to get up after that because the impact absorbs the energy that was supposed to go into stretching the hamstrings to produce the bounce. Iron on iron doesn't bounce well.

Head position: I try to maintain it just like I try to maintain back angle...but when it's heavy and you're tired, you start to flop around a little and do everything you can to keep the bar moving with some semblance of good form. I start pushing with the traps when my hamstrings and glutes get too tired to hold the back angle. NOTE: the hams and glutes are STILL doing the work, but the cue of the trap push helps them when I have to think of opening the hip angle actively instead of just holding the back angle.

You'll notice too that my hands roll under the bar instead of staying on top. Again, little things like this slip when it gets heavy. Everything is easy till it gets heavy. This is the last week of Smolov. For those of you haven't done it yet, you'll understand after you've gone through it. The first week is pretty hellish. During the last week, the last reps of each set take prayer to get through. The last sets each session take an act of will similar to the one that allows men to charge into battle and nearly certain death.

Thanks for the input. My main concern as usual is getting too bent over. It's something I fight against each rep after the first couple.

[Tor]

What Nisora said... assuming you've tried the fixes (chest up, traps into bar etc).

I think you're experiencing a very common problem but one which is not overly difficult to fix.

What you need is someone standing there yelling 'GARY, GET YOUR MOTHERF@#! CHEST UP OR I'LL SHOVE THAT BAR UP YOUR A$$ SIDEWAYS!' while you squat. I'm pretty sure you're strong enough to keep your chest up, you just need to be reminded of the fact when you have 300 lbs on your back.

Don't you lift near K. Diesel?

Tor

[Sgsolberg]

Gary: One thing you mentioned was that your hands roll under the bar. When I was watching, it appeared that this also lowered the bar on your traps a bit more. This changed your back angle mid lift. What I do to try to avoid this is to think of holding the bar with the lowest part of my palm (right above the wrist), then wrapping my entire hand over the bar. One way to get used to the feeling is to warm up without curling your fingers around the bar, and merely using the pressure from your hand to keep your position.

[Notorious]

When you raise your hips out of the hole, they seem to go slightly back, causing your knees to go back and your torso to lean forward more. If you focus on driving your hips straight up and keeping your knees forward, I think you would have less forward lean. Then again, it's hard to focus on these things with maximal weights. I have the same problem.