Squat - Bar Position and Wreck Handling

[Adam Levine]

For this session of squat, I was trying to focus on my grip and keeping the weight off my arms and on my back. I was hoping for some feedback on that specifically. I know I have other issues (including not hitting depth on these), but that's what I'm concerned about at the moment.

Two videos below.
- The first is just for grip position
- The second is where I screwed up - the bar started falling off my back, and I handled it very inelegantly. If this was much heavier, I probably would have hurt myself, but fortunately, this is only my third week of NLP. The question here is, if this happens again, what should I do? It seems I'm stuck - I can't get my arms out fast enough to drop the bar, I have to get the bar to the hooks or tear my arm off.





-->Adam

[Satch12879]

You have to bring your hands in closer and you have to get all of your fingers on the bar and not just grip it with the heels of your palms.

[Fulcrum]

yeah, that I would worry about smashing your fingers/hands returning it to safeties like that.
Or, if you have to dump into the safeties (will your hands be in the right place?).

If you can't grip it right for lowbar; I would highbar or SSB squat.
Paul Horn stretch and etc.
Low Bar Position Stretch | Paul Horn


(also, that weight might be too heavy for you)

[Adam Levine]

You have to bring your hands in closer and you have to get all of your fingers on the bar and not just grip it with the heels of your palms.

Thank you, but I have a flexibility issue there. I have brought my hands in closer before, but when I do, my wrists are bent and my hands start taking the weight. That was starting to hurt my biceps. This is about as narrow as I can manage with straight wrists, although I may be able to improve the finger grip. I was pretty well stretched out after several horn stretches and my warmup sets. I could try a thumbs-around grip, but I want to avoid that, as it probably would make a potential wreck worse.

Good news was that my biceps were fine after this workout, bad news is, well, above....

-->Adam

[Jeff LC]

You have to bring your hands in closer and you have to get all of your fingers on the bar and not just grip it with the heels of your palms.

I had to hold the bar like this in the beginning as well, only now able to get narrower... It typically is indicative of a lack of shoulder flexibility, and I wouldn't be surprised if this is the narrowest grip he can take, and if he can't possibly get his fingers onto the bar.

My SSC coach Ryan Arnold is witness to the fact that some guys just have to hold the bar like this.

I will say just doing the lift itself and trying to go as narrow as possible each time has really increased my shoulder flexibility though and after just one month I'm able to basically take a normal grip with middle fingers on the rings.

[Michael Grantham]

Sometimes getting your hands inside the hooks just can't be done.
It looks like you started to pick the bar up and tried to put it right back down again, but you missed the hook on your left side. When you missed, that's when things went really weird.
First, if the bar is not in the exact right place when you pick it up, don't panic.
Second, get your feet under you when you pick it up so that it goes straight up rather than out when you unrack the bar.
Third, when you return it to the hooks, make contact with the upright first, then set it down.

[Jeff LC]

It seems to me, although someone correct me if I'm wrong, that there are two things causing the bar not to stay in place.

You shouldn't have to worry about dealing with a wreck. The weight should not be sliding down your back.

1. Grip isn't narrow enough; as you mentioned this is a fleibility issue. I had the same exact issue, but i pushed it to an uncomfortable point every time i worked out, and every time, i was able to do just a little bit narrower. After a month i now have a narrower grip. That will bunch up your upper back muscles more and create a shelf on your delts, creating more of a safe, secure location for the bar.

2. Other than that though, i think you should a bit of thoracic flexion. Or at least, you don't have you shoulder blades squeezed together, to create a tight upper back. Seems like, especially towards the bottom, you are kinda relaxing with rounded shoulder, and just bending over so the bar doesn't slide down, You really need to squeeze the heck out of your back, scapula retraction, blades together, traps and delts super tight, in order to create a shelf for the bar. There are a lot of stretched you can do to increase mobility here; one thing I have found helpful is properly done face pulls.

But have you seen this video about bar position from Rip?
YouTube

[Jeff LC]

I meant you "show" a bit of thoracic flexion, not "should"

[Ryan Arnold]

Assuming you are gripping the bar as wide as possible right now, you may want to try a thumbs around grip, since I see that you have wrist wraps. See if that provides any relief. First order of business is to get these below parallel so take some weight off the bar until you can do all the reps below parallel

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

get your feet under you when you pick it up so that it goes straight up when you unrack the bar.

This, ten times.
Get feet under the bar, set your back straight, then drive the bar up extending your legs. You are not levering the bar out of the hooks, you are lifting it straight up. Once you are upright, you take your step(s) back, assume your stance, and begin the set.

IPB