Here is a video I did for you guys about weightlifting belts. Covers the basics about the different types of belts, my thoughts, and how to wear them for maximum performance in the gym.

Thanks very much to my good friend Jim Wendler, and his 5/3/1 Program, the Standing Military Press has come back into vogue among the strength training community. While personal trainers and “fitness enthusiasts” have always used it, it seemed like before his book came out, Standing barbell military presses had fallen by the wayside, and guys had resorted to using all sorts of lateral raises, or bought into the “bench builds front delts, back work builds rear delts” trap to strengthen and build their shoulders. Some guy I know, myself included, were using military presses, but most the strength training guys I knew, and read about did them more as one time circus lifts on an off day, or just “messing around” in the gym. There weren’t many guys doing them. And now they’re back, hopefully for good.

For as good of friends as Jim and I are, and for as our similar approaches, principles and theories on training are, we do have our differences. Jim isn’t a huge proponent of technique, whereas I am. Not that Jim is haphazard in the gym, but his technique is very solid from years of training, and his advice on form work is usually very simple. I on the other hand, think that small technique fixes are easier than getting stronger. I should clarify that; it is easier to put 50 pounds on a lift by fixing technique flaws than it is to put 50 pounds on using the same technique.

Why do I mention Jim when the title says what it does? Because of all the lifts out there, the military press is probably where we have the biggest disagreement on technique. Jim, as you can see in the video below, keeps his upper body mostly upright and his head back throughout the entire repetition. His head may come forward some, but it is usually at the very top of the range of motion. This is more a balancing and stabilizing action than a technique aspect.

The head position Jim uses, and the one that I personally teach and recommend, is where the difference comes in. While the basics are the same, I teach my lifters slightly differently. My big point of emphasis with head position is driving your head forcefully forward once the bar clears the top of the head. This has helped many lifters avoid the sticking point often found at the middle of the lift. Driving your head forward, under the bar, allows the traps to engage fully and assist you to the top of the movement, and will instantly improve your pressing poundage. If you have ever seen an Olympic lifter doing the clean and jerk, you will notice that they force their head through as soon as possible, and the weights they use are BIG.

A few things to emphasize and remember when you add this trick to your technique: When I say to “drive your head through” I do NOT mean to extend your neck. This is a great way to injure yourself. Your neck should remain in a neutral position, with your eyes focused in front of and above you. What will actually happen, and you can see it in the clean and jerk video above, is that your upper body will move slightly forward, from behind the bar, to UNDER the bar. This is the move we are going for. Get your body under the bar, and let your traps help drive the weight up and lock it out. It will take some practice to perfect and come without thinking about it, but, honestly, when doesn’t it?

Give this a shot the next time you do military presses in the gym. Not only will it more than likely feel natural, you will more than likely set a PR; and everyone likes those.

Have you given this a shot on your military press? Did it work out for you? Let me know how it went for you in the comments below!

As Ive been looking around at various strength training forums as of late, I’ve noticed a trend. It’s not something necessarily derogatory to any of the strength sports out there, or to the every day run of the mill gym rat. Its kind of perplexing to me, as it is really such a non issue. Shoes. What shoes are best, what shoes are good, and what shoes suck, and so on and so forth. I have said it time and again, IT DOESN’T MATTER. It is literally such a small deal overall that ALL this topic does when it comes up is waste older guys time trying to explain, and confuse guys who are newer to the strength training.

Over the years, I have weight trained in all sorts of different shoes. From Nike Shox to Government issued desert boots, and everything in between. Hell, one time I wore my Dads old work boots to lift for football because I thought the heel would magically make my legs huge and strong like the dudes in FLEX Magazine. In my defense, it was a mistake I made only once. The running was more brutal than I care to admit. I think it took a week for my spine to refuse!

I took some pictures of the shoes that I train in. I DO have a few pairs of shoes that I use, and aside from the flip flops, are, to me, completely interchangeable. To help emphasize this point, I wore my Vibram Five Fingers to squat in, and worked up to a completely manageable 820 in the squat with no slipping or sliding issues. That may not mean much to some of you, as some of you too squat in your VFFs, but remember this. Dumping 800+ pounds is extremely dangerous not only to me, but to those spotting and those in the general area. If you have any common sense, you’re not going to do anything to endanger yourself or those who are helping to make sure that doesn’t happen. DON’T BE THAT GUY.

My normal shoe, for squatting and pulling in is one made by Metal Sport and Wear in Finland. These are BY FAR the best shoe that I have ever worn in the gym. This makes me happy because they’re not cheap. I think that with the exchange rate and shipping from Finland, they were about 145 bucks. They’re made of leather, and will seemingly last forever. I don’t do much else in them, so that in my feeble little mind they last longer. Also, if you look closely at the picture at the beginning of the post, you can see that I don’t tie them to train in, because it doesn’t matter. Also, if you watch this video you can see me squat 1000 pounds in them. Untied. It seriously doesn’t matter.

Another pair of shoes that I wear when doing my strength training is the lowly flip-flop. Yes, flip flops. Are you starting to see a trend here? i think the ones I have now I bought at a WalMart 2 years or so ago. I will wear these a lot of times to deadlift in, and do my accessory work. I thought I had video of my doing some stuff in them, but can’t seem to locate it. Sorry.

Hopefully this gives you a better grasp of the fact that the shoes you decide to wear, or not wear, really have such a small amount of influence on your training they’re not important. Go in, pick up something heavy, work hard at it, and get better. THAT is what’s important. You guys have any comments? I’d love to hear them! Leave ‘em below and let me know what you think, and what you wear in the gym!

You guys ever wonder if its a technique issue or a strength issue tyhat could be holding your numbers in the gym back? Saturday, Claire came over to the gym from Ohio to get some help with her deadlift. She got a TON of volume in pulling. Way more than you would want to do on her max effort days, but this happens. When you’re trying to help someone with technique, you HAVE to see where they miss, and how they do it. EVERYONE looks good with light weights. She was a quick learner, and, after getting her to try a switch from her normal sumo style deadlift, she worked up to and hit a 265lb conventional deadlift. I made this video for fun, as you will be able to tell, but also as a teaching tool, not only for her, but anyone that watches it. If you watch the first pull, that she misses, you can see that her weight is shifted forward onto her toes, and consequently, she missed the lift. Pretty badly too. If you look at the second clip, her stance and setup are the same, but she is pulling the bar BACK, as opposed to up. I really think that the results speak for themselves. Hopefully you guys pick up on the differences, and if you have any questions, by all means, ask!

Athletes Squatting

One of the things I have done from day 1, even before I was a coach and we just had powerlifters coming into the gym, was use a progression based approach, starting small, and working them up to the point they could start using a barbell on their back full time. I will say that this does take some time, and some will take longer than others. The fastest we have had it happen is about two weeks, and some have been at it 6 weeks or so. you will just have to find some indicators with your athletes that says “I’m ready.”

Speaking of the progressions the one I use is actually a 4 step process. It starts with the initial assessment of the athlete. As part of the assessment, after figuring out any structural issues, range of motion tests, etc., we do a bodyweight squat test. It is simply a 10 rep bodyweight squat, and is simply pass/fail. I like it a lot, as it lets me see where they really are, versus them telling me, and gives an idea of how they control their bodies in space. All squats are done to the appropriate depth, and I will call them up at each rep. A pass is 10 reps, to depth, without a large amount of effort. A fail is less than 10 reps, inability to get to depth, or extraordinary difficulty getting all of the reps. I realize this is completely subjective, but if you cant tell when someone is putting in a ton of effort, you dont need to be coaching or training anyone. Passes start with the second step of the process, failures start at the first.

Before I get into the progressions, I want to include this addendum, if you will. Once they start with me in the gym, they have SOMETHING on their back, and we do technique work all of the time. For some, it may only be a 1″ piece of PVC pipe. Others may start with an empty bar. For some, it is simply working setup under the bar, And for others it may be unloaded or lightly loaded sets with an Olympic bar. Regardless, work the technique immediately. It doesn’t have to be involved time-wise, and really shouldn’t take more that 5 minutes or so. The best part of this is knowing you don’t have bad technique to try to teach over, as they’ve probably never done it! just make sure you are doing it first in the workout. I do it as part of an extended warmup. Remember, its SHORT, but effective.

After the technique work has been done, we have to remember there is still work to be done. You have to get them to the barbell eventually, right? Exactly. That leads to the first step in the progression. Bodyweight squats to a high box. This will take a bit of trial and effort on your part, as some will be able to squat deeper than others. Some may need a VERY high box, others will be closer to depth. Once they can get 10 solid reps to a parallel box, get rid of it. I firmly believe that while box squatting is good for powerlifters, it cheats athletes out of a lot of quad and glute development they will need on the field or court. This is especially true for younger athletes. Once they can hit two sets of 10 to the same standard, its time to move them to the second step.

The second step I use is front squats with kettlebells and dumbbells. I like the kettlebells moreso than the dumbbells, as they seem to be easier for the athletes to control, however, the progression between sizes is our gym is big, about 5 kilos per set. Sometimes you will have to use both. I like the kettlebells too, as it gets the weight out in front of them some, and will help improve their upper and lower back strength. The progressions here are close to the same as they were for the bodyweight squats, except that you DO NOT move the box height up! These are progressions, not regressions, remember? The loading is a bit different here as well. Although they still may not be ready to squat with a bar, they need to get strong! Depending on what phase of their training they are in, reps could be anywhere from 4-12. Get them strong, get them off of the box!

Once they become proficient at the front squats, move along to the dumbbells. You can really start to load these up, if you’re getting indications that the kids are ready. When they get to this point, coaching becomes paramount, as they will do whatever they can to get the reps. I actually coach these the exact same way as I do the back squat. Head and chest high, back arched, upper back tight, and shoulders back. the one exeption here versus the other two is that I will NOT use a box. When the athletes start to fatigue, it seems that they also tend to let their hamstrings go in the bottom, and make a sort of dive bomb out of the last 1″-6″. the box isn’t real conducive to safety with that regard. something else I try to make mind of is that the set needs to stop when the form breaks, regardless of if they have met the rep range or not. Remember that this will have direct carryover to their barbell squat, and you don’t want to reinforce bad technique here that could/would transfer to their squat.

Here are a couple of other things to remember. You don’t have to adhere hard and fast to the progressions. You can work between them, and i would actually recommend it. That being said, where you have them at is where the bulk of their squat work should happen. It takes some time to get all of the intermuscular and intramuscular coordination down, and you dont want to injure a kid doing something he isnt ready for. Remember that the end goal is to get them squatting, but the first goal is to keep them healthy. Something else you should make mind of is that you need to be coaching these kids ALL THE TIME. Not only on technique, but remind them what the end goal is, and why they’re doing these “stupid exercises.” ( I’ve actually heard that one from a kid!) make sure that you are offering the mental support that they will get to the point that they will be squatting with their buddies and team mates. If you have earned the trust of the athlete, you will find that these arguments fall off quick, and the kids will work like dogs to get better. Thats all that we really want anyway isn’t it?

What do you guys think? How do you progress your kids who aren’t ready to barbell squat yet? Let me know below in your comments!

Pretty honored that I am going to be doing an interview on ironradio.org This is pretty cool. These guys have interviewed some big names guys in the strength training/conditioning/fitness industry in the past, and it is good to be seen as someone who is of that caliber. I would like to think that I am someone of that caliber, lest they hadn’t invited me. Make sure you guys check it out! hopefully you call in and try to harass me. It will be a lot of fun!

EVENT: Iron Radio With Guest Jason Pegg
TOPIC:
DATE & TIME: Friday, December 4th at 2:00pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…

As Well Visit http://IronRadio.org for past episodes and other great pod
casts.

First off, let me apologize for not posting ANY training of mine this week. Its not a deload week for me. In fact, it was scheduled to be a big training week for me in this accumulation block. Only had ONE little problem. Ive had so much pain in my lower back that it is all I can do to get up or sit down in a chair, let alone try to squat or deadlift a couple hundred pounds. Accessory work? GTFO. No way that was happening. I can honestly say that I havent felt pain like this in a very, very long time. Its constant too. My only saving grace was that it was bilateral pain, and not in my spine. Fortunately, now though, it is starting to recede much like my hair, and, as much as it might pain me to say this, I have my lovely massage therapist wife to thank. Love you baby!

Why does it pain me to say that I have my wife to thank? I’ll tell you. Since Tuesday, i have been brainstorming a shit load on what could be wrong. I’m going to say I literally spent 4-5 hours a day since Tuesday night searching. I’ve also been researching information from all corners of the internet. WebMD told me I have cancer. Or PTSD. Or I am paralyzed. Not quite that extreme, but now I know who to thank for a generation of hypochondriacs. Some places said muscle tears, spinal injury, etc, etc, etc. The real problem i was having was that I had absolutely NO IDEA how I injured it. Usually, and I’m going to say that this is true over 90% of the time, if you hurt yourself to cause enough pain that it actually bothers you, you remember it. I couldn’t remember anything specific. NOTHING. My wife found out in about 15 minutes, and she didn’t even really try.

This morning, As my wife was getting ready to go to work, I goaded her into doing some work to try to loosen my lower back up. She relented, and started going to town on my back. She did all sorts of massage therapist stuff that im not sure I know the name of, but I can give a brief description of. They could all be called HURTS LIKE HELL. She had me flopping around on the floor like a fish out of water. Kind of pathetic to admit, but it HURT. I was not a happy camper. She told me that my erectors were all knotted up, which I knew. Then she started doing some work on my upper glutes, right next to the erectors. This in turn amped the pain to 11. She then worked down some into my gluteus medius, gluteus minus, and also dropped her elbow into my piriformis. She said that she has never felt mine so knotted up and tense. Here is the awesome part. As she was doing this, the pain in my back disappeared, almost immediately. It was awesome. Literally almost indescribable. Right now, it is sore from all of her bodyweight transferred to the muscles via her elbow, but the pain aspect is gone. I am indescribably happy, soreness or not. I may actually be able to get after it on Monday, regardless of the soreness. With a meet coming up, and my training cycle being in full swing now, that is a big deal. Now I realize what my buddy, Jo Jordan, has been dealing with. Here is the difference between he and I. he has been squatting, pulling and basically training like a maniac the whole time he has been dealing with his issue. And he has had it for MONTHS. You’re more of a man than me Jo. Or an idiot. I think I will let the people decide.

Tomorrow or Monday, I plan on continuing this post with some things that you can do to help alleviate this problem. I would do it now, but some of the exercise descriptions are a little tricky, and some pictures or a video would go a long way to help show you some things that you can do to not end up like me, or my idiot buddy Jo. Wait. Scratch that. I said I would let you guys decide. I don’t really think he is an idiot, just a little humor for you guys, and him, before I go to bed. If you are in a situation like mine, you may want to check out our Massage Therapy page and see if Dannielle can help you too.

Another Monday, another myth to beat down. This one isn’t necessarily a myth, but I do think it is a bit of a half truth that I talked about last week. To some of you who read this, you will probably find it pretty abrasive, especially if you are a big believer in what I’m talking about, and what it is that I am talking about. Some of you will probably say that I am the one coming off half cocked. Oh well, to each his own. If there isn’t someone who hates you and your ideas, especially in the Strength and conditioning field, it’s not a good thing, because more than likely, it means guys don’t really give a shit about what it is you’re trying to say.

I’m sure some of you guys have seen that Mike Boyle recently released a new series of DVD’s titled “Functional strength Coach 3.0 A Joint by Joint Approach to Training.” For those of you who haven’t, apparently the big focus, or marketing emphasis is on “The death of the conventional squat.” how do I know this you ask? His landing page. When you click on his product link it says it real big at the top. First thing. He then goes into some talking and then there is a 5 minute video from a seminar that he has done.

From my understanding of the video, his reason to no longer squat is that the back is the limiting factor. He goes so far as to say that the squat isn’t a lower body exercise. He says it a lower back exercise. Then he goes on talking about how his athletes did XXX weight for XX reps. This is my personal opinion, but his logic is completely flawed. ANYONE who has squatted with a heavy weight on their back will tell you it is indeed a leg exercise. How he says that it isn’t a leg exercise, but a back exercise, is completely beyond me. My only guess is you’re doing it wrong. WAY wrong.

My first point of emphasis is that with the math he is using. Completely flawed, as far as muscular work goes. He suggests that because his athletes can do 140lbs for 14 reps of an exercise, they should be able to do 280lbs for 14 reps on the squat. They can’t, so obviously, according to his theory, single leg movements are superior. Here is the kicker though. They aren’t doing single leg squats. How do you factor in the back leg? I can say this much, it WILL do work. I don’t give a shit what anyone says. Anyone who says that the “working” leg is isolated is blowing smoke up your ass. So the math is wrong.

The biggest issue I have with it is that both Coach Boyle and the guys who are now on the “squats are garbage” train seem to only mention guys who, to be honest, aren’t that strong. What happens when you get a strong kid in your gym? If you have a guy walking through the door that squats 650? you going to try to load him down with 280-300 pounds and have him do it with one leg? A question I would like to see answered is HOW DO YOU LOAD THAT MUCH WEIGHT? Belt squats? Drop 800 bucks on a 300lb adjustable weight vest? I doubt it. You HAVE TO PUT A BAR ON THEIR BACK, which, according to Coach Boyles argument, is exactly why they aren’t squatting in the first place.

Here is another question. What are you doing to a kid who might play at the next level? Say you have a running back who is going to play college football. He starts with you in May after graduation and works with you until he leaves for camp in August. Guess what he is more than likely going to have to do when he reports for camp? He is going to have to do some sort of max squat attempt. I would almost guarantee it. I know that I had to when I reported. So, what kind of issues do you have taking a kids money to get him ready for fall camp and then he GOES IN UNPREPARED? Absolute bullshit excuse. My buddy Jason Ferruggia touched on this same point in his rebuttal in his blog. Sorry buddy, I swear I’m not plagiarizing!

I will admit though, that I don’t own the DVD set. The information I am taking from is what Coach Boyle has put into his marketing campaign and feedback from others who commented on the same topic. I’m sure that someone will fire back, but, if you want people to make informed comments about your product and idea.

That’s pretty much all I have got for this one. Let me leave you with this question. Athletes have been strength training for literally decades. The Russians had men who spent their entire lives doing nothing but searching for ways to make athletes superior to everyone on THE PLANET. My question to you is this. If These single leg loading movements were as vastly superior to squatting as Coach Boyle would have you believe, don’t you think we would read of, or at least have heard of, the myriad of Russian athletes who never squatted because it was inferior? Oh, thats right. You don’t. Because they squatted. And were the best athletes on the PLANET.

This article originally appeared on EliteFTS.com Reprinted with permission.

The recent bench press accident at USC has sparked loads of interest online and in the press with regard to the bench press. While I’ll admit I’m not much of a news follower, this one, in particular, caught my attention. My first reaction was to ask the same battery of questions I’m sure many others have asked:

Who was spotting?

Why was the player even doing the bench press?

Was this a single or a rep max?

Then I read statements such as these in The Daily Trojan:

“It was scary,” (Trojans Coach Pete) Carroll said. “That happens sometimes when you’re doing (the) bench press…but this one just hit him wrong.”

“I’ve seen players have the bar slip and fall on their chest, but never in my 25 years of coaching have I heard of someone dropping a bar on their throat,” (Trojans S/C Coach Chris) Carlisle said.

At this point, I began asking myself WTF!? and wondering if this is a regular thing.

Then I woke up and realized that I come from a sport where knee wraps appear under bench shirts, then disappear, then reappear only to have never been there in the first place. The point here is that unless you were there, you have no idea what happened or who’s to blame. It’s always easy to call the shots from the back end or be the Monday morning quarterback, but the reality is one hurt player and a lot of people making excuses and placing blame within the context of something they really know nothing about.

What I haven’t seen is what can and should be done to avoid this in the future. Just this morning, I did a Google search on how to spot the bench press, and was shocked at what I saw in the first four pages.

There is zero debate that the bench press in the most popular weight training movement in the United States. It’s as American as apple pie. There is, however, a lot of debate with regard to its application to sports performance (search our Q and A for Dynamic Correspondence), but this is for another time. Everyone knows the bench press. Just ask around. Actually, there’s no need to because I’m willing to bet at some point in your life you’ve been asked how much you bench press. Everyone has. So you would think with all this movement’s popularity, a simple Google search would provide you with valid and effective information on how to spot it.

While I am by no means the authority on the bench press, spotting or coaching, I have paid my dues and spent enough time in the gym to know what needs to be done to keep a lifter safe. This is not to say pulled muscles, tears and other injuries won’t occur. What I’m saying is that specific things need to be in place in case these things do happen.

Having been involved in powerlifting for the past 26 years, I have seen just about every single way you can miss a bench press. The multi-ply aspect of the bench press has now evolved to EXTREME status, with lifters pressing 800, 900, and over 1000 pounds. Lifters are now using such strong bench shirts that if the bar is slightly out of the groove, it can easily lead to several muscle tears and broken arms. Because of this, spotting is critical. If a bar with 800 pounds on it was to crash down on the lifter, well, this would not be good. Luckily, in the past few years, I’ve only seen reports of bruised ribs if the bar was to fall out of the lifter’s hands while trying to touch in a shirt. So what about all the pectoral tears, triceps tears, broken forearms, etc? They still occur, and they will occur, but the spotters knew what they were doing and kept a bad situation from becoming worse.

I’m going to present these tips based on advice from pro and elite level powerlifters and their spotters and coaches because I’ve always felt you should learn from the top down, and who better to learn spotting from than those who are spotting these extraordinary lifters?

1. Personal Responsibility: As the lifter, you need to know what your limits are and take responsibility for ensuring your own safety, as well as the safety of your spotter(s). This means trying what you think you can do. Just because you “feel good” doesn’t mean you can go for a 50 pound record. This also means your spotters aren’t there to do shrug workouts on your last three reps. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is communication. Your spotter needs to know what your cue is if you need help. I’ve read and seen several times what a “safe” word means in the bedroom. Maybe it’s a color or an animal name, but it means STOP. However, I’ve never read this in one single bench press article on spotting. In the world of powerlifting, we have the unspoken law of the words “take it.” If the lifter needs help, he will say it, if the spotters see trouble they will say it, and if the judges see a problem they will say it. This is our “safe word,” and it’s what prevents small issues from becoming giant issues. Funny how simple basic communication can make such a big difference in almost any situation in life.

One other point is to make sure your hands are not sweating (use chalk), as this can lead to the bar slipping around in your hands.

2. The Set-Up: I don’t want to turn this into a bench press technique article, as you can see all this information here:

Dave Tates 6 Week Bench Press Cure

I would, however, like to make a few comments that can ensure the safety of the lifter.

First, make sure your body is tight and braced. If someone was to come up alongside you and try to push you to one side or the other, they should not be able to move you.

Second, your grip should be tight and even. Even if you use a false grip, you need to make sure your thumb is jammed into the bar as hard as you can, and that you have as much tension as you can on the bar. While this is known as the “suicide grip,” and for good reason, it can be used safely if you know what you’re doing. In most cases this is not true. In the future I will try to write about the pros and cons of this grip, but for this article let’s just agree that it’s too advanced for 99.9% of the readers and should not be used. When I write “tight grip,” I’m saying it should be tight from start to finish, and NOT what I see time and time again (mostly with athletes outside of powerlifting and bodybuilding). They will grab the bar, and then after unracking, you will see something I call a “top bob” (where they do little pumps – I guess to get the bar ready), or the “wave” (they decide to open their hands in a wavelike motion). Both of these are far more common than you think, and if it was me personally, I would never let them bench over 50% until these habits were stopped. As lifters, you need to grab the bar tight for the entire set.

3. Informed Spotters: Before each set, it’s important that all the spotters know how many reps the lifter expects to achieve.  It would help (even if it’s not quite realistic) if each spotter knows the capabilities of the lifter. We’ve all spotted “that guy” that says he’s going to do five reps, but can’t get one on his own – and then continues the set Jimmy “The Bull” style. If someone tries to pull this with you, immediately Grab-n-Rack that barbell and annul your spotting duties.

With each spotter knowing the expectations of the set, they can help better coach the lifter, count reps and give encouragement.  The best spotters are always the most informed and involved.  It is a win/win situation for both parties.

In most gyms, the lift-off spotter is the main guy. At a meet, he has to step back so the judge can see. He is the one who has the control, and in many cases, he’s maybe the only one there to spot. If you are this guy, there is some information you need to know before you even get to the bar. You need to know what the lifter’s max is, how many reps they’re going to do, and, if possible, where their sticking point is. You also need to know what type of lift off they want and require. Some will want to count. Others will use a nod or tell you on what breath they will go on. Lifters use various signals, and you need to know what your lifter’s signal is. If they don’t have one, then provide then with one. Tell them you will lift it out to them on 3, then count 1, 2, 3, and then lift out. After lifting the bar out, keep your hands on the bar – don’t use the forearm Zercher lift off – until you feel the lifter has taken all the weight and is ready to lower it.

At this point, stay close and AWARE of what is going on. If you are the only guy, and you’re not AWARE, then who is? Injuries can happen in an instant, so you have to be ready. If it is a max weight and you’re the only one, stay close. If it’s a set of reps, you can stay back some, but watch the bar speed to see when it starts to slow down. When it slows down, be more AWARE.

I will say this, and I’m being brutally honest. Nobody wants your shorts in their face, and nobody wants to be able to smell what you had for lunch. Also, wipe your damned sweat off BEFORE you step up to lift off, and make sure any excess chalk is off your hands. What you don’t want to do is get up to help lift off and drop sweat and chalk all over the lifter’s face. If you do need a spot, don’t ask someone right after they squatted a 10-rep PR. Give the guy some time to catch his breath.

It’s also your job to double check the grip to make sure it’s tight and even, and to make sure your lifter is focused on the task as hand.

Finally, listen and use your best judgment. If the lifter says “take it,” then grab the bar. If they look like they’re going to miss, then take the bar. It’s far better to be safe than sorry.

If side spotters are used (and I feel they always should be if you’re going for a max or training to or past failure), then you need to make sure they have their heads out of their asses and are paying attention. Don’t even lift the bar out until you have made eye contact with each side spotter and you see their hands are in position and ready. If the shit hits the fan, they are the ones who will save the day. They are also the ones who will get distracted the fastest. It’s also your job to yell “take it” if the time comes.

The back spotter must have both hands on the bar to give a lift off. You are not earning any Strong Points by lifting a barbell with one hand. Not only does this give the lifter a sub-par hand off, it will be crooked.

This leads me to another point. The spotter must also have his hands wide enough to give a smooth lift off and be sure his hands are even. Also, once you’ve lifted the bar out to the lifter, the back spotter must take his hands off the bar. There is a difference between being an active spotter and an annoying spotter. Having your hands on the bar THE WHOLE TIME is just as bad as not having a spotter at all. The lifter can’t see (you are giving him Chinnuts), and he can’t focus on the task at hand. Furthermore, 100% of the time, the spotter is helping the lifter lift the barbell. So if you do this, not only do you want the lifter to get hurt, you want them to get weak. Hence, you are the worst training partner or spotter ever.

99% of the time, the back spot is the only one you will receive, so be sure that you pick this person carefully. Too often, we will grab anyone to give us a spot – any Tom, Richard or Hairy will do, right? If you pick a 100 pound spotter for a 500 pound attempt, don’t expect to be shocked when the barbell starts to cave your chest.

Having a good spot is mostly the lifter’s responsibility. These are the people to whom you’re entrusting your safety. Do you really trust these people with your health?

Is it like this in your gym?

This is the right way

4. The Side Spotters: The role of the side spotters is simple. They’re to watch the lift and the bar and make sure they’re ready in case something happens. Keep your hands very close to the end of the bar. If the plates leave little room at the end of the bar, then two side spotters per side will be required, and their arms and hands should be very close (but not touching) to the plates. With one spotter on each side, you need to remember that if the weight is this big, there is very little the lift off guy can do except direct the path the bar will go after you take it. Finally, unless something major happens, do not touch the bar unless you’re told. The worst thing that can happen is one side spotter grabbing the bar while the other does nothing. Once again, awareness is key.

5. Equipment: Finally comes the issue of equipment. In most cases, the lifter does not have control over what equipment is in their gym or what they have access to use, so I’m going to try and be brief with this and provide recommendations in case the features I present are not available to you. Please understand the features and specs I’m going to provide are from our equipment line, because we build our stuff for the most extreme use, which requires that safety be a very high priority.

You have two options when bench pressing. You can use a rack-type set-up or a bench made for the bench press.

If you’re using a rack option, then there are a couple of important aspects to look at. The J-hooks (where the bar is racked) should not be too deep, as it can become hazardous to get the bar out. If they’re too shallow it can also pose problems, so you need something that will allow the lifter and spotter to easily lift the bar OUT and not UP. If the bar has to be lifted up, the lifter’s tightness can be compromised. The hole spacing also comes into play here. Most rack holes are spaced every four inches, so the bar is either going to be too high or too low for the majority of the lifters. If you have to pick, then select the option where the bar will be too low, BUT be very careful to watch when the bar is racked because it can bounce off the rack post before being racked, and in some cases bounce past the J-hook and back onto the lifter. Aside from the safety aspects, not having proper J-hook height can greatly affect the start of the lift and compromise the lifter’s strength. I suggest looking for racks with 1-1.5 inch hole spacings throughout the bench region.

EFS Collegiate Power Rack

EFS Collegiate Rack

Next are the safety pins. These should also adjust every one or two inches. With the size of the average human head, I’ve never understood why most rack pins adjust every four inches. In almost all cases, this will put the setting too low to actually do anything, or so high that the bench is no longer a full range of motion. If you find your rack is constructed this way, I suggest putting mats or something under your bench so you can set the pins right above chest level. This way, when you get in bench position with your chest up, the bar will be free of the pins, but, if needed, will be in position to keep the lifter safe.

The J-cups are also a feature of the stand bench press units that also need to be considered. With the radical bench shirts and the amount of weight lifted going through the room, I’m also a huge fan of the head cage. This provides extra protection in case the worst case situation happens.

Deluxe Competition Bench

A Head cage can save your life

6. Proactive Prevention: For coaches and administrators, spotting in the weight room is a huge liability. I would highly recommend that posted signs explaining how to spot are placed in plain sight in the weight room, that coaches be taught properly (sport and weight coaches), and that kids are also taught.

If you’re coaching athletes in a school or team setting, whether it be in junior high, high school, college or higher, your first priority as a strength or sport coach is to make sure you don’t get anyone hurt in your weight room. It’s like the Hippocratic Oath that physicians take: “First, do no harm.” Keeping your athletes on the field is your number one priority, and this takes precedence even over getting them stronger. I would rather a school have no strength and conditioning program at all than have some “hardcore” jerkoff who puts his athletes at risk by not learning proper technique, not inspecting his equipment – or learning what equipment is right for his program – and not learning proper spotting techniques.

When you’re training athletes in groups, establish a set spotting rotation. If you’re training a group of five on the bench, rotate kids like a wheel. Once they lift, they take the next lifter’s set off. Then they go to a side, then the back, then a side, and then they’re up again. The spotters on the sides load plates and collar the bar. This will take some work, because you’ll always have kids who want to stare off into space, especially when they’re spotting a squat. As a coach, it’s imperative that you make penalties SEVERE for a lack of focus while spotting a teammate.

We all forget things because our minds are elsewhere sometimes, but attention must be paid to spotting and safety. We don’t really ever want to spot for anyone else, we don’t have the time to go look for the “right” people to spot for us, and we simply assume that the people we ask to spot us can handle what they’re asking us to do.

The answer? Don’t assume anything. While the USC situation is awful and our hearts go out to everyone involved, let it serve as a reminder to us all that these things can happen to anybody, so before any figures are pointed we should all look very carefully and objectively at our own behaviors and see where we can improve.

I‘m sure that by now almost anyone who follows sports, and everyone who follows college football has heard of the injury suffered by USC’s senior running back  Stafon Johnson. For those of you who haven’t, the running back was severely injured in a weight room accident when a bar he was bench pressing fell on his throat. News reports today said that he was in surgery for 7 hours to fix his crushed windpipe and voicebox. He is still unable to talk, but fortunately all reports say that the surgery went well and he is recovering. They also said that he will be able to play football again, but are unsure when he will be able to return.

This injury ties in well to what I’m talking about today. What are you teaching your athletes? i cant say with 100 percent accuracy, but I will assume that The Trojans head Strength and Conditioning coach, Chris Carlise, came into USC when Pete Carroll did, in 2001. That is 8 years. so, if he has been there 8 years, and coaches only football, He has coached somewhere in the neighborhood of, I’m going to say  800 or so football players at USC. How many reps do you think have been completed? Safe to say more than a few. His quotes from the story about the injury, coupled with the fact one of his assistants was spotting Johnson when the injury occurred say a lot more to me than they do to some. He was quoted as saying “I’ve seen the bar slip and fall onto their chest before, but never in my 25 years of coaching have I heard of a someone dropping a bar on their throat.” he also went on to say that “We were fortunate he was being spotted.” I will say this. The only time I have ever seen a bar fly out of a guys hands while benching is when he is using a thumbless, or false, grip. I’m sure a lot of you guys have heard of a suicide grip. its the same thing. Ive been in and around weightrooms for 15 years, and I’ve never seen it first hand. At what point does this seem like a logical thing to do? Wrapping your thumb around the bar is one of the first things you can do to improve the safety of the lift. It is done specifically to avoid problems like this. Knowing this, how is the safety of your athletes not a top priority? They get beat up enough and injured on the field, how can you not do EVERYTHING within your power to keep them safe under the bar? It is a five second coaching fix, and easy to reinforce and make repeatable. In 25 years of coaching this has never occurred to him? Its one of the first thing I teach new guys in the gym, and its not an option. You do it or you don’t lift. If i can impress this into guys how an a coach at a perennial Top 10 football program not? Also, if he misses such a simple coaching point as this, what else is going on in there that could be putting athletes in danger? Makes me wonder why some guys are toiling away for years in small colleges and this guy is at one of the priemier programs in the country.

Another thing that pisses me off to no end is some of these “coaches” that put videos up all over the internet showing guys with absolutely horrific technique. It seems too that these same coaches often put up videos of themselves using terrible technique as well. I don’t get it. Kids, older guys, and parents pay some of these guys HUGE amounts of money if they think they might have a chance to play at the next level. these guys in turn spend their huge fees on huge buildings, charge even bigger fees, and build even bigger facilities. eventually these guys get to the point of being seen as “experts” in their field, and then the rates get HUGE, regardless of market or the true level of coaching they provide. I’m not at issue with good, big time  coaches charging a rate they are worth, but when I see guys in facilities like this, coaching and then showing off exercises like this, it makes me cringe.

What about that is noteworthy? I know it wasn’t the coaching. that was non existant. Perhaps it was the spinal compression? The complete lack of hamstring strength? Maybe it is the terrible form from start to finish? The fact that its 500 pounds on his back is nice, but its obviously more than he can handle safely.  Is THIS how you want people to see you as a coach? A video like that in our gym wouldn’t make it out of the door to be put on a highlight reel. If it did even make it out, it would be for teaching purposes, and would never see  YouTube. It wouldn’t be to brag on a bad squat. The worst part? The guy “coaching” him has a CSCS.

As a personal trainer, or fitness coach, or whatever you have decided your professional title to be, the one thing you owe EVERY soccer mom, retiree, athlete, or weekend warrior is to do everything in your power to make sure they stay safe. You wouldn’t have a morbidly obese client doing depth jumps and run sprints would you? But let me ask you this. Do you pay attention to the form they use for every exercise? Would you call a weight for them that they have no business handling? Do you help them learn when to push it and when to scale it back?

What are you teaching your athletes?