038 : 005 STRENGTH

Work:

• Bottom’s Up Squat; build to a heavy set of 4 reps with :05 concentric / :02 eccentric; set the bar height where you can begin with a strong spine position for you. The bar rests on pins at the bottom position of the squat; it’s a reverse squat in essence. 

• Bench Lockout; build to a heavy :20 hold; unrack a barbell and hold at arms length (your bench press starting point) for :20. 

• Single Leg Deadlift; 4-5 sets of 6-8/leg at tempo :05 concentric / :02 eccentric

• Strict Pull-up; :03 eccentric + :03 concentric; you determine reps based on ability

Focus:

For the bottoms-up squat the emphasis is primarily on the concentric portion of the lift, reset each repetition, and don’t rush any rep just to “get it done.” 

Injury = (load/stress > capacity) + stupidity

The bench lockout is a isometric hold where you MUST stay as tight as possible for the entirety of the :20; visualize tension throughout your body focusing on the working muscles first since they’ll already have a bit of tension, then move to the rest. Each set aim to get slightly “tighter”. For a cue, I want to try out, think about pressurizing your joints. 

In the single-leg deadlift, you can load this however you want, I encourage you to play around with both how you load it and the way you move. Adjust foot position, knee angle, etc… it doesn’t have to be heavy and the more you play the less load is required. 

Finally, for the pull-ups pay attention to each position and how you feel throughout the full ROM. Identify any areas of weakness, irritation and/or pain; if it’s a weakness then try and hang out there slightly longer on the following reps/sets. If it’s pain see if you can adjust hand position to alleviate it or do some CARs between sets. Terminate if pain persists. Play with hand position as desired if you’re not in pain.