I can't tell you how valuable it is to see someone take this kind of considered explorative approach to lifting, you have created such positive momentum in the community already and your content consistently has given me inspiration and food for thought. My respect and thanks to you Ivan.
@@setlaxsoccer77 I know right? I was like damn. It's a great take though. There's something about the lifting community that seems to be a bit dogmatic and seeing someone like Ivan methodically approach lifting in a different way is for sure inspiring. He's made me start squatting with much more frequency than I used to, now its 3x a week.
I expected to see a montage of you doing squats for 546 days. I was surprised to see your channel has a video every single day of you doing squats. Wow. Just wow.
I've actually tried this before my squatting sessions along with some posterior work like good mornings and it really makes me feel more warm and stronger.
Watched this video last night. I did the barbell side bends at the start of my warm-up today for squats.. Big difference for my lower back, especially as the evening wore on watching football. Excellent exercise!
I've done a lot of front rack holds in the past and i think it can be a good exercise, but just like you i figured it is too taxing for the potential strength gains it may provide and after the second time i hurt my thoracic spine doing them i stopped doing them for good. What i've been doing ever since is high reps of front rack shrugs with like 50% of my Front Squat 1RM for higher reps and imo it's a fantastic substitute and you can do them every day with no problems at all.
Well moving your spine, warming up the muscles around it and getting blood and fluid into your spine is super healthy. We already don’t have enough spinal movement, especially torsion is something humans are missing.
Hey guys I agree core should be worked and bracing prior to lifting. However the spine should be stabilized not mobilized. I am saying this as I recently hurt my back ( herniated disc) after years of weight lifting. Look into Dr. Stu mcgill super knowledgeable and has been researching the spine for over 30 years with over 1000 medical research papers on the topic. He also helped Brian carroll work back from a devastating back injury to equipped squat over 1300 lbs. Cheers boys happy lifting!
@@jordan-zo7ou it depends on the human😂. But there shouldn’t be any problem with mobilizing your spine with a small range of motion and light bodyweight exercises only. But yes, under heavy load, always stabilize!
Wow man, Ive been intrigued by the difference you've said that doing some core work as a warm-up, specifically your obliques, made in regards to how your squat felt. I wasn't even going to lift today but decided to go in and and just try it out- started with sit ups and side-planks and holy hell did I feel POPPY. I know why you use that word now, its really the only way to describe how it felt. LOL. I'm three weeks back in the gym after not going for a year and a half due to COVID and its been rough. Today was one of the first good feeling days I've had. Cheers brother, I love your videos and look forward to tomorrows.
@@IvanDjuric300 IMO the info is not too conflicting it's just that different people are training for different goals. Chinese Weightlifters probably have to squat in a particularly upright form because they're training to come up out of the bottom of a snatch/clean and jerk and they can't lean forward with a barbell over their head. Strongmen can train knowing they'll get to use a squat suit which allows totally different form. Guys just trying to get as strong as possible might go ass to grass whereas power lifters know they only need a certain depth for the lift to be green so they train for exactly that depth. Then on the diet side there are so many factors like your weight loss goals, weight gain goals, nutrition goals, food sensitivities, etc... It can feel like all this info is conflicting but I think it's just tailor made to each different purpose. I think part of filtering the info is just finding the info that's relevant to your goals and discarding the info that isn't.
@@IvanDjuric300 yeah that makes sense there are a lot of options out there. I personally think whatever type of training brings you joy at the moment is the type you should pursue. If you're having fun incorporating some Chinese weight lifting stuff into your routine then do it. At the end of the day it's just gonna make you stronger and if the variety makes it more enjoyable it's a win-win.
And thats the key man. It has to be fun. If its not then its not gonna last. Ur laughing if u can have fun with the stuff that gets u stronger. Perfect scenario.
Hey! I'm really glad you took our conversation about side bends into consideration and found value in the exercise. The transparency with you is one of the many reasons to follow the journey. On that note, I have another suggestion. If you have noticed a pattern in a sticking point of the squat, why not incorporate some pin/box squats? Both are really good and research shows a direct relationship between partial squatting (in the form of box and pin) and full squat strength. What do you think about this? Breaking down the movement is always a good way to master it. And the top weightlofters are all doing it too! I'm a weightlifting coach so your experiments are very exciting to me
Yeh thank u for that. One of the best things about this channel is that i learn alot man. So many people on here that i can learn from. Its awesome. The side bends are amazing man. Love them. Cheers Box squat ive tried in the past. I liked them. But soon after starting them last year i developed that hip pain so i had to abandon it. It was really good to focus on that sticking point. It was sobering to watch the weight come off the bar coz u basically stop right where u dont want to hahahah
@@IvanDjuric300 respect! And I get what you mean about the box squats. Additionally abductor work is always recommended when working partials! Hahaha for sure must be sobering
I’ve done a Bulgarian squat routine for almost two years. However, I wasn’t able to keep up my bench/OHP/DL Progression. It was strictly squatting Progression for two years. One thing I learned was using a different variety of squats, alternating every week or so, to keep myself for getting burned out. Great video! Love your take on the squat everyday! Good luck!
Bro, your arm flexibility is incredible. A lot of guys can't get their hands on the bar that close due to lack of upper body, shoulder and chest range of motion. This lack of flexibility leads to unnatural leaning. Can you make a video of what stretches you use to open up your chest to rotate your shoulders like that?
Hey I might be pretty late to respond on this but hopefully I can still help out. So humans are really anteriorly driven so having this slouched posture is very common. Usually our scapular protractors (pec minor and serratus anterior) are way too overused and tight and our scapular retractors (rear deltoid, and teres minor) are really underused and the muscle is actually lengthened. So to help fix this I’d recommend some soft tissue work around your pec minor and serratus. Just take a tennis ball or something like that and roll it in the side of your rib cage and underneath your armpit kind of. And for strengthening the scrapyard retractors I suggest doing things such as face pulls with a cable and doing rear set fly or any pulling moving in general is good for these as well. I hope this helps and if you want any more information on this then go to “squat university’s” channel he has a lot of good information on there
The information factor is so true. One of the dudes I regularly lift with is a lot older then me and my buddy, and we talk about how hard it was back in his day (generation before ours) to get information compared to us today
What I’ve learned from experience in roofing with heavy weight and having to be flexible like a yoga instructor is that the body is way stronger than we think it is and we need to emphasize core and trunk strength and mobility. We can put so much weight on our body and move it in many ways but we just think of our core as stabilizer muscles and don’t need to move it but stronger core better squats and lifts.
Sub incoming, long time lifter here and I really appreciated your explanation of oblique stretching before squats. Thats a gem of a tip honestly and everyone should include it in their routine.
There is a lot of caution out there about demanding movements. When I say demanding its not always strength wise but health/flexibility as the demanding factor. These risky training exercises are what for many people exposed their weakness. "I started running and my knees went out", no your knees were already out and you started training. We neglect so many parts of our body tight hips weak core, tight chest(hunched) and that is why these compound movements are so great because they require the whole body to be working. Give parts of the body a rest for too long and they will retire permanently.
Absolutely agree with that. People often label movements as bad when people get hurt. But were people just in bad alignments, posture, weakness etc. Some movements are not for beginners, i get that, but still its hard to filter all that information out.
You changed my view on strength man. This morning i did 60kg for 5 sets of 20. Thought i was dying. Last heavy squat for me was 140kg for 3x2, but i incorporated volume in my routine (heavy squat/light bench, then light squat/heavy bench 3times a week, and pull sessions other days) and it's the key for progress ! You taught me that ! Volume is key for a heavy, strong and controlled squat. Thanks man.
Now that my knees are better, I think I'm going to start squatting every day. Or at least every day I go to the gym. Thanks for the motivation. It helps seeing someone else do it.
I can relate to this with stretching. I did dynamic stretching as a newbie (so I can high kick) and the next day my muscles were pulled. A few months of static stretching later and I can dynamic stretch np and touch my toes and limber up much faster because I’m used to it. Baby steps is the key to a lot of things
I tried the side plank holds and then hip flexor raises with a kettlebell before squatting today and could definitely feel it helped my depth! Thank u Ivan!
I tried the side bends yesterday before a light high volume squat session. I can feel the muscles on my sides today so mine are probably weak. Will add it in to my warm ups.
the internet made things accessible so there no excuses! you just got to have the right mindset, learn, adjust, and keep pushing. Ivan got me to change my program and im feeling poppy with squatting now
Once you get comfortable with how you need to hold your core, you can really add some momentum to the movement, and the feeling of the stretch down the obliques is huge. DOMS is also huge!
An other great QL exercise is doing deep db side bends, but stagger your stance, the opposite leg of the side you are working about a foot in front of the back leg. It helps trunk stability tremendously without needing much weight at all.
Yeh i have. I find i struggle to maintain proper pelvic positioning. My abs are not strong enough so my hip flexors take over. Arches my back. I ve had back pain in the past from this.
2 ideas. 1. Front rack holds might be put after the descending rep sets of FS 2. Try banded walkouts if you’re experimenting with core stability work. Did them Friday and they lit me up. I’ll put a link under this comment.
Dude said these were for back pain rehab, but honestly after trying them I might start adding them before I squat all the time now. ua-cam.com/video/34U81-LHk7k/v-deo.html
I love love side bends. I try to focus on bending to the back and side instead of just side though to hit the QL. There are some great videos on it on YT. I've seen a lot of people squatting 400lbs+ do it between sets to stay loose and keep their back from hurting.
Hey man, I have been around for a while now just haven't commented yet. I just want to say keep up the great work your videos are really interesting and inspiring and it's actually become part of my daily routine to watch them. Keep it up
What I like about Ivan is that research, info and analysis comes second to practice. He will try, embody and experiment with the parameters for days or for weeks, as most people try to read about it to help them decide. Ivan have a very hands-on, on the ground movement practice. This is so refreshing
Yeh thanks man. Reading stuff is good but unless u put it into practice u never truely know if its good. Thats why i just try it for a block or so and see what effects it has to my performance. Its the best approach i think.
Good work brother Tip for your Front Rack position Drive your elbows out It will lift the chest up and open up the back up. That 440 hold will jump to 500 your next session I Guarantee it. Your Front Squat numbers will jump also. With your elbows like they are now promotes thoracic rounding and that does not allow you to engage not just the upper body but the lower too. You say your learning from watching the Chinese Watch how they receive their cleans,front squat,jerk dip squats and rack holds and every movement they do It’s always back open, chest up. Also grip the bar whenever you front rack it. There’s no debating this If you can’t do it now force the issue till you can. It won’t take long. Keep posting 👍😎
The side bend is basically a crunch, not meant to lean all the way over. But if done incorrectly(bad form, or weight overload) then it can Do some damage.
Maybe doing the front rack holds once a week for a couple weeks and then working it up to 3 times a week over a couple weeks, I do at least 1 set of farmer carries a session and that helps with upper back stability so that might also be something to thing about implementing.
Yeh farmers are good too. I use to do them last year. Yeh the rack holds are just brutal. Especially working with weight above my squatting ability. Ill see how i go I guess.
You deserve much more. In the sea of "instagram influencers", roid freaks etc., you are what everyone needs to see. Hard working individual who puts effort day in and day out, with good and bad days. You kept pushing through even when you had worst period of your life, and that everyone needs to see and implement. THANK YOU
For the rack holds, take the hooks off and put the the safeties up high and lift off those. That way you can pass out and not die, and you don't need any accuracy putting the weight down. Also you can add bounces, getting somewhere in the region of jerk dips. I would also never do front squats AFTER this movement, it's a finisher for the upper back.
For the QL/obliques you can use the back extension machine to do side bends. Works very well! I have also seen videos of the Chinese weightlifters doing this!!
Lol read the title and thought u were gonna talk about Ancient Chinese Warfare Tactics. Like on some Sun Tzu shit. That would have been pretty epic lol.
The trick with so much information out there is that you need to be able to filter out what is good advice (overall) and what advice applies to you at this particular time in training. That being said, I have generally found that sticking with the main powerlifting lifts is all your really need. As you have seen, you have also tried volume deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, GHD, 45 degree raises, calf raises, running and now situps/leg raises/side planks. I also went through a period where I tried all kinds of assistance exercises, but I believe their effect was acute/temporary only. When I cut them out, my main lifts still went up. I believe the important (or at least what worked for me the most) was to do variations for your weaker muscles in the movement. For example, I got on my toes in the squat and Pause Squats and Front Squats have helped me get a better motor pattern + worked on my quads. I also have a tough time locking out the bench, so I did Close Grip bench to emphasize triceps. I still think that the movements that you do have value, especially for warming up, but I think that other than the mental aspect, they do quite little overall
Oh yeh for sure. The main lifts do 80% of the progress. At least. I however believe that we need some assistance exercises that address the muscles that dont get properly worked in the big 3. This recent block of core training has made me feel special man. My back feels strong and im very confident under the bar now. And it has been only a short time with it. No matter how we go about planning our big 3, weaknesses will arise. Its just a matter of finding the right exercise. I just look at the Chinese for instance. They do alot of core work. So there must be something to it.
I'm by far no expert in squats but I was watching s video the other day which might shed some information on your form. In essence many people tend to squat in two movement when coming back up: power through the legs to straight and then lift the back from a bent angle to straight. It may be difficult to spot but watch the square at 06:55. It's slightly less than two movements but you can see it when you slow it down. Problem: reduced shoulder flexibility tends to pull the bar over your head on the way down as your shoulders try to return to its natural position. As such, your torso follows suit and you bend slightly. This places an undue stress on your lower back and it has to catty the full load of the weight for a split second. Fix: attempt to stretch the shoulders further back before squats which will provide more flexibility and prevent bending. Hope this helps@
Yeh i agree i wanna stay more upright. But i think it all starts with hips. Lack of hip mobility has upstream effects in order to balance out the weight. The leaning forward is just a counterbalance to my limited rom.
Is it honestly ok to squat everyday? Wouldn’t that release more cortisol into the body because it’s so physically demanding? What pros and cons have you noticed in your journey?
There are many benefits man. Read the book for the full breakdown. Squat everyday by matt perryman. Stronger joints, no doms, skill mastery, and mental strength. Just to name a few. Heres a vid about it. I made this 6 months ago ua-cam.com/video/d1HUsNj6cKk/v-deo.html
@Ben Zaragoza it depends on how much metabolic stress your putting on your leg muscles during the workout. If he was squatting multiply sets of let’s say 20 reps than yea it would not be effective to squat everyday. But this is for strength training not hypertrophy.
@Ben Zaragoza I bench 170kg and made great gains benching every day. Trick is to spread the volume out and don't do so much that you'll be trash the next day. In 2 weeks your body will have adapted to the frequency
3 weeks in olly weightlifting, buggered my knees up :(. IT band rock hard and super tight pulling my knee in places it shouldn't be causing kneed pain. no squats for a month :(, very frustrating but on the stretches and rollers to get my knees bullet proof.
Hey Ivan, Love your channel! Looking at your squat form and range of motion, I can see that your feets are collapsing inwards a bit and you struggle to keep your heels planted. Not sure why but I suspect you're a bit tight in the glute and perhaps in the adductors. I would love to see your try strething the glutes very very lightly before you squat and do warm up with a few sets of seated good mornings just to work up that extra bit of missing mobility. Also if you placed your feet just a touch wider and angeled your toes outwards a degree or two more I think you would really get that extra edge in your squat. Please let me know if you try it and how it felt? Cheers from another power lifter!
Excellent suggestions man. Thanks for that. Yeh im actually stretching my glutes as i write this hahahah. Yeh all this squatting can make ur glutes tight. Doing high rep warm ups sets really does wonders for my mobility. But ultimately need more hip mobility. Thanks man.
@@IvanDjuric300 I got this tips from Chinese lifter at my gym actually and then I heard it from the kneesocvertoesguy, tried it out my self and just after a few weeks I saw great improvements in my own mobility. I obviously so more stretching on top of that but judging from what I saw in the video I thought you could especially benefit from that. Look forward to see you progress in your form and mobility over the summer now 😉
I’m a huge fan of Renegade Rows, Copenhagen Planks and Seated Calf Raises as a “circuit” form of warming up. Where I do the planks, rows and seated calf raises into an empty bar of the barbell to squat. Do the same order then add a plate to the squat, keep doing that until my working sets. Renegade Rows are amazing for the multifidus muscle, contralateral contraction of the lumbar spine unilaterally. Lot of studies have shown multifidus hypertrophy can lead to a big decrease in lower back pain.
That makes sense man. Ive never done renegade rows before. Looks good. Ill give it a try. That muscle is long man. Getting it strong makes alot of sense. It can only help. U must get alot of work done quickly with these circuits.
@@IvanDjuric300 The circuit style specifically just makes warm ups quicker, provides direct feedback from muscle activation to the movement quality itself. Some people warmup then take a 3-5 minute break in between the warming up off muscles and warming up to your squats. You go a bit cold and you want to see how much off a direct carry over can the muscle activation of the multifidus, adductors and obliques present to the squat. Hopefully that makes sense
Yeh that reminds me of what louie use to say. During the warmup ur break should be as long as it takes for u to load the next weight up. So what 15 20 secs. Nothing more. The idea is to warm up hahahaha. People have forgotten that important point.
Another idea to strengthen the Quadratus Lumborum is by laying supine and dragging your feet side to side laterally along with the legs. If that is too easy than add weight to the feet and drag the feet along with the weight.
@@IvanDjuric300 Thanks. It is an exercise I give my patients to strengthen their QL. I feel far more tension on the QL while laying supine and dragging both legs together laterally right than left than I do standing with a bar on my shoulders laterally flexing my torso right and left. Just another idea to add to the tool box of strength training.
I did deadlifts few days ago. The hypers im not atm. I will get back to them soon as well as pullups. Im still trying to get back to full training after the illness.
I still remember when you came to my squat video and I looked at your channel and found a 2 3k subs. Now your channel has grown exponentially man...keep going
Amazing video, could you make a video on how you find your perfect stance for the squat? I see your legs are very close to each other compared to other squatters, yet your squat is perfect,
Thanks man. No not really. I guess i talk about them in videos. But i dont write them up anywhere. Yet. I will eventually but right now dont have time. Still work a normal job too.
Ivan, I know this a older video, but watching through all of these again I'm really getting motivated to start a similar journey as yours, daily auto-regularity training! It's just so motivating to see the way you've done it. I wanna do it for incline and squat primarily though, with daily back work(The percentages will defo need to be lower though because of quite a bit of overall workload). Thank you man
Maybe when you're more recovered, try some of the Tom Platz methods of squatting, he also did ATG squats and said that he was trained by weightlifters not powerlifters. Try his sissy squat, maybe in a hack squat machine or smith machine, would be cool to see how your knees, ligaments and tendons match up to his. He really went past his knees. You should also check out his sissy squat, he put like 400-500 pounds on hack squat machine and went knees to platform, balls to ankles.
the psoas is made up of the hip flexors and qls, totally recommend training them individually, hip flexors with split squat or bend knee leg raises and ql raises
@@IvanDjuric300 but still, your ROM is great. And is more important to have space in the hip capsule then the length of the femurs. All the hard work is payn off
Basically what's happening when you experience knee caving is one of two things. You can either have poor technical ques to pushing your knees out or you can have a weak glute medius muscle. Background to the glute medius: The gluteus medius (AKA glute medius) is a muscle on the lateral (outside) hip region. It originates at the ilium and inserts on the to of the femur. The function we care about for squatting in abduction of the femur, which the glute medius controls. How to diagnose the cause of knee cave: To diagnose what's causing the the knee cave we can do a simple test that will tell you if you have a weakness or a technical problem based on whether or not you can do it. When you next have access to a squat rack and a barbell you are going to focus on pushing your knees out to the side. Some good cues for this are imagining something applying pressure on your knees to push them to together and you are trying to stop that. Or you can imagine squeezing the outside of you glutes and keeping your knees as far apart from each other as possible. Now when you squat work on loading the bar up to 80 or 90% of your 1RM with one of those cues and one of two things will happen. 1) it was a technique issue and you just fixed the problem, OR 2) it was a strength/activation problem and you know know how to fix it. Strengthening the glute medius: This is fairly easy and there are a bunch of ways you can add this into your program so I'll give you the names and you can search for how to do them online so nothing gets lost if I explained it. Exercises you can use are: clamshells, banded squats, hip abducting machine (if you have access to one) and tempo back squats that focus on keeping your knees out. Hope that helps:)
When I did squats regularly, I used 465 lbs and did six sets of 8 squats a set, 2 days a week. i couldn't get anything out of 1 rep a set, very little muscle development.
I have always been interested in learning exercises that 99% of the time you won't see people doing. Things that you might learn if you go through a physical rehabilitation or hire a sports trainer.
Tightness in the calves can cause you to tip forward but if do a good stretching session hitting every muscle in you lower body before you squat and you shouldn't have any problems
The thing that I have been focusing on, is focusing on what actually matters. What exercise actually matter in the gym and sticking to those exercises. This is key because there’s so much stuff in the fitness industry that could be cool to do but do they really matter? No.
when you say what actually matters are you referring to main lifts? such as bench, deadlift, squat etc? because i find doing accessory workouts help a little with the main lifts aswell
Recently hurt my back and am just starting to try to get back in to squatting and deadlifting. I have particularly bad hips, my hip flexors are tight and I have snapping hip syndrome, I also have tight hamstrings. I know you have touched on some of this before, but would you be able to outline a regimine for let's say a "beginner" in order to properly stretch and strengthen these muscles?
Go low weight good mornings for hamstrings, high reps and work on range of motion to try and lengthen them. Banded marches for tight hip flexors. But honestly just start squatting and deadlifting to see exactly what you need, nothing better than feedback from your own body.
For hip flexors i would do what i did in this video man. The seated psoas curls. For hamstring good mornings are great and also rdls. I actually dont mind ham curls on the machine either. But get back to squatting. Even if its light. Increase ur frequency.
Be careful with the "well if the top guys are doing it..." Top guys are exactly that, and train for world records, olympic gold medals etc, and survivorship bias is a thing as well. It's not always the best path to follow if youre "only" doing it for yourself etc. Anyways great video and great work! I will try out both the bb sidebends and the psoas curls.
i do notsquat everyday... but i do back & front squat in a same workout. i mostly do heavy for back, then front lighter load but higher volume. def seen increase and better stability doing both
On another video you replied to me that your max front squat is 170kg. Do you push your max as hard as your back squat when you do a max on front squat? I tried maxing out my front squat today and got 150kg. I found my upper back lot tightness a bit, so I might try some of those weighted front squat holds you did in your video. Keep up the good videos.
Yeh that max was done last year. Back then i pushed my front squat more than my back squat. That was also done in oly shoes. Now the front squat is an accessory movement. And ive only recently brought it back. The trick with them is staying upright. So upper back strength and core strength is the war man.
"Shut up and squat" - Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Love it!
lol this should be on a shirt
I don't think you translate it correctly. Sun Tzu said "Be silent and do your horse stance."
I remember reading that part in the book.
Perfect! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I can't tell you how valuable it is to see someone take this kind of considered explorative approach to lifting, you have created such positive momentum in the community already and your content consistently has given me inspiration and food for thought. My respect and thanks to you Ivan.
Oh thank u man. I really appreciate that. Its a beautiful thing to see the appreciation. Cheers my man.
his videos r sick
Thanks man
That was really well written
@@setlaxsoccer77 I know right? I was like damn. It's a great take though. There's something about the lifting community that seems to be a bit dogmatic and seeing someone like Ivan methodically approach lifting in a different way is for sure inspiring. He's made me start squatting with much more frequency than I used to, now its 3x a week.
Chinese and Squats. Like bread and butter
Well said man!
@@user-jq5nr1ph8c weirdest translation ive ever heard lol
@@user-jq5nr1ph8c Re-translation: Chinese and deep squat, like bread and beef oil.
@@Tunnelvision18 chinese and squats, like rice and rice.
@Bender Rodriguez nice you are 6 feet tall and you can dunk easily. Stfu, sports includes race advantages
I expected to see a montage of you doing squats for 546 days. I was surprised to see your channel has a video every single day of you doing squats. Wow. Just wow.
Yeh man. I should make a compilation. Just dont have the time.
@@IvanDjuric300 no need to man. So much respect for the way you have done it. Loved the video! New subscriber here. 👍🏽
@JKItsMeAlGore he works up to his 1rm doesnt have to be a leg destroying workout every day
@JKItsMeAlGore this is very old thinking bro
@JKItsMeAlGore Stay small bro
I've actually tried this before my squatting sessions along with some posterior work like good mornings and it really makes me feel more warm and stronger.
Yeh man i think this is a keeper!
@@IvanDjuric300 yessir for sure!
Watched this video last night. I did the barbell side bends at the start of my warm-up today for squats.. Big difference for my lower back, especially as the evening wore on watching football. Excellent exercise!
Nice. Great to hear.
I've done a lot of front rack holds in the past and i think it can be a good exercise, but just like you i figured it is too taxing for the potential strength gains it may provide and after the second time i hurt my thoracic spine doing them i stopped doing them for good. What i've been doing ever since is high reps of front rack shrugs with like 50% of my Front Squat 1RM for higher reps and imo it's a fantastic substitute and you can do them every day with no problems at all.
Front rack shrugs! I have never honestly seen or thought about that. Im gonna try that. Cheers man.
Well moving your spine, warming up the muscles around it and getting blood and fluid into your spine is super healthy. We already don’t have enough spinal movement, especially torsion is something humans are missing.
Yeh man. Literally feel insulated when i warm my core up before squats. I feel stronger.
Hey guys I agree core should be worked and bracing prior to lifting. However the spine should be stabilized not mobilized. I am saying this as I recently hurt my back ( herniated disc) after years of weight lifting. Look into Dr. Stu mcgill super knowledgeable and has been researching the spine for over 30 years with over 1000 medical research papers on the topic. He also helped Brian carroll work back from a devastating back injury to equipped squat over 1300 lbs. Cheers boys happy lifting!
@@jordan-zo7ou it depends on the human😂. But there shouldn’t be any problem with mobilizing your spine with a small range of motion and light bodyweight exercises only. But yes, under heavy load, always stabilize!
Dope video, going to try those psoas curls and consider the side bend with some light weight
WTF u doin here Bass Nation!!
@my prada LOL
Respect man!
This comment had blown my mind
Ivan Djuric and Bass Nation! Now that's something to behold!
Wow man, Ive been intrigued by the difference you've said that doing some core work as a warm-up, specifically your obliques, made in regards to how your squat felt. I wasn't even going to lift today but decided to go in and and just try it out- started with sit ups and side-planks and holy hell did I feel POPPY. I know why you use that word now, its really the only way to describe how it felt. LOL. I'm three weeks back in the gym after not going for a year and a half due to COVID and its been rough. Today was one of the first good feeling days I've had. Cheers brother, I love your videos and look forward to tomorrows.
Respect man. Im glad it felt good. Yeh man “poppy” just describes it well doesnt it hahahah. Cheers
There’s so much conflicting info on form, diet, and things like that.
I know man. Its getting harder to filter all the info. But thats what we have to do somehow.
@@IvanDjuric300 IMO the info is not too conflicting it's just that different people are training for different goals. Chinese Weightlifters probably have to squat in a particularly upright form because they're training to come up out of the bottom of a snatch/clean and jerk and they can't lean forward with a barbell over their head. Strongmen can train knowing they'll get to use a squat suit which allows totally different form. Guys just trying to get as strong as possible might go ass to grass whereas power lifters know they only need a certain depth for the lift to be green so they train for exactly that depth. Then on the diet side there are so many factors like your weight loss goals, weight gain goals, nutrition goals, food sensitivities, etc... It can feel like all this info is conflicting but I think it's just tailor made to each different purpose. I think part of filtering the info is just finding the info that's relevant to your goals and discarding the info that isn't.
And thats the difficult bit. What do u use. Its hard man. Very confusing especially when u first start out. If ur not part of any group. What do u do.
@@IvanDjuric300 yeah that makes sense there are a lot of options out there. I personally think whatever type of training brings you joy at the moment is the type you should pursue. If you're having fun incorporating some Chinese weight lifting stuff into your routine then do it. At the end of the day it's just gonna make you stronger and if the variety makes it more enjoyable it's a win-win.
And thats the key man. It has to be fun. If its not then its not gonna last. Ur laughing if u can have fun with the stuff that gets u stronger. Perfect scenario.
Hey! I'm really glad you took our conversation about side bends into consideration and found value in the exercise. The transparency with you is one of the many reasons to follow the journey. On that note, I have another suggestion. If you have noticed a pattern in a sticking point of the squat, why not incorporate some pin/box squats? Both are really good and research shows a direct relationship between partial squatting (in the form of box and pin) and full squat strength. What do you think about this? Breaking down the movement is always a good way to master it. And the top weightlofters are all doing it too! I'm a weightlifting coach so your experiments are very exciting to me
Yeh thank u for that. One of the best things about this channel is that i learn alot man. So many people on here that i can learn from. Its awesome. The side bends are amazing man. Love them. Cheers
Box squat ive tried in the past. I liked them. But soon after starting them last year i developed that hip pain so i had to abandon it. It was really good to focus on that sticking point. It was sobering to watch the weight come off the bar coz u basically stop right where u dont want to hahahah
@@IvanDjuric300 respect! And I get what you mean about the box squats. Additionally abductor work is always recommended when working partials! Hahaha for sure must be sobering
There u go. Maybe thats where i went wrong. More abductor work.
What'd insane is he implemented pin squats and had a 2 week run of 200kg for a single. And a PR 210
I’ve done a Bulgarian squat routine for almost two years. However, I wasn’t able to keep up my bench/OHP/DL Progression. It was strictly squatting Progression for two years. One thing I learned was using a different variety of squats, alternating every week or so, to keep myself for getting burned out. Great video! Love your take on the squat everyday! Good luck!
Thank u man. Well done on that. Squat everyday can be done any which way really. Its highly adjustable. As long as u keep doing it everyday u good.
How was your progress? Do you change rep range or just go for daily max?
Bro, your arm flexibility is incredible. A lot of guys can't get their hands on the bar that close due to lack of upper body, shoulder and chest range of motion. This lack of flexibility leads to unnatural leaning. Can you make a video of what stretches you use to open up your chest to rotate your shoulders like that?
Cheers man.
Honestly i dont do anything. I just think it comes with squat everyday. Ur in that position alot and that i suppose is a stretch everyday.
@@IvanDjuric300 I’m able to get into the same position as well. Because I do behind the neck presses with that kinda grip
Its also about the Length Ratio between forearm and humerus. With shorter forearms it is easier to do squats with narrow grip
@@marvinmager34 well I am 6' with a 6' 7" wing span so I do have long ass arms but my flexibility is lacking big time as well.
Hey I might be pretty late to respond on this but hopefully I can still help out. So humans are really anteriorly driven so having this slouched posture is very common. Usually our scapular protractors (pec minor and serratus anterior) are way too overused and tight and our scapular retractors (rear deltoid, and teres minor) are really underused and the muscle is actually lengthened. So to help fix this I’d recommend some soft tissue work around your pec minor and serratus. Just take a tennis ball or something like that and roll it in the side of your rib cage and underneath your armpit kind of. And for strengthening the scrapyard retractors I suggest doing things such as face pulls with a cable and doing rear set fly or any pulling moving in general is good for these as well. I hope this helps and if you want any more information on this then go to “squat university’s” channel he has a lot of good information on there
The information factor is so true. One of the dudes I regularly lift with is a lot older then me and my buddy, and we talk about how hard it was back in his day (generation before ours) to get information compared to us today
Yeh man. Its a special time that we live in now. We take it for granted too.
What I’ve learned from experience in roofing with heavy weight and having to be flexible like a yoga instructor is that the body is way stronger than we think it is and we need to emphasize core and trunk strength and mobility. We can put so much weight on our body and move it in many ways but we just think of our core as stabilizer muscles and don’t need to move it but stronger core better squats and lifts.
That’s right man. I believe that. Core is everything man
What's the difference between trunk and core? Does trunk include more parts of the body?
You deserve many multiples more subscribers for how great your content is. I learn something new every time I watch.
Thanks man. Im glad to hear that. Cheers
I learnt 3 things I had never considered for strengthened my (admittedly weak) core in this one video. I can't wait to try them out. Thanks dude.
Thanks man. Appreciate that.
Sub incoming, long time lifter here and I really appreciated your explanation of oblique stretching before squats. Thats a gem of a tip honestly and everyone should include it in their routine.
Yeh it’s a great exercise definitely.
Cheers
There is a lot of caution out there about demanding movements. When I say demanding its not always strength wise but health/flexibility as the demanding factor. These risky training exercises are what for many people exposed their weakness. "I started running and my knees went out", no your knees were already out and you started training. We neglect so many parts of our body tight hips weak core, tight chest(hunched) and that is why these compound movements are so great because they require the whole body to be working. Give parts of the body a rest for too long and they will retire permanently.
Absolutely agree with that. People often label movements as bad when people get hurt. But were people just in bad alignments, posture, weakness etc.
Some movements are not for beginners, i get that, but still its hard to filter all that information out.
Your form on bench is absolutely immaculate. Even at a fatigued 198lb press, you kept your elbows in. Kudos.
Thanks man
Phenomenal video. Gives me exactly what I need to start improving my sciatica. Thanks dude
Respect man. Glad to hear it.
Looking for sciatica relief also can how did it work for you Chris?
You changed my view on strength man. This morning i did 60kg for 5 sets of 20. Thought i was dying. Last heavy squat for me was 140kg for 3x2, but i incorporated volume in my routine (heavy squat/light bench, then light squat/heavy bench 3times a week, and pull sessions other days) and it's the key for progress ! You taught me that ! Volume is key for a heavy, strong and controlled squat. Thanks man.
Respect man. Im glad i could help. Volume is key. Honestly. Its what drives gains. Just keep going man. U seem on the right track.
@@IvanDjuric300 It means so much coming from you, thanks again my friend.
All good man. Cheers
Now that my knees are better, I think I'm going to start squatting every day. Or at least every day I go to the gym. Thanks for the motivation. It helps seeing someone else do it.
Respect man. Appreciate ya.
That's really interesting, I have never done this with the bar but will definitely do so next time, this proves that there's always more to learn.
Absolutely man. We ll never stop learning. Student mindset forever. Cheers man
I can relate to this with stretching. I did dynamic stretching as a newbie (so I can high kick) and the next day my muscles were pulled. A few months of static stretching later and I can dynamic stretch np and touch my toes and limber up much faster because I’m used to it. Baby steps is the key to a lot of things
Absolutely man. I agree
Most of those Chinese exercises I first read about from Russian Sources. I guess there was a lot of information exchanged between the two countries.
Oh really. Thats interesting. I didnt know that. It’s likely. Especially given their political history.
My guess would be the Chinese learnt from the Soviet
@@notgame6261 ur guess is not a good one.
@@melon8909 lol
@@melon8909 if you think the Chinese started lifting before the Russians your nuts
I tried the side plank holds and then hip flexor raises with a kettlebell before squatting today and could definitely feel it helped my depth! Thank u Ivan!
Oh thats great man. Glad it helped ya man. Well done.
Love doing the sidebends as it’s also great for releaving tightness
Yeh this is my first time and it felt great. Definitely a keeper i think.
Iv been on a squat every day journey and seeing this makes me so incredibly happy
Respect man. Well done.
I tried the side bends yesterday before a light high volume squat session. I can feel the muscles on my sides today so mine are probably weak. Will add it in to my warm ups.
Nice man. Yeh mine are weak as well. Im really sore today.
Nice 200 kg squat! I think I’m going to try this to improve my squat never would have thought of those exercises.
Yeh man. Definitely worth a try at least. Felt really good to me man.
the internet made things accessible so there no excuses! you just got to have the right mindset, learn, adjust, and keep pushing. Ivan got me to change my program and im feeling poppy with squatting now
Respect man. Very glad to hear that. Ur right. Its all about the mindset. Thats it.
Never even thought about sidebends with the bar, that stretch must feel amazing
Yeh its a crazy feeling man.
Once you get comfortable with how you need to hold your core, you can really add some momentum to the movement, and the feeling of the stretch down the obliques is huge. DOMS is also huge!
@@IvanDjuric300 is it a good or bad idea to add weight to it do you think? I'm gonna give these a go. How many reps + sets would you advise?
@@keighlancoe5933 I’m no where near his level in strength but if it’s your first time don’t do weight. Also he said he did 4 sets of 30 reps :)
An other great QL exercise is doing deep db side bends, but stagger your stance, the opposite leg of the side you are working about a foot in front of the back leg. It helps trunk stability tremendously without needing much weight at all.
Oh thats interesting. Never tried that man. Cheers
Have you tried any ab exercises hanging from a bar? Like hanging leg raises or around the worlds?
Yeh i have. I find i struggle to maintain proper pelvic positioning. My abs are not strong enough so my hip flexors take over. Arches my back. I ve had back pain in the past from this.
2 ideas.
1. Front rack holds might be put after the descending rep sets of FS
2. Try banded walkouts if you’re experimenting with core stability work. Did them Friday and they lit me up. I’ll put a link under this comment.
Dude said these were for back pain rehab, but honestly after trying them I might start adding them before I squat all the time now.
ua-cam.com/video/34U81-LHk7k/v-deo.html
Yeh the front racks really toasted me. I was able to front squat but it was a drag. Maybe shifting the holds to the end would be better.
Ive never seen those banded walk outs. That looks like a really wrestling fight. Its always dancing on ya. I think ill try that.
3:01 my man putting game on that chick
Hehehehe
I love love side bends. I try to focus on bending to the back and side instead of just side though to hit the QL. There are some great videos on it on YT. I've seen a lot of people squatting 400lbs+ do it between sets to stay loose and keep their back from hurting.
Nice man. Ive never seen anyone do it like that between sets. Interesting
@@IvanDjuric300 Yeah, you'd think it'd weaken you but I guess if it's "lightweight!" it can just keep you less stiff.
You're only as strong as your core
Exactly man. That makes perfect sense to me.
I believe this too
As your weakest point! Usually is people's core. Lol I know mine was.
Yeh most people have weak cores id say.
@@IvanDjuric300 i just failed my first attempt at 138kg squat on the 5th rep because of this...
Hey man, I have been around for a while now just haven't commented yet. I just want to say keep up the great work your videos are really interesting and inspiring and it's actually become part of my daily routine to watch them. Keep it up
Hey man thank u for that. This kinda feedback really makes a difference man. Appreciate it. Cheers
What I like about Ivan is that research, info and analysis comes second to practice. He will try, embody and experiment with the parameters for days or for weeks, as most people try to read about it to help them decide. Ivan have a very hands-on, on the ground movement practice. This is so refreshing
Yeh thanks man. Reading stuff is good but unless u put it into practice u never truely know if its good. Thats why i just try it for a block or so and see what effects it has to my performance. Its the best approach i think.
For anyone interested, one armed farmer carry is also a good way to strengthen the core
I agree
Also called Suitcase carry
“This is war.”
Love it
Haven't watched in a couple weeks. Your front squat is looking good! Keep it up!
Respect man. Thank u
Every movement is doable if you have the mobility to perform the exercise and the right technique
Exactly
what if everytime i go bellow parallel my hips radiate pain lolllll
@@sophiapolisar4976 then obviously you don't have the mobility or strength to do that range of motion.
So don't do it. Simple.
Yeh if theres pain dont load that movement
Good to see you're lifting well post sickness!
Yeh same. Very glad to be touching 200kg again.
Good work brother
Tip for your Front Rack position
Drive your elbows out
It will lift the chest up and open up the back up.
That 440 hold will jump to 500 your next session I Guarantee it.
Your Front Squat numbers will jump also.
With your elbows like they are now promotes thoracic rounding and that does not allow you to engage not just the upper body but the lower too.
You say your learning from watching the Chinese
Watch how they receive their cleans,front squat,jerk dip squats and rack holds and every movement they do
It’s always back open, chest up.
Also grip the bar whenever you front rack it.
There’s no debating this
If you can’t do it now force the issue till you can.
It won’t take long.
Keep posting 👍😎
Oh thanks for the tip man. Ill try flaring the elbows a bit. Ive never tried. Maybe that will help my wrist as well. Im gonna try it.
Cheers
The side bend is basically a crunch, not meant to lean all the way over. But if done incorrectly(bad form, or weight overload) then it can Do some damage.
Oh yeh i think so too
Thank you for this 🤙🏼🏋🏽♂️
Cheers man
God damn man, there are some good looking girls at that gym. Happy training
Hahahahah cheers man
Creep
@@damiencross2242 it's not creepy commenting on so one looks grow up
Some men will find anything with a pulse in leggings attractive. Average mentality.
@@Coby1255 damn you creep too
Awesome video thank you . I do yoga squats and I battle with my heels that keep lifting off the ground so I am always balancing on my toes .
Yeh thats a common problem. Have u got anterior pelvic tilt?
@@IvanDjuric300 I don’t know , how does one check it ?
Love the choice of shoes.
Sometimes i find the converse types even more comfortable than the rebok weight shoes!
Yeh i know
Maybe doing the front rack holds once a week for a couple weeks and then working it up to 3 times a week over a couple weeks, I do at least 1 set of farmer carries a session and that helps with upper back stability so that might also be something to thing about implementing.
Yeh farmers are good too. I use to do them last year.
Yeh the rack holds are just brutal. Especially working with weight above my squatting ability. Ill see how i go I guess.
@@IvanDjuric300 Pull ups = upper back stability
Yeh they are good too.
@@IvanDjuric300 Listening to Children Of Bodom I found also helps squats ;)
Hahahahahah thats funny
1 million views man!!!🎉🎊
Hats of to you sir! Your squat army will always support you. You're inspiration to us💪
Thank you man. Means a lot to hear that.
I can’t believe this. 1mil is insane to me. Never thought this would happen.
You deserve much more.
In the sea of "instagram influencers", roid freaks etc., you are what everyone needs to see. Hard working individual who puts effort day in and day out, with good and bad days. You kept pushing through even when you had worst period of your life, and that everyone needs to see and implement.
THANK YOU
@@highwayman1291 So true!
For the rack holds, take the hooks off and put the the safeties up high and lift off those. That way you can pass out and not die, and you don't need any accuracy putting the weight down. Also you can add bounces, getting somewhere in the region of jerk dips. I would also never do front squats AFTER this movement, it's a finisher for the upper back.
Thats a great suggestion man. Thank u for that. Ill do that next time.
For the QL/obliques you can use the back extension machine to do side bends. Works very well! I have also seen videos of the Chinese weightlifters doing this!!
Yes me too. Yeh thats a good point man. I guess i could do both. Its just easier to so the bends if u dont have the machine.
@@IvanDjuric300 yes you could try it when you are at the gym
Yeh for sure. Why not i say. Cheers for the idea man.
Lol read the title and thought u were gonna talk about Ancient Chinese Warfare Tactics. Like on some Sun Tzu shit. That would have been pretty epic lol.
Hahahaha yeh it would be hahaha
literally my same thought 🤣🤣
The trick with so much information out there is that you need to be able to filter out what is good advice (overall) and what advice applies to you at this particular time in training. That being said, I have generally found that sticking with the main powerlifting lifts is all your really need. As you have seen, you have also tried volume deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, GHD, 45 degree raises, calf raises, running and now situps/leg raises/side planks.
I also went through a period where I tried all kinds of assistance exercises, but I believe their effect was acute/temporary only. When I cut them out, my main lifts still went up.
I believe the important (or at least what worked for me the most) was to do variations for your weaker muscles in the movement. For example, I got on my toes in the squat and Pause Squats and Front Squats have helped me get a better motor pattern + worked on my quads. I also have a tough time locking out the bench, so I did Close Grip bench to emphasize triceps.
I still think that the movements that you do have value, especially for warming up, but I think that other than the mental aspect, they do quite little overall
Oh yeh for sure. The main lifts do 80% of the progress. At least. I however believe that we need some assistance exercises that address the muscles that dont get properly worked in the big 3.
This recent block of core training has made me feel special man. My back feels strong and im very confident under the bar now. And it has been only a short time with it.
No matter how we go about planning our big 3, weaknesses will arise. Its just a matter of finding the right exercise.
I just look at the Chinese for instance. They do alot of core work. So there must be something to it.
I am quite new to lifting but even I have taken inspiration from the chinese. I replaced side laterals with Lu raises!
Respect man
I'm by far no expert in squats but I was watching s video the other day which might shed some information on your form.
In essence many people tend to squat in two movement when coming back up: power through the legs to straight and then lift the back from a bent angle to straight. It may be difficult to spot but watch the square at 06:55. It's slightly less than two movements but you can see it when you slow it down.
Problem: reduced shoulder flexibility tends to pull the bar over your head on the way down as your shoulders try to return to its natural position. As such, your torso follows suit and you bend slightly. This places an undue stress on your lower back and it has to catty the full load of the weight for a split second.
Fix: attempt to stretch the shoulders further back before squats which will provide more flexibility and prevent bending.
Hope this helps@
Yeh i agree i wanna stay more upright. But i think it all starts with hips.
Lack of hip mobility has upstream effects in order to balance out the weight. The leaning forward is just a counterbalance to my limited rom.
Is it honestly ok to squat everyday? Wouldn’t that release more cortisol into the body because it’s so physically demanding? What pros and cons have you noticed in your journey?
There are many benefits man.
Read the book for the full breakdown. Squat everyday by matt perryman.
Stronger joints, no doms, skill mastery, and mental strength. Just to name a few. Heres a vid about it. I made this 6 months ago
ua-cam.com/video/d1HUsNj6cKk/v-deo.html
@Ben Zaragoza it depends on how much metabolic stress your putting on your leg muscles during the workout. If he was squatting multiply sets of let’s say 20 reps than yea it would not be effective to squat everyday. But this is for strength training not hypertrophy.
Yeh thats right
@Ben Zaragoza I bench 170kg and made great gains benching every day. Trick is to spread the volume out and don't do so much that you'll be trash the next day. In 2 weeks your body will have adapted to the frequency
Yeh thats the trick. Do a bit every day.
GOOD SHIT MAN
Cheers man
Pleasure see deep squats.Greetings from Bulgaria.
Oh hey man. Greetings.
Cheers from Australia.
3 weeks in olly weightlifting, buggered my knees up :(. IT band rock hard and super tight pulling my knee in places it shouldn't be causing kneed pain. no squats for a month :(, very frustrating but on the stretches and rollers to get my knees bullet proof.
What made my it band release was light squats up to sets of 50.
I talk about here
ua-cam.com/video/CjOKrRVqpS4/v-deo.html
Wtf are you made out of? This is impressive
Thank u man
hehehehe number 1 today! Happy Squatting :D Poppy!
Thank u my man!! Hahahah
This movement you do is good for warm up and strengthen add weight to it and control in a slow movement if feel great for me.
Yeh man. Its a great movement. Im so sore from it.
Hey Ivan, Love your channel! Looking at your squat form and range of motion, I can see that your feets are collapsing inwards a bit and you struggle to keep your heels planted. Not sure why but I suspect you're a bit tight in the glute and perhaps in the adductors. I would love to see your try strething the glutes very very lightly before you squat and do warm up with a few sets of seated good mornings just to work up that extra bit of missing mobility. Also if you placed your feet just a touch wider and angeled your toes outwards a degree or two more I think you would really get that extra edge in your squat. Please let me know if you try it and how it felt?
Cheers from another power lifter!
Excellent suggestions man. Thanks for that. Yeh im actually stretching my glutes as i write this hahahah.
Yeh all this squatting can make ur glutes tight. Doing high rep warm ups sets really does wonders for my mobility.
But ultimately need more hip mobility.
Thanks man.
@@IvanDjuric300 I got this tips from Chinese lifter at my gym actually and then I heard it from the kneesocvertoesguy, tried it out my self and just after a few weeks I saw great improvements in my own mobility. I obviously so more stretching on top of that but judging from what I saw in the video I thought you could especially benefit from that.
Look forward to see you progress in your form and mobility over the summer now 😉
The majestic lion leaves his cave 😂😂
Hahahah cheers man
Missed watching these good sessions, thanks for the vid man
Cheers man. Appreciate that!
I’m a huge fan of Renegade Rows, Copenhagen Planks and Seated Calf Raises as a “circuit” form of warming up. Where I do the planks, rows and seated calf raises into an empty bar of the barbell to squat. Do the same order then add a plate to the squat, keep doing that until my working sets. Renegade Rows are amazing for the multifidus muscle, contralateral contraction of the lumbar spine unilaterally. Lot of studies have shown multifidus hypertrophy can lead to a big decrease in lower back pain.
That makes sense man. Ive never done renegade rows before. Looks good. Ill give it a try.
That muscle is long man. Getting it strong makes alot of sense. It can only help.
U must get alot of work done quickly with these circuits.
@@IvanDjuric300 The circuit style specifically just makes warm ups quicker, provides direct feedback from muscle activation to the movement quality itself. Some people warmup then take a 3-5 minute break in between the warming up off muscles and warming up to your squats. You go a bit cold and you want to see how much off a direct carry over can the muscle activation of the multifidus, adductors and obliques present to the squat. Hopefully that makes sense
Yeh that reminds me of what louie use to say. During the warmup ur break should be as long as it takes for u to load the next weight up. So what 15 20 secs. Nothing more. The idea is to warm up hahahaha. People have forgotten that important point.
Another idea to strengthen the Quadratus Lumborum is by laying supine and dragging your feet side to side laterally along with the legs. If that is too easy than add weight to the feet and drag the feet along with the weight.
Oh thats interesting man
@@IvanDjuric300 Thanks. It is an exercise I give my patients to strengthen their QL. I feel far more tension on the QL while laying supine and dragging both legs together laterally right than left than I do standing with a bar on my shoulders laterally flexing my torso right and left. Just another idea to add to the tool box of strength training.
Great workout
Cheers man
Aren't you doing deadlifts, reverse hypers nor pull ups any more?
I did deadlifts few days ago. The hypers im not atm. I will get back to them soon as well as pullups. Im still trying to get back to full training after the illness.
I still remember when you came to my squat video and I looked at your channel and found a 2 3k subs. Now your channel has grown exponentially man...keep going
Thank you man. It’s been a crazy ride. Unbelievable really.
Appreciate ya.
Amazing video, could you make a video on how you find your perfect stance for the squat? I see your legs are very close to each other compared to other squatters, yet your squat is perfect,
Thank u mate.
Yeh ive spoken about this a few times in the videos. Its a common question that i get. Ill talk about it in the future again im sure
have you ever trained with lifters + sleeves + belt? would be interesting to see what you could lift!
Nah never man. One day ill buy all that gear and give it a crack i reckon.
@@IvanDjuric300 they say you do you’ll hit 600lbs😂
Hahahah i wish man hahaha
Have done the “Lu Bends” a lot. They work great, as long as you don’t care about having a blocky core
Where was UA-cam when I started powerlifting, 37 years ago! Nice to see you training!
Thanks man
how have I only just found this channel. it’s just what i needed 👍👍. is there anywhere to find your workout structure ?
Thanks man.
No not really. I guess i talk about them in videos. But i dont write them up anywhere. Yet. I will eventually but right now dont have time. Still work a normal job too.
Great video but the lady to the left 🤯
Love the dedication my man
Thanks man
Ivan, I know this a older video, but watching through all of these again I'm really getting motivated to start a similar journey as yours, daily auto-regularity training! It's just so motivating to see the way you've done it. I wanna do it for incline and squat primarily though, with daily back work(The percentages will defo need to be lower though because of quite a bit of overall workload). Thank you man
Good to hear man. Do it. Give it a good go.
Maybe when you're more recovered, try some of the Tom Platz methods of squatting, he also did ATG squats and said that he was trained by weightlifters not powerlifters.
Try his sissy squat, maybe in a hack squat machine or smith machine, would be cool to see how your knees, ligaments and tendons match up to his. He really went past his knees. You should also check out his sissy squat, he put like 400-500 pounds on hack squat machine and went knees to platform, balls to ankles.
Yeh that’s crazy man. Next level stuff
0:31 thank me later 💩🐵⛄️🥑🗽
I’m curious what your calorie and protein intake is like. Squatting everyday is quite tough.
Sarma, Kupus, Cevapi....standard stuff😀
@@justincase5124 you’ve got to be joking
@@Nunyabeeswax777 Most likely😉
Hahahaha exactly. Justin knows whats up!! Hahahah
the psoas is made up of the hip flexors and qls, totally recommend training them individually, hip flexors with split squat or bend knee leg raises and ql raises
highly relevant comment given what he's doing now
your hip anatomy it's perfect for squats. Don't worry about small details. If you don;t feel the lower back sore after the leg workout, it;s okay
Yeh my femurs are long. So not quite ideal.
@@IvanDjuric300 but still, your ROM is great. And is more important to have space in the hip capsule then the length of the femurs. All the hard work is payn off
How do I get rid of my legs caving in when i squat
drop weight
Lower the weight, put time into adductors and abductors.
Keep your knees pushed over towards toes
point your toes outward
Basically what's happening when you experience knee caving is one of two things. You can either have poor technical ques to pushing your knees out or you can have a weak glute medius muscle.
Background to the glute medius: The gluteus medius (AKA glute medius) is a muscle on the lateral (outside) hip region. It originates at the ilium and inserts on the to of the femur. The function we care about for squatting in abduction of the femur, which the glute medius controls.
How to diagnose the cause of knee cave: To diagnose what's causing the the knee cave we can do a simple test that will tell you if you have a weakness or a technical problem based on whether or not you can do it. When you next have access to a squat rack and a barbell you are going to focus on pushing your knees out to the side. Some good cues for this are imagining something applying pressure on your knees to push them to together and you are trying to stop that. Or you can imagine squeezing the outside of you glutes and keeping your knees as far apart from each other as possible. Now when you squat work on loading the bar up to 80 or 90% of your 1RM with one of those cues and one of two things will happen.
1) it was a technique issue and you just fixed the problem, OR
2) it was a strength/activation problem and you know know how to fix it.
Strengthening the glute medius: This is fairly easy and there are a bunch of ways you can add this into your program so I'll give you the names and you can search for how to do them online so nothing gets lost if I explained it. Exercises you can use are: clamshells, banded squats, hip abducting machine (if you have access to one) and tempo back squats that focus on keeping your knees out.
Hope that helps:)
Love those, feet closer together and more hip motion really gets a good stretch
Oh yeh. It really hits it.
I wanted to ask, how do you manage to work other muscle groups if you squat everyday? Like chest and back?
I dont. Right now its all about squat and core.
When I did squats regularly, I used 465 lbs and did six sets of 8 squats a set, 2 days a week. i couldn't get anything out of 1 rep a set, very little muscle development.
Oh yeh if bodybuilding is your goal. Gotta do more reps for sure.
I have always been interested in learning exercises that 99% of the time you won't see people doing. Things that you might learn if you go through a physical rehabilitation or hire a sports trainer.
Any fitness wizards hav a squating tip, i always fall forward or lose my balance with just the barbell lmao
Worth checking ankle mobility stuff and strengthening ur tibias anterior - not sure tho make sure to research lol
Ur too tight. Specifically ur hips. U lack hip flexion, internal and external rotation.
Ty ty, interesting to hear ill continue to do some exquisite research lol
Tightness in the calves can cause you to tip forward but if do a good stretching session hitting every muscle in you lower body before you squat and you shouldn't have any problems
Finally, someone on UA-cam with a decent squat.
Cheers man
The thing that I have been focusing on, is focusing on what actually matters. What exercise actually matter in the gym and sticking to those exercises. This is key because there’s so much stuff in the fitness industry that could be cool to do but do they really matter? No.
Exactly. Thats what im after too. Im gonna do stuff only if its getting me closer to my goal. Thats it. No fluff.
when you say what actually matters are you referring to main lifts? such as bench, deadlift, squat etc? because i find doing accessory workouts help a little with the main lifts aswell
But what if u did the main movements with the same rep schemes u do the accessory movements? I think ud find them more useful.
Recently hurt my back and am just starting to try to get back in to squatting and deadlifting.
I have particularly bad hips, my hip flexors are tight and I have snapping hip syndrome, I also have tight hamstrings.
I know you have touched on some of this before, but would you be able to outline a regimine for let's say a "beginner" in order to properly stretch and strengthen these muscles?
Go low weight good mornings for hamstrings, high reps and work on range of motion to try and lengthen them. Banded marches for tight hip flexors. But honestly just start squatting and deadlifting to see exactly what you need, nothing better than feedback from your own body.
@@Mrnewbiee99 thanks for that man! Banded marches and just walking with a band around both legs if I am not mistaken?
For hip flexors i would do what i did in this video man. The seated psoas curls.
For hamstring good mornings are great and also rdls. I actually dont mind ham curls on the machine either.
But get back to squatting. Even if its light. Increase ur frequency.
Be careful with the "well if the top guys are doing it..." Top guys are exactly that, and train for world records, olympic gold medals etc, and survivorship bias is a thing as well. It's not always the best path to follow if youre "only" doing it for yourself etc. Anyways great video and great work! I will try out both the bb sidebends and the psoas curls.
Yeh well said man. Definitely a great point. Always have to be mindful of that.
Cheers
i do notsquat everyday... but i do back & front squat in a same workout. i mostly do heavy for back, then front lighter load but higher volume. def seen increase and better stability doing both
Yeh absolutely. Doing both is a great idea.
On another video you replied to me that your max front squat is 170kg. Do you push your max as hard as your back squat when you do a max on front squat? I tried maxing out my front squat today and got 150kg. I found my upper back lot tightness a bit, so I might try some of those weighted front squat holds you did in your video. Keep up the good videos.
Yeh that max was done last year. Back then i pushed my front squat more than my back squat. That was also done in oly shoes.
Now the front squat is an accessory movement. And ive only recently brought it back.
The trick with them is staying upright. So upper back strength and core strength is the war man.