The Opposite of What I Knew About the Squat

[quote]Stronghold wrote:
Hanley wrote:
SkyzykS wrote:
ctschneider wrote:
SkyzykS wrote:
Dan John on the other hand, has a very good basic squat vid clip. I can’t find it for the life of me though.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6529481301858251744&ei=R5IhSu-jNqm4qAOjquTQBw&q=dan+john+fitcast&hl=en

Was this the one you were talking about?

Yup. Thats the one.

Very succinct, spot on form developement.

Ripetto never seemed to notice that the guy he was coaching for that squat vid had bad form from the hips up- with his head hanging, elbows back and spine at a less than ideal articulation before going into the whole hamstring mechanics thing.

Good hamstrings aren’t going to be worth a crap if your spine buckles as your hips rise.

Head down and elbows up is actually the way he teaches people to squat. Madness, I know.

For what its worth, I’ve recently switched to squatting with my head looking straight ahead or slightly down. Granted, I squat low bar and keep my elbows under the bar, but I feel like this helps me lead with my shoulders rather than my head, which is a stronger position for me.

Troll2b:
If you have to chicken wing your elbows out to keep a low bar position, then you aren’t tight enough. The bar doesn’t “sit” on your back so much as it’s held there between your arms and torso. If you’re trying to casually “set” the bar on your back like you might do when you squat with a high bar, you’re going to have to create a shelf. If you aren’t a SHW with zero shoulder mobility, then why are you placing your hands on the bar like one, bring them in as close as you comfortably can, then bring them in another inch or two and that will be where your hands should be. For me, that means that my thumbs are only a few inches from my shoulders when I take the bar out. Keeping your hands close like this will force you to pinch your shoulder blades together and keep you tight.[/quote]

That’s exactly what I do. The closer my hands are to each other, the less likelihood of the bar falling behind me…

[quote]Stronghold wrote:
Also, Simmons is instructing squatters who are squatting in 2-4 plys of material that allows them to take a very wide stance, sit WAY back into the gear, and stay VERY upright.

That changes things to a degree.[/quote]

LOL, yeah, just a little bit. I laugh every time I hear someone say “I just watched the Westside Seminar DVD a month ago and now my hips hurt like hell. What am I doing wrong?”