Friday, February 15, 2013

"Squatting High"

"If your job on the team is to be the "down, down, down" guy, then be the guy to tell the squatter that pops up before the last "down" that it was a solid squat, but a merely solid squat. If you would tell your pal that his fly is down, or he has food all over his elitefts™ t-shirt from his last feeding, be your gym brother's keeper and say it loud and proud: "Dude, your squat was high!" You do your partner zero good by critiquing all of the other aspects of the squat without that vital piece of feedback.
"It could be that you are training at a gym where this issue has existed for some time, and now, all of a sudden, you are telling your training partner, especially that 900-pound squatter in your gym, that he is squatting high. You can count on the fact that this new bit of information will come as an unwanted shock to your partner, but so be it. Do your training partner right and be authentic with him or her and call it like it is."
My only comment on this is - high squats are better than no squats, parallel or better squats are - as the author points out - the best if you want healthy, knees and back.  The strange part?  That basic back squat is a lift I've been working on steadfastly for five years, and I'm still getting better at the skills in the lift.  The mobility requirement, skill in movement, balance demands, and ability to have as much strength and good position in the torso as one has in the hips makes this lift very challenging to do at a high level.

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