I feel like I need to improve on using my lats and leg drive. Any suggestions, thoughts, comments, opinions, or surprise buttsecks are welcome. Gracias.
I have a tough time getting leg drive with my feet tucked too far under me. Might just be me though.
If you are planing on competing, don’t finish the movement moving to re-rack the weight. You immediately go from pressing to rolling your shoulders forward and pushing the weight towards the rack. If you practice it that way every time, there is a good chance you’ll do it in competition and get DQd for not waiting for the rack command.
How do you know your lats and leg drive are weak?
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
If you are planing on competing, don’t finish the movement moving to re-rack the weight. You immediately go from pressing to rolling your shoulders forward and pushing the weight towards the rack. If you practice it that way every time, there is a good chance you’ll do it in competition and get DQd for not waiting for the rack command.
How do you know your lats and leg drive are weak?[/quote]
I just don’t feel like I get much out of them. I never really understood how to use my lats for a pressing movement, so I just squeeze them throughout the lift. It just doesn’t feel like it’s helping so I’m not sure if I’m using them correctly. The same goes for the leg drive, basically.
And thanks for pointing out my habit of racking immediately. I never really thought about it. I do plan on competing. My first meet is going to be Oct 23.
for leg drive act like your trying to push your heels down into the ground even though you won’t be able to get them to touch obviously.
What fed is your meet? Your feet need to be flat on the floor for USAPL. See Rule 4.7(b). I’d find out your fed’s rules and start practicing now.
http://www.usapowerlifting.com/lifterscorner/USAPLHandbook2.pdf
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
What fed is your meet? Your feet need to be flat on the floor for USAPL. See Rule 4.7(b). I’d find out your fed’s rules and start practicing now.
http://www.usapowerlifting.com/lifterscorner/USAPLHandbook2.pdf
[/quote]
Ditto for USPF.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
What fed is your meet? Your feet need to be flat on the floor for USAPL. See Rule 4.7(b). I’d find out your fed’s rules and start practicing now.
http://www.usapowerlifting.com/lifterscorner/USAPLHandbook2.pdf
[/quote]
My meet is IPA. I looked at their rules as soon as I found out about the meet. They have no rule about having feet flat, it just says that the feet must be in contact with the floor.
However, my college’s PL team lifts in the USAPL so as soon as I start training again after this meet, I’m changing my setup. But for now, I’m more comfortable this way.
Thanks
You certainly get a noticeable leg drive on the failed attempt, you can see your quads contract and your ass come off the bench which pushes the bar path over your neck. Keep the ass down and push upwards in a striaght line. For me if i try and drive the legs too hard my bottom comes up and the bar is shifted over my face resulting in an instant fail.
[Quote]
“I just don’t feel like I get much out of them. I never really understood how to use my lats for a pressing movement, so I just squeeze them throughout the lift. It just doesn’t feel like it’s helping so I’m not sure if I’m using them correctly. The same goes for the leg drive, basically.”
Flex your lats hard; verrrry hard. You should notice that the weight springs back up alot easier.
hard to tell without watching the setup, but probably pull shoulder blades back together harder and really dig traps into bench…did you watch the “so you think you can bench series” on elitefts.com?
Am I the only one who thinks he’s flaring his elbows a lot? I’m not a pec-dominant bencher so I tuck a hell of a lot more than that in the elbows. Also, I don’t tuck my feet that far under to help with leg drive as SteelNation mentioned. But what do I know? You’re benching more than me.
[quote]Raging_Teddy wrote:
I feel like I need to improve on using my lats and leg drive. Any suggestions, thoughts, comments, opinions, or surprise buttsecks are welcome. Gracias.[/quote]
3 things are jumping out at me when I watched your video.
1- You seem to be lifting the bar up and over the hooks. PULL the bar out with your lats. Have your lift off man do this part for you vs. just standing there half ass.
2- You unrack the weight, then take several breaths. You can’t get tight this way and stay tight. Get big air then unrack and press. You may be able to take an inch or two off your stroke just by getting more air in your chest.
3- The bar is in front of your elbows when you start to press. Notice how when you start to press your elbows have to drift back under the bar before the bar starts moving upward. I don’t know if I have articulated this well. Watch the video over and look for it.