In the old days, most men who lifted weights in a serious fashion practiced the standing press – and most of them were reasonably good at the lift. Let’s work together to bring that aspect of training back to the Iron Game. Make it a belated New Year’s resolution: “This year, I WILL get serious about my standing press numbers.”

Having said that, let’s discuss some basic points about getting started on the standing press and increasing your poundage in the lift. Here are twelve tips for lifters who are starting to re-discover the standing press:

 

1.) Practice Makes Perfect

There is a very precise pressing groove. You learn “the groove” through practice. To become a better presser, you need to press way more often than once a week or once every 10-14 days of heavy pressing. In the old days, Olympic lifters trained the exercise three, four or even five times a week. Personally, I think that four or five times a week would be excessive. But there’s nothing at all wrong with doing standing presses two or three times per week. In fact, many will find that it’s the best way to improve the lift.]

 

2.) Train Heavy

If you do high or medium rep sets in the standing press, you probably are not going to develop exactly the right groove for heavy presses. With light and medium reps, you use light weights, and with light weights, you can easily push “close” to the right groove, but not “in” the groove. Close only counts in horseshoes, folks. In lifting, your goal should be to make an absolutely perfect lift on every rep you do.

As noted above, the standing press requires you to develop a very precise pressing groove. In this sense, it is both a “skill” lift and a “strength” lift. You MUST train the lift with heavy weights and low reps in order to learn how to do it properly.

Think about how lifters train cleans and snatches. Do they do high reps? No. They do singles, doubles and triples. If you do higher reps in a “skill” lift your form breaks down and you actually teach yourself the WRONG groove.

 

3.) Select the Proper Rep Scheme

To use heavy weights, you MUST use relatively low reps. Anything over five reps is too many. Doubles, triples and singles are great. The 5/4/3/2/1 system is excellent. And remember, you don’t need to do 50 presses in every workout. a total of 7 to 15 presses is fine. (5/4/3/2/1 equals a total of 15 reps, which Bob Hoffman considered to be ideal.)

 

4.) Train the Lower Back
Always remember, the standing press builds works, trains and conditions the lower back. That’s one of the most important aspects of the exercise – indeed, it may be the MOST important aspect of the exercise.

But the other side of the coin is this: if you have not been doing serious work for your lower back, you are NOT ready to train hard and heavy on standing presses.

Unless your lower back is strong and well conditioned, the FIRST thing to do is to go on a specialization program for the low back. After six to ten weeks of concentrated lower back work, you will be ready for standing presses.

This is especially important for anyone who has been avoiding squats and training his legs with leg presses, hack machine squats, dumbell squats, wall squats or any other exercise that takes the lower back and hips out of the picture.

Ditto for anyone who does trap bar deadlifts as his exclusive lower back exercise. The trap bar deadlift is not as effective a low back builder as are deadlifts performed with a regular bar. It’s more of a hip and thigh exercise. Many lifters injured themselves by using trap bar deadlifts as their exclusive low back exercise, not realizing that it really does not work the low back as effectively as other movements. Then they hurt the low back doing squats, rows or curls, and wonder what happened.

Anyone who has been training with bench and incline presses (or dips), back supported overhead presses (or machine presses), leg presses and trap bar deads — a schedule I mention because it is highly popular and similar to that used by many modern lifters – should devote serious attention to training his lower back before he tackles standing presses. Such a lifter may have fairly strong shoulders and triceps, and may THINK that he can go out and start doing standing presses with BIG weights. He can’t. His lower back will not be anywhere strong enough and well conditioned for serious work on the standing press.

Let me also note that one of the very best exercises for building STABILITY throughout the lower back and the middle of the body is the wrestler’s bridge. Try 3 sets of 30 seconds per set (with no weight) and work up slowly and steadily until you can do 3 sets of 3 minutes each. You won’t believe how much stronger and more stable you are when doing your barbell exercises. In this regard, don’t forget that I started to do bridging in the Spring of 2000, and by the Fall I had worked up to 12 reps with 202 lbs. in the “supine press in wrestler’s bridge position.” At about the same time, I hit a personal best of 270 in the standing press. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

If you ask someone to list a few good “assistance exercises” for the press, they’ll usually say, “dumbell presses, side presses, incline presses, push presses, jerks, upright rowing, etc.” – in other words they’ll think of “shoulder exercises” and different types of pushing movements. That’s lazy thinking. The shoulder, triceps, traps and “pressing muscles” get plenty or work from pressing. The most beneficial “assistance exercises” for the press are those that strengthen the middle of the body.

 

5.) Do not neglect training your core.
All of the foregoing points apply to training the waist and sides. Unless you already have been doing this, work hard on these areas for six to ten weeks BEFORE starting to specialize on the standing press.

With regard to the waist and sides, the big problem is the crunch. The exercise gurus who have promoted the crunch for so many years have done nothing but develop a generation of lifters who lack any reasonable degree of strength and stability in the middle of their bodies. Scrap the crunches. Replace them with bent-legged situps (with weight, 3x8-12), lying or hanging leg raises, heavy sidebends and the overhead squat.

The overhead squat? Kubik, have you lost your mind? No, not at all. The overhead squat builds tremendous strength and stability all through the middle of the body. It hits the inner abdominal muscles that lie BENEATH the “abs.” When it comes to strength and stability, these are the muscles that count.

And while we’re talking about core strength, let’s talk about the power wheel. Paul Anderson used a simple cart type of this apparatus, described in an earlier press article in IronMan.

 

6.) Start Your Day With Presses

Many lifters train their presses after doing heavy squats or heavy back work. That doesn’t work very well, because your lower back is tired and you are less stable. Do the presses first. That’s the way Olympic lifters did their training in the old days, and remember, those guys were all specialists in the standing press.

 

7.) Be Aggressive

Every single one of you can develop the ability to do a standing press in perfect form with bodyweight. I mean that. Dead serious. Every single one of you . . . bodyweight . . . in perfect form. That should be your long-term goal.

For the younger guys, and for the stronger, more experienced lifters, bodyweight is just the beginning. Once you hit bodyweight, set your sights on 110% of bodyweight. When you can do that, shoot for 120% . . .

Anyone who can handle bodyweight in the standing press is STRONG!
Anyone who gets up to 130% is handling weights equal to some of the very best Olympic lifters in the world back in the pre-steroid days.

Norb Schemansky, in the 198-lb. class, handled 281 pounds. If you do the math you’ll see that Schemansky was pressing 142% of his bodyweight. These numbers show what a strong, determined man can achieve with years of proper, hard training.

 

8.) Try Cleaning for your Presses

Many lifters find they can press more if they clean the weight than if they take it off racks or squat stands, because the bar is better positioned for a heavy press. So learn how to clean, and try cleaning the bar before pressing it. You might find it adds a little more zip to your pressing.

 

9.) Dumbell Pressing

From Saxon to Grimek, from the beer halls of Austria to Davis, Hepburn and Anderson, many, many old-timers specialized in heavy dumbell pressing. And guess what? The best dumbell pressers usually turned out to be the best barbell pressers! You see, heavy dumbells are very hard to balance. To improve your overhead pressing, you need to do plenty of overhead pressing. Heavy dumbell exercises, however, are a tremendous assistance exercise for the standing press. Keep them in mind, and when your progress slows down, work them into your schedule. Harry Paschall used to swear by them; heavy dumbell pressing is one of the “secrets” in his 1951 classic, “Development of Strength”.

 

10.) Handstand Pressing

Another excellent assistance exercise for the standing press is the handstand press. Grimek used to do plenty of handstand presses and gymnastics work, and he became one of the best overhead pressers of his generation. Sig Klein used to specialize in handstand presses and tiger bends, and he managed an amazing record in the military press – a heels together, letter perfect military with 150% bodyweight. Paschall, who was good buddies with both Grimek and Klein, swore by the movement. Give them a try!

 

11.) Keep the Back, Abs and Hips Tight

For proper pressing, you need to “lock” your low back, abs and hips. Most lifters will do best if they also tense the thighs. The entire body must be tight and solid. Pretend you are doing a standing incline press without the incline bench. Your body must support the pressing muscles and the weight of the bar exactly the same as would an incline bench. (This is NOT to say that you lean back and try to press from a 60 degree angle or any similar foolishness. I don’t want you to lean back as if you were ON an incline bench, I want you to understand that your back, hips and abs have to give you that same level of support that a solid bench would provide.)

 

12.) Specialize for a While

The standing press is an exercise that responds very well to specialization programs. Try a schedule devoted to very little other than heavy back work, squats or front squats and standing presses. Remember, the great Olympic lifters of 30’s, 40’s and 50’s devoted almost all of their time to cleans, snatches, presses, squats and jerks, with a significant amount of their training being devoted to the press. They built enormous pressing power and tremendous all-round strength and power. You cannot do better than follow their example.

The foregoing tips will help anyone become not just a good, but an EXCELLENT presser. And remember one more thing – pressing is LIFTING. The standing barbell press is one of the most basic tests of strength ever devised. It has been a standard measure of a man’s physical power since the invention of the barbell. When you become a good presser, you can rightfully claim your place among the lifters of the past and present. Do it!

by Brooks Kubik

 

Bill March Performing the Press in the 1960s (below)

 

 

Recommended

 

By far, the movement that involves more muscles in the body than any other lift is the conventional deadlift. Many years ago, a researcher named Per A. Tesch wrote a book called “Muscle Meets Magnet” which published data from various exercises performed under MRI. He found the conventional deadlift uses some 21 muscles in the body. Squats were second, using some 17. The deadlift is a very demanding lift as it uses almost all of the major muscles in the body. Generally, as there is also a high level of injury when not performed properly, it is best practice to use low reps, between 3-8. The conventional stance deadlift is an excellent precursor to other lifts such as Olymplic lifts and also learning how to pick up heavy weights in a clean and safe manner. It is not necessary for trainers to use extremely heavy weights in the deadlift either, as the goal is to build core strength over and above that which squats alone and other assistance low back movements like the hyperextension.

 

Wide or Narrow -- “Sumo” or “Conventional”?

The conventional deadlift has a greater range of knee extension and involves the spinal erectors to a greater degree than the sumo style deadlift. The narrow stance lift is usally a simpler movement to learn than the sumo style an calls for power in the quads, flexible ankles and a strong back and abdominal wall.

Athletes that require straight line power development such as rowers, track and field, running, skiiing, speed skating, sprinting -- would probably be better off with the conventional deadlift, while ones who require lateral movement, like football, hockey, volleyball, soccer etc, would be better of with the sumo style. It has also been noted that people with longer arms are better suited for conventional and those with shorter frames and arms are better of with sumo, however this is not carved in stone as everyone’s unique biomechanics are so vastly different. One really has to learn both lifts correctly and experiment for themselves. It is likely that you will find yourself stronger in the sumo deadlift in any event.

 

Conventional Deadlift

Approach the bar with a stance of about shoulder width and make sure the laces of the shoes are under the bar with the toes pointed outwards slightly. As in the squat, the bar should line itself right over the arch of the foot. The lifter should bend down with the feet flat and grasp the bar just outside the legs. To keep the bar from rolling out of the hands, the palms should be facing in opposite directions with the dominant hand usually facing forwards. The arms should be as perpendicular to the bar as possible with no bend in the arms at all. The shoulders which should be in front of the bar. While keeping the bar as close to the shins as possible, bend at the ankles and knees. The knees should be positioned slightly ahead of the bar with the heels flat and the weight shifted a bit towards the balls of the feet. The head should point slightly upwards.

Before commencing the lift, take a deep breath and expand the chest as you would when setting up the squat. At this point you should feel the arms straighten and the back being pulled tight as the hips move back and up. Now, you should lock the lower back and push down forcefully with the full of both feet using the muscles of the hips and legs. Throughout the strong hip and leg drive, keep a flat back (neutral lordosis). To help keep this position the head should be held up (not dropping and looking at the floor) and the chest should be ahead of the shoulders, which should be in front of the bar. Squeezing the glutes tight helps maintain back strength and leg drive.

Once the bar reaches the knees, the lifter should keep applying force with the legs and hips. Once the bar passes the knees it should slightly slide along the thighs. As the knees and hips extend, the upper back comes into play to achieve the final form position. There should be no hyperextension at the top. ( I know we see it often, but it is wrong!)

 

Sumo Deadlift

In the wide stance sumo deadlift, the inner thighs and hips are used much more than in the conventional deadlift. This technique is well suited to lifters of all physique type and because it shortens the lever arm, it is especially beneficial to those who are long in the torso. In order to do this lift one must have good flexibility in the adductors and strength in the hips. The harder part about this lift is that the initial drive off of the floor is much harder and usually less explosive.

The shins should touch the bar and the feet angled outwards. Try to place the feet out as far as possible, given that the lower leg is vertical to the floor when in a bent position. Grasp the bar with both hands, taking an alternate-palmed grip. The hand spacing is narrower than the conventional deadlift -- depending on your shoulder width, with arms in the perpendicular the grip may be partly off the knurling.

When starting to move the weight, push downwards with the hips and legs with increasing force while pulling up. While applying force, hold the body as tight as possible as the bar comes off the floor. Concentrate on keeping the chests expanded and in front of the shoulders. This position will keep the bar close to the legs and facilitate a superior mechanical advantage as the bar comes upwards. As with the conventional deadlift the hips and shoulders should rise simultaneously with the angle of the back the same from start to finish.

 

Key Points To Check When Deadlifting

• Shins touching the bar when commencing the lift. But before starting the lift, keep the shins a few inches away from the bar, when grabbing the bar, the legs will be straight, then drive the shins forward into the bar, which will bend the knees and dop the hips. By making sure that your shins touch the bar before you start the lift, you ensure that the bar will travel as close to the body as possible, reducing lumbar shear and also will help lower the center of your body.
• Feet shoulder width apart. Keep the toes pointed slightly outwards.
• Chest out, big breath in. By doing this and keeping your shoulders back, upper body and hips and glutes tight, you will ensure that your back does not round.
• Head position. Do not look either excessively up or down. Look straight forward.
• Keep your arms straight. Starting the lift with bent arms is a good way to injure a biceps tendon. Keep your triceps tensed.
• Avoid trying to pull the weight off of the floor. Do not think in terms of “pulling” the weight off of the floor, but rather starting the weight moving by pushing the floor away through your heels. If you were to try to initiate the movement by pulling the weight off of the floor, it is likely that your back will round to compensate for the lack of hip drive. I can bet on that. Remember: the hips move first, and then the knees. Your hips are what move the weight!
• Tense your glutes! As with other full body movements: bench press, overhead press, squat, etc., it is vital that you tense your glutes to involve the hips. In the case of the deadlift, think of the top half of the movement as being all about driving the hips forward, into the bar (again, rather than trying to pull the bar/body straight!) The glutes, hips, grip and back move the weight.
• Lockout with a neutral spine. Do not hyperextend the back at the top of the movement. When I saw the lifter do this, I can be sure that they are not keeping their glutes tight throughout the lift, because if they were, the glutes would have locked them into a 90 degree poistion on lockout.

 

Footwear

Any sort of shoes with a compressable sole will give you an unstable base to lift from. The best, and cheapest solution is to get a pair of Chuck Taylor’s (pictured). If you need arch support, get a solid plastic insert inside them.

 

Safety Concerns on Deadlift Variations

One type of deadlift to stay away from is the so-called “stiff legged” deadlift. Athletes do not need them and they are a dangerous way to work the lumbar muscles because you are overstretching those muscles with too much of a lever. Squatting deep enough is a good way to work your hamstrings and if you are using this type of deadlifting to build erector strength, you might unfortunately find that it taxes more than just the muscles of the lumbar region. Actually, when the torso is leaned far forward, while supporting a heavy weight in the hands (stifflegged deadlifts) or on the shoulders (bad squats, and/or extreme good mornings) the lumbar muscles are at a mechanical disadvantage and a great portion of the weight is left hanging on the supporting ligaments and the spine. And even with a flat back and slightly bent knees, what happens to the discs between the hinge points -- (L4 and l5) and (L5 and S1) -- is potentially dangerous. Indeed, the ligament walls (annulus fibrosus) of these discs are overstretched dorsally (backwards) and squeezed ventrally (toward the belly). This simultaneous squeezing and stretching causes the bulk of the jelly like material (nucleus pulposus) encased in the annulus to shift back into the ligament wall and increases the potential for long term disc damage. Biomechanics of the body just make for these softs of loading of the spine hazardous. Good mornings and stiff legged deadlifts are just mechanically unsound -- unlike conventional or sumo deadlifts.

In terms of biomechanical efficiency, the wide stance (sumo) deadlift is superior to the close stance (conventional) deadlift. Its advantages include: a more even distribution of forces from the booster muscles, a path of travel closer to the core of the body (shorter lever arm!), a reduction in the lift stroke (distance the bar travels) and a move vertical line to the back (spine). It is generally more difficult to master than the conventional style and calls for strength in the hips as well as flexibility in the adductor magnus and gracialis muscles of the inner, upper leg.

 

Sumo Deadlift (below)

 

Conventional Deadlift (below)

 

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“How to improve your bench press” would have to be the most popular search on any weight training article. From the time we started training with weights, many of us have obsessed over our bench press, even though it is not the best exercise one can do for overall chest development, we sort of measure ourselves by “how much we can bench”. This has been the case since the bench press became the defacto upper body measure of strength when it replaced the overhead press somewhere back in the 50s or 60s. As with everything else, technique is king. Like with bad form in the squat and deadlift, we can walk into any gym and see terrible form in the bench press; “spotters” holding on to the bar, butts coming a half a foot off of the bench and the one that bugs me the most -- loading up the bar with tons of weight and only coming down with the bar a few inches -- a good 5-6″ off of the chest! People also complain of shoulder strain from bench pressing. More often than not, when one looks at their form, we see them making the most critical errors: moving the bar in a straight line up and down, moving the bar with a wide grip and bringing the bar too high on the chest, not having the feet stay firmly planted on the floor, not staying tight in the body, and keeping the chest flat on the bench.

 

Fixing The Most Common Bench Press Errors

Error #1: Moving the bar in a straight line. When lying on the bench, the bar should sit directly over your eyes. When locked out, the bar should be directly over the shoulders. When in the bottom position, the bar should be somewhere at least below the nipple line of the chest depending on how high the arch of the torso is and limb length. When viewed

Error #2: Moving the bar with a wide grip. The width of your hand placement has to involve one of your fingers being on the lathe mark of the bar. That being said, the angle of your limbs will best determine hand spacing. When the bar is touching your chest, the humerus should be out at 45 degrees to the body and no more with the bend in the arms at 90 degrees. The forearms should be at 90 degrees vertically. Too wide and there is too much shoulder strain and too narrow and you are at a leverage disadvantage with the triceps doing too much work. There has to be a straight line between the bar, drawn through the forearm and elbow with the elbows always directly below the bar. If the bar is between the elbows and your shoulders, you will be doing something that resembles more of a tricep extension rather than a bench press.

Error #3: Bringing the bar too high up on the chest. If the bar is too high on the chest you will be putting your shoulders at risk of injury. You want to lower the bar on an angle from lockout directly over the shoulders to below your nipple line and raise it back up, sliding it on an angle to lockout over the shoulders where the elbows snap out under the bar, locking it out over the shoulders.

Error #4: Not having the feet stay firmly planted on the floor. When you first get into position on the bench, the first thing you need to do is plant your feet and heels on the floor and push your body downwards into them, digging your heels into the ground. This is where the leg drive comes from, where exploding from the bottom of the movement, the thigh muscles push backwards up the bench, which results in a transfer of force upwards to the bar. I cannot believe the number of people struggling with their bench press who do not even have or keep both feet on the floor when performing the movement.

Error #5: Not keeping your body tight . As pointed out in the last line above, the bench press is a full body lift, so the whole body needs to be tight and stay tight. Don’t believe me? Try tensing your glutes as hard as you can and work on leg drive and see that work magic for your bench press.

Error #6: Keeping the chest flat on the bench. After getting foot position on the bench and sliding your torso towards your feet along the bench as far as you can, you need to push your shoulder blades back and down towards your body too and tense your traps as hard as you can. This tightness needs to be maintained and you should use a spotter to give you a lift off so you can maintain this position. With the shoulders back and down and the traps tensed, your lats come into play more and actually help the lift as they control the downwards motion and help with the upwards drive as well.

 

Setting up the bench press and getting into position (below)

 

The importance of moving the weight upwards on an angle (below)

 

The importance of bringing the bar down low and hand position (below)

 

The importance of position and joint alignment (below)

 

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Probably no weight training movement has been more maligned than the back squat. Over the years it has been blamed for ruining knees and backs, causing disk problems and building a big butt. There is absolutely no ground to any of these claims when we are talking about squatting properly. For one, squats do not destroy the knees or spine. Squats that are bounced out of at the bottom are bad for the knees, and loading up on tremendous weight and doing partial squats is a good way to overload the lower lumbar area of the spine. But squats done with a weight that you can do in good form and going past parallel is the best way to ensure that you avoid any issues with knee and back problems. Shallow squatting is one of the worst things you can do, because you tend to keep adding weight and then -- bang -- one day, there will be an attempt that will injure you because you did not train the movement in a full range of motion and develop the stabilizer muscles involved properly. Partial squats can also cause an imbalance where the quadriceps get stronger out of proportion to the strength of the hamstrings, which in turn contributes to pelvic imbalances and low back issues. So, stay away from the nonsense you see in some gyms where the guys is doing heavy “partials” with his “partner” bear-hugging him from behind -- this is useless for athletic conditioning and muscle building.

There are many who feel the deep wide stance squat done by powerlifters is the only way to squat. It is true that one can typically move bigger weights squatting like this, but we are interested in the muscular development of the thighs. I personally feel that the “Olympic” style squat with the bar held high on the traps puts a far greater load on the thighs and less on the low back and hips, and will avoid thickening this area as well. The most important consideration is that the trainer keep the bar so that it is constantly at a 90 degree angle straight above the mid-thigh and also the arches of the feet (see image below to see the line of gravity drawn through the mid thigh). Find the bar height placement that best suits your individual body mechanics and keeps the bar in line over the femur and mid-foot. One advantage too with the Oly style squat is that one can get far greater depth and range of motion from this method. keeping the bar as low as some powerlifters do, on the shoulder blades practically, doesn’t allow for the best balancing of the load between the hips, legs and back. This is why so many of them have to do a fair volume of good mornings to compensate. To see proof of what kind of squats build better thighs, all one has to do is look at the thighs of the average Olympic lifter vs powerlifter. In many cases the former has well balanced thigh development and the latter has thighs that look big at the top and small below mid-thigh -- why? Because all of the powerlifters strength in the squat comes from the posterior chain -- the hips and not the thighs. With low-bar squats one can lift more weight because the leverage is shortened. Add to that, Olympic lifters focus mainly on the front squat, which I would argue is the best overall quad builder. Our focus isn’t on lifting weights but on building bigger, proportionately developed muscles while gaining in athletic ability and overall strength.

 

 

How To Squat Properly

Before removing the bar from the rack, grasp the bar very tightly with both hands and use as narrow a grip as you can, which will make the traps bunch up and avoid any stress on the neck. Also with the hands in tight, you will be able to push the chest out and thus cut down on the tendency to lean forward.

The feet and hips must be directly under the bar before the bar is lifted off the racks and stay like that throughout the movement. Place the feet about shoulder width apart and toes pointed slightly outwards. The head is held in a neutral position, not looking down or up. A big breath should be taken and the chest pushed outward and shoulders back. The final step involves straightening and locking the muscles of the back before pushing upward on the bar.

After lifting the bar off the rack and moving backward in as few steps as possible, the feet, hips and torso should still maintain their position and the whole body must be kept as tight as possible. You should also concentrate on squeezing your glutes as much as possible and keep them tight as well. (this helps in all full body movements: bench, military press, cleans, deadlifts, etc!) The elbows should be behind the bar.

The descent is initiated by “breaking” the hips and moving them backwards and downwards as if you were sitting down on something. Never should the movement be initiated by knee movement. After the hips break downwards and backwards the knees will bend automatically. You should feel the weight balanced over the middle of the foot -- not the balls of the feet or heels. The downward movement should be controlled and you should never allow your body to drop. Stay tight. The knees should travel directly out over the feet. This notion that the knees should always stay behind the toes is rubbish. As long as the hips break backwards first, there will be no exorbitant strain on the patellar tendons when the knees slightly extend over the toes. This is the norm in the Olympic squat.

Once you have gone deep enough -- just below parallel -- its time to reverse the downward motion by driving up by, again, initiating movement from the hips. As in the descent, the ascent of the squat is started with hip movement. The heavy weight causes the hips to move up and back and in turn causes both the knees to move toward one another and the torso to bench forward. To counteract these natural movements, and in order to keep the bar over the proper base of support -- directly over the arches -- the hips must be moved forward under the bar. This is best done slowly by pushing the knees outward once the upward acceleration has been established bu the hip drive. At no point should the torso be relaxed. You should slightly slow the motion just before lockout to act as a brake on the explosive movement.

 

Example of an Olympic style squat in good form (below)

 

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When compiling a list of “best exercises” the most vital criteria for selection is choosing movements that a)recruit the greatest amount of muscles involved and b) ones which generate the greatest neural output. Years ago, there was a researcher from Sweden, Per A. Tesch, who studied a large cross section of the most common exercises seen in gyms at the time (1993) under MRI scans to determine which ones used the largest number of muscles. Deadlifts were number one – using some 23 different muscles. Squats were number two, using 17. When it comes to building a large chest, most people would first think of pounding out heavy bench presses. Actually, the truth is that as far as overall pec development, dips are a far better exercise. Overhead press is also a superior test of overall upper body pressing strength than the bench press. Deadlifts are a must for anyone who works at a desk all day, contrary to a lot of people’s beliefs, deadlifts done properly can greatly improve your back. The legendary John Grimek, seen on the cover of Strength and Health magazine in 1941 had the most perfect baseball sized biceps which he got by doing tons of weighted chins (apparently an injury to his elbow made doing curls painful). Power cleans are a must for any athlete, whether its football, hockey or MMA, nothing builds explosive power like hang cleans, not to mention huge traps!

I am convinced that if all one did was to take this list below and split it in half with one lower body exercise in each workout into essentially an “A/B” split, and did this just two days a week they would grow far better than any of the routines we see in the popular magazines today.

The Eight Best Exercises

1. Deadlift (Sumo or Conventional)
2. Squat (Back or Front)
3. Barbell Row (Pendlay or Yates)
4. Overhead Press
5. Dips
6. Chins
7. Bench Press
8. Cleans

 

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My youngest son, Beau, has a sign in his room which reads Beau knows Squat. I like it! ‘Course, it’s a play off the ol’ Bo Jackson thing, but I don’t care. I know Beau, and I don’t know Bo. And, Bo doesn’t know Squat!

Humor me once more. See, I used to be pretty good at squatting. Eleven hundred pounds ain’t a bad squat, no? You might say that I too — ahem — know squat!

Ok, ok! I’ll spare you. Problem is, the doctors don’t care, the coaches don’t think, the athletes don’t have time, the bodybuilders don’t want to know, the sports scientists writing about squatting don’t have the in-the-trenches experience to really know.

And I don’t understand. Why someone just doesn’t TELL them why squatting is the one exercise that EVERYONE (bodybuilders, athletes, kids, your Mamma) ought to do. I tried to do it once back in ‘85 with an article in Sports Fitness, a magazine that I launched for Joe Weider. That magazine metamorphosed into what is now known as Men’s Fitness. In that ten year old article, I wrote about a few myths associated with squatting that seemed persistent back then:

Myth #1: Squats are bad for the knees.
Myth #2: Squats are bad for the spine.
Myth #3: Squats are dangerous to the heart.
Myth #4: Squats slow you down.

Well, these four myths, it seems, are still somewhat alive. However, others have arisen that are even more troublesome. And, you know what? This time, the sources and perpetuators of the myths are from the ranks of several muscle mags!

Well, it’s a tough job, but I’m gonna give it my best shot. I’ll tackle these myths — and the old ones — one by one. You pencilnecks out there who disagree with me (anyone who disagrees with me on the issue of squatting has GOTTA be a pencilneck) on these squat issues, do me a favor. Put up or shut up. Let’s see some science for a change, not just jabberwocky and claptrap.

And, please! Get this once and for all! Marketing fitness to the masses does NOT have to include making it palatable for the newly initiated by saying things like, “Beginners shouldn’t do squats, or any of the other myths listed.”

I know better. More importantly, the 42 ladies who participated in a 12 week research project I conducted all LOVED squats. All were chronically obese, 40-70 years old, and none had ever trained before in their lives. My son, Beau — he’s six — loves to squat. Every athlete I’ve ever coached squatted and loved the outcomes. How come it is that elite weightlifters, powerlifters and shot putters — all of whom squat — vertical jump higher and run a 5 meter dash faster than any other class of athletes in any sport? Including high jumpers and sprinters?

Myth #1: Squats are bad for the knees.
Just as calluses build up on the hands with the application of stress, ligaments, tendons and other connective tissues thicken in response to the stress imposed upon the joints during weight training. Also, strengthening the muscles that move the knee joint improves its stability, and there’s some evidence that even the portion of the bone into which the tendons insert becomes stronger, further improving the joint’s integrity.

Relaxing the muscles while in a rock-bottom position is improper and hazardous. The relaxed muscles allow the knee joint to separate slightly, placing the ligaments and cartilage under stress that may exceed their tensile strength. While proper stress produces adaptation, overly stressful exercise can cause breakdown of bodily tissue.

Myth #2: Squats are bad for the spine.
If performed with a relatively straight back, the weight is borne directly over the spinal column, and torque as well as shearing force is minimized. Weight training is supposed to strengthen the supportive tissues of the body (bones, muscles and connective tissues). So wear a belt when the weight is heavy and reps are low, but stay away from such supportive devices otherwise.

Beginners often find squats uncomfortable for the neck (the cervical spine) because of the pressure of the bar resting there. You’ll get used to it. In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to pad the bar with a towel or piece of rubber. Me? I prefer the padded yolk of the Safety Squat Bar. Ok, so I’m a whimp! I don’t like unnecessary discomfort!

Myth #3: Squats are dangerous to the heart.
Many weight-training exercises restrict blood flow because of prolonged muscular contraction. The result is elevated blood pressure. The condition isn’t dangerous and it’s temporary. The heart, like every other muscle in the body, responds to stress by adapting to it. In time, the cardiovascular system is strengthened through weight training.

Squats can sometimes tax the heart to dangerous limits, however. My blood pressure rocketed to 220 over 130 or more during a set of squats. That can be rough on the ol’ ticker if your ticker needs tinkering! People suffering from coronary disease will find heavy squats more taxing than beneficial. In most cases in which a prior condition existed that would have precluded heavy training, a qualified sports physician could, with careful screening, prevent these kinds of accidents. All athletes as well as fitness enthusiasts who want to train with weights should see a good sports physician before embarking on a stressful training program.

Myth #4: Squats slow you down.
It’s well known among exercise physiologists that the stronger the muscle is, the faster it contracts, particularly against resistance. An athlete’s running and jumping ability can only be enhanced through the development of great leg strength.

There. That takes care of the old myths that I wrote about a decade ago. Look back, and you’ll see that very little has changed in my rebuttals to these early myths. Some science is as good today as it was yesterday.

Here are some of the more recent “opinions I read and hear about squats. The really funny thing is that many of them contradict one another! At least ten years ago perpetuators of myths were together in their belief that squats were bad for you. Nowadays, there are so many new “chiefs (self-proclaimed gurus who, in fact, aren’t qualified or well informed enough to hold an opinion on much of anything, let alone squatting!) that one wonders where all the Indians went!

New Myth #1: Only powerlifters need to do squats.
There are many forms of squatting, each having unique benefits and applications. The powerlifting style of squatting is the best way to lift limit tonnage. It’s also the most dangerous because of the immense shearing forces placed on the lumbar spine. For your information, though, it’s only dangerous for those powerlifters who never learned how to periodize their training. The ONLY time I ever did powerlifting style squats was right before a competition (6-8 weeks out). Otherwise, I did several of the other varieties of squats, depending upon where I was in my cycle and what my training objectives were at the time.

Here are the noteworthy variations to the squat movement that have been employed over the years:

• Powerlifting Squats (wide, intermediate or narrow stance)
• Olympic Squats (also called “High Bar Squats” or “Bodybuilding Squats”)
• Safety Squats
• Twisting Squats
• Lunge Squats
• Side Lunge Squats
• Partial Squats
• Box Squats
• Jefferson Squats
• Hack Squats (with barbell or machine)
• Leg Presses (angle of weight ascent ranging from 0 degrees to 90 degrees)
• Overhead Squats (also called snatch grip squats)
• Magic Circle Squats (also called Raider squats)
• Sissy Squats
• Front Squats
• Platform Squats
• Zane Squats
• Platz Squats (Olympic squats done with a bent bar)
• Bear Squats
• Front Harness Squats
• True Squats

All are good, all have their unique benefits, and at least one or two should ALWAYS be incorporated into all mesocycles of your leg training regimen, regardless of whether you’re just an average Mrs. Jones looking for fitness or Quadzilla. It just depends upon what your objectives are.

New Myth #2: Since no athlete in any sport moves vertically up and down with a load on their shoulders, there’s no reason for athletes ever to do squats. They’re just not sport-specific.

Good observation, although not entirely logical. Any good strength coach knows that there is a general movement away from general movements to more specific movements as the competition season gets nearer and nearer. Straight up-and-down squats are done in the off-season. They give way to lunge squats, side lunge squats, Bear squats and finally the ultimate form of squatting for most athletes — twisting squats.

Didn’t know that? It doesn’t surprise me. You don’t know squat!

New Myth #3: Bodybuilders will get bigger, more cut quads with leg extensions, and they’ll get bigger, more cut hams with leg curls. So they don’t need squats.

I recognize the need for other leg exercises in a bodybuilders routine. Leg curls and leg extensions are great, but don’t get the idea that they are how bodybuilders get cuts! DIET provides the cuts. As for squatting, well, let me give you words of wisdom from Jeff MADDOG Madden, the ISSA-certified strength coach for the University of North Carolina.

Down the road, in a gym far away
A young man was heard to say,
“No matter what I do, my legs won’t grow!”
He tried leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses too.
Trying to cheat, these sissy workouts he’d do!
From the corner of the gym where the big guys train,
Through a cloud of chalk and the midst of pain,
Where the big iron rides high, and threaten lives,
Where the noise is made with big forty-fives,
A deep voice bellowed as he wrapped his knees,
A very big man with legs like trees,
Laughing as he snatched another plate from the stack,
Chalked his hands and monstrous back,
Said, “Boy, stop lying and don’t say you’ve forgotten!”
Trouble with you is you ain’t been SQUATTIN’!
‘Nuff said.

New Myth #4: The ONLY way to get big legs is to squat.

Squatting provides the greatest amount of adaptive stress to the greatest number of major muscles in the upper leg. That simply means more bang for the buck. More effect for the effort. But don’t get the idea that squatting is all you have to do to get big legs!

There’s many other exercises (listed already), that are necessary, but they’re to be regarded as auxiliary to squatting! Why? Read Maddog’s poem again!

New Myth #5: Narrow stance for the vastus lateralis sweep.
While the inner and outer quads are activated via separate neural input, they function as a single unit for most intents because 1) the origin points of 3 of the quads are so close together, 2) they share a common insertion and 3) the quads span such a long bone. There may be a bit of differentiation possible through foot placement, but not so much that overall size takes a back seat to whatever meager shape changes you can effect.

Get big, and hope that the good Lord, in his infinite wisdom, gave you the genes necessary to have that pleasing “sweep” bodybuilders favor.

New Myth #6: Squats will give you a broad butt.
First, re-read my response to New Myth #5. Add to that bit of wisdom the fact that gluteal development is more often a genetic thing. Look at Tom Platz! No hammer there! Lots of guys and gals squat without getting big butts. Wide, intermediate or narrow, it doesn’t really make that much difference.

On the other hand, no advantage is ever gained by going real wide (beyond, say, 24-36 inches wide) for anyone other than powerlifters. So keep your stance somewhere inside 24 inches or so, and you’ll do great.

New Myth #7: Hack squat machines, Smith machines, leg press machines and the amazing plethora of other leg machines the past 30 years have witnessed are all safer than squats, and just as effective. So why even bother with the old fashioned squat?

Folks, squint your eyes and watch as someone does hack squats. Likewise for leg presses. Tell me what you see! Visualize that person standing on the floor and doing the precise same movement with the precise same body position. What do you see?

An unbelievably funky lookin’ squat that isn’t much good for much of anything.

Now, that’s not to say that while in the machine (instead of standing on the floor doing the same movement) it’s a worthless exercise! Hack squats have value. So do sissy squats. So do leg presses. Most you us who live in the trench know them all. But don’t tell me that they can take the place of squats! They are to be considered auxiliary to squats. Only during injury are they ever to be considered replacements for squats.
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