Tricks of the Trade

I’m not the most experienced lifter on these forums, but I thought it would be interesting to have a thread where people can post useful information they think others might not know.

My example:

Your knees wanting to pull in on squats is a sign of weak adductors. I honestly don’t remember where I heard this nnline, maybe someone can explain it? It seems counterintuitive, because the adductors are what pull the knees in, but ever since I started doing side lunges and adductor work my knees haven’t pulled in nearly as much as I come out of the hole on squats.

Note: Glutes not firing can also cause the above problem.

Best advice I’ve heard regarding that came from a powerlifter at my gym (he’s on here too). He told us to keep the weight on the outside of your foot as you push the bar up.

Imagine there is a seam in the floor, right between your legs, and you are trying to spread the seam as you lift. This will pretty much force your knees to stay where they are supposed to be. Trying to push the floor apart has kept me and Akuma from having any more problems with squat form.

[quote]Hyena wrote:
Best advice I’ve heard regarding that came from a powerlifter at my gym (he’s on here too). He told us to keep the weight on the outside of your foot as you push the bar up.

Imagine there is a seam in the floor, right between your legs, and you are trying to spread the seam as you lift. This will pretty much force your knees to stay where they are supposed to be. Trying to push the floor apart has kept me and Akuma from having any more problems with squat form.[/quote]

Best thing he ever said to me, that made my Form CLICK instantly was yelling “KNEES OUT” when i started to buckle in lol. havent done it since.

Hot Tip #133: When you are trying to gain mass, eat food.

Hmmm, some of these may be common knowledge, but here’s a few I picked up over the last few years that I think really helped me:

  1. A higher bar position squatting will help avoid the forward pitch that plagues tall squatters when going heavy (I’m 6’2"+).

  2. Doing CGB off of a 3-board takes the front delts out of the press and allowed me to go heavier than previously when I trained shoulders and tris on the same day (credit to C_C for this tip).

  3. Scapular retraction on pull-ups/lat pulls is good for both shoulder health and for better lat width development.

  4. Trap development is significantly improved going super-heavy and doing power shrugs, rather than with stricter form and lighter weight.

Hot Tip #134: If you are following Hot Tip #133 and still aren’t gaining mass, eat more food.

Hot Tip #135: If you are following Hot Tip #134 and still aren’t gaining mass, eat everything.

Fiber is important. So are wet wipes.

check the ego at the door

If your 405lb squater but are struggling on 35 for 2-3 it doesnt matter as long as you give your all

[quote]Blaze_108 wrote:
I’m not the most experienced lifter on these forums, but I thought it would be interesting to have a thread where people can post useful information they think others might not know.

My example:

Your knees wanting to pull in on squats is a sign of weak adductors. I honestly don’t remember where I heard this nnline, maybe someone can explain it? It seems counterintuitive, because the adductors are what pull the knees in, but ever since I started doing side lunges and adductor work my knees haven’t pulled in nearly as much as I come out of the hole on squats.

Note: Glutes not firing can also cause the above problem.[/quote]

I have never heard of weak adductors causing this I always thought it was glutes. Maybe the side lunges helped with glute str and this is what fixed the issue for you. Something else you can try is to wrap a mini band around your knees whilst squatting. It constantly reminds you to keep your knees out and it is also a hell of a glute med/min workout.

[quote]Hyena wrote:
Best advice I’ve heard regarding that came from a powerlifter at my gym (he’s on here too). He told us to keep the weight on the outside of your foot as you push the bar up.

Imagine there is a seam in the floor, right between your legs, and you are trying to spread the seam as you lift. This will pretty much force your knees to stay where they are supposed to be. Trying to push the floor apart has kept me and Akuma from having any more problems with squat form.[/quote]

Incredible advice, so going to remember this when squatting.

one thing that really helped me understand the sitting back concept for back squats was standing with your toes touching a wall, and then doing a bodyweight squat. The weight just skyrocketed after that

Hot Tip #136-

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