Squat & Overhead Press Technique

[el_flaco]

i never said that this squat is deeper than other ones or something like that. i actually don't even care how deep squats are as long they're below parallel and performed with a good form.

Ah sorry, got posters confused.

 

To my eyes the form looks a little strange but hard to put my finger on it. The bar looks quite far forward due to his body lean, I think with a heavier weight he'd struggle to make that work.

 

I checked youtube, I've only got two squat vids up. One is very dark, the other is old.

 

 

The good old days - amuses me how much time I spend shuffling about before squatting

[aluck]

Lol I shuffle, and spend time to rearrange the ipod to Britney or Godsmack, depending on the moment.

[xphilx]

I checked youtube, I've only got two squat vids up. One is very dark, the other is old.

 

 

The good old days - amuses me how much time I spend shuffling about before squatting

 

that stupid leg press is right in front of your lower back!!

looks pretty good to me as far as i can see it. where do you exactly place the bar at the high bar position? to me it always looks kinda painful when people use that position when squatting.

[VeganEssentials]

nice one!

and i totally agree with you in all points here. i just don't like the high bar position and wouldn't recommend it to someone. and i neither heard a good squatter recommend it to someone.

 

It has its applications, but it all depends on what's most comfortable for you and how you want to train. People can get big and strong doing high-bar or low-bar, parallel or deeper. Nobody MUST train both styles to gain well from it, but it's nice to be proficient at both because they have two different feels to them.

 

i never wanted to say that a full squat brings "bouncing" with it. all i said was that the squatter in the video 4x4 posted is doing it and that i don't see any sense i that. maybe he is not and i only think i see him doing it, maybe i'm wrong. nobody is perfect.

and again i agree with everything you said.

 

Again, when you go ass-to-grass deep, you can't hesitate with heavy weight or you probably won't get back up again, and the stretch reflex is activated to a greater degree giving the appearance of more bounce. Give it a try sometime - narrow your stance a bit, drop it down to where you physically can't go any lower, and it'll feel very different.

 

It appears more in the video because Olympic lifters take advantage of it when they can. When you catch a clean deep, it is easier for many to rise up in a front squat as much as possible rather than expend energy sitting in the hole. So, they train their back squats much the same, spending no more time than necessary in the bottom position because if you can't stand up with it, you sure aren't going to make the jerk afterward

 

to be honest, i don't see what you're talking about. in my eyes he is not leaning forward, he just pushes his hips backwards and then goes down and comes up again by pushing his hips forward again. that's it.

btw that's how i do squats, too. do you think that there is anything totally wrong with squatting like this?

 

I just think that his forward lean during the hip push is a bit over-exaggerated and seems to be slightly off in timing. But, that could be the best way for him based on his leverages, so I can't say that there's anything wrong with it. It just looks like the sequencing is a bit unnatural for the exaggerated forward lean and hips moving backward, compared to most squats I see, almost like he's TRYING to lean forward vs. it being natural as the hips move back. Again, this could just be his best form for the movement, so I can't criticize it too much.

 

 

i got your point here but still think that i would never do a overhead press like this. but at least i know now why it's not completely wrong to do it like that, thanks.

 

That's all that matters. Again, nobody NEEDS to push press to get big and strong, but it's one tool in the arsenal that can help you get there faster

 

i don't get what you're trying to say with that "third world squat" pic. i know that this position is much more natural for your knees than a parallel position if that was your intention. but that doesn't make it healthier for your rounded back when you're having 400lbs on it.

 

One thing to note, with a well-below-parallel squat, you will NEVER have the same forward lean as you do with a wider low-bar squat to parallel. When you go well below parallel, you don't have the same leverages as you do with a parallel squat, particularly in that you can't use lower back and hips from that position. It's 100% legs down that far, so that's why you'll see a much more vertical torso in high-bar deep squats. It isn't that the back is rounded (nobody should round their lower back at all on ANY squat), but it does have a different look when you're squatting this way vs. a conventional power squat. That about covers it!

[Guest]

Besides the reasons I already stated there are several reasons I squat deep.

 

1. Because I can without compromising my form.

2. It's a challenge

3. I constantly get asked annoying questions. "Doesn't that hurt your knees?"

4. I've heard to many training myths from athletes, strong guys who got big from strength training, and gym rats in general say, "It's bad for your knees." Anytime someone tells me I can't do something it motivates me to prove them wrong. I'm one of those guys who will say, "I told you so!" :middlefinger:

5. There are too many lazy motherfuckers with excuses who don't want to learn how to do full squats or are terrified to do them because they believe every training myth in the universe.

6. Paralell squats put more pressure on the knees and I get more benefit from deep squatting as far as strengthing my quads, hams, glutes, and hips.

7. Flexibility.

[el_flaco]

Besides the reasons I already stated there are several reasons I squat deep.

I'd be interested to see a vid of what you consider to be deep.

 

For me, if I high bar squat, upright back, my knees go forward and to be honest I only have a couple of inches below parallel to play with before my hamstrings are on my calves. I hit parallel higher with low bar wide stance.

 

A proper parallel squat is a deep squat. Not "hamstring" parallel, hip crease below top of knee.

[Guest]

Besides the reasons I already stated there are several reasons I squat deep.

I'd be interested to see a vid of what you consider to be deep.

The description I wrote of how deep I can squat isn't very good. I don't have a video camera. I'm squatting as deep as I can go which is deeper than most of the videos I've seen people post on this forum and a few others I belong too except for olympiclifters.

 

Apparently you and I have a different opinion of what a deep squat is. I've only been lifting for a year where as I'm certain you've been lifting weights for much much longer.

 

The only thing I could do is measure some phone books, place them on the floor and squat down over top of them with a weighted barbell with 80-85% of my perdicted 1RM. Note, I've only been squatting at my current depth for a month or so.

 

I may be wrong in this assumption, however I get the impression that some people think I come off as superior to people who don't squat deeper. I don't feel superior, I have issue with people who take shortcuts in ROM, higher squats, wider grips, excessive gear, etc...to post big numbers so they can boast about it to boost their egos.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Anonymous

[sosso]

This is the depth I normally squat to, just below parallel.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaczUj1e03w

[el_flaco]

Besides the reasons I already stated there are several reasons I squat deep.

I'd be interested to see a vid of what you consider to be deep.

The description I wrote of how deep I can squat isn't very good. I don't have a video camera. I'm squatting as deep as I can go which is deeper than most of the videos I've seen people post on this forum and a few others I belong too except for olympiclifters.

It doesn't have to be a vid of yourself, just some deep squatting on the web.

 

For me you have to tamper your desire for depth with the realisation that your back must be in a position to support a heavy weight. If you are squatting down and to gain inches you are rounding your back over, you wont be able to progress with that style. When the weight goes up it will bury you forward.

[xphilx]

what really helped me was this squat rx:

 

[Guest]

Lots of good advice here, thanks folks!