Stella's Adventures in Squatting Journal

Efficiency and control

This brief episode provides feedback to the last workout and touches on the importance of maintaining efficiency and control of your reps. Bill comments on what he perceives characterizes the best squatters. I latched on to this comment and repeated it my mind until the next day of squats (which was an eventful day at the rack).

Bill: As you move forward, the only set to really 'go for it' is the last set of 3 and only if you really want to.

<<My unracking was good on the heavy set. Get into position, strong, quiet, smooth, Boom, she's off there.>>

While I didn't pay particular attention at the time, recalling the best squatters I have personally seen, they were always (a) in control of the bar and (b) efficient and economical in their movements. None of the screaming, yelling, banging foreheads on the bar, etc. Granted there are a lot of guys who do that and some of them are pretty good, but they're rarely the best.

On the addition of leg presses:

The weight is unimportant as long as it makes you work a little and gives you that full-range stretch. After the squats and all the considerations with performing that lift, the leg press should be almost relaxing.

<<Great training was flecked with 3 seperate incidents of men standing there watching me do a set and then approaching me to question why I was squatting so much...>>

Possible response: After long, slow look at the pins holding the other guy up: "You know, size isn't always a bad thing."

<<"Good, you got it, that's fine, you got it, you did fine- perfect squat" and then he wandered away to shrug.>>

Shrugs are an interesting exercise. They are an assistance exercise to help improve cleans, deadlifts, and the like. Yet lately I've seen folks who would never think of picking a bar off the floor work like the dickens on DB shrugs. Must have been featured in one of the popular mags recently.

<< it was a great disappointment to had to have dealt with the attitudes of those who are so blocked into their views...... >>

You're right, it's their limitation. But it's all over the place. Usually, I hit the gym when it's dead because I like the emptiness. The last month or so, however, I've been going about an hour earlier (to avoid some nighttime construction on my route) and have been seeing a whole different group of people. A high proportion of women many of whom are very attractive. They're there to workout, sweat, and make improvements. But many of the guys just won't leave them alone. Constantly interrupting them, pointers on how to 'do the exercise right', etc. Compounding it is that polite responses are perceived as encouragement. The gals have to get rude to be left alone. It's got to drive them crazy.

Bill

Forward to the next page

Return to Stella's Journal Index

Why don’t you take a moment to visit our forum right now?