Squat Form Check

I use sleeves 99.9% off the time, Without them it just feels off

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So pretty much slow and controlled in the top 3/4, go faster into the hole and bounce out?

So from warm ups to low percentage work to 1RMs my reps shouldn’t look the same descent speed wise?

I always thought that trying to do the same thing every time will be better for technique like chad says move 135 like a max and max like 135 but was I reading into that wrong?

Do you think it takes away from quadriceps work?

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Eh… Probably not since its still the muscles doing the work with sleeves.
I used a fairly tight sleeve, and my quads have bin steadily getting bigger.

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So if you pull sumo it’s “insert face here”, or maybe lower

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I suppose

You Lift Like You Train

How you train in the gym is how you are going to lift at a Powerlifting Meet or in performing a 1 Repetition Max in the gym.

One of the objective of training is to “Hardwire” Great Technique into your lift. That means you need to perform the movement automatically without having to think about it.

Car Analogy

Think of it like driving a car. You have performed driving the car so much that you do it without thinking about it.

Control The Descent

You control (practice) the Descent in approximately the first 3/4 of the movement as Chad stated, as you will with your heavy load of at or near your 1 Repetition Max.

As the saying goes, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Only Perfect Practice Make Perfect.”

Recoiling Out of The Hole

Learning where to recoil out of the hole is a timing issue that take practice.

You need to learn where to allow the the bar speed in the descent to accelerate and where to stop the recoil and apply concentric force to drive the weight back up.

Powerlifting Technique Training

Developing Technique in the Squat (any movement) requires you to use near max load of around 85% or greater and perform 1, possibly 2 Repetition, rest and then repeat.

This in part has to do with…

The Law of Specificity

Essentially, you need to train the Squat (any movement) as close to a Powerlfiting Meet condition/1 Repetition Max as possible.

Secondly, research shows that the muscle firing sequence and rate coding (recruitment of muscle fiber) with light loads is different from moderate or heavy loads.

Thus, Technique Training with near max loads ensure the muscle firing sequence and rate coding (recruitment of the muscle fibers) optimizes your force production (Strength and Power) as closely as possible to your 1 Repetition Max.

Baseball Batter Analogy

Practicing hitting a 60 mph baseball helps with your batting technique. You become proficient at hitting a 60 mph baseball.

However, no amount of practice at hitting a 60 mph baseball is going to make you good at hitting a 90 mph fast ball.

The only way you are excel at hitting a 90 mph fast ball is by practicing hitting a 90 mph fast ball.

The same applies to Squatting (any movement).

The Concentric Part of The Squat

In the Concentric Part of The Squat (any movement), you need to drive the weight up as hard and fast as you can, no matter the load.

This has to do with…

CAT, Compensatory Acceleration

This term was categorized by Dr Fred Hatfield, “Dr Squat”, who at one time was the lightest man to Squat over 1,000 at a body weight of 252 lbs.

CAT means driving the weight as fast as you can. What this does is innervate more of the Fast Twitch Type IIa and the “Super” Fast Type IIb/x Muscle Fiber

CAT educates the Central Nervous System to quickly engage/recruit more of the Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber.

Think of rate coding/muscle fiber as being able to add more guy to your “Tug of War Rope” pull than the other team has.

Compensatory Acceleration need to be use with light, moderate and heavy loads.

Optimizing CAT, Compensatory Acceleration

One of the keys in the development of the Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber is…

  1. Band and/or Chains: The load at the top of a Squat is lighter than in the hole. By adding Bands and/or Chains (Accommodating Resistance) it enables you to engage more of the Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber at the top of the Squat.

  2. Going Ballistic: Another method when using a lighter load is to drive up so fast with the weight, that you jump with the weight or your feet come slightly off the ground. This ensure you have fully engaged the Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber at the top part of the Squat.

Kenny Croxdale

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X2 that gym is bonkers

I don’t disagree with what you’re saying, but the way you explain things leaves room for interpretation.

Seeing as you mention training with 85% plus and CAT, do you advise for all work on the competition lifts to be done with such loads? What is your opinion of the way Josh Bryant, who was Fred Hatfield’s protégé, implements CAT where the usual format is a hard top set of 1-3 reps followed by sets of 2-5 (or singles on deadlift) normally in the range of 65-80%, done as explosively as possible and with short rest periods? It’s not to the point of “going ballistic” as you explained, but it’s lighter than 85% for sure. I have been using this method with good results, particularly with my squat. I squatted 480 at a meet in June and right now if I peaked for a meet I think I could get maybe 515. The lighter weights cause less CNS fatigue, but the cluster set style is like a HIIT workout and (is supposed to) train the fast twitch fibres. Do you see any shortcomings with this method?

Squat Form Check update here with some heavier weight so maybe form breakdown jumps out more.

Lifetime rep PR 140kg x 4

135kg Side View

What are your thoughts? What’s better? What can use some work?

If I tag @khangles he’ll have no choice but to help me make gains mwuahaha

Fuck off you cheeky cunt.

Same advice as before still. Hit clean reps and engrain that form until you have no bad reps. Like the second rep (I think) of the 140x4 was the bestest one.

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Thanks man. I know what you mean. Some reps feel and move really well and some not so much. Will work on it

Looks good to me, just keep doing what you are doing and adding weight to the bar.

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What do you see there? It looks like he tipped forward slightly on some reps, which will happen with heavier weights/high RPE and is also why I advised him to try low bar. It is a PR set after all and it looks pretty good to me, I would just add lighter down sets like 5 sets of 3 with 10-15% less than the top set.

Another thing you can try if you need to improve technique with heavier weights is working up to a heavy single before the volume work. Somewhere around 90-95% (of your current capabilities, not necessarily all time PRs) for a single that you could do 2-3 reps with if you had to. The advantage of singles over reps is that when you do reps certain muscle groups will fatigue faster and it will be harder to maintain good form, you don’t have that issue with singles and it’s also more specific to a PL meet. Just don’t do it all the time all year or you will burn out.

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All I heard was 95% all the time. Sounds like fun

Jk. Sounds like a good idea. So kinda like a heavier single before top/working sets to make them feel lighter

Not just to make them feel lighter but also for practice with heavy weights. Plus it does make you stronger.

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On second viewing I can’t see shit lel. Nvm

Good thread.

Reminder that I need to hit the brakes on heavy squats but accelerate into the hole as the article states above. When I’m going heavy, like near a 1RM or a new PR, I tend to slow way down partly b/c I know I have to maintain tension throughout the lift or I’ll die. But finding a little extra speed in the last few inches of the descent is something I’ll have to work on.

Glad the thread was helpful to you. I’m kinda the opposite because I can’t slow down much without wasting a lot of energy and losing lots of power. It’s like I need it.