The Deadlift: A Trick for Setting Your Stance

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In the deadlift, we approach the bar and set our stance with our shins one inch from the bar. We do this because this process places the bar right over the middle of the foot for the vast majority of people (and no, you’re not in the minority here - sorry, you’re just not). Simple as this approach may be, people still get it wrong, and this often has to do with shin position when we look down at the bar.

We want our shins to be vertical when we look down at the bar and take our stance. If you find that you have to lean over to actually see the bar’s position relative to your shins, as is often the case due to loose sweatshirts, stomachs getting in the way, carelessness, etc., you will naturally shift your hips backward to maintain balance. If this happens, the shins will shift backward as well, and they will no longer be vertical. This is a problem since a vertical shin is the reference point against which you measure bar position.

Correct shin position, i.e., vertical shins

Correct shin position, i.e., vertical shins

Here, the lifter’s stomach prevents him from seeing the bar’s position relative to his shins.

Here, the lifter’s stomach prevents him from seeing the bar’s position relative to his shins.

Incorrect shin position (shifted backward) caused by leaning over

Incorrect shin position (shifted backward) caused by leaning over

If you use this incorrect (i.e., “shifted backward”) shin position as a reference point, you’ll unwittingly set up too close to the bar. This can be seen in the pictures below. With the shins in an incorrect position, the lifter sets up one inch from the bar, but you’ll notice that when he stands up straight again (i.e., with vertical shins), his shins are too close to the bar, which tells us that he is too close to the bar. The fool.

Due to an incorrect shin position, the lifter is standing too close to the bar, which we can see . . .

Due to an incorrect shin position, the lifter is standing too close to the bar, which we can see . . .

. . . when he stands up straight again. Now, he is so close that his shins are almost touching the bar. This is no good.

. . . when he stands up straight again. Now, he is so close that his shins are almost touching the bar. This is no good.

The solution is simple - stand straight up, and look at your right or left foot by turning your head to the side and looking down (i.e., you are bending over to the side, not bending forward). See the photo below for an example. Your hips won’t need to shift backward to do this, which means your shins won’t shift backward, which means you’ll still have a nice, vertically oriented shin position to use as a reference. From there, you make sure that your shins are one inch from the bar, which means you’re well on your way to an excellent and satisfying set of heavy deadlifts. And life is grand.

Simply look to the side and then down.

Simply look to the side and then down.

Week 2020.09.28

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This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
”Prowler Base+1”
1. Load up a manageable weight.
2. Sprint 40m at 85% intensity.
3. Rest 30 sec.
4. Repeat 5-15 times.

Courtesy of “Death by Prowler” (on Starting Strength).

Compare to 2020.08.17.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 3 minutes

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = lowest distance.

Compare to 2020.08.03.

Option 3
5-10 rounds of:
30 sec ME tire flips
30 sec rest

Compare to 2020.07.06.

Option 4
Row/Tire 10 min ladder:
2 cal row
2 tire flips
4 cal row
4 tire flips
6 cal row
6 tire flips
…
Climb the ladder as high as possible in 10 minutes.

Compare to 2020.06.29.

Lock It Before You Land It: Stop Pressing Out Your Jerks and Snatches

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Don’t do this, you fool.

In both the jerk and the snatch, the elbows must finish straightening before the lifter finishes all downward movement. In the 2020 IWF rulebook, the following are defined as incorrect movements in both the jerk and snatch:

2.5.1.4 Finishing with a press-out, defined as: continuing the extension of the arms after the athlete has reached the lowest point of his / her position in the squat or split for both the Snatch and the Jerk.

2.5.1.5 Bending and extending the elbows during the recovery (This is not technically called a press-out, but it is often included in the press-out discussion.)

IMG_4508.jpg

To put it simply, by the time you stop moving downward, your elbows need to be locked, and they need to stay locked until you’ve completed the recovery. If you struggle with either of these issues, i.e., receiving the bar with locked elbows or keeping them locked once you’ve received the bar, then read on, compadre.

While soft elbows can be the result of inadequate strength, poor shoulder flexibility, or incorrect positioning (this is common when the bar is received forward of the shoulder joint), they are often simply the result of bad timing or a poor sense of what locked out elbows feel like when in an overhead position.

With this in mind, try this cue when jerking or snatching: “Lock it before you land it.” In other words, you are going to try to lock the bar out overhead with completely straight elbows before your feet land back on the platform. Lock it before you land it.

IMG_4511.jpg

Is this what actually happens? Absolutely not. In a correctly executed jerk or snatch, the elbows will lock out after the feet have landed (although the two events happen in such quick succession that it may look simultaneous at times). The “lock it before you land it” cue is an overcue - an attempt to fix a problem by exaggerating the correction - and it often works quite well.

So, the next time you’re about to jerk or snatch, tell yourself that you’re going to completely straighten your elbows (and keep them that way) while your feet are still up in the air.

Lock it before you land it. Give it a try.

Week 2020.09.21

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This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
“Prowler Base”
1. Load up a manageable weight.
2. Sprint 40m at 85% intensity.
3. Rest until breathing and heart rate slow down. (45 sec – 2 min)
4. Repeat 5-15 times.

Courtesy of “Death by Prowler” (on Starting Strength).

Compare to 2020.08.10.

Option 2
Bike/row:
5 min on
4 min off
4 min on
3 min off
3 min on
2 min off
2 min on
1 min off
1 min on

Record distance for each interval and add for total distance.

Compare to 2020.07.27.

Option 3
Outdoors:
5-10 rounds:
50 yd sled push (25 yd down-back)
50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 min

Indoors:
5-10 rounds:
100 ft sled push (50 ft down-back)
100 ft farmer carry (50 ft down-back)
Rest 1 min

Compare to 2020.06.29.

Option 4
5-8 rounds:
50 ft sled push
50 ft sled pull (hand over hand)
Row 1 minute
Rest 1 minute

This can also be done in a group of three where the sledder determines how long the other two people row and rest.

Compare to 2020.06.22.

Stop Winding Up the Press

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IMG_1980.jpg

When we move the hips forward at the start of the press, we do so for a couple of reasons. First, it gets the head out of the way to clear a path for the bar to travel vertically, and second, it initiates a stretch reflex out of the bottom of the press to help propel the bar upward.

A common problem, however, with this “reach-and-bounce” or “reach-and-press” movement at the start of the press is that of winding up the press. When you use the hips at the start of the press, the hips should begin by moving forward and then back to their starting position. You absolutely should NOT initiate the press by moving the hips backward first, then forward - this is winding up the press. It creates unnecessary horizontal movement of the bar - a forward-and-backward motion of the bar that is a waste of time and energy, and what is more, this horizontal movement has to be managed, which becomes very difficult indeed at heavy weights. We are trying to move the bar vertically upward, so any unnecessary horizontal motion makes our job that much harder.

To fix this problem, let’s first focus on the start position. Simply put, you stand as tall as possible before initiating the movement. You may find that you tend to lower the previous, finished rep to a position wherein your hips are already reaching forward of neutral; in other words, you look like you’re about to perform the limbo at a birthday party (but with straight knees, which is a terrible way to perform the limbo anyway) instead of returning to a normal, upright, standing position. This will either reduce the effectiveness of a correct hips movement as your hips are already in a “pre-reached” position, or you will start the next rep by yanking your hips backward first - the winding up motion that we are trying so diligently to avoid. If you find that you tend to start your press in this pre-reached position, then at the completion of each rep, after lowering the bar, simply cue yourself to “stand up” or even “stand up tall.” 

IMG_1981.jpg

Some lifters start the press in the correct position but still move the hips backward first. This is sometimes due to a subconscious effort to get a bigger bounce out of the hips. As this bigger bounce doesn’t actually occur, and since that hateful horizontal movement of the bar does occur, we’re going to stop doing this. To do so, try this: as you’re getting set to press, take a breath, get tight (performing your usual Valsalva maneuver), and then cue yourself, “Forward. Only forward.” In other words, you are commanding your hips to move in the forward direction only. Backward movement is never considered.

If you wind up your press, give one of these cues a try. Use the cue on every single warm-up rep - making a change when the weight is already heavy is very difficult to do, and focusing on the cue during your warm-ups allows you to think about and execute the cue at a weight at which you actually can spare some mental bandwidth. Give it a shot.

Week 2020.09.14

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This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
“Prowler Sprint Test”
1. Load up a heavier weight.
2. Time a 15 yards sprint at 100% intensity.
3. Rest 30 seconds.
4. Repeat sprint until times slows down 10%.
5. Goal is to increase # of sprints under the time standard.

Courtesy of “Prowler Sprint Test” (on JTS) as well as “Death by Prowler” (on Starting Strength).

Compare to 2020.08.03.

Option 2
5 rounds:
10 cal bike
1 min rest
4 sandbag-over-bars
1 min rest

Set the yoke crossmember at 35/33, and the weight is 150#/75#.

Compare to 2020.07.20.

Option 3
8 rounds:
Outdoors:
4 tire flips
50 yd sled push (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Indoors:
4 tire flips
100 ft sled push (50 ft down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2020.06.22.

Option 4
1. 5 yoke carries @ 30 yd (15 yd downback) – work up to heaviest carry
2. 5 rounds of 5 reps on the axle “clean and press away” – work up to heavy set of 5

Compare to 2020.06.15.