STARTIN' OUT
February 2010 - Vol. 33 No. 4
SQUAT SET UP
by Doug Daniels
The competitive squat requires, by far, the most expense of energy and concentration of the 3 powerlifts. Just like our national energy conservation efforts in our daily lives, a powerlifter should be looking for ways to save as much energy as possible for their max contest squat. Most lifters devote the vast majority of their attention to the up and down execution of the squat itself, but other aspects of the squat are also critical and errors on any of those can have a negative impact on your lifts. A competition squat can be divided into several parts: bar height and rack setting, squat suit and knee wrapping, walkout with bar into squatting position, the actual execution of the squat itself, and re-racking the bar after the attempt. Let’s examine a case study on how we can help insure optimal execution of these less dealt-with parts of the squat and change their impact to the positive side.
In this case study, let’s follow a fictional novice lifter’s squat
attempt. “Doug” is in the hole, but has already been belt-tightened
and knee-wrapped since the previous 2 lifter’s attempts. Two attempts
later it’s Doug’s turn to squat. Doug steps onto the platform
and gets under the bar. He finds that the squat rack height was
set a little too high which requires him to tip toe the squat
bar up and over the racks in order to get it out. Having succeeded
with great effort in getting the bar out of the rack; Doug proceeds
in precariously plodding 4 steps backwards with the heavy bar
on his back. Finally coming to a halt, Doug fidgets both his feet
for about 30 seconds until he is happy with his foot position.
After all that, the referee finally gives the squat signal. As
Doug descends; he drops like a rock to the bottom. Luckily the
spotters narrowly save him from being buried under the bar. The
spotters have to carry the bar back to the rack as Doug has no
strength or energy left to do it himself or even help the spotters.
Fortunately for the spotters, Doug’s opener was a massive 100
kilos.
What went wrong? Before the meet, Doug tweeted to all that care
that he hit a new PR squat in the gym using the new high-tech
titanium chain-added resistance method and Kevlar triple layer
squat suit with matching knee wraps fortified with rebar. The
trouble was by the time Doug got the ‘squat’ signal; he had already
spent a great deal of physical and mental energy, leaving almost
nothing for the actual squat itself. This unfortunate miss could
have been a success with greater attention to the nuances of the
squat set up.
It all starts at the weigh-ins. At the weigh-in, lifters get measured
for bar height and choose their preference to have the racks in
or out. Having the racks ‘in’ means the lifter places his hands
outside the racks near the inside of the collars. Larger lifters
chose racks ‘in’ because they cannot get their arms in close to
the body due to their size and lack of flexibility. Smaller lifters
tend to set the racks ‘out,’ meaning the lifter’s hands go inside
the rack, away from the collars, closer to the shoulders. Some
lifters have their helpers set their bar height for them. I strongly
suggest each lifter personally get measured for the most accurate
measurement. A valuable tip to remember is a tight squat suit
may ‘shorten’ you a bit. With that in mind, set your bar height
one notch below where you measure without a squat suit on. If
after your first contest attempt you find it is set too high or
too low, have the spotters or announcer’s table adjust your bar
height for your next attempts. In general, I would say lifters
set the bar too high. This requires them to tip toe with the bar
on their back to get it out of the racks and into starting position.
Obviously, this can be very strenuous as well as dangerous with
maximum weights. On the other hand, if the rack height is set
too low, the lifter needs to perform a quarter-squat to get the
bar up and out of the rack. Both scenarios waste a lot of energy
and increase your anxiety level, which is another sapper of energy.
Setting the bar height properly at weigh-in saves a lot of energy
and stress for squatting on the platform and increases your chances
of success.
The next challenge for the squatter is in the ‘on-deck’ and ‘in-the-hole’
circle. Being organized and staying in touch with how the meet
is progressing is key. When you are called to be in-the-hole,
(which means you are third in line to squat) proceed to the on
deck area with your squat suit on and shoulder straps down. When
the lifter on the platform takes the weight out of the rack; start
wrapping your knees. Remember, in addition to the time it takes
the lifter to take the lift and the spotters take to get the bar
back into the rack, there may be a weight change involved. Combining
this with the customary one minute between lifts; should provide
you with ample time to get into full squat gear. It is important
to not begin the wrapping process too soon, as having all that
confining gear on for even seconds too long can sap energy.
After your knees are wrapped you should be second in line to squat
or on-deck. Have your helper get you up from your chair and have
him get the shoulder straps of your squat suit up. If you use
your wrist wraps, put those on next. Follow this with getting
your lifting belt cinched on. It’s best for your helper to cinch
the belt on tightly, again saving your energy. Have your helper
spread chalk on your back where the bar will rest to reduce the
chance of the bar slipping during the squat. Lastly, chalk your
hands for a better grip and you’re ready for your attempt. As
you can see, your helpers are extremely important here, in addition
to their responsibilities to keep tabs of when you are due to
lift.
With the pre-lifting stuff done, let’s move on to positioning
yourself to squat. Your goal in setting up is to get into the
ready-to-squat position quickly and safely and with as little
expense of energy possible. Having that energy available later
during the squat attempt can mean the difference between success
and failure. Too many lifters waste extreme amounts of energy
backing out of the rack, they compound this by shuffling the position
of their feet, searching for that perfect stance. Some lifters
take numerous steps back setting up, taking the spotters on the
trek with them. Never mind that they have to walk all the way
back to the rack with the weight after the attempt.
Optimally, the squatter should take only one step back with each
leg, getting into starting position and ready for the head judge’s
‘squat’ signal. This can only be accomplished with dedicated,
repetitive practice during training. Back out of the rack and
into position with one step on every set you do in training, from
you first warm-up to your max lifts. Practicing in this manner
will make efficient setting up automatic. If you find you need
more than one step back to clear the rack, re-look at your squatting
style. You do not need as much room between you and the rack as
you may think. This is very similar to how far a major league
catcher is behind the batter. He knows to position himself just
far enough away to not get hit by the swinging bat.
By positioning yourself one step away from the rack, the trip
to re-rack the bar will be short and above all safe for both you
and the spotters. This also saves energy for any succeeding squats
as well as for the other powerlifts to follow. Also, the trip
to re-rack the bar after a miss is always a lot longer than after
a good lift.
Spotters can also have an impact in squat set-up. Here your meet
helpers can assist. Before your attempt, have them verify that
the bar is loaded correctly or at least evenly on both sides and
that the racks are set to the correct in or out position. If they
notice a problem they can call it to the attention of the spotters
and loaders. Over the course of the meet, the lifting platform
gets covered with chalk and powder residue. If there is a lot
of residue, ask your helpers to request the spotters clean it
up before you take the platform. Get this all done before you
are set to lift. Waiting for the spotters to reset the rack or
clean off the platform while tightly wrapped and belted can really
sap your precious energy.
Lots of hard work and expense goes into your contest preparation.
That can all go up in smoke if you waste too much energy setting
up for the squat. Discipline yourself to practice setting up efficiently
for the squat on every set and rep in training. This type of focus
is the only way to help insure you have the best chance to get
maximum results on contest day. That could be worth tweeting about.