Move through these three tips before training in your front rack or overhead and you will be on your way to achieving a stronger more comfortable lift. Let’s say you’re front squatting, “elbows up” your coach says, but somehow yours don’t seem to come up like everyone else’s. Your elbows don’t even pass very far in front of your chest or maybe they do, but you just can’t get them up that little bit further. Maybe your strict pressing and you just can’t manage to get that bar comfortably on top of your shoulders, with your elbows out and down. Fixing the front rack will help you get stronger and feel more comfortable with your training.
If you have an active job or spend time driving or at a desk there’s a good chance that you don’t always find it easy to work with the barbell. As a coach I assist with these problems every day.
With some work, you can take your front squat, strict press or cleans to a new level with these 3 tips
UNLOCK YOUR SPINE
Firstly how good is your posture? Is your mid to upper back curving when you’re trying to hold your barbell in a front rack position? This can be a big problem for you if you sit hunched over at a desk all day. This is actually a pretty easy fix with the help of 2 joined tennis or lacrosse balls or a foam roller (upper back).
To Do This:
- Lay on your back, with the foam roller or the peanut (balls) between your shoulder blades and bony process at the base of the neck
- Roll up and down your back and side to side to open up your back to further extension and allow your chest to rise.
FREE YOUR WRISTS
You’re forcing your elbows into the right position but it is killing your wrists, they are burning and they feel really stiff when you put the bar down. Wrist mobility is really important, and considering these two small areas lift, carry and push a lot of weight, it pays to take care of them. Any workout that requires your wrists (which is about 99% of workouts), should include some form of wrist mobility in your warm up.
To Do This:
- Grab a band and attach it to a pole, fit your hand into the band and place your hand on the ground, rotated internally.
- Now with tension on the band shift you weight side to side over your wrist. 90 seconds on each hand should make a big difference.
OPEN YOUR SHOULDER RANGE
This one is rather simple, emphasize the movement you’re trying to achieve, another simple way to easily improve elbows up is to get them up, right up.
To Do This:
- Grab a band, tie it to a pole slightly above head height. Loop around your elbow, facing away from the pole and step out raising your elbow right up over your head. Make sure you keep your elbow close!
- Similar to the first movement but slightly more intense. Tie the band low on the pole, grab the band and get into the same position as tip 1, but make sure your palm is facing backward toward the pole, adjust the bands height to your preference.
Note: A few minutes each side should make a huge difference in achieving a more comfortable front rack and overhead position.
Move through these three tips before training in your front rack or overhead and you will be on your way to achieving a stronger more comfortable lift.