bench press range of motion
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The guys in the photos have probablly been squatting that way every day for all their life, since they learned to walk. It's probably completely natural and comfortable for them. And their calves aren'e real fat, either.
For someone who has been used to chairs, and not to squatting in daily life, especially if they have fat thighs and calves, squatting that deep with heavy weight could cause knee problems. But just squatting an inch or two below parallel isn't dangerous to knees.
For someone who has been used to chairs, and not to squatting in daily life, especially if they have fat thighs and calves, squatting that deep with heavy weight could cause knee problems. But just squatting an inch or two below parallel isn't dangerous to knees.
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haha no. was listening to the same dude in my original post when he told me how to correct my "problem".stuward wrote:Did you go below parallel on purpose? Going lower is harder and you can't do it with the same weight as you would if you plan to stop at parallel or higher.
What happened? What did teh MRI show?

since the same guy was the one who told me that bad info, i decided to seek some more info on the bench press. he was wrong on the bench press too, according to those videos.
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xshawnxearthx wrote:haha no. was listening to the same dude in my original post when he told me how to correct my "problem".stuward wrote:Did you go below parallel on purpose? Going lower is harder and you can't do it with the same weight as you would if you plan to stop at parallel or higher.
What happened? What did teh MRI show?
i would be like the image all the way to the right. when i'd come out of the hole i'd end up standing but still a little bent over. i was steadily progressing and didn't really think it was an issue, but since he was a 7th runner up Mr. NJ 20 years ago, I though MAYBE he knew something. so he suggested squatting with sneakers or boots with a big heel, and looking up at the ceiling. i was used to squatting in vans slip ons and looking at my knees in the mirror. so i tried looking up, and before i realized it the bb was resting on the rack and my a.$s was on the ground. felt some tightness in the knee. was like that for a few days and then i went back to squatting but wearing trainers. well after another week of that i was getting up off my couch and my "trick knee" popped out of place and wouldn't go back in. i had never had an issue where my knee wouldn't go back in, or really any issues with knee tightness or pain while squatting until i listened to him. i'll know the results early next week. i've been really bummed because i haven't squatted in a few weeks now. i really can't wait to get back to it, because i felt like out of all of my exercises, squat was becoming my favorite.
since his advice ended up hurting me, i decided to seek some more info on the bench press. he was wrong on the bench press too, according to those videos.
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Weightlifters wear heels when they lift but it's a different style of lifting altogether. For normal athletic lifting a flat sole or barefoot is best. Looking up while you squat is not natural, neither is looking down. You need to keep your spine relatively inline with your chest up and your shoulders tight.
I figured you did it accidentally. I go below parallel when I front squat or overhead squat and I do them with relatively lower weight and I do the outside the squat rack. I do back squats in the squat rack and I set the safety bars just below where I want to stop. I know that I'm weaker below parallel that at parallel so if I can't stop the bar at parallel I don't want my knees to be the only thing that's keeping the bar from free falling. If you had the safety bar set higher, you probably would have been alright.
I figured you did it accidentally. I go below parallel when I front squat or overhead squat and I do them with relatively lower weight and I do the outside the squat rack. I do back squats in the squat rack and I set the safety bars just below where I want to stop. I know that I'm weaker below parallel that at parallel so if I can't stop the bar at parallel I don't want my knees to be the only thing that's keeping the bar from free falling. If you had the safety bar set higher, you probably would have been alright.
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with the power rack, either it's too high to where it sits on the safety bar while i'm right above parallel or it's right below parallel. the one time i got stuck before, i just sat backwards and it was fine. this time it wasn't me sitting back, so i literally looked like those a2g guys in that picture.
typically my eyes are what stops me from ruining my knees. as long as i can look in the mirror, i'm fine. the one time i don't look, i'm screwed.
typically my eyes are what stops me from ruining my knees. as long as i can look in the mirror, i'm fine. the one time i don't look, i'm screwed.
That seems to be a video on how to bench competitively? Ie, all he cares about is upping the weight safely, as opposed to general strength? Rippetoe doesn't advocate nearly that extreme of a back arch.KPj wrote:You should watch this video on how to bench - it's great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0
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