I remember the looks I used to get back when I worked at the big
globo gym.
People must have thought I was a freak or something.
In fact, I know that’s what they were thinking when I would suddenly
jump up and reach for what appeared like nothing.
What I was doing was actually trying to touch the 15 foot ceiling 😉
Sadly, I wasn’t getting anywhere close, but I was however getting my
nervous system primed to lift some heavy ass weights.
This has forever been one of my “tricks” to help increase my
strength lifts.
Whether this be with squatting, deadlifting, pressing…
It didn’t matter as I would always do some sort of power-based speed
movement before I got started.
I still do this “trick” today.
What I was reminiscing about above was when I used to crank out
a few reps of vertical jumps right before I squatted or deadlifted.
I’d stand there right in the middle of the gym and do my jumps.
What I’d do is about 5-10 max effort jumps resting about 15-20
seconds between each one.
If you’re not sure what a vertical jump is, just check out the “NFL
Combine Vertical Jump Test”.
You stand there with both feet shoulder width apart then swing your
arms back and at the same time, push your butt back to
load up your hips.
Once there you immediately explode up and jump while you reach for
the sky.
When you land, you wanna land soft with your knees OUT.
Rest and repeat.
Real basic.
Jumping like this wakes your whole body up and primes your nervous
system.
The more alert your CNS is, the more potential weight you’ll be
able to lift.
So that’s “trick” #1… Do a few high speed jumps BEFORE you hit
your heavy lifting, especially squats.
My favorite variations for these are broad jumps, vert jumps, box jumps,
and hurdle hops.
What ever gets you moving a FULL speed.
Just make sure you don’t go too crazy on these.
And you only need about 5-10 jumps AFTER a solid warm up.
Now for the 2nd “trick” which is more about MOBILITY.
If you’ve followed me for a while now I know I probably sound like a
broken record because I talk about this all the time, but it’s TRUE.
Mobility, mobility, mobility…
It’s THAT important.
The BETTER you can move, the more efficient you’ll be which means
the STRONGER you can become.
It’s all relative.
Now, instead of giving you a bunch of different mobility movements,
I’m going to give you a major one to focus on.
This one I know for a fact can help improve your squat almost
instantly.
How do I know?
I see it work all the time on my athletes in my gym.
It gets their hips opened up, loosen up the low back, ankles, and
even the hammies.
It’s the Goblet Squat Hold and it don’t get any more basic that
this.
This is from the front (use a DB or KB – doesn’t matter)
-knees out
-chest up
-shoulder blades tight and engaged
-ass below parallel
-weights back on the heels and towards the outside of the feet.
Here’s it from the side:
-chest up
-upper and mid back are tight and activated
-ass below parallel with SQUEEZED glutes – don’t be loose
-knees out
-weights back on the heels and towards the outside of the feet.
-eyes ahead
-head is neutral
Now, here’s a pic of it WRONG from the side (DON’T do it like this)
-chest caved in
-upper and mid back are rounded, unactivated
-ass below parallel but loose (not squeezing the glutes)
-knees caved in (can’t see it)
-weights rolled forward onto balls of feet
-eyes down, chin tucked
These are some of the major mistakes I see a lot of athletes make
when they do goblet squat holds.
What would make this even worse would be if I was up on my
toes with my heels off the ground
I’ve seen that a lot and it’s due to plain ol’ poor mobility and
flexibility.
It’s NOT just about sitting in the bottom of a squat.
It’s about sitting in the bottom of a squat, reinforcing a SOLID
bottom squat position.
Ass needs to be tight, chest up, shoulder blades retracted, ect…
Just make sure you do it right because if you do it wrong, you’ll
actually get yourself worse.
Either way, if you got a heavy squat session and you’re feeling a
bit tight, do a few sets of goblet squat holds for 30 secs a piece.
You’ll feel much better and more than likely be able to squat better
as well.
Put these two tips to use if you’re not doing so already and you’ll see
your strength steadily go up in no time.
And if you want MORE, these are just a few of the tricks I use within
my new “DOUBLE Your Squat” system.
If you really want your overall strength to shoot through the roof, there’s
a PROVEN 6 Week Squat Cycle in there that will no doubt help you
get your squat STRONGER.
Go H.A.M.