Showing posts with label kettlebell front squat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kettlebell front squat. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2009
Pelvis Power: getting the hip joint in hip drive for increased power and position strength
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A lot of folks have been told in order to add power to the hip extension in a deadlift or kettlebell swing, snatch or squat to squeeze their butt at the top, tense the glutes, etc etc. Physiologically, kinetically, it seems we get more power if we focus on the other side of the pelvis - anterior rather than posterior. Rather than thinking about the butt tightening, think about the hips rotating out. Allow me to explain.
But first, a bit of context: this tip was demo'd for me by Z-Health Master Trainer & RKC Lou McGovern of Essential Strength when Lou was helping me to hone my rather dire longboarding skills. Let me also say that Lou is a fabulous trainer. If you want to get better and ANYTHING you are doing with movement, and happen to be anywhere around San Diego, seek him out. You will be well recompensed for your efforts.
Ok Second to the point at hand, as Lou asked me "where are the hips?"
If you (as i did) pointed to your thighs, we have to think deeper. The joint where the femur connects to the pelvis is well inside the leg, rather a handspan out from the crotch to the joint.
The idea is to think about this joint and consciously turn the thigh out (externally rotate).
If you put your hand on that area of your leg, and do this motion, you can feel the hip joint move.
At the same time you do this, you'll aslo feel your glute muscles tense as well.In contrast, you can clench your butt without engaging the hips.
Cranking Up the Strength. Which is stronger? Butt clenching or Hip Joint Out?
Lou demonstrated the difference between these two positions by having me stand in neutral stance, putting my arms straight out in front of me.
He then asked me just to clench my butt, and from there he pressed down on my outstretched arms. Which came down.
He then asked me to reset my arms and this time think about rotating my hips out. He then tried to push down on my arms again. They were much stronger this time (they didn't get shoved down).
Echoes in Powerlifting Cues? In a quick exhange about this tip with Pavel, Pavel asked if this were the same idea as powerlifters "screwing their feet into the floor." Lou said, yes, it's just thinking about the other end of the movement, too, in a bone ryhthm way (see this post on the viking push press for a bit more on bone rhythm).
In other words, in the screwing the feet into the floor in a squat, one plants the feet, let's say parallel to each other, and rotates out against the foot plant. In the hip turn, now we're thinking about not just the feet turning out but the hip (the top of the leg, really) as well.
aside: This approach of rotating out against a fixed point seems similar to how Pavel describes the hand/arm position for the one arm push up in Power to the People.
Trying it Out. If you give this move a go when swinging a KB or deadlifting or squatting, you may find the move is stronger, smoother, easier. Personally i find on the squat this coordinated move makes it easier to keep my knees where they're supposed to be. Likewise on the top of the swing, if i think about turning my hips out, i don't have to think about driving the hips forward or "snapping" them - the snap happens as a result of the hip movement.
Conceptually. I like this approach: the concept of the hip snap, while i've been doing it for the swing and snatch in particular, has felt like Something We Just Do to get the hips forward. With the notion of rolling the hips out, which results in the pelvic thrust AND the glute contraction and pelvic muscles getting worked too, it seems to simplify the "what to do" meaning there's less to check on the move check list - at least for me. Your mileage may vary.
Likewise, at least for me, what Lou has brought to what is perhaps a set of well known hip tropes for many lifters is to really think about *what do we mean by the hips?" Just that simple point of really gettting WHERE that joint actually IS in the movement has been huge. The "hip" seems so amorphous. What is that, now that i think about it (or thought about it then). But by actually getting at the notion of the joint and the joint action, things open up. It makes all the metaphors of feet screwing and hip thrusting and butt clenching kinda happen. That's what makes a great coach for someone, is that that person can connect in a meaningful way a good mental model for the athlete. Thanks Lou.
Give it a Go? If you want to try this, please by all means try the arms out, butt clench, and then arms out hips rotate front/out with someone pressing down on the arms to feel the difference. IF no one is around to test this, simply try this move with your squat or swing and see what you think. Let me know.
UPDATE:
Many thanks to Ken Froese at the DD Forum for pointing out this vid of Lou talking about spinning out the hips in the context of an overhead kb press. A key point in the vid (and it's so CLEAR after it's explained, like duh) is that it locks out the hip hinge part of a lift (like the clean with a kb) so that, with the hinge gone, there's a really stable platform - less give. That's yet one more reason this technique is so potent. Here's Lou:
Related Posts
But first, a bit of context: this tip was demo'd for me by Z-Health Master Trainer & RKC Lou McGovern of Essential Strength when Lou was helping me to hone my rather dire longboarding skills. Let me also say that Lou is a fabulous trainer. If you want to get better and ANYTHING you are doing with movement, and happen to be anywhere around San Diego, seek him out. You will be well recompensed for your efforts.
Ok Second to the point at hand, as Lou asked me "where are the hips?"If you (as i did) pointed to your thighs, we have to think deeper. The joint where the femur connects to the pelvis is well inside the leg, rather a handspan out from the crotch to the joint.
The idea is to think about this joint and consciously turn the thigh out (externally rotate).
If you put your hand on that area of your leg, and do this motion, you can feel the hip joint move.
At the same time you do this, you'll aslo feel your glute muscles tense as well.In contrast, you can clench your butt without engaging the hips.
Cranking Up the Strength. Which is stronger? Butt clenching or Hip Joint Out?
Lou demonstrated the difference between these two positions by having me stand in neutral stance, putting my arms straight out in front of me.
He then asked me just to clench my butt, and from there he pressed down on my outstretched arms. Which came down.
He then asked me to reset my arms and this time think about rotating my hips out. He then tried to push down on my arms again. They were much stronger this time (they didn't get shoved down).
Echoes in Powerlifting Cues? In a quick exhange about this tip with Pavel, Pavel asked if this were the same idea as powerlifters "screwing their feet into the floor." Lou said, yes, it's just thinking about the other end of the movement, too, in a bone ryhthm way (see this post on the viking push press for a bit more on bone rhythm).
In other words, in the screwing the feet into the floor in a squat, one plants the feet, let's say parallel to each other, and rotates out against the foot plant. In the hip turn, now we're thinking about not just the feet turning out but the hip (the top of the leg, really) as well.
aside: This approach of rotating out against a fixed point seems similar to how Pavel describes the hand/arm position for the one arm push up in Power to the People.
Trying it Out. If you give this move a go when swinging a KB or deadlifting or squatting, you may find the move is stronger, smoother, easier. Personally i find on the squat this coordinated move makes it easier to keep my knees where they're supposed to be. Likewise on the top of the swing, if i think about turning my hips out, i don't have to think about driving the hips forward or "snapping" them - the snap happens as a result of the hip movement.
Conceptually. I like this approach: the concept of the hip snap, while i've been doing it for the swing and snatch in particular, has felt like Something We Just Do to get the hips forward. With the notion of rolling the hips out, which results in the pelvic thrust AND the glute contraction and pelvic muscles getting worked too, it seems to simplify the "what to do" meaning there's less to check on the move check list - at least for me. Your mileage may vary.
Likewise, at least for me, what Lou has brought to what is perhaps a set of well known hip tropes for many lifters is to really think about *what do we mean by the hips?" Just that simple point of really gettting WHERE that joint actually IS in the movement has been huge. The "hip" seems so amorphous. What is that, now that i think about it (or thought about it then). But by actually getting at the notion of the joint and the joint action, things open up. It makes all the metaphors of feet screwing and hip thrusting and butt clenching kinda happen. That's what makes a great coach for someone, is that that person can connect in a meaningful way a good mental model for the athlete. Thanks Lou.
Give it a Go? If you want to try this, please by all means try the arms out, butt clench, and then arms out hips rotate front/out with someone pressing down on the arms to feel the difference. IF no one is around to test this, simply try this move with your squat or swing and see what you think. Let me know.
UPDATE:
Many thanks to Ken Froese at the DD Forum for pointing out this vid of Lou talking about spinning out the hips in the context of an overhead kb press. A key point in the vid (and it's so CLEAR after it's explained, like duh) is that it locks out the hip hinge part of a lift (like the clean with a kb) so that, with the hinge gone, there's a really stable platform - less give. That's yet one more reason this technique is so potent. Here's Lou:
Related Posts
- Kettlebell Front Squat and the Perfect Rep
- Arthrokinetic Reflex
- Deadlift Resources
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Sunday, May 31, 2009
Renegade Row: dynamic strength and balance
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An exercise complex that has recently become a favorite of mine is the renegade row (with push up).
Why? Rows in general are great upper body workouts. Stuart McGill has recently done an article on rows comparing inverted, standing bent over and one arm cable rows for back activation patterns. They are powerful core workouts.
The renegade row is likely closest to the standing bent over row with a few differences - a biggie being balance/control of the weight.
The renegade row, is shown above with Power Blocks. For added strength/stability challenge, put your feet only shoulder width apart, and get out a couple of kettlebells. Why kb's? It takes a bit of extra coordination (ie muscles firing) to keep them steady. That means you're adding a wee bit of balance to the workload.
mc's Renegade Row Sequence
Just to review, here's how i do a renegade row sequence - it may vary from yours.
Pull Part
Push Part:
Now, other variants of this row are, pull left, push up, pull right. Personally, i find it more effective to focus on the pulls, L/R and then the pushes. Your mileage may vary.
Sequencing:
I like to EDT the renegade rows into a set with some lower body work. Somedays its goblet squats, or double KB front squats, or romanian single leg dl's or yesterday it was double kb single leg deadlifts for the lower body work. EDT means going for max sets of each pattern within 15 mins, using a 10RM weight going for only five reps.
Muscles Worked: why i love this excersise.
I love how this sequence makes me feel for the next few days:
A bit of Stability; A bit of Form; a bit of kalos sthenos (beautiful movement)
I also like the momentary loaded, dynamic balance / strength aspect of
Mr. mahler, pictured above, has his feet nice and close - shoulder width at most. He seems, however, to be torquing to the side here. I'd suggest stay more in the level plank and get the hand right up to the waist. You'll note the guy in the vid at the top of this story above doesn't torque but his feet are quite spread.
Get both these parts together and you'll be very pleased with yourself. For instance, take a look at this version: nice level trunk; feet only shoulder width apart; neutral neck position; no torquing on the up.
Now some folks what don't know better may say these are "sissy weights" pirctured, but they may want to reserve that appellation if they can't hold this form with their KB of choice themselves.
As you can see if you have given this sequence a go, it's not easy to get in this kind of dynamic upper body/trunk work, and the RR is way cool.
Practice staying tight (as pavel might say) in the core. You may want to practice doing planks first, or getting used to balancing in form on the bells and just bringing your hand up to your side while maintaining your plank form while one side is off the bell.
Challenging form: balance
I mention that we're working to hold balance when using the KB's rather than the very stable powerblocks. And for me that little bit of stabilization required is just right: not too much instability. What do i mean by "too much"?
Some times you'll see folks using medballs for their pushups - i'm not crazy for that much of a stability challenge - i personally don't test stronger after that; with kb's i do.
By "test stronger" - i mean something zhealth teaches: if you're wondering if a particular
form of an exercise is working for you, do a muscle test (you may need a partner for this) before the test; do the excercise; retest. If you're weaker, there may have been something saying to your nervous system that's not a happy thing.
Ok. what's a muscle test, since there are different ways this term is used. Here, it's pretty straight ahead: it's simply a test to see if your muscles are functioning properly. If you hold your arm up, and your wrist out in extension, i shouldn't readily be able to pull your hand down if everything is firing properly.
Another good example - testing hamstring strength: all's well, you standing with your hands on the wall, looking straight ahead, bent knee, i should have some good resistance pushing down on your calf. Indeed i shouldn't really be able to press a big guy's leg to the ground (as per me here, pushing on Kenneth Jay's calf as Mike Cheatham kindly plays "the wall" for this muscle test at the Denmark09 RKC). I've written before about this kind of thing with the arthrokinetic reflex.
So once you do this test, you may find that you test a little more weakly (muscle is overcome) in a test than before doing pushups on wobbly surface. This is going to get onto a whole jag about instability training, but why jump on a wobbly surface if, say, we have trouble keeping balance with one foot off the ground and we then turn our head sharply? give it a go - how'd you do? Try a few other sports positions and then turn your head (as you might in real life or in a sport); try them with your eyes closed and a good head turn.
Here's a great one: one foot in front of the other, toe touching heel. Stable, or surfer dude? Now close your eyes. More stable or more surfer?
That's our proprioceptive system working really hard since our balance comes from vision, vestibular (inner ear) and proprioception (the nerves in our joints ligaments and muscles saying where in space we are). Apparently 80% of that VVP load comes from the eyes. Take those away, you can give yourself a whole LOT of balance training very quickly.
So why not get good at that, in motion (we move in real life) before going for that wobble board or med ball or swiss ball?
So if you want to work balance, fabulous. get on one leg, turn your head. One leg, close your eyes, turn your head. When you're awesome at moving and balancing, go a bit squishier. Remember, the idea is not to be stable on a wobble board, but stable in motion.
A lot of studies about wobble board adaptations don't demonstrate translation OFF the board into real activities (note, we are NOT talking about swiss ball work in the context of rehab, but regularly fit folk doing their workouts on unstable surfaces.) Here's a great example: this is a super article at the sports injury bulletin on the relationship of the proprioceptive system's mix with the visual and vestibular for balance work. Once you finish the intro though, here comes the wobble stuff. Does it translate off the board?
McGill was one of the first to show that sitting on swiss balls doesn't actually help strengthen the low back. Likeiwise, this is eric cressey's beef with unstable surface training and athetics. All this bosu ball stuff - so what you can balance on one of these - what happens when you get off them? From the actual research Cressey's done, the answer is not alot to less than nothing. A fast muscle test pre and post will tell you the same thing.
At least the recommendations at the end of that sports injury bulletin article is to start balance training on stable surfaces; master that before adding any kind of load - and load can be doing sums while balancing - it doesn't have to be a wobble board (aside: these concepts are all very much part of the z health i phase certification, so if you're looking for a trainer sensitive to improving your atheltic performance in the real world, look for a zhealth trainer with I in the list of their certs).
Summary: Renegade Rows Rock.
Hmm. well. didn't expect a description of the renegade row to become a treatise on the evils of the bosu. The intent was to say, if you're looking for something new to challenge your workouts, the renegade row with its pull and push, done with kettlebells, and especially as part of an EDT upper/lower body set workout, can be simply awesome.
You'll love all the places you're aware of your muscles over the next few days. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Why? Rows in general are great upper body workouts. Stuart McGill has recently done an article on rows comparing inverted, standing bent over and one arm cable rows for back activation patterns. They are powerful core workouts.
The renegade row is likely closest to the standing bent over row with a few differences - a biggie being balance/control of the weight.
The renegade row, is shown above with Power Blocks. For added strength/stability challenge, put your feet only shoulder width apart, and get out a couple of kettlebells. Why kb's? It takes a bit of extra coordination (ie muscles firing) to keep them steady. That means you're adding a wee bit of balance to the workload.
mc's Renegade Row Sequence
Just to review, here's how i do a renegade row sequence - it may vary from yours.
Pull Part
- pull up one bell to belt line and belt height
- put it down
- pull up opposite side put it down
- repeat 5 times.
Push Part:
- follow the pull sets with 5 perfectly level push ups on the bell handles.
Now, other variants of this row are, pull left, push up, pull right. Personally, i find it more effective to focus on the pulls, L/R and then the pushes. Your mileage may vary.
Sequencing:
I like to EDT the renegade rows into a set with some lower body work. Somedays its goblet squats, or double KB front squats, or romanian single leg dl's or yesterday it was double kb single leg deadlifts for the lower body work. EDT means going for max sets of each pattern within 15 mins, using a 10RM weight going for only five reps.
Muscles Worked: why i love this excersise.
I love how this sequence makes me feel for the next few days:
- it hits the abs, but the obliques it seems in particular
- Lats are loved
- pecs can be quite buzzed
- traps and rhomboids of course get some attention.
- well it's the whole core, holding that plank, isn't it? (word doc about up/low core) - tall, neutral spine throughout.
A bit of Stability; A bit of Form; a bit of kalos sthenos (beautiful movement)
I also like the momentary loaded, dynamic balance / strength aspect of
- just staying stable with both hands on the bells - i think Mike Mahler who's Aggressive Strength hybrid EDT routines introduced me to this fab move once said don't do this with anything smaller than a 16k bell cuz the base of support is too small. Ha! i say. i use 12s.
- staying level in the trunk while pulling up on the bell - muscle control to stay planked and again keep stable on the balance hand/bell combo.
Mr. mahler, pictured above, has his feet nice and close - shoulder width at most. He seems, however, to be torquing to the side here. I'd suggest stay more in the level plank and get the hand right up to the waist. You'll note the guy in the vid at the top of this story above doesn't torque but his feet are quite spread.Get both these parts together and you'll be very pleased with yourself. For instance, take a look at this version: nice level trunk; feet only shoulder width apart; neutral neck position; no torquing on the up.
Now some folks what don't know better may say these are "sissy weights" pirctured, but they may want to reserve that appellation if they can't hold this form with their KB of choice themselves.As you can see if you have given this sequence a go, it's not easy to get in this kind of dynamic upper body/trunk work, and the RR is way cool.
Practice staying tight (as pavel might say) in the core. You may want to practice doing planks first, or getting used to balancing in form on the bells and just bringing your hand up to your side while maintaining your plank form while one side is off the bell.
Challenging form: balance
I mention that we're working to hold balance when using the KB's rather than the very stable powerblocks. And for me that little bit of stabilization required is just right: not too much instability. What do i mean by "too much"?
Some times you'll see folks using medballs for their pushups - i'm not crazy for that much of a stability challenge - i personally don't test stronger after that; with kb's i do.
By "test stronger" - i mean something zhealth teaches: if you're wondering if a particular
form of an exercise is working for you, do a muscle test (you may need a partner for this) before the test; do the excercise; retest. If you're weaker, there may have been something saying to your nervous system that's not a happy thing.Ok. what's a muscle test, since there are different ways this term is used. Here, it's pretty straight ahead: it's simply a test to see if your muscles are functioning properly. If you hold your arm up, and your wrist out in extension, i shouldn't readily be able to pull your hand down if everything is firing properly.
Another good example - testing hamstring strength: all's well, you standing with your hands on the wall, looking straight ahead, bent knee, i should have some good resistance pushing down on your calf. Indeed i shouldn't really be able to press a big guy's leg to the ground (as per me here, pushing on Kenneth Jay's calf as Mike Cheatham kindly plays "the wall" for this muscle test at the Denmark09 RKC). I've written before about this kind of thing with the arthrokinetic reflex.
So once you do this test, you may find that you test a little more weakly (muscle is overcome) in a test than before doing pushups on wobbly surface. This is going to get onto a whole jag about instability training, but why jump on a wobbly surface if, say, we have trouble keeping balance with one foot off the ground and we then turn our head sharply? give it a go - how'd you do? Try a few other sports positions and then turn your head (as you might in real life or in a sport); try them with your eyes closed and a good head turn.Here's a great one: one foot in front of the other, toe touching heel. Stable, or surfer dude? Now close your eyes. More stable or more surfer?
That's our proprioceptive system working really hard since our balance comes from vision, vestibular (inner ear) and proprioception (the nerves in our joints ligaments and muscles saying where in space we are). Apparently 80% of that VVP load comes from the eyes. Take those away, you can give yourself a whole LOT of balance training very quickly.
So why not get good at that, in motion (we move in real life) before going for that wobble board or med ball or swiss ball?
So if you want to work balance, fabulous. get on one leg, turn your head. One leg, close your eyes, turn your head. When you're awesome at moving and balancing, go a bit squishier. Remember, the idea is not to be stable on a wobble board, but stable in motion.
A lot of studies about wobble board adaptations don't demonstrate translation OFF the board into real activities (note, we are NOT talking about swiss ball work in the context of rehab, but regularly fit folk doing their workouts on unstable surfaces.) Here's a great example: this is a super article at the sports injury bulletin on the relationship of the proprioceptive system's mix with the visual and vestibular for balance work. Once you finish the intro though, here comes the wobble stuff. Does it translate off the board?
McGill was one of the first to show that sitting on swiss balls doesn't actually help strengthen the low back. Likeiwise, this is eric cressey's beef with unstable surface training and athetics. All this bosu ball stuff - so what you can balance on one of these - what happens when you get off them? From the actual research Cressey's done, the answer is not alot to less than nothing. A fast muscle test pre and post will tell you the same thing.
At least the recommendations at the end of that sports injury bulletin article is to start balance training on stable surfaces; master that before adding any kind of load - and load can be doing sums while balancing - it doesn't have to be a wobble board (aside: these concepts are all very much part of the z health i phase certification, so if you're looking for a trainer sensitive to improving your atheltic performance in the real world, look for a zhealth trainer with I in the list of their certs).
Summary: Renegade Rows Rock.
Hmm. well. didn't expect a description of the renegade row to become a treatise on the evils of the bosu. The intent was to say, if you're looking for something new to challenge your workouts, the renegade row with its pull and push, done with kettlebells, and especially as part of an EDT upper/lower body set workout, can be simply awesome.
You'll love all the places you're aware of your muscles over the next few days. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Friday, November 21, 2008
Coming back to Kettlebell Front Squat Form: head, eyes, sequencing strength
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Awhile ago i posted a vid of Will Williams demo'ing the kettlebell front squat for particular emphasis on Will's breathing. That breathing pattern demonstrates what Pavel's presented as "power breathing" to optimize the stiffening of the core to get the optimal leverage for heavy lifts to build strength. Breath is not held. And that's the rather tricky part in a repetitious move like a front squat series, which Will does so well (another variant of breathing for heavy lifts in particular is something called the Valsalva Manouver which i touch on for reference only, and where breath is held).
Also in that discussion of the Front Squat, i noted a concept learned from ZHealth (overview) that Eric Cobb calls Bone Ryhthm, with a video and discussion by Mike T. Nelson demonstrating with a DL. In brief, the idea of bone rythmn applied to a front squat would be that the movement of the knees forward finishes with the butt back. Looking at Will's vid, the knees finish moving before the hips are down at parallel.
In practicing with folks, getting bone rythmn in the front squat to happen generally means speeding up the descent of the hips so that the hips come down in time with the movement of the knees: both joints at the end of the same bone finish their movement together. When balancing the joints on each end of the bone like this, it's like the body gets in phase with itself, and that synergy of the lever timing (joint at knees; joint at hips, like the way an oil well pumps) seems to effect more power.
So let's say we have breathing down, and we have rhythm down. I've been experimenting with another concept learned from Eric Cobb on spine alignment and eye position.
A core concept in Zhealth is "tall spine." Tall spine means, if i have heard it right, keeping the spine in neutral alignment, and thinking about the vertebrae having spaces between them - not getting crushed or squished, but free to move through their full range of motion. The idea in Z is to keep the spine in that tall *neutral* (not over extended) position throughout athletic activities.
Head Position What does that "tall spine" mean in the KB Front Squat? Well i dunno about
you, but when i'm in the decent position, with my butt down, my head sorta tilts back, which rather squishes the vertebrae in the neck, or the cervical spine, as they go into extension (see middle pane of xray image below). This squishing is NOT good for strength.
In fact, i've seen a compelling demonstration of a hamstring muscle test where someone with their head in neutral, with strong hamstrings then cocks their head back, and it's like those hamstrings go to zero. Not kidding.
This effect of strengthening/weakening has been dubbed the arthrokinetic reflex. This means something is happening around a joint. Arthrokinematics refers to the possible movements of joints. So the arthrokinetic reflex research has looked at connexions between joint mobilization and muscular strength.
Applied to the front squat, this means there's benefit to that tall spine position, as that's a position of optimal mobility - nothing's squished. Now, i find if the head position stays in neutral to keep the spine aligned in neutral, i feel like i'm looking a bit down when in the down position of the KB front squat. And that's ok; that's aligned. Trying a few sets trying to remember to keep my head neutral did in fact feel smoother and streonger in the Front Squat. Felt a little funny at first, but i've found it's worth the practice.
There's one more thing that can benefit this refined strength practice: eye position.
Eye Position. Again, from the ZHealth R-Phase Certification, one of the things we learned is that eye position corrolates with muscle action: flexion is enhanced by looking down; extension by looking up. Cobb has writen about this over at DragonDoor:
Sequencing What to Learn First There's a lot to take in for this simple move of going up and down with a kettlebell or two: bone ryhthmn, breathing, head position, eye movement. When learning these moves, where does one start? Well, again, drawing on ZHealth and its emphasis on efficiency, it puts it this way:
Maybe we should switch the focus around a little bit. The above four steps provide a set of heuristics for a coach or individual to check in with in their own practice. Is bone ryhthm in the front squat locked in? What about head and eye position? if not why, not stay with a weight that will not compromise form (ie cause a lot of breathing requirements to lift the weight; cause a lot of tension to be called into play).
There's LOTS of work that can be done while getting right with that form (to
say nothing of the enduring value of bodyweight work). Indeed, something i've been trying in a Grease the Groove (GTG) kind of way, is just to do a lot of body weight front squats, focusing on feeling the rythmn and keeping my head/eyes position working. These reps can be done anytime/anywhere. And reps=habits, or the ability to execute a pattern without conscious thought. I want to be able to get in sufficient form reps to have as a base for the more challenging heavy work or longer sequences for strength/power work where breath/tension/relatxation become more critical.
Indeed, as part of that work, and to complete the cycle from form to tension, Pavel comments: " On the "tall spine": make sure that the emphasis on the cue does not inhibit the lats and the diaphragm."
If you are practicing any of these components of the front squat, let me know how it's going. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Also in that discussion of the Front Squat, i noted a concept learned from ZHealth (overview) that Eric Cobb calls Bone Ryhthm, with a video and discussion by Mike T. Nelson demonstrating with a DL. In brief, the idea of bone rythmn applied to a front squat would be that the movement of the knees forward finishes with the butt back. Looking at Will's vid, the knees finish moving before the hips are down at parallel.
In practicing with folks, getting bone rythmn in the front squat to happen generally means speeding up the descent of the hips so that the hips come down in time with the movement of the knees: both joints at the end of the same bone finish their movement together. When balancing the joints on each end of the bone like this, it's like the body gets in phase with itself, and that synergy of the lever timing (joint at knees; joint at hips, like the way an oil well pumps) seems to effect more power.
So let's say we have breathing down, and we have rhythm down. I've been experimenting with another concept learned from Eric Cobb on spine alignment and eye position.
A core concept in Zhealth is "tall spine." Tall spine means, if i have heard it right, keeping the spine in neutral alignment, and thinking about the vertebrae having spaces between them - not getting crushed or squished, but free to move through their full range of motion. The idea in Z is to keep the spine in that tall *neutral* (not over extended) position throughout athletic activities.
Head Position What does that "tall spine" mean in the KB Front Squat? Well i dunno about
you, but when i'm in the decent position, with my butt down, my head sorta tilts back, which rather squishes the vertebrae in the neck, or the cervical spine, as they go into extension (see middle pane of xray image below). This squishing is NOT good for strength.This effect of strengthening/weakening has been dubbed the arthrokinetic reflex. This means something is happening around a joint. Arthrokinematics refers to the possible movements of joints. So the arthrokinetic reflex research has looked at connexions between joint mobilization and muscular strength.
Applied to the front squat, this means there's benefit to that tall spine position, as that's a position of optimal mobility - nothing's squished. Now, i find if the head position stays in neutral to keep the spine aligned in neutral, i feel like i'm looking a bit down when in the down position of the KB front squat. And that's ok; that's aligned. Trying a few sets trying to remember to keep my head neutral did in fact feel smoother and streonger in the Front Squat. Felt a little funny at first, but i've found it's worth the practice.Eye Position. Again, from the ZHealth R-Phase Certification, one of the things we learned is that eye position corrolates with muscle action: flexion is enhanced by looking down; extension by looking up. Cobb has writen about this over at DragonDoor:
How does [eye position] apply to your lifts? It's quite simple, really. The small nerve endings in the extraocular muscles actually create full body muscular responses to help guide movement. Practically speaking, what this means is that if your eyes are moved up, the small nerve endings in the extraocular muscles facilitate the extensor muscles of the body, creating a simultaneous inhibition of the flexor muscles. Conversely, the eyes down position will create flexor facilitation and extensor inhibition. Put simply, the eyes lead the body.Applied to the front squat, this means while doing the descent, the eyes look down to support leg flexion. When coming UP, keeping the head neutral, but eyes looking UP enhances the extension of the legs. Try it and see if that feels stronger, smoother, less effortful.
Sequencing What to Learn First There's a lot to take in for this simple move of going up and down with a kettlebell or two: bone ryhthmn, breathing, head position, eye movement. When learning these moves, where does one start? Well, again, drawing on ZHealth and its emphasis on efficiency, it puts it this way:
- Perfect Form - hitting the target - so in the kettlebell front squat for me this would be getting teh KB into the correct position and going down and up with bone rythmn. Picking a weight that lets me get in lots of reps or sets of reps to get form drilled in. One might also say head and eye position is part of this Perfect Form, and it complements bone rythmn.
- Dynamic Postural Alignment - in atheletic moves this does mean keeping tall/neutral spine throughout actions - resetting to neutral. In the front squat, as part of perfect form, this DPA is achieved with the head/eye position work.
- Synchronize Respiration - no. 3 in the cycle is breathing. In the front squat, this breathing practice becomes more important as weight goes up, to ensure proper stability of the trunk. So the take away here is: get the physical form perfected first, then, work in breathing.
- Balance Tension and Relaxation - in kettelbell practice tension and relaxation balance are constant themes. Intriguingly, in this sequence this is also a crucial relationship, but not a primary focus: it's fourth, after form, alignment, and breath. In the hardstyle kettlebell world that would mean that the move towards strength ("tension is strength" to quote Pavel) comes only AFTER the form.
Maybe we should switch the focus around a little bit. The above four steps provide a set of heuristics for a coach or individual to check in with in their own practice. Is bone ryhthm in the front squat locked in? What about head and eye position? if not why, not stay with a weight that will not compromise form (ie cause a lot of breathing requirements to lift the weight; cause a lot of tension to be called into play).
There's LOTS of work that can be done while getting right with that form (to
say nothing of the enduring value of bodyweight work). Indeed, something i've been trying in a Grease the Groove (GTG) kind of way, is just to do a lot of body weight front squats, focusing on feeling the rythmn and keeping my head/eyes position working. These reps can be done anytime/anywhere. And reps=habits, or the ability to execute a pattern without conscious thought. I want to be able to get in sufficient form reps to have as a base for the more challenging heavy work or longer sequences for strength/power work where breath/tension/relatxation become more critical.Indeed, as part of that work, and to complete the cycle from form to tension, Pavel comments: " On the "tall spine": make sure that the emphasis on the cue does not inhibit the lats and the diaphragm."
If you are practicing any of these components of the front squat, let me know how it's going. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
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