Death

[Sean Herbison]

So, to blatantly hijack this already hijacked thread, Claud's post reminded me/made me think about something. Anybody else find that the value of SS:BBT isn't nearly as much in the programming as in the descriptions of the lifts?

I was a D1 athlete, and was lucky enough to have a coach who made some good programming. The big lifts were always part of our lifting. We did squats, cleans, bench, etc., and almost all the guys squatted over 400 for a 1RM. But so far as the technique portion, there were definite elements lacking. I screwed my knees royally, and couldn't figure out the problem, nor did my coach point it out. 95% of the problem was that I didn't keep my knees out at the bottom of the squat, and SS:BBT made me aware of this. My knees are still messed up, but nowhere near the extent they used to be.

Not to downplay the programming, but I think the more important aspect often gets overlooked.

[I, Claudius]

I screwed my knees royally, and couldn't figure out the problem nor did my coach point it out.

I started squatting in the high-bar position and never thought twice about trying the low-bar technique -- that is until my knees started to ache when I reached 3 plates. Yes, I had heard Rip countless of times say that he teaches only low-bar, but I just didn't think that it was a big deal. Well, I was obviously wrong. Now I low-bar squat. Sure, it took me a few workouts to get it right (must have watched Rip's "Squat Bar Position" video at least 5 times!), but I did and the knee aches are gone.