Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Squat Depth

I hear lots of people always asking, "How high/low should my box squat box be?", or "If I'm free squatting, how deep should I squat?"


First of all, you need to be aware of what is legal depth for the federation you lift in (if you compete). If you don't compete, know that a "good" squat is parallel, meaning top of the thigh at the hip is even with the top of the knee. For the athletes I work with, I'm not a huge stickler for squat depth. If someone is obviously too high, then we correct it. But we're not judging a powerlifting meet, so if their box height is a 1/2 inch high, I'm not going to go berserk over it. After all, athletes are athletes, not powerlifters. So my main concern is squat technique and getting them stronger.


Having said that, your training should be based around that squat height. Sometimes squatting lower, sometimes higher. The majority of our max effort training consists of using a box that is lower than or at parallel. However, we will do some "overload" type training that would allow us to use a heavier weight be anywhere from 1-4 inches above parallel.



If you are using dynamic squats, you should always be at parallel or one inch below. Keep this consistant.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Holiday Tips Manual

Check it out. Dave Tate and the rest of us Q&A'ers on EliteFTS.com have all contributed to help put together this Holiday Tips Manual. For a minimum donation of $10, pick one up. ALL proceeds go Make-A-Wish. This could be a great gift for someone that is sorta new to the whole working-out thing.

Contributers include:

Dave Tate—Founder of Elite Fitness Systems; renowned speaker and author and professional powerlifter
Mike Hanley—President of Hanley Strength Systems, LLC and Owner of The Training Studio in Morganville, NJ
Jim Wendler—Senior Editor and Sales Manager of Elite Fitness Systems
The Thinker—Parts Unknown, but a student of Soviet and Eastern Bloc training methodologies.
Alwyn Cosgrove—International Tae Kwon-Do champion; Renown personal trainer, writer and motivational, personal training and business speaker
Zach Even-Esh—Personal trainer and operator of Underground Strength Coach
Jim “Smitty” Smith—Strength Coach with the Diesel Crew
CJ Murphy—Owner and Head Instructor at Total Performance Sports
Shelby Starnes—Nutritionist at Troponin Nutrition
The Angry Coach—When someone is this angry, you learn not to ask
Brian Schwab—No. 1 ranked powerlifter at 148 pounds; WPO Lightweight Champion
Marc Bartley—Owner of Total Gym in South Carolina; One of the premier powerlifters at 275 pounds
Chad Aichs—WPO competitor in the super heavyweight division; Holds AWPC records in all three lifts and the WPO three-lift bench press record
Julia Ladewski—Sports performance coach and No. 1 ranked female powerlifter at 132 pounds Matt Kroczaleski—One of the top powerlifters in the world at 220 pounds; 2006 WPO World Champion Scott Yard—Top bench press and world record setting powerlifting competitor
Chris Clark—Super heavyweight division competitive powerlifter
Justin Harris—Owner of Tropinin Nutrition and the reigning Jr. USA Super Heavyweight Bodybuilding Champion.
Jeremy Frey—Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the collegiate level; champion powerlifter
Scott Cartwright—Competitive powerlifter who has achieved Elite status in both the 275- and 308-pound weight classes
AJ Roberts—Director of Personal Training and Youth Fitness at a health club in Owensboro, Ky.; Ranked among the top powerlifters in the world in two weight classes.
Jason Ferruggia—Renowned strength and conditioning specialist in the New York/New Jersey area; has trained more than 700 athletes from over 90 different NCAA, NFL, NHL and MLB organizations
Rob Pilger—Known for producing winners and champions in several sports; people seeking fat loss and lean muscular gains have enjoyed much success with his methods
Mike Szudarek—Elite-level powerlifter in the 220-pound weight class; serves on the advisory board for the American Powerlifting Federation.

Get your copy here!!