Ed Coan Advice

[Alex Ptacek]

I train at the gym where Ed Coan trains. He came up to me and told me that he could tell I was “a follower of Mark Rippetoe” by the way I squatted. He told me it was good for light weights but didn’t work for heavier weights. While I was squatting he was coaching me to look up more because “the head goes where the body goes.” How do I tell a great powerlifter that that’s not how the human body works?

[Mark Rippetoe]

You don't. Just thank Ed for his advice.

[Alex Ptacek]

Figured as much. He is a super nice guy and was willing to help me out, so that’s exactly what I did.

[whale]

How do you tell someone is a "Mark Rippetoe follower" by just looking at their squats in absence of complete misunderstanding on Ed's side. Majority of heavy squatters use hips and some of them look down.

[Christopher Anderson]

Ask Ed to send me a copy of his book! I'll pay for it.

[Alex Ptacek]

How do you tell someone is a "Mark Rippetoe follower" by just looking at their squats in absence of complete misunderstanding on Ed's side. Majority of heavy squatters use hips and some of them look down.

It was because I was looking down. Most of the people squatting there had as much, if not more torso lean than me.

[Scaldrew]

He told me it was good for light weights but didn’t work for heavier weights.

Nobody tell Joseph Peña this. But yeah, catch 22. Ride the waves and cry about your experience on a sofa afterwards. Notsrs. Semisrs



srs

[spacediver]

If you understand the model well, and can articulate the rationale behind keeping a neutral cervical spine, then why not engage him respectfully?

[Scaldrew]

If you understand the model well, and can articulate the rationale behind keeping a neutral cervical spine, then why not engage him respectfully?

You can't even change the mind of the local freshman who "just started lifting lmao #swole #getswole #swolesummer #lightweight" at your local YMCA to not wear gloves. Do you really think you can somehow make anything but a fool of yourself explaining the SS model of the squat to an all time world champion in the sport of squatting? You'll do two things trying: waste your time, and his, and then make a fool of yourself, resulting in Ed Coan avoiding eye contact with you every time you see him in the gym. You ride this one out cos there's nothing you can do, just like when the newbs come in hordes around New Year's, none of whom squat below depth and one of whom stays to do calisthenics after the others have already given up. And if you want to deal with this at all, you write a private entry in your diary or a poem about feeling helpless and then keep it in your close-knit group of friends who won't tell Ed Coan you think he's an idiot for telling you to look up while squatting.

Ah, shit, I did it, didn't I? Fuck!

[George Christiansen]

If you understand the model well, and can articulate the rationale behind keeping a neutral cervical spine, then why not engage him respectfully?

Do you think Eed would admit to the fact that he might have been able to squat more had he looked down? That's basically what you're asking him to believe.

Why risk pissing him off then?