ExRx.net

Hey there, just a quick question. I do squats in my workouts (the squats with the barbell just behind your neck) and I have a bit of a concern. I squat down past 90 degrees, my buttocks come very close to touching the ground when I bend down. I was reading about some of the science in regards to what muscles are used and I came across something that I increase the chance of injury by going further than 90 degrees.

http://exrx.net/Kinesiology/Weaknesses. ... or13175135

Its the part about hamstring weaknesses, so am I really putting myself at risk by going past 90 degrees? Reason I do it is to make the workout more difficult and make my muscles work harder.

Squatting deep is healthy but you do need to ensure that your hamstrings are strong. Make sure you do deadlift variations in addition to squats.

Stu

Alright thanks, I'll be sure to do a few sets of Good Mornings to strengthen the hamstrings.

good mornings are really hard and tough on the lower back so be careful to start off with just the bar and then go from there. I prefer deadlifts over good mornings though. If your lifting heavy i recommend wrist wraps because that helps A LOT. When you use the wraps it helps your grip. Also you could do leg curls and blast them hams that way.

I prefer deadlift variations to good mornings for two reasons.
A.) You can easily put down the bar at any time if need be (This is a big confidence builder).
B.) Deadlifts will develop your grip (provided you don't use wrist straps).

I agree with this.

KPj

haha matt provided you dont use wrist straps. NICE. When dead lifting my focus is on the dead lift it self not the struggle to hold the weight in my hands. The reason i reccomend the wraps is because you can focus on the lift and not just holding the weight. Before i bought the wraps the last rep on my last set would be slippnig through my grip that was 295lbs. With the wraps it won't do that.

also its not like if you use the wrist wraps it completely takes away your grip on the bar cause you do need a constant grip. It just depends if you want to lift heavy or not.

Using any kind if 'crutch' like that will only teach the muscles that are supposed to work to be lazy. If you use them sparingly, and not exclusively, then you'll be fine.

Also, surely you don't want to be using straps all the time when you DL? Are you using an 'Alternate Grip' ?

There's loads you can do to train your grip without feeling like your actually training it. If that makes sense. Thick bar stuff for one - just do a couple of rowing and pressing exercises as you normally would, but use a thick bar (or double up lynx grips and put them over a normal bar to make it thicker).

Concentrating on heavy sets of one arm rows and pull ups will strengthen your grip without you even noticing ('till you DL again). Even doing lunge variations with DB's by your side (instead of a bar) after you DL will really pound away at your grip. Rack pulls (partial dead lifts) allow you to use more weight than you would normally DL, so again, grip gets hit harder.

Towel Pull ups separate the men from the boys. Very brutal exercise, but really hammers your grip.

Guys in the commercial gym I go to use wraps (and a belt) for everything, it really puts you off wraps.

Also, don't you want big forearms? Dead lifts are superior to any amount of wrist curls you can think of ;-)

KPj

By alternate grip I mean this
http://stronglifts.com/how-to-deadlift- ... technique/

Check the guys hand positions - one over hand, the other underhand.

By Lynx grips, I mean

http://www.lynxpt.com/performancegrips.php

You buy 2 pairs and double them up. So 2 on each hand then lift as normal. great if you've got a niggling wrist pain, too.

KPj

My feeling on the wraps is pretty simple. If you're a powerlifter, forget the wraps. If you're not, and doing the deadlift for general strengthening purposes, and have no intentions of competing, fine, on your heaviest sets, where grip MAY become a problem. Fine, go ahead and use them. Grip can always be worked separately w/ holds, etc.
Tim

Nah, no straps for me, I ain't a wuss ;)

As for the good mornings, I tried them out yesterday and am aching :) Thats a good sign, it means I'm working out hard enough.

nice. Well i tried the goodmornings with just the bar and i felt i couldnt get it positioned right and already at the time my lower back was pretty tight from doing dls i think eventually I'll add it again what weight and reps did you go with?

You should treat goodmorning like a deadlift variation as far as scheduling goes. If you just did deadlifts, you shouldn't be doing goodmornings with any weight right after.

There's no reason why eventually you shouldn't be doing goodmornings with close to the same weight that you squat with but you have to work up to it. The technique has to be right and you have to be confident with it. The movement is very much like a Romanian deadlift. Do them in a power rack with the safety pins at waist level. Then if you lose it or can't get up, just set the bar on the pins.

Stu