Who here does them? Does anyone else find they absolutely destroy you? I did them after squats and SL’s, but I was using 20lb dumbbells for sets of 6.
Anyone know of a good way to keep the back leg on the bench? I figure this is just my bodies way of telling me I have serious hip flexor tightness, but what do you guys do?
They do absolutely destroy me, both in terms of cardio and the muscle itself. No exercise kicks my ass more.
I don’t wear any shoes when I workout (home gym), so my foot usually stays on the bench; when I wear footwear it tends to slide off more. Sometimes I fall off at the very bottom of the ROM when I lean forward a little too much.
On a tangent, if you want it to kick your ass and don’t mind feeling it the next day, elevate the working foot.
[quote]wressler125 wrote:
Who here does them? Does anyone else find they absolutely destroy you? I did them after squats and SL’s, but I was using 20lb dumbbells for sets of 6.
Anyone know of a good way to keep the back leg on the bench? I figure this is just my bodies way of telling me I have serious hip flexor tightness, but what do you guys do? [/quote]
It took me three weeks before I was able to do them before falling all over the place. This was with NO weight. So I don’t have any tips other than, “Keep doing them.”
I’ve found that a good way to stay stable is to find an adjustable bench and lay the foot of your supporting leg in the gap of the bench pad. It keeps it from sliding about. But yes, these suckass. Nothing thrashes my quads worse, not even front squats. It just takes time.
When I started doing them about a half year ago I was using bodyweight and had to put my hands down on the decent to keep from falling on my ass, but now I can do them for sets of 8-10 reps with 50lb dumbells. I love them after deads because they stretch out the hip flexors.
#1 most brutal exercise for me as well. I’m trying to work up to 50 lbs in each hand. Right now I can do 35-40 for 6-8 reps
they are the best exercises
i started with just 15s worked up to 120s for 8 each leg at 160. They really helped my speed and my core lifts.
I’m doing 30 lbs in each hand for 4 sets of 10-12 and they certainly make it hard to walk normally over to the fountain afterwards. At first I had some trouble keeping balance with my back foot but I would recommend keeping the laces of the foot on the end of the bench as opposed to trying to balance the toe on the bench.
And make sure that your working leg is far enough from the bench so that part of the equation isn’t throwing off your balance. And don’t give up on em . . . . they are too damn good!
They definitly own me too. There have been two or three times after sets that I got so lightheaded I had to sit down. I will also echo the statement that the more you do them, the better you get at them, I try to take a really wide split and lay the top of my back foot on the bench.
I also try to press up and back, rather then letting my knee get forward, I found that takes away the tempatation to push off the bench with the back leg. I’m still pretty weak at these, but am getting better. I’ve done 70# dumbells for sets of 8, but that’s barely 1/3 of my max back squat. Do others seem to have similar ratios?
These are hard! I haven’t had a problem with my feet sliding just a few balance issues at first. I really like heavy bulgarian s.s’s for low reps. I HATE high rep Bulgarians s.s’s! Those kick my ass!
[quote]digitalairair wrote:
they are the best exercises
i started with just 15s worked up to 120s for 8 each leg at 160. They really helped my speed and my core lifts.[/quote]
Thanks for posting the weight you use. I was getting complacent with the weight I use (70lbs in one hand)… now I see I’m as weak as an anorexic school girl!
I’ll also agree they are great, I never did them until I say a comment from Alwyn (I think) that they are good for people with tight hip flexors. And yes they work for loosing up the hip flexors!
If I stop doing them for a couple weeks my hip flexors tighten up to the point its painful.
I do them too. They are brutal.
If I do anymore than a set of 5 my form falls apart.
I have been doing 45 or 50 pounds in each hand after squatting but have been contemplating doing them first and trying to see how heavy I can really go.
I love this exercise.
It just takes practice to get your balance. If you are wearing shoes, try to become aware of and feel the top of your foot on the bench. If you practices a couple times without weight, you will come to the right foot placement.
After you get comfortable try using a barbell on your back. This will really work the entire body, especially the core, as it throws a higher leverage and balance point at the body. For safety sake, do it in a squat rack or power cage, just in case you lose your balance and need to dump the load. It is a real nut buster.
Even harder…Bulgarian deadlifts! Start off w/light weight to get the form hard or practice with lunge/deadlifts first. A real ass kicker!
Place the crux of your back foot over a padded curved surface, such as the shin pad on a leg extension machine, the achilles pad on a leg curl machine, etc. This helps my clients tremendously.
[quote]digitalairair wrote:
they are the best exercises
i started with just 15s worked up to 120s for 8 each leg at 160. They really helped my speed and my core lifts.[/quote]
You’re a freak!! We all complain how 50-80lbs kill us and you do the 120’s!!! I’m impressed once again.
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
They definitly own me too. There have been two or three times after sets that I got so lightheaded I had to sit down. I will also echo the statement that the more you do them, the better you get at them, I try to take a really wide split and lay the top of my back foot on the bench.
I also try to press up and back, rather then letting my knee get forward, I found that takes away the tempatation to push off the bench with the back leg. I’m still pretty weak at these, but am getting better. I’ve done 70# dumbells for sets of 8, but that’s barely 1/3 of my max back squat. Do others seem to have similar ratios?[/quote]
JTrin, I too find a similar ratio. I can do 100’s for sets of ten, again not 1/3 of my max back squat. I really put a premium on my knee not going forward at all, focus on sitting down and back and lessening the knee joint angle of the supporting leg. DigiAir, that’s really impressive at a BW of 160. Congrats.
thanks guys
yea those are one of the exercises that I bust my ass for every workout. One of the only exercises that always make me sore for a few days.
[quote]digitalairair wrote:
thanks guys
yea those are one of the exercises that I bust my ass for every workout. One of the only exercises that always make me sore for a few days. [/quote]
I do sets of 5 with only 60’s. They are so brutal. I dread them way more than squats or deads.
[quote]digitalairair wrote:
thanks guys
yea those are one of the exercises that I bust my ass for every workout. One of the only exercises that always make me sore for a few days. [/quote]
If you don’t want to walk right for a week pair them with snatch grip deadlift. Sitting down and get up becomes a herculean effort.