Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

[Jonathon Sullivan]

Thank you Sully, and let me know if you have questions about bungee deployment.

Thank you, Mark, I do. I lift at home with a Sumo rack. I had visualized the cord being stretched out from the pins (or pin-holes) at the level where the glutes would just come into contact with it as the thighs broke parallel. The only real issue I see--a minor one, I think--is that you have to calibrate your foot position to the bungee cord. The cord would be behind you as you unracked the bar, and you would have to step back to a position that would reproducibly allow your butt to touch the cord in the right place at the right depth. If you were standing too far forward or back, you could either miss the cord entirely or intersect it way down in the gluteal fold or the upper thighs, at which point you'd be low...not necessarily bad, but deeper in the hole than you absolutely have to be.

Seems like a couple of pieces of tape slapped on the floor during the calibration set would do nicely ("toes here").

(I'm not too worried about falling backwards over the cord, although of course one always has to be alert when lifting, and the image is not a pretty one.)

Am I on the same page here, or are you doing something different? I definitely want to try something like this. When I look at my workout video, I find that my training partners (my wife and neighbor) are too forgiving in their real-time feedback on my squat depth, although my repeated temper-tantrums are slowly bringing them into line. The real culprit is my own kinesthetic perception--I always feel like I'm deeper than I really am.

[Mark E. Hurling]

You're right on track. The only difference between what you plan on doing is that I don't have a specific mark for my foot placement. I like that idea, though. What I do is set the cord like you talked about and then step backwards while looking down to get my foot spacing and toe flair out set where they should be. While that is happening I have some sort of GPS thing going on in my peripheral vision (which by the way expands outward significantly when looking downward) that gets my feet and hence my butt positioned right in relation to the cord. Your proposed method is probably better. I had the good luck of getting a spot on depth from a guy in his 50's at Gold's who had competed, so his feedback was invaluable. Then once you get your feet set, set your pelvis, and remember to keep your neck neutral and look down to near where the wall meets the floor.

[Jonathon Sullivan]

Excellent, thanks. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Oldster]

if I have to dispense with benching I still have overhead presses and dips. At least probably on the dips, I haven't tested them since the tweak. The worst it might mean is not hitting a raw PL match.

Have you considered a close grip? You may be pleasantly surprised at them. 16" between thumbs. Plus, you can use a CG in a PL comp.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Oh I've been using a 16" grip ever since you recommended months back. I just think the push press started this rock rolling downhill and then the bent press I tried with too heavy of a DB may have had some effect too. By the way, when you sleep on your side (if you do) does it cause shoulder problems for you? I got minor variations of the current problem starting about 4 years ago and long after I had dispensed with benching. I noticed it right about the time I had to start wearing a size 50 suit coat and I'm now at 52". I also have to use three pillows under my head to relieve some of the pressure on my neck and shoulders. I'm wondering if there's some tie in with upper torso size anthropometry and sleeping on the side.

Jujitsu last night, and I was feeling a little out of it from some lingering effects of the plague. I still talk like the first mate on the Black Pearl and crack everyone up at work with my croaking basso profundo "Arrh, matey!" But I had a powerful incentive to be there last night to settle the hash of the junior gargoyle that spit on one of our senior kids blue belts last week. I broke out into malarial sweats right as was putting on my gi in the dojo but decided to lurk in wait for him when he came in. During the warmups I cleared a space in the front row where I was leading the class and when he came in late as always, I took his gi by the shoulder and frog marched him over to the space right in front of me. He got the message. Afterward Master Bellman paired me up with him to further hammer the point home. It took about 20 minutes of merciless correction but then he smoothed out and started doing really well. I even had occasion to praise his efforts in spite of still wanting to drop him on his head. The facts are though, if you don't reward the desired behavior they never get better. We'll see with this one. I took him over to Master Bellman and told him that he had done well. Master Bellman then made him go over to the blue belt he had spit on and apologize in front of the rest of the class. We had some lesser problems with his older sister a year or so back and she turned out OK after some milder version of what he had tonight.

Adult class had me teaching two 16 year old girls who were new and very giggly. I was still bathed in sweat all night, but got them focused and although one of them is hopelessly klutzy, she tried very hard and stood up well to the form corrections without getting sulky about it. Teens, both male and female, tend to get that way if they get frustrated from not getting it right as quickly as they want to.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

MArk,

when you bench, where does the bar touch at the bottom?

[Mark E. Hurling]

At the sternum, in line with the nipples.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

Lower it to the solar plexus while keeping the forearms perpindicular to the ground from the side view.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Hmm, I'll try that on light day tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I have the perpendicular thing down pretty well, but the slightly lower contact point sounds like it might be a worthwhile path to pursue. Thanks, Jamie.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

I bring up the vertical forearms because people can get a lower bar position by rotating at the elbow instead of changing the angle at the shoulder. Both of these things are bad.