Man you just can’t beat fresh farm raised meat, and home grown vegetables.
Feels so good!
My wife's first day in her new job as Chief Executive of Household Affairs is overseeing a mulcher who is clearing a large swath of our under brush in the woods to make it farmable. 100 years of PNW undergrowth has made 90% of our land unreachable without a saw or machete. she's been sending me videos and I'm getting really excited about all this new cleared land we can use and grow on !!! its gonna be a lot of work....
If his legs aren’t remotely the weak link but he can’t properly stabilize heavier, he needs to either improve his bracing or strengthen his abs (IF he’s braced optimally, which I’d bet my paycheck he isn’t).
That’s not a knock; basically nobody not trained to powerlift knows how to brace maximally. Even MANY powerlifters do not, or fail to execute at times or phases. So people end up relying on a fraction of their brute strength, passive stability the thicker their core is, and a prayer to control the weight and hold position throughout the lift.
I was taught when you unrack, 2 steps back, fill diaphragm, and go. of course its a bit more nuanced, but Ian and I could tell that he doesn't have a routine for that. he could take 3 or 4 steps back and inside a power rack, he's closer to the rear uprights than he is the forward J hooks by the time he drops into a squat. (he'd probably be great in a monolift) so some of what we're working on with him is a consistent approach to this and staying tight. not so much fidigting or walking around with 400lbs on his back, lol.
I'd make the same assumption as you in regards to bracing. really learning how to brace and even push against the belt. I think his core strength is pretty dynamite cause I watched videos of him at 405 and my buddy at 405, now keep in mind my buddy was squatting 500 last year. I'd say my boys overall upper body positioning even at 1rm was shockingly solid. my buddy had slightly more good morning through his accent.
Bracing = huge I think. I'll keep driving that into him.
I think understanding bracing before the weight of the bar is on him, and not taking excessive steps back is going to help a lot. He can throw 315 on his back and just walk around like its nothing, but once he had about 365+ I could tell he was squirrely getting it out of the J hooks, then he wasn't quite sure where he wanted to plant his feet for the execution.
I'm retardedly autistic on this with my own process. everything is tight as hell before 1lb of the barbell is on me. I can tell if I'm not tight because when I'm fully braced, even a very heavy barbell feels much lighter on my back. I take 2 steps back (one with each foot). then my right food twists left and right like I'm smothering a cigarette to find my exact positioning. I couldn't tell you why this is my routine. I think my right leg is longer than my left. when I squat my left big toe is .5 to 1" further back than my right.
