Quest For Respectability in the Overhead Squat - Page 11

bacon · 03-07-2006, 05:23 PM

Last night: It's an active rest day so i did some rotator work, levering and 15 mins of half-assed yoga. My weights called me a pansy so I decided to do some OH's.

Warm up Barx7
65x5
75x5
95x15.5

My form went to hell at 15 so I took a 15 second break and tried to finish up the last 5. I got down but my shoulders weren't havin it and I failed on the upswing. I called it a day.

Today is my squat day. Haven't decided if I'll revisit the OH's today or not. Probably not. I'm definitly on track to hit 95x20 by months end. I just need to hit the OH strict press with more intensity to get my shoulders on par with the rest of me.

BWx10 seems soooo far away.....

Welcome to the thread Recon

GreenRecon · 03-07-2006, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fat_wilhelm

Welcome to the club, Recon. It's been the most frustrating workout experience for me, but I'm finally starting to make some gains. I hope you keep at it and update your progress in this log. From what I can tell, it works wonders for balance and flexibility. If you're losing balance and getting up on your toes at the bottom, you might just need a wider, outward pointing stance. Your issues sound familiar.

I widened my stance on the last set and it did actually help keep my balance. How wide do you guys stand?

bacon · 03-08-2006, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenRecon

I widened my stance on the last set and it did actually help keep my balance. How wide do you guys stand?

I place my feet just outside shoulder width. if I go any wider I can't get down as far. I try to touch hamstring to calf everytime.....sometimes I even make it.

fat_wilhelm · 03-08-2006, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenRecon

I widened my stance on the last set and it did actually help keep my balance. How wide do you guys stand?

Right now, it sounds like I go a bit wider than bacon, but my intent is to gradually narrow it up until I can get a fuller depth. The wide stance puts a lot of excess stress on my hip flexors, which, I guess is both good and bad. It helps w/ flexibility, but I need to be careful not to stress the joints to the point of injury. I tweaked my right hip the second time I did these by trying to push it too fast.

GreenRecon · 03-08-2006, 04:54 PM

Today I decided to throw in a few sets of oh squats at the end of my push workout. Pretty much had the same problems as before. Wide stance helped but I think I need to work on holding the weight properly. Should my arms be straight above me or slightly back behind my head? Also how wide of a grip should I be using?
I think I will be doing this exersise after every workout until I can properly do a set of 5 with good form.

bacon · 03-08-2006, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenRecon

Today I decided to throw in a few sets of oh squats at the end of my push workout. Pretty much had the same problems as before. Wide stance helped but I think I need to work on holding the weight properly. Should my arms be straight above me or slightly back behind my head? Also how wide of a grip should I be using?
I think I will be doing this exersise after every workout until I can properly do a set of 5 with good form.

I hold the bar behind my head and my hands touch the collars of the bar. Looking up slightly helps (stole that tip from Fatty). Doing them after every workout is a good idea. Just go light and work on your form. OH squats (providing you use a light weight) are more about balance and flexability than strength. Right now I have pretty good form and depth, but when I go for 95x20, my shoulders can't maintain the bar position past 14 or 15. Come hell or high water I WILL be getting 95x20 before April.

GreenRecon · 03-08-2006, 07:57 PM

I dont think I'll have a problem going light. I still have problems doing the bar.

fat_wilhelm · 03-09-2006, 09:40 AM

Recon -

The other thing that helped me "feel" the correct arm position was doing a full squat w/ a pole or broomstick, then snatch grip pressing the pole overhed from the bottom position. Obviously, this would be tough to do w/ decent weight, but it helps to understand the shoulder and elbow lock so that you know when the weighted bar is positioned right.

GreenRecon · 03-09-2006, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fat_wilhelm

Recon -

The other thing that helped me "feel" the correct arm position was doing a full squat w/ a pole or broomstick, then snatch grip pressing the pole overhed from the bottom position. Obviously, this would be tough to do w/ decent weight, but it helps to understand the shoulder and elbow lock so that you know when the weighted bar is positioned right.

Just tried a few sets with the broom and it felt pretty good. This is difinatly a good exersise to feel the proper postion. Tomorrow morning Ill try again with the bar after deads. Should be fun

Steve Oly · 03-09-2006, 10:56 PM

Barut, I just watched the clip of you doing the overhead squats. Nice Job Brother!!! That was some nice work.

NIce depth on those squats too!! I am going to have to take these more seriously. Now that I'm back in the "game" I will start post my numbers again.