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Recently Matt and Niki have been dealing with a prominent issue among their late intermediate and advanced lifters (some of them very strong too!). These lifters will descend beautifully into the hole on a squat, then while driving up allow their knees to shoot back, causing their hip angle to close and their backs to become more horizontal as more of their body mass travels behind the midline. This is a phenomenon they have experienced primarily with more experienced lifters, who perhaps have internalized the chest down/lean over/hips back/hip drive cues TOO well.

While the concept of hip drive is important for a novice lifter to understand and practice, it is really a sort of over-cue, an exaggeration of what happens in a proper squat during the concentric, or ascent. Novice lifters commonly struggle with staying too vertical in the squat, or lifting their chest (and thus becoming more vertical) during the drive up, so the hip drive cue is useful in teaching them to assume and hold a more horizontal back angle than they are used to during the movement.

However, as a lifter progresses and even becomes quite strong, it's common to see new problems emerge, such as knee slide, knees shooting back during the ascent (as described above), and knee valgus. Knees shooting back indicate that the knees are extending without causing the bar to move, and Matt theorizes that it results from a misunderstanding of hip drive. What we want when a lifter drives up out of the bottom is for the bar to start moving immediately, without a change in back angle. This can only happen if the knees extend first, because if the hips extend first, then the back angle will immediately become more horizontal. So, lifters struggling with this problem, or it's sister problems -- knee valgus and slide -- need to focus on cues that get them to extend their knees first out of the bottom.

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Recently Matt and Niki have been dealing with a prominent issue among their late intermediate and advanced lifters (some of them very strong too!). These lifters will descend beautifully into the hole on a squat, then while driving up allow their knees to shoot back, causing their hip angle to close and their backs to become more horizontal as more of their body mass travels behind the midline.

Coach Matt and Niki explore a common issue with the bench press -- losing tightness at the bottom of the eccentric portion of the lift. This error presents in a number of ways, such as the elbows flaring out or "chicken winging" on the way up, the chest and/or sternum sinking during the eccentric portion, or the bar visibly bouncing or rebounding off the chest.

Matt and Niki first attempt to fix this problem by having the lifter slow down the eccentric or lowering part of the movement, bringing attention to where exactly the lifter is touching the bar on his or her chest, elbow position, and encouraging the lifter to exert conscious control over the speed of the bar (which is closely tied to how tight they can keep their shoulders pinned together during the lift). Sometimes slowing down the lift is not enough, however, at which point they ask the lifter to pause the lift at the chest for a second or two before driving up.

The pause forces the lifter to use his lats to maintain shoulder position, and brings attention to leg drive, as both will suffer if the lifter has been relying on rebound to initiate the concentric, upward movement of the lift. As Niki points out, the shoulder is a ball and socket joint with a large range of motion, meaning the bar path has a lot of room for error if the lifter cannot consciously control his shoulder position.

So, if you're struggling with losing tightness during the bench press, with your arms doing the "chicken wing" while driving up, then start pausing your bench press reps and working on establishing tight, retracted shoulder blades, solid leg drive to reinforce the arch, and a controlled descent speed.

BLOC sales and special offers: https://barbell-logic.com/offers/

Want to try online coaching for FREE? Email [email protected] for a free trial of Barbell Logic Online Coaching. You'll get feedback on your technique and programming from a Barbell Logic coach, and see what the fuss is all about!

Connect With Matt

• Matt on Instagram
• Barbell Logic Online Coaching — Matt's website
• Matt on Facebook
• Matt on Twitter

Connect With the Show

• Barbell Logic on Twitter
• Barbell Logic on Instagram
• The Website
• Barbell Logic on Facebook
• [email protected]

Coach Matt and Niki explore a common issue with the bench press -- losing tightness at the bottom of the eccentric portion of the lift. This error presents in a number of ways, such as the elbows flaring out or "chicken winging" on the way up, the chest and/or sternum sinking during the eccentric portion, or the bar visibly bouncing or rebounding off the chest.

In separate interviews, Matt and Scott sat down with Blake and Katie, the founders of Dominion Strength, and Mike Reed, the founder of Microgainz, both successful small businesses that filled a niche in the strength community with innovative, high quality products and excellent customer service. In two interviews, Blake, Katie, and Mike talk about how they came up with the idea for their businesses and how they have grown them from humble beginnings into flourishing businesses.

Discounts on Dominion and Microgainz!

https://barbell-logic.com/offers/

Want to try online coaching for FREE? Email [email protected] for a free trial of Barbell Logic Online Coaching. You'll get feedback on your technique and programming from a Barbell Logic coach, and see what the fuss is all about!

Connect With Matt

• Matt on Instagram
• Barbell Logic Online Coaching — Matt's website
• Matt on Facebook
• Matt on Twitter

Connect With the Show

• Barbell Logic on Twitter
• Barbell Logic on Instagram
• The Website
• Barbell Logic on Facebook
• [email protected]

In separate interviews, Matt and Scott sat down with Blake and Katie, the founders of Dominion Strength, and Mike Reed, the founder of Microgainz, both successful small businesses that filled a niche in the strength community with innovative, high quality products and excellent customer service. In two interviews, Blake, Katie, and Mike talk about how they came up with the idea for their businesses and how they have grown them from humble beginnings into flourishing businesses.

In this episode, Matt and Scott present their favorite whiskeys (or whatever happens to be in front of them at the time of recording) from the first episodes of Barbell Logic.

Visit https://barbell-logic.com/offers/ to find the latest deals on strength and nutrition coaching at Barbell Logic Online Coaching, training equipment from the show sponsors, and more!

Want to try online coaching for FREE? Email [email protected] for a free trial of Barbell Logic Online Coaching. You'll get feedback on your technique and programming from a Barbell Logic coach, and see what the fuss is all about!

In this episode, Matt and Scott present their favorite whiskeys (or whatever happens to be in front of them at the time of recording) from the first episodes of Barbell Logic.

In the first official season of Barbell Logic, we are revisiting the earliest episodes of the show in which Matt and Scott first put the "logic" into barbells. In the Best of the Beginnings season, we will discuss why you should train for strength above all other physical attributes, how you build strength via stress, recovery, and adaptation, the equipment you'll need to start, and some strategies for getting the most progress out of your barbell training program.

Visit https://barbell-logic.com/offers/ to find the latest deals on strength and nutrition coaching at Barbell Logic Online Coaching, training equipment from the show sponsors, and more!

Want to try online coaching for FREE? Email [email protected] for a free trial of Barbell Logic Online Coaching. You'll get feedback on your technique and programming from a Barbell Logic coach, and see what the fuss is all about!

Connect With Matt

• Matt on Instagram
• Barbell Logic Online Coaching — Matt's website
• Matt on Facebook
• Matt on Twitter

Connect With the Show

• Barbell Logic on Twitter
• Barbell Logic on Instagram
• The Website
• Barbell Logic on Facebook
• [email protected]

In the first official season of Barbell Logic, we are revisiting the earliest episodes of the show in which Matt and Scott first put the "logic" into barbells. In the Best of the Beginnings season, we will discuss why you should train for strength above all other physical attributes, how you build strength via stress, recovery, and adaptation, the equipment you'll need to start, and some strategies for getting the most progress out of your barbell training program.