Idk if you’ve tried it but I use the arms crossed method for front squatting. On anything light I can also just hold my arms out straight. Might be worth a try unless you are wanting to keep the mobility for other lifts and such. Or a purist lol
I have tried the cross arms thing a couple of time and whilst it is ok at lighter weights I find it hard to balance the bar at heavier weights. I think as the weight gets heavier i struggle to keep upright and that makes the barbell roll forward. Last time I did cross arms I ended up doing the last 2 reps with the bar on my bicep on one side which left a nasty bruise!!
1 Like
I feel that. It definitely isn’t the most stable thing but it’s all I’ve got lol yours looked smooth though!
The actual squat part feels fine, its just the bar crushing you wind pipe and bruising your collar bone that I need to get used to. Watched one of Brian Alsruhe video’s on the front squat at the weekend just to give me some tips. Hope fully it will help with driving the elbows up and not having the bar roll forward. I think with some practice and perseverance I will be OK.
1 Like
Man that really is the worst. I can breathe ok but it’s hitting something VERY important that delivers blood to my brain, it’s like I’m racing against passing out lol I’ll have to check out that video from Brian
1 Like
Remember the first rule Of the internet…. Video or it didn’t happen !
1 Like
Is this a new exercise for the nether region? 
Front squats just suck. Olympic lifters are the most hardcore in the end.
Na just a bloke who is crap with his phone and can’t type. Lol 
Wednesday 8th Sep - week 2
SLDL
Bar x 10
70 x 5
110 x 3
120 x 6 x 4 sets - RPE 7, 7, 7, 7
Oh the pain !! Did the first few sets with overhead grip but had to switch to mixed as grip was failing.
OH press
Bar x 10
40 x 5
62.5 x 4 x 4 sets - RPE 7, 7, 7, 7
Pull ups 3/40
13, 10, 9, 2 - total 34
Dips 3/40
+6kg
18, 14, 10 - Total 42
Abs - some
Good little session, glutes were sore again so deadlift was painful. My son joined me and did some work in the shed too. It was fun to have him there and good to see him interested in training. Happy day.
9 Likes
Man, the value that you giving your kid in showing him The Way…this is going to influence him more than you probably know. My two older boys (19 and 16) have watched me through the years going at it day in and day out, and it has rubbed off on them in a huge way. The oldest was always more the physical and athletic type, so that did not surprise me so much. The 16 year-old on the other hand has never been athletic and has struggled with confidence issues (and occasional weight issues) in the recent past, but you should see him prowling around the gym now in a tank top these days…dude definitely lifts. Smallish like me…I think he’s getting close to a 130 kilo squat and a 90 kilo bench.
Point is, they have been learning something valuable from an early age, and it will stick. I have no doubt yours will end up in the same place.
10 Likes
If all I teach him is that this stuff isn’t glamorous it is just hard work then I will be happy. At the moment I just pick things I know he will find challenging but also fun. Without realising it he is doing the work.
5 Likes
You are good fathers. People underestimate the importance of having a good role model.
3 Likes
It is funny but it isn’t until you have your own kids that you realize how hard it was for your parents and at times what a bad job they did and at other times what a good job they did. When I was young up to age 14, I rarely saw my dad during the week. He went to work very early and came home late, so mum did everything. At the weekends he would work on Saturday morning and then the afternoon he was usually working on the house or the cars or the yard. Sunday was the only time he was present and he did the best he could and spent some quality time with us kids which we loved. When I was 16 and wanted to start training my dad bought me a bench and some dumbells and we still had his old rusty barbell and plates in the garage. Dad said he would train with me and from 16-18 he did exactly that. 3-5 days a week he would come home from work after a long day and have me waiting for him with the garage all set up. He would change into some sweat pants and go and train for 60-90mins. He never complained and he never said he needed a break or made me train alone. At the time I didn’t think anything of it, I just wanted to train and was happy to do it with dad. Now I look back and think how tired he would have been after a 12 hour manual work day and the work ethic he passed onto me by never shirking a session no matter what, even in the winter when it was freezing he would plug in an old fan heater and we just trained. From 16 onwards through a common interest in training and cars / motorbikes my relationship with my dad grew and we are now great friends. He still trains 5 days a week (he is 75) and can still outwork most young blokes when it comes to digging a trench or chopping up trees. But he is more than that, my kids call him Silly grandad because when he see’s them he is always fun and wants to play and be silly. He is so generous and loving, he is also stubborn and has some Victorian views but no one is perfect. With the global pandemic we cant travel to the UK and they cant come here and it sucks. I miss him and mum everyday and whilst face time is good to catch up, not knowing when we will see them in the flesh again is totally shit. I just hope one day my son looks back and thinks that I did an OK a job.
13 Likes
That, to me, is the true measure of a man.
2 Likes
Still in lockdown here so cant go tot he shops. Managed to do a click and collect at the local hardware store (that’s Bunnings for all my Aussie friends) and pick up 4 x 20kg bags of coarse sand for my new sand bag. It was dinner timer when I got back and then I spent some time with the kids whilst the wife walked the do, so I didn’t have time to fill up the bag yet. I will fill it on Saturday morning and have a little play with it. Just unloading those 4 bags of sand from the car reminded me how heavy this is going to feel. I am already thinking it is going to be horrible and fun at the same time.
4 Likes
Friday 10th Sep - week 2
Front squat
Bar x 10
60 x 5
85 x 6 x 4 sets RPE 8, 8, 8, 8
Horrible. Legs are fine everything else is not!! Wrist really sore after these.
Bench
Bar x 10
70 x 5
90 x 3
97.5 x 5 x 4 sets RPE 8, 8, 8, 8
Good reps,solid pump.
Pull ups (superset these between sets of bench)
BW + 10kg
5 x 3 sets
Good stretch.
Cable row 3/40
72.5kg
Reps - 20, 15, 15
Trip to pump city !!
GHR +holding 5kg plate
3/40
Reps - 14, 14, 13
Hammies burning after these
Another good session. Really struggle with front squats but I am going to persevere through the block and hopefully they will improve. Even if they don’t they will make me stronger.
6 Likes
I’ll be in my bunk.
4 Likes
I’m not even sure what that meant (and don’t want to know) but it made me laugh