How to Perform the Main Compound Lifts

If you haven't read this post already, check it out first:

http://derickthai.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/introduction-to-strength-training-part.html

This post will highlight some useful cues beginners can use on the main compound lifts.

Squat (low bar)

Here's me squatting 170kg for 5 reps.



Here's another video of Justin Lascek squatting with better form than me.

• Make sure the pins is set so the bar (when racked) is where the middle of your chest is. This will make it easier to unrack and rack the bar. If you have to go on your tip-toes to rack the bar after your set, the pins are set too high.
• The bar must be sitting above your scapula; watch this video if you're not sure about where this is. *Highly recommended!*
• Place the bar too low on your back and you risk the bar sliding down which can be dangerous.
• Grip the bar with a width as narrow as you can manage. This will contract your upper back muscles, which will provide a stable 'shelf' for the bar to sit on.
• Make sure your chest is up at all times, this will prevent you from rounding your back when squatting.
• Position yourself under the bar, ensuring that the bar is placed in the correct position on your back. Once the bar is firmly set on your back, raise your elbows high enough that the bar is being pushed into your back. No need to raise your elbows to the point where your arms are parallel to the ground. Forearm length will determine how high your elbows actually will be.
• Ease the bar off the safety pins, then take two steps back.
  
• Feet should be a bit wider than shoulder width apart. This will make it easier to shove the knees out when you're in the hole (bottom position of the squat).
• Before each and every rep, take a big breath into your diaphragm (think about breathing into your stomach). Your chest should not expand when you breath this way. Watch my stomach in the video of me squatting above when I breathe.
• When you squat down, make sure you break at the hips and knees simultaneously.
• Make a conscious effort to keep your knees out at all times during the squat. Watch the above video of Justin squatting again to see this being performed. This will make it easier to get into the bottom position, and also prevents the buckling in of the knees during the ascent which can cause knee problems.
• During the descent, think about 'sitting back' like you're about to sit onto a chair or toilet.
• Make sure you know how it feels to be in the bottom position, where the hip joint is slightly below the knee joint when viewed from the side. Practise being in this position with just your body so you can get a feel for this.
• Once you've hit the bottom position, immediately come out of the hole. It should almost look like a bounce.
• When coming out of the hole, think about driving up with your hips. A lot of people make the mistake of leading with their chest, but try think about leading with the hips. This will allow you to use hip drive. Watch this video to see hip drive being taught.
• Make sure you don't exhale at all until you're almost at the top. Holding your breath will keep your abs braced which will increase your stability.
• Squeeze the glutes (imagine trying to hold a card between your butt cheeks) as you near the lockout (finish position of the squat).
• When racking the bar, simply walk forwards until the bar touches the rack then set the bar down on the pins. That is why the pins must be set at the position I described above, so that racking the bar is easy.
• A final note about shoes, avoid squatting in running shoes. The soles of running shoes are compressible, and so you can't apply as much force to the bar since some of it gets absorbed by the shoes. You also won't be as stable as you could be if you were squatting in a pair of shoes that have a hard sole, such as weightlifting shoes (I use them), or Chucks, or shoes with a very thin sole. If you're not convinced, imagine yourself squatting barefoot in a jumping castle, compared to squatting barefoot on concrete, in which case would you be able to apply more force?
  

Bench Press

Here's me benching:



Here's a video of Justin Lascek warming up on the bench press:

• First lay on the bench. Grip the bar at your preferred grip width. Now lift your upper body up towards the bar and retract your shoulder blades, then plant your upper back firmly into the bench, maintaining this retraction of the shoulder blades. Watch this video to see how this is done. If you watch my video, you'll see how I initially put my feet on the bench, and raise my entire body up, including lifting the butt off the bench. What this does is put all my bodyweight on my upper back once I push the upper back into the bench. You want to feel this pressure on your upper back, because it ensures you have a solid base to press from.
• Now put your feet back on the ground, and let your butt touch the bench, ensuring you are still maintaining the pressure on your upper back, as well as the shoulder blade retraction. Now ease your feet backwards (in the direction of where your head is) whilst also pushing your butt up the bench (towards your head). What this does is it helps to set an arch in your back. An arch is useful for benching because it places your back in a stronger position (ignore the people who say you'll hurt your back benching like this), and it will also reduce the distance the bar has the travel since the bar will touch your chest earlier. Watch this video to see more about the arch. The arch should be big enough that someone can fit their arm between you back and the bench.
• Do not let your feet move around during the set. The final position of my feet result in my shins being behind vertical (watch the video of me benching above). How far back you place your feet will come down to personal preference, but make sure your feet are planted back far enough that you feel tightness in your quads. The reason for doing this is that you will be able to engage your lifts more effectively in the lift this way, a technique known as leg drive (I will elaborate on leg drive in another post). Planting your feet back will also reduce the chance of your butt coming off the bench during the set (known as bridging) because the height of your knee will be lower than the hip. Don't bridge because it's cheating!
• You should feel slightly uncomfortable, but very tight. If someone were to give you a light nudge you shouldn't budge. This tightness will make you stronger at bench pressing. Over time as your flexibility improves you may choose to make a bigger arch in your back.
• Make sure the bar is set at a height where your arms can unrack the bar fully extended with locked elbows/ The reason for this is that you are strongest when your elbows are locked, so should any incident occur whilst you are unracking or racking the bar, provided that your elbows are fully locked you can minimise any possible harm which may occur to yourself. If you're not aware of it by now, the bench press is the most dangerous of the main compound lifts.
• Move the bar down towards your feet (but not too far down) and also behind your head (but not too far back). Do this with an empty bar obviously. Try to find the position where the bar feels almost weightless, or where you feel strongest. This is the optimal lockout position for you. In this lockout position, memorise where the bar is with respect to the ceiling. Keep your eyes fixed at this point at all times during the set. You will be pressing the bar back to this position every time.
• Bring the bar down to where your nipples are, or slightly below. Don't bring the bar to your stomach, that is too low. Don't bring the bar down high up on your chest either. If you do this, your elbows will be flared out (at 90 degrees to your body) which will place your shoulders in a compromising position. You see a lot of people benching like this, and from a mechanically standpoint this position may seem most optimal, however you risk causing shoulder impingement or rotator cuff injuries which is not worth it.
• Just before the bar is about to touch your chest, think about 'driving up'. In other words, think about pressing the bar up before you are actually going to. This will allow you to control the descent of the bar, so it doesn't fall to your chest too quickly. Once the bar touches your chest, explode upwards. Make sure the bar returns to the point your eyes are fixed upon. You want to press the bar as forcefully as you can, as this will recruit more muscle fibres. Pressing your warm up weights forcefully will also make the heavy weights not seem as heavy. "Lift light weights like heavy weights and lift heavy weights like light weights" as Ed Coan famously states. This applies to all exercises.

Don't bench like this unless you want to kill your shoulders.

I'll talk about the overhead press and deadlift in another post, otherwise this post will be way too long.