II. The Exercises
**A. The Main Exercises
*****1. The Squat, Part 3
*****2. The Bench Press
*****3. The Deadlift
*****4. The Power Clean
*****5. The Press
*****6. The Row
**B. Accessory Exercises
**C. Other Questions
1. The Squat, Part 3
Question - Are deep squats bad for the knees?
Deep, controlled squats not only are NOT "bad for the knees", they are, in fact,
good for the knees. Properly performed, they evenly and proportionately strengthen all muscles which stabilize and control the knee (in addition to strengthening the muscles of the hip and posterior chain, upper back, shoulder girdle etc). When the hips are lowered in a controlled fashion below the level of the top of the patella, full hip flexion has occured, and this will activate the hamstrings and glutes. In doing so, the hamstrings are stretched at the bottom of the motion and they pull the tibia backwards (toward da' butt) which counteracts the forward-pulling force the quadriceps apply during the motion. As a result, the stress on the knee tendons is lessened since the hamstrings assist the patellar tendon in stabilization of the knee. A muscle supporting a tendon which supports the kneecap is going to be better than the tendon having to take up the entirety of the strain by itself.
Think about Olympic lifters. They squat VERY deep (almost ridiculously deep) all the time, frequently 5 or 6 times weekly, with very heavy weight. If deep squats were so bad for their knees, they wouldn't be able to squat that deep, that often, and that heavy.
Partial squats, however, will NOT activate the hamstrings, and the amount of shearing force on the patellar tendon increases exponentially. What WILL happen if you do partial squats is that your quadriceps will become disproportionately strong as compared to your hamstrings, and the following are likely results:
1) In partial squats, the hamstrings aren't activated, which means the patellar tendon takes up all the strain/stress/pull during squats. As a result, fatigue and damage to the tendon can accumulate because tendons recover MUCH slower than muscles. Any type of action involving knee bend can then cause further stress and strain during daily activity. This is asking for trouble. If the hamstring is strong, it drastically reduces the amount of stress on the patellar tendon. Full squats make the hamstrings strong. Partial squats allow the hamstrings to become weak. Weak hamstrings are bad Bad BAD.
2) Partial squats develop the quads and neglect the hamstrings. Weak hamstrings coupled with strong quads result in hamstring pulls while sprinting, starting or stopping suddenly, playing sports, etc.. They frequently occur as the result of muscular imbalances across the knee joint. Strong quadriceps and weaker hamstrings result in a knee joint that is unstable during rapid acceleration and slowing, and the hamstrings are unable to counteract the powerful forces that occur during sudden stops and starts. In other words, you do a sprint with extra-strong quads and weak hammies, and you are begging for a pulled hamstring because your hamstring isn't as strong as the quads and isn't able to perform an adequate eccentric contraction to keep your knee joint from hyperextending during a sprint. As a result, you strain the hamstring because, although it isn't strong enough to do the job, it will hurt itself trying.
3) In sports, your acceleration will be weak, as will your jumping ability, as a result of underdeveloped hamstrings and hips. Poor speed/acceleration = poor performance
4) You will end up using stupidly heavy weights in the partial squat due to the mechanical advantage afforded by partial squats, and you put your back and even shoulder girdle at risk due to the extreme loading of the spine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mark Rippetoe, pg 18, Starting Strength
If it's too heavy to squat below parallel, it's too heavy to have on the back.
Besides, everytime you do partial squats, Jesus kills a kitten. Don't be a pussy, save the kittens. Squat deep.
Question - Are there light days, or do I lift as heavy as I can all the time?
The idea of this program is to maintain "linear progress" at all times. Once your technique is proper, EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT should be an increase in weight on each of your exercises, even if it is only a few pounds of increase at a time. You, eventually, will be unable to add weight to the bar each time you train. At this point in time, you may need to either take a rest, "reset" your squat (discussed in Section III) or perform a "deload" (also discussed in Section III). Until this time, you should try to add weight to the bar and maintain your technique.
That being said, "old farts" like me simply cannot squat hard and heavy 3x per week. If you are older or have had problematic knees, you may find it necessary to make adjustments and make Wednesday a "light" squat day, or perhaps skip squats on those days altogether and perform another exercise (not recommended).
Now then, before anybody gets any wise ideas, if you aren't old enough to have voted G-Dub into office the first time, DO NOT SKIP SQUATS ON THIS PROGRAM.
Get it? Old dudes can make those adjustments. Young snots cannot. Suck it up.
Question - Can I deadlift first, instead of doing squats first? Do I really need to squat everyday?
Deadlifts are an outstanding exercise, however, squatting before deadlifting is necessary for a variety of reasons
Squats serve as a more efficient and general "warmup" and preparation for your weight training sessions than deadlifts.
Deadlifts will fatigue the upper and especially the lower back muscles prior to beginning the squats, which can definitely be hazardous to the health of a trainee, especially a new trainee. The last thing you want while squatting is a set of spinal erectors that are unable to bear the load. You can still frequently deadlift to near-limit poundages after squatting, but you will NOT be able to do that on your squats if you deadlift first.
Squatting first and squatting everyday is also ideal because it sends a strong growth signal to the entire body.
3 sets of 5 != (does not equal) a set of the fabled "widowmaker" 20-rep squats, where after you're done with the squats, you are done with the training. Your lower body will get taxed during the 3 sets of squats, but a novice won't be able to squat enough weight to leave them unable to properly perform their next exercise, which is a bench press or a deltoid press (the standing press or variation). The lower body rests as you work the upper body with the pressing exercise.
So, as mentioned elsewhere, perform the squat properly as often as possible, and you will maximize growth in your entire body (assuming you train your entire body). Just make sure you do it everyday, and you do it first. If you have bum knees or you're an old fart like me, then you will possibly need to make adjustments. See Section III for some other ideas.
Question - Can I use a back pad while squatting?
Meow.
No. Don't use the "puss pad".
If your back hurts excessively while squatting, then chances are good you aren't flexing your upper back muscles sufficiently to "pad" your skeleton. When you grip the bar, you must keep your hands in toward the body as closely as possible while gripping the bar BEFORE you unrack the bar and start squatting.
In other words, get under the bar, bring your hands in as closely as possible along the bar, grip the bar with a thumbless grip, lift your elbows back and up, and step under the weight. By keeping your hands close and your elbows back and up, the muscles of your entire shoulder girdle, as well as your trapezius muscles, will all "bunch/hunch up", which will provide significant padding for the bar. Ensure the bar is kept in the "low bar position" at the lower-rear portion of your traps and rear deltoids, and you should be fine.
The main problem with the pad, in addition to making you look like a wuss, is that it tends to throw the center of gravity off. For an experienced trainee, this won't be a problem, they can compensate (and they probably wouldn't ask to use a pad anyway). For a novice trainee, this can be VERY detrimental to proper technique and balance development inherent in the learning process of the squat. So, all joking aside, the pad might help your upper shoulders "feel better" while squatting, but once you get to heavy weight, that little pad won't do jack squat, except for throw off your technique! If you have a shoulder injury, then the pad won't help at all. Look into using a Buffalo Bar, a Safety Squat Bar, or a Manta Ray