Squat Rx #9

Thanks for the tips with the overhead squat. I've been trying to maintain balance and straightness whenever I attempt an olympic snatch and this should help me out while catching the bar, as I seem to lean forward on my toes for some reason.

Gotta be extra careful in most commercial gyms and I don't blame them for being a bit paranoid about dropping weights from overhead - might have to do them somewhere else.

I know CrossFitters and other do high rep OHS, but I'm just not into them since the shoulders are usually the link that fails. I stick with reps in the 1-6 range and rarely am I doing them with "maximal effort". Hard - yes, maxes - not much.

great video and series.

I was threatened to be kicked out of my gym yesterday, by some mickey mouse PT, for dumping the bar on a failed OHS. I told the staff that dumping the bar is the only safe thing to do on a failed OHS.

One question, you mention keeping the reps low. What kind of rep scheme would recommend for the more average athelete?
I normally do 3x8 (60kg @ 80Kg bodyweight). would I better off doing something more akin to 5x5?

Squat Rx is a great series - thanks for posting.

Really good idea to show how to bail out of the OHsquat.

I haven't made it all the way through the series, but I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to do the same for OLY and PL squats as well. I know it freaked me out the first time I had to ditch a squat.

Interesting question - it depends. If you are doing an OL squat, it's generally a lot easier to dump the bar safely even if you aren't in a power rack. With a low bar position (and more forward lean) it's pretty hard to dump the bar safely without the bar pummeling the back of your head or your butt on the way down. IMHO, using a power rack with pins is always the safest option when squatting

Absolutely agree - I lift PL style and it took me a while to figure out where to set the pins and how to drop the weight without the knot on the back of the head.

My thought was just that knowing how to ditch might be the most important thing a beginner can learn.

Thanks and keep posting!

Hi. im having a problem while doing cleans in that when i drop down to catch the bar i have to lean foward which really sucks because i know if i could keep my back arched i could do alot more. what do you think is the most effective way to correct this?

I'm not really an OLer, so I couldn't give you the best advice on this, but are you catching the bar with your hands/arms, or in the rack? Are your hips too far back? Not sure what to tell you - look up "olympic weightlifting technique vid (1 of 2)" and "olympic weightlifting technique vid (2 of 2)" here at youtube and pay close attention - they are great videos.

If your technique w. the bar isn't where it should be, don't add weight.

Yes, OHSQs hit the quads more than a regular back squat.

"If your technique w. the bar isn't where it should be, don't add weight." - learned it the hard way... twice... just like training a strained muscle... last time was serious enough to remember...

the jiggy squat looks like a great exercise for developing correct squatting posture thanks for sharing.