Cool thanks HoppO.

Im glad you made that point Eric. I used to be a pretzel man.

MaRvO.

Na No pretzel here :biglaugh:

I just pinch my scapula and push the shoulders into the bench, keep my ass on the bench and press away.

:biggthumpup: Good deal.

Zats Science and practice of strength training arrived yesterday. Looks good, just gotta find time to read it.

MaRvO.

Cool Marv, let us know how u like it.I didnt get a chance to order Rips new books yet cos I forgot my login details for the website!!!

Performance Day
Had another pretty good day today.Hit a sweet PR on Deadlifts,very slow ugly PR but I got it.I did some DE squats too with a wide stance, I feel it heaps more in the hams glutes and groin going wide.I only just missed my heavy single on 2 boards but I didnt have a spotter so I couldnt really push it too hard, oh well, I did get a bit greedy tho and add 10lbs from last week, I should have added just 5.Lesson learnt! :biglaugh:

Performance Day 1/2/08
Deadlift 1x1 150kg (PR)
DE Squat 10x2 50kg
Paused 2 Board 1x1 90kg (missed 100x1)
Pullup 2x6 BW

Next week Ill rotate out Deadlifts for some sort of other PR attempt.Ill keep at 2 boards for a while and do some triples or something.

I found that Box squat footage from the other week, Ill up it now if Youtube isnt fucked.

Heres those Box Squats


I notice my feet are not planted hard enough on the floor when Im on the box, I think I need to be a little furthur from the box also so I can sit back more.

You just need a bigger box. That looks a bit dangerous. I find it best to have a myself close to the box (catty corner) but the box is big enough that I can sit back. That way I have no way of missing it and I don't have to "aim" for it.

You doing the classic thing that most everyone seems to do when they sit on the box. Very easily remedied. Watch the vid and see how when you set down you rock back. You get a bit of rounding in the lumbar and your tightness leaves. Basically, don't do that :)

Keep the arch set and tight. Keep the hips and glutes and everything set. Don't allow any backward motion.

The reasons for this are 1. To protect you back. When you have that load on your back the compressive forces are magnified very greatly passed the actual weight on the barbell. They are simply huge. When you allow any lower back flexion the forces compressive forces actually go up plus the shear forces.

2. You ability to fire the hip muscles are WAY better when you keep it tight. Coming out of the whole from that rounded back and relaxed position is greatly diminishing the effectiveness of it as well as the weight you can move. It also causes you to have to slightly goodmoring the weight. You have to resest the center of gravity before you can move the weight, basically ruining the economy of motion. The best case scenario is that you push you shoulders straight up into the bar and fire the hips forward and you rise up without giving up a lot of forward motion (for the most part...heavy weights are sometimes no man's land).

Most people probably do this and I expected you would.

You're doing a good job coming down on the box slowly.

What's the belt for?

Belt just to make sure Im forcing my substancial gut out hard against it.I dont really find it a great queue tho, it feels strange to me?

Thanks Eric, I kinda felt awkward on that box too!! I might go to the hardware store today and see what I can find for a bigger box, any suggestions? How did the height look?

About the rocking, its funny I dont feel like I move that far during the movement, Ill work on it hard this week and get another vid up soon.Thanks again Eric. :)

Oh, yes, I remember you saying that's what you were using the belt for. I've never used a belt for that so I don't know....

The height looks ok...12 to 13 inches is good for most for general purposes. For the box all you need basically is a strong but lightweight 'crate'. That's why they call them "box" squats. Actually, milk crates make a pretty good option. They are about the right height and you can strap several of them together and place weights underneath them so they don't slide around. Course you can buy ready made adjustable ones.

Since you workout at home like me and you don't need to carry the thing around to the gym and such you can pretty much do whatever it takes just so you come up with a good solid and large enough thing. Mine is actually much heavier than people would usually use.

You are not rocking that far back but really you want to sit down with basically no movement to the rear. It's pretty easy once you remind yourself to do it. As always lighten the weight if that's what is needed.