Throughout 70’s Big’s history, we’ve put an emphasis on entering and training for competitions (1, 2, 3, etc.). Today’s world is one where a person can wiggle through life without any real confrontation, any real challenge. The biggest challenge they face may be waking up on time in the morning or where to eat for lunch. Men and women of today may never subject themselves to something that really tests their mettle.

Signing up for a competition — whether it’s powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, CrossFit, strongman, highland games, judo, mountain bike racing, or whatever — forces a person into an uncomfortable situation. Not only will they be graded with a very specific standard, but they will be in direct competition with other people. Many people immediately think, “I’m not good enough to compete,” and “I’m not gonna win, why bother?” These comments usually arise because of fear; the fear of failure and the fear to put oneself in a vulnerable position. This would be enough of a reason to compete; it forces a person to confront their fear.

Yet competition inherently teaches many lessons; in essence it builds “character”. Character isn’t something your grandpa rambled about, but the foundation of what makes a person. Competition is comprised of victory and success, but also can be riddled with defeat and failure. It helps a person enter a realm of competitiveness, a place where people are actively trying to do better than others. It even allows situations where they can win in sloth, or lose with intensity. The competitive arena knows no bounds, and it asks the competitor: can you perform to your maximum potential today? That is why we urge you to compete; you’ll never achieve your full potential training alone.

Despite the benefit in most sport competitions available to us, there’s not anything that truly tests the potential of the mind. Yes, anxiety builds before hitting your opening snatch in weightlifting, but that’s very different than finding the will to continue when the body simply wants to sit down and have a nap. Enter the GoRuck Challenge.

The GoRuck Challenge was created by former Army Special Forces soldiers and is a team event that includes carrying a pack mixed with other, uh, festivities that lasts at least 10 hours and covers at least 15 miles. The cadre for the challenges consist of various SOF personnel, and the training is said to be similar to a day in Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS). It’s not exactly a “road march” in the classical sense, but partipants carry a ruck that weighs 30 to 35 pounds of bricks (not counting water or snacks). Sounds fun, eh?

A picture from a San Francisco GoRuck Challenge

To most civilians, it may sound insane and unnecessary. But today’s warriors not only must be able to endure physical pain and stress, but they also must endure copious amounts of mental stress (which is no doubt exacerbated by the physical stress). Completing a GoRuck Challenge isn’t merely a physical obstacle to overcome; it’s a lesson in mental toughness. And that’s why it’s good for you. No where else in your life will you subject yourself to getting wet, muddy, and tired for several hours, and then consciously decide to keep doing it for several more hours. Running marathons or sitting on a bike can’t replicate the feeling of 40 pounds straining on your back; that weight is a constant reminder that each step you take is a victory. Note that the GoRuck Challenge isn’t designed to weed people out and make them quit, but instead aims for the team to work together to complete the course. The GoRuck Challenge is a fantastic way to test your mettle.

The coolest thing about the GoRuck Challenge is its location; they are held in most major cities in the U.S. and are now creeping out internationally. The original location was Washington D.C., and the challenge took participants through downtown and past all of the U.S.’s famous monuments. The constant reminder of American sacrifice in the American Revoulution, American Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, and current wars is an inspiration as participants pay tribute to each monumnet. In other cities, participants will visit major landmarks or monuments during their quest through the night (most challenges start at 9:00 PM and end in the early morning).

A rucking challenge wouldn’t be complete without a ruck, and GoRuck specializes in tested, life-time guarantee rucks. These rucks were designed by SOF personnel for SOF personnel and are being used around the world this very second. Note that these are un-framed rucks, and are more like assault packs instead of ALICE or MOLLE frames (and you can get one that is “book bag” sized for every day carry).

Jeremy and I are signed up for the GoRuck Challenge that starts on Friday, June 15th at 9:00 PM. I’m told that this date is special because all of the cadre are being brought in for the weekend (that’s probably both a good and bad thing for us). In any case, I encourage anyone in the region to join us that weekend as it’ll be a joyous jaunt through D.C.’s monuments followed by copious ale consumption (beer is the official GoRuck beverage). If you’re looking for a unique physical and mental challenge, then this is for you.

If you’re interested, then check out the GoRuck Challenge website. If you have questions, you can, of course, ask them here, but the folks at GoRuck are really nice and will help you out (but search their site first). They have some other cool events, like this mountaineering course (pre-req is to complete a standard GoRuck Challenge). Check the shop to see all of their gear.

Yesterday I talked about how the “toes more forward” position increases torque about the hip and how the musculoskeletal anatomy is used more efficiently when doing so. The finer points are still being cleared up, but the overall point seems logical and objective. But does that mean you should point your toes forward in your next squatting session? This video was filmed right after yesterday’s video while at the Arnold; it details some general points concerning cuing toe angle when squatting:



Should I point my toes forward?
The answer, as always, depends on the individual. If you don’t currently have the mobility to do so, then no, you shouldn’t try to alter your toe angle. If a person with “poor” mobility — in that they don’t have the capability to achieve proper positioning with the toes angled more forward of their current toe angle — attempts to squat this way, then at best they will facilitate poor mechanics and at worst could experience an injury. The poor mechanics could simply result in the inside of the foot being lifted from the ground, thus reducing the stability and force applied at the foot. The potential injury could be due to undue torsion at the knee if the ankles, knees, hips, and everything in between don’t have acceptable mobility. The message should be clear: don’t jump into if you lack the mobility.

A corollary is to not cue someone to put their toes forward when they lack the necessary mobility. If you don’t know if they have the mobility, then reconsider your role or job as their coach. If you accept the consequences in the previous paragraph, then prematurely adjusting to a “forward toe angle” stance could have a range of negative consequences. Don’t blindly cue because you read something on the internet. Instead, develop your trainee so that they are able to handle the new mobility demands by improving their mobility over time. The best way to do that is to take them through pre/post mobility routines from MobilityWOD.com and give the trainee “homework” to do on their own. Use any and all of Kelly’s methods; they clearly work.
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Dr. Kelly Starrett of Mobility WOD has been preaching a more forward toe angle in the squat for a few years now. I respect everything Kelly has to say, but I don’t like to follow anyone blindly without reason. When Kelly talked about “improving torque” at the hip, it confused me. I asked various people to explain it, but nobody could give me an explanation that used mechanics and musculoskeletal anatomy.

I never got a chance to talk to Kelly about it (and haven’t attended his seminar yet, but will), but after thinking about it for a long time it makes a lot of sense. It all has to do with the distribution of force from the ground up, but the entire process is dependent on the mobility of everything from the foot to the back. The following video is a (thorough) explanation of what’s going on along with necessary visuals.



Put simply, hip torque is dependent on having good mobility. Good mobility allows the lifter to squat with a more forward toe angle, thus having optimal torque at the hip is dependent on having a more forward toe angle. When a lifter has the mobility to use a “forward toe angle” — or one that is about 10 degrees outside of “straight ahead” — and maintain proper knee and hip positioning, the distribution of their force application is more even across the posterior and anterior aspects of the thigh (regardless of squatting type). Here is another simple way of saying that: more musculature is used in a tighter way when the lifter has the mobility to use a more forward toe angle correctly. Being tighter with more musculature would result in being stronger throughout a squat.

The “torque” part is referring to the hip’s ability to externally rotate. Torque is a rotational force, and the external rotators rotate the femur laterally away from the mid-line of the body. When the lifter’s thigh, knee, shin, and ankle structures are able to allow the external rotators to do this, it loads the hip in a way that can be described as improving the “torque”, or rotational force at the hip itself. Torque can also increase at the knee and ankle since if the knee is tracked slightly outside of the toe angle, the tibia slightly laterally rotates with respect to the ankle. The result of greater torque from the foot to the hip is that the force distributes optimally across all of segments and joints to have a stronger and more stable position. This increases both performance and safety.

Specifically force is distributed more optimally to the lateral portions of the thigh. Anyone who actually has the mobility to squat with a more forward toe angle reports feeling “tighter”, especially through the proximal and lateral portion of the hamstrings, lateral portion of the quadriceps, and lateral and distal portion of the hips. It turns these areas “on” whereas with a wider toe angle these areas are more “off”. It’s not possible to show this to someone who is unable to achieve the more forward toe angle because they won’t be able to achieve proper positioning, and therefore won’t feel the difference. As someone who can do this, I can tell you that having a wider toe angle (that is anywhere from 20ish to 30ish degrees) places a greater emphasis on the adductors (inner thigh muscles), medial hamstrings, and medial quads. If you have ever been sore from low bar squats in the inner thigh region, this is part of the reason why (the adductors will still be “on” with the “toes more forward” position, it’s just that you won’t specifically be focusing on them and you’ll probably experience soreness in other areas instead).

It is very clear to me how torque is increased from a mechanics perspective, given that the “toes more forward” position increases the rotational force at the ankles, knees, and hips. It is also very clear to me, both from analyzing it and doing it, that the force is distributed evenly across the anterior and posterior aspects of the thighs and hips better in this forward toe position. If you have watched the above video and read this post and are still fuzzy on the issue, then post your questions to comments and we’ll improve our understanding of it.

Hyper-mobility is common in a lot of females and addressing it properly is necessary to avoid injury and ensure efficacy in lifting. Today we’ll focus on hyper-mobile hips; this occurs when the female lifter is able to externally rotate beyond normal ranges of motion to the point that her knees are severely outside of her toe angle. If this occurs over time, it can result in lateral knee issues and even “snapping hip syndrome”.

The first thing that needs to be looked at is the toe angle of the squat. If the lifter has her toes pointing out farther than 20 degrees, then she needs to bring her toe angle in to about ten degrees. Toe angle is dependent on mobility, and higher mobility lifters will benefit from a more forward knee position (more on this in tomorrow’s post). If her toe angle is 30 degrees or greater, than the angle facilitates the excessive external rotation in the hip. The first step is bring the toe angle in to about “ten degrees from forward position”.

This may fix the issue by increasing torque to the point that she can’t excessively externally rotate the hips (torque is explained tomorrow), but if not then it needs to directly be addressed. The lifter must be taught that her knees need to track in the same angle as her toes. This gives her a reference point for where her knees should go, especially when “knees out” has probably been drilled into her head. “Knees out” is vague in that it means “get the knees out more than where they are right now”. Having the knees out is important, but mindlessly using the cue can help produce this “over external rotation” issue that causes problems and injury. “Track the knees over the toes” is a specific, descriptive phrase that tells the lifter where to put her knees. A usable, concise cue to use after explaining the concept is “track knees”.

The lifter may require a few drills, un-weighted squats, or light squats to practice this refined technique. If she is unable to do it properly with heavier weight, then the weight obviously needs to be lowered. It’s not just the “skill” or “technique” that we are changing here; it’s the distribution of force and how the musculature applies that force. In other words, the musculature necessary to do this properly must be developed from chronic training. If she has been doing it wrong for a period of time, her structures will have developed within the context of an improper ROM, and now she has to develop them in a good ROM. Any serious problem with knee angle on the squat (whether the knees are too far in or out) will probably require at least several weeks of “treatment squatting” — lighter weight squatting that focuses on the proper mechanics so that the musculature develops with the optimal ROM.

The video below explains everything above while showing the various positions. It also includes two effective mobility methods that a female with tight hip external rotators and abductors should use if she is having trouble with internal rotation. Having a lack of internal rotation is only natural if the external rotators are excessively tight due to pulling the femurs out beyond the toe angle. Tight internal rotators would have a negative effect on split positions in Olympic weightlifting as well as general athleticism and agility.

It’s PR Friday. Post your training updates and PR’s to comments.

Question of the Weekend
What do you think is the most effective assistance exercise for your training? List your training focus to give us perspective.

There is no reading list this week (I lost all the links I had saved up).

Random pic of Mike and Mark Felix from the Arnold

Scott P. asks,

Justin, I know you’re probably not considered an expert on the subject but if I were training for an endurance event like the GoRuck Challenge, what would you recommend to keep strength gains made while on 70’s big programming? Ideally I would obviously like to continue making strength/power gains while bolstering endurance and I know at some point something will give. I figure if my character in Skyrim can whip a dragons ass with an 90lb hammer while running 60+ miles in a day why can’t I?

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