Today, sets of 5 at 95, 115, and video below of 135 lbs
Olympic lifting shoes. Comments welcomed.
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Olympic lifting shoes. Comments welcomed.
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Barbell First Barbell FSQ in a while
- Thread starter Steve Freides
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Bret S.
Level 9 Valued Member
Hey Steve, not an SFL but looks good to me.. One question though, is your lower back or hip on the left side bothering you? It appears you may be favoring the right or compensating for the left side. I have an on going battle with the left side lumbar area so that's why I ask..
From the SFL manual, step 14 as you squat, "Push your chest up into the bar. Keep your elbows up." I'm thinking ideally the upper arms stay parallel to the ground all the way down and all the way up, though it's not a standard... thoughts?
I'm not aware of anything recent, but I do know my left leg is weaker. I have limited dorsiflexion in both ankles but the left side is worse - and it's something I do work on.
I don't see anything in the video, however, that would lead me to reach the conclusion you've reached, so I'm curious as to what you saw.
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I'm trying to keep my elbows high the entire time but I don't know if a strict parallel has more benefit than being a bit below. So long as the weight is resting on the shoulders and not in the hands, I think it's OK. But I am driving them up as much as I can.
I have a bit of a "hidden agenda" in doing these - they're a great stretch for my hands and wrists. Because I want that stretch, I'm purposely keeping a little more hand under the bar than I really need to. And, hey, why do hand and wrist stretches when you can do front squats and get stronger, right?
135 lbs. seems a good working weight for me now, heavy enough to notice but not so heavy that I have to focus on completing the lift. I will probably work up to multiple sets of 5-8 at this weight and look to keep improving my form as I do.
Dimas, about as good as it gets, below. At about 1:15, you'll see some front squats as he preps for jerks - upper arms looks less than parallel to me, for what it's worth as an example.
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North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
Looks good from here.
When I was doing a lot of these I used a crossed arm hold, so I can't comment on the angle of the upper arm in your case. As long as it feels snug to your neck and not pulling forward out of its rest you're good.
There's a real tendency to lean forward slightly at the beginning of the rise, but this is true of Zircher and all front loaded squats.
When I was doing a lot of these I used a crossed arm hold, so I can't comment on the angle of the upper arm in your case. As long as it feels snug to your neck and not pulling forward out of its rest you're good.
There's a real tendency to lean forward slightly at the beginning of the rise, but this is true of Zircher and all front loaded squats.
You're right, he certainly doesn't. Maybe it's an unrealistic ideal I have in my head, one of those things to strive for to keep the chest and elbows up, but not necessary to acheive.
Bret S.
Level 9 Valued Member
I saw a slight almost imperceptible clockwise torquing as you lower to bottom and drive up. Something I'm famous for with kb front squats, I really have to try and keep lined up and not bias the right (stronger) side.
Yes, for me at my level, driving the elbows up helps me keep my chest up, hence it's a good cue for a beginner/intermediate lifter.
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JeffC
Level 7 Valued Member
Your Front Squat looks good. It’s a little hard to tell on video, but your unrack looks soft. Wedge under the weight with more intention it sets the tension for the set. You look a little loose. Maybe with more weight you would be tighter. Your walkout looks a little far. Just step back enough to clear the rack.
Leading with the elbows is a good cue. It fixes a lot of errors in the Front Squat. Letting the elbows drop is an error. Do they have to be parallel to the floor? I would not worry about that. If your flexibility allows great, but as long as the bar is secure you are good.
The most important part and the most interesting difference of the Front Squat compared to other lifts is protraction and elevation of the shoulder, while maintaining the back, to create the pocket for the barbell to rack securely.
A Jerk is different. You want as wide a grip as possible, to reduce the distance to lockout, and the elbows down, but in from of the bar. You want to be as wide as possible with the least amount of weight in the hands.
My Press Grip is very narrow. My Push Press is similar to my Front Squat width. My Jerk Grip width is as wide a possible. That why you see Weightlifter pop the weight off their body at the top and reset their grip for the Jerk.
Greg Everett explains things way better than I ever could.
The Clean and Jerk Rack Positions
Leading with the elbows is a good cue. It fixes a lot of errors in the Front Squat. Letting the elbows drop is an error. Do they have to be parallel to the floor? I would not worry about that. If your flexibility allows great, but as long as the bar is secure you are good.
The most important part and the most interesting difference of the Front Squat compared to other lifts is protraction and elevation of the shoulder, while maintaining the back, to create the pocket for the barbell to rack securely.
A Jerk is different. You want as wide a grip as possible, to reduce the distance to lockout, and the elbows down, but in from of the bar. You want to be as wide as possible with the least amount of weight in the hands.
My Press Grip is very narrow. My Push Press is similar to my Front Squat width. My Jerk Grip width is as wide a possible. That why you see Weightlifter pop the weight off their body at the top and reset their grip for the Jerk.
Greg Everett explains things way better than I ever could.
The Clean and Jerk Rack Positions
The Nail
Level 7 Valued Member
That's a great video. Olympic lifts are fun to watch. Dimas does a ton of work even in that short video with those complexes.
@Geoff Chafe, my FSQ grip is very narrow, index fingers at the very inside edge of the knurling. If I don't, I don't have the shelf on which to rest the bar. As it is, the bar is quite up against the base of my throat.
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JeffC
Level 7 Valued Member
Play with different grip widths. Whatever works for for is fine as long as you are not choking yourself out, stressing the wrists, or losing the bar forward. As far as I could tell your front rack looked good.
I can only get two or three fingers on the bar currently. I Front Squat after Bench day which is not helping me though. You have great flexibility. A full grip on the bar is not necessary for strength training purposes, but is harder and you cannot do as much weight with a full grip for some reason.
I can only get two or three fingers on the bar currently. I Front Squat after Bench day which is not helping me though. You have great flexibility. A full grip on the bar is not necessary for strength training purposes, but is harder and you cannot do as much weight with a full grip for some reason.
I am currently doing OHP (barbell) and FSQ on one day, then BP and DL the next - seems to be working out OK for me, then it's another day or two before I'm back to OHP/FSQ day - usually an endurance day of some sort and possibly a day off in there.
At some point, I will likely keep the full grip for warmup FSQ and then loosen it up for work sets, I imagine. I'm also looking forward to, at some point in the next few weeks or months, keeping the FSQ warmup and moving to a high bar back squat for the working weights. I'm hoping to HBBSQ in PL meets in the future - love how both the FSQ and HBBSQ feel.
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Stefan
Level 4 Valued Member
You might want to work on upper back mobility. But here are two things you could try that might improve things fast:
1. Do them with straps (just like you would use straps in a deadlift of any other exercise). Only do this in warmups. It will help build mobility for FSq.
2. Instead of driving with the elbows, think about driving up with the chest. It’s a more effective cue for some people.
Good luck.
1. Do them with straps (just like you would use straps in a deadlift of any other exercise). Only do this in warmups. It will help build mobility for FSq.
2. Instead of driving with the elbows, think about driving up with the chest. It’s a more effective cue for some people.
Good luck.
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