Category Archives: Mechanics/Technique

The Importance of “Back”

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There are two dichotomous styles of weightlifting. One is sort of a relic of the past and puts an emphasis on jumping the bar up while the other focuses on efficiently getting under the bar. In “Jump/shrug vs ‘Catapult‘” I briefly discussed the differences between these techniques. The primary difference is that if the bar is jumped vertically, the lifter and bar become “floaty”, making it difficult to have an efficient turnover to rack the bar. The “get under” method sets the lifter up to not only have greater turnover speed, but to use more efficient mechanical positioning to maximize their force production.

The key is that the “get under” method is necessary for lifting loads that are significantly greater than body weight. Personally I can tell the difference between the two methods; I was taught to use the jump method and have taught myself the “get under” technique, though I’m probably not perfect. I’m lifting the same PR loads weighing 15 pounds lighter and without back squatting for a couple of months. The “jump” method is good for general strength and conditioning (especially with non-lifting sport athletes), but it’s less efficient when trying to lift the most weight (i.e. Olympic weightlifting).

This post isn’t meant to be a full biomechanical analysis of the “get under” technique (that can come later), but the technique’s starting position and execution better produce a stretch reflex on both the quads and hamstrings. This not only allows these muscles to produce force maximally, yet makes the bar-lifter mechanics more efficient. For example, if a person is snatching significantly more than their body weight, then manipulating the bar-lifter center of mass is important, but it’s not as simple as making the bar “go up” vertically.

There are two standard cues used after the initial motor pathway of the lift are learned: “bar back” and “finish in the heels”. Keeping the bar back prevents it from swinging forward, disrupting the delicate bar-lifter system. Even slight alterations to center of mass with very heavy loads will create exponential mechanical problems that result in a failed lift. Finishing in the heels ensures that the lifter doesn’t put an emphasis on “up”, prevents the lifter from floating, and sets them up to transfer into their heals in the bottom of a snatch or clean. It also facilitates the finish “arched back” position — a necessary difference to snatch or clean heavy loads.

To keep the bar back, a lifter will actively need to extend their shoulder joint (if the elbow is straight, shoulder extension pushes the wrist behind the body — see the “Anatomy Motion Explained” video for a review). This same thing occurs on a deadlift to prevent the bar from swinging forward, but it’s absolutely critical in the Olympic lifts. It’s the difference between a good lift and a bad lift. For some, it can be the difference between a good lift and annihilating their dugan and coin purse. Observe what happens when the bar isn’t kept back:

Okay, this might be an extreme example. My arm length may facilitate nut crunching, but leaving the bar out front changed the mechanics to bring the bar into my body at a different trajectory. Let’s look at the same problem on the snatch from earlier in the same training session. I had not snatched 130 in a while, and I was feeling good in warm-ups that particular August day. You’ll see that I miss 130 three times in a row. You’ll also see that it seems like I easily complete the lift, and then it falls forward. It’s because my lack of “keeping the bar back” puts the bar in a slightly forward position — maybe by a few  centimeters — and results in a missed lift. I even spiked my adrenaline for the second and third lifts to no avail. Finally, on the fourth attempt, I focused on keeping the bar back and made a good lift with significantly lower adrenaline levels.

As a side note, look how different the mechanics are from this video. Yikes.

I learned why keeping the bar back was important by missing a doable snatch three times in a row and smashing my sausage on a clean. Most of you probably won’t be able to discern your problems on the spot, so I suggest watching the Pendlay teaching progressions on Cal Strength’s website and routinely executing the basic cues (like “bar back” and “finish in your heels”). Your beef bugle will thank you.

3 Press Fixes

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Whenever I teach and coach the press at seminars, the same faults show up.

1. Grip width
2. Wrist position
3. Elbow/shoulder position

It’s a little difficult to discuss this without a visual aid, so I made an explanation video below after a press workout. Starting Strength does a good job explaining grip width, but for some reason people usually use too wide of a grip. I first wrote about proper wrist position on the SS forums in 2009, and it still is a common fault. Basically the bar needs to be over the heel of the palm instead of back in the hand or fingers. Lastly, over the last couple of years I’ve put more of an emphasis on maintaining proper external rotation during the press as it will distribute the force application through the full muscle bellies of the triceps and anterior deltoid. If these three flaws are present, then it will inhibit press progress. If you are doing these three things wrong, then it will behoove you to accumulate several weeks of work with lighter loads to develop and train the musculature through proper mechanics and range of motion.

Other pressing related sources:

Better Push-Ups video, external rotations role in push-ups and benching
The Lats While Benching article, discussing the anatomy of external rotation during benching
Internal Rotation Post, showing some MWOD fixes for internal rotation
Pressing a Dead Horse post, talking about some programming, but general methods of improving the press.

The Butt Wink

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Awesome quote:
Evan: Do you cycle (insinuating road biking)?
Dr. Metzler: Periodically.

Periodically I get questions on whether or not the “butt wink” is an issue. The first thought that comes to mind is “who the hell thought of the term ‘butt wink’?” Winking requires the closing of an orifice, and everybody knows that in order to close your outer sphincter, you have to clench your butt cheeks together. You can’t do this while squatting, and if you do, you’re doing a half squat. So stop, god dammit.
Editor’s Note: Yes, there’s more than one sphincter. What?
2nd Editor’s Note: I don’t recommend Google image searching “butt wink” with the safe search “off”.

How awesome is this picture?

The butt wink is a made up term to refer to the alleged posterior tilt of the pelvis at the bottom of a squat. Posteriorly tilting the pelvis is the same motion you’d make if you wanted to hit your pubic bone against a wall (guys will probably crush their junk in the process). It’s important to note that observed butt winks are McCarthy’d when a person is doing a body weight squat (i.e. without a barbell). During a body weight squat, the trainee is told to keep their back in hardcore extension to avoid the wink. There are a few trainees that need this kind of cuing to achieve a proper spinal alignment, and those who don’t get in the habit of over-extending their thoracic and lumbar spine. The body weight (BW) squat is commonly (and incorrectly) taught as a precursor to a barbell squat, and the progression is misleading since they teach incorrect extension and mechanics during a barbell squat.

The BW squat is an incorrect first step because of the means and the end. The mechanics of it are unimportant since it isn’t loaded with additional weight and the squat itself is routinely executed safely after dropping a deuce everyday (two or three times if you’re me — yeah c’mon). It is also used as a conditioning tool — NOT a strength builder. Trying to claim that the BW squat will build strength is like saying non-alcoholic beer gets you drunk. Floozy.

Every person’s body dimensions will not be able to fit the mold of an “upright torso” anyway. A person with long femurs and a short torso must lean over when squatting all the way down in order to manipulate their body to have a stable center of mass (unless they are wearing Lady Gaga’s heels). Furthermore, some trainees won’t have the flexibility to get to the proper depth in a BW squat. If the same trainee places a barbell on their back, it provides a little more external resistance that helps push them down into proper depth. This is similar to PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching; elongating a muscle as it attempts to provide a resistance to the stretch. A trainee in this situation is not using enough weight to cause harm (anywhere between 45 and 95 lbs), and in fact the weight is helping them achieve proper depth, let their muscles stretch, and working all of the muscles around the knees and hip through a full range of motion. A coach who has their thumbs anywhere but in their ass can easily teach this correctly.

The above addresses the lack of logic in battling against a “butt wink” in a BW squat and dealing with an inflexible trainee, but what about the wink itself? Does it happen under a load? If it does, should we all be concerned? Frankly, I’ve never had a situation where there’s a “butt wink” worth worrying about. Lifters should be taught to shove their knees out when squatting, whether they are doing high bar, low bar, or front and overhead squats. Shoving the knees out avoids any impingement, bony or soft tissue, and is explained in detail by Mark Rippetoe in several sources. Not shoving the knees out is probably the culprit for most “butt winking”, so the point is almost moot.

Let’s say there is a little “winking” (I keep putting it in quotes because the term is fucking ridiculous) going on when barbell squatting. It’s unlikely that it’s caused by tight hamstrings since those hamstrings are allowing a full depth squat (with knees out). There are two reasons I’ve thought of for this happening. The first is related to the “over extended back thing” that is taught in the BW squat. If a trainee over extends their back under a load, the spinal column is now in an inefficient position to transfer force. There are two points where problems typically occur: where the thoracic spine meets the lumbar spine, and where the lumbar spine meets the sacrum. If either area is “over extended” tremendous forces are no longer passing through them to the pelvis (and subsequently legs) and instead are pinching the posterior and opening the anterior portions of vertebral segments. Not good.

You can do this all day with a BW squat.



Don’t think it can happen? Well it does. Aside from hearing about it regularly, a 70’s Big reader recently wrote in and told me they herniated a disc because they were trying to over-correct the horrid “butt wink”. That’s a damn shame. You need your trunk to be straight when lifting so that your spine doesn’t look like a parabola (one that has the y coordinate squared). A coach with clean thumbs can take care of this.

Let’s say that a trainee is taught to over-extend their back on a BW squat, and then does the same thing on light barbell squats. The weight won’t be significant enough to hurt them (and it shouldn’t when teaching squat technique), but their pelvis will naturally pull out of this over-extension at the bottom of the squat. This will appear to be flexion, and it is because the pelvis posteriorly tilts to go back into a neutral alignment because it was extended too far to begin with. A shitty coach says, “Flexion! You are banished from the bar to only perform ‘air squats’ until you get it right!”, but it’s their own fault for teaching the asinine over-extension position. This issue constitutes nearly ALL of the “butt wink” cases that occur when the trainee is correctly shoving their knees out (if they aren’t shoving the knees out, then the aforementioned hip impingement will create the wink).

The pelvis, yo.

The other cause for a “but wink” could be anatomical. In coaching it is extremely important to identify different body dimensions and how they affect mechanics. After observing many limbs and trunks, I started noticing differences in pelvis length. The pelvis itself starts at the sacrum (below the last lumbar vertebrae), wraps around your sides in the form of the iliac crest, and then the pubis closes in from each side on the front of your body at a connection called the pubic symphysis. Usually pelvis variations aren’t a big deal, but if a person has a very long pelvis it alters how they look when squatting or deadlifting. Their low back never looks like it’s extended and can even look like it is lumped out, appearing to be in flexion. Instead, their pelvis may be long enough such that it doesn’t produce a fancy lordotic curve when in position (particularly the bottom of a squat and the start of a deadlift). I’m not saying this is the case all of the time, but it is definitely a possibility; it isn’t crazy to assume pelvises come in varying lengths/widths while we commonly accept that spinal columns, femurs, tibias, humeri, and radii/ulnas all vary in size and shape.

While I’ve noticed varying pelvis lengths in adults, it’s more noticeable in children and adolescents. I haven’t studied a whole lot on bone development, but this age group seems to grow femurs and pelvises before spinal columns. Looking back, the majority of kids I’ve coached are included in this anatomical observation. A trainee with a long pelvis will probably look like they are doing something wrong, but may just look funny because of their anatomy. This structural issue may be what is causing the dirty thumbed coach to shout “butt wink”.

Hopefully after learning some of the anatomy and conceptual lessons here you have a better understanding of why the “butt wink” is horse shit. In general, trainees should shove their knees out when squatting and this will allow proper depth. If a “wink” is occurring in a BW squat, it doesn’t fucking matter because it’s a Body. Weight. Squat. It’s used for conditioning and deuce dropping. When someone McCarthies a “butt wink” on a weighted squat and the trainee is shoving their knees out, that person is either a shitty coach, a pervert, or flamboyant because they are clearly staring at the lifter’s ass. Properly coached squats don’t really have “butt winks”, and if they do, I think it can be explained by their anatomy (and they aren’t a big deal anyway).

Squat All of the Way Down

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I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been exposed to a regular fitness facility for the first time in a while. People with good intentions wander around the room ready to implement either what they have read in mainstream magazines/websites, or what convoluted knowledge they’ve picked up over the years. It’s a shame that they have been misled by people who know better, but I guess it could be worse; they could be sitting at home. In any case, there are still some things that I see that make my eyes bleed. Alas! This is an unfortunate reality for many readers of this site. Hopefully my observations can prevent any readers from following suit.

In most facilities it’s rare to see someone squatting with a barbell. Hell, it’s rare to have more than one rack to do it in. It’s even more rare to see someone doing anything lower than a half squat…and this saddens me. Skinny guys weighing less than 160 pounds and wearing fingerless gloves load the bar to 185 or 225 (apparently it’s sacrilege to use the smaller plates) and bust out some hard fought half rep squats. These guys don’t have any business loading this kind of weight, and if they did an honest-to-god full squat, they would squat significantly less than my girlfriend. I’ve seen another guy who actually had some squatting experience put 405 on the bar (after I did) and squat it below the halfway point, albeit five inches high.

Shirtless, shaved, and half squatting with stop sign plates. Fuck.



If you can’t or don’t squat ALL of the way down, you don’t have any business squatting. I will personally kick the ass of any reader of this site who does a half squat. If there’s any doubt to the depth of your squat, then it was high. Yes, I’ve cut some reps off before (most people have), but making it a habit is unacceptable. Aside from looking like a complete poon, you’re wasting your time because you aren’t getting much benefit from half squats.

The “low bar” squat (as indicated in “Starting Strength”) necessitates proper depth. Growing up, proper depth was always considered to be at parallel (even though parallel isn’t clearly defined), but it should be thought of as the point where the hip joint is below the knee joint. Visually, that would be a point where the crease flexed hip is below the top of the knee (note: this gets harder to see when the lifter has more girth).



Lowering the hips below the knees does a few things. Specifically for the “low bar” squat, it ensures there is enough depth for the adductors and hamstrings to stretch so that they can subsequently contract with the aid of the “stretch shortening cycle“. Taking advantage of this “bounce” is vital for a strength trainee. If the depth is cut short, then the bounce isn’t possible because the related muscles aren’t stretched adequately prior to their contraction. Visually it will look like a slower rep than if the bounce occurred.

Squats at proper depth also train all of the musculature around the knees and hips through a full range of motion. There is no utility in training half of a muscle’s range of motion. Half squats at the high or low bar position handicap the lifter and severely limit their strength progression. They also make the lifter look like a fucking Nancy. If you’re gonna spend time lifting, you my as well do it right. If that means reducing the weight by as much as 50 to 100 pounds, then so be it. It is what it is.

And I don’t want to hear any shit about people doing half squats to make their lifts go up. 99% of people on this site don’t have any business dicking around with half movements anyway. Unless you’re Mike Tuchscherer, eating and squatting all the way down should be your only concern. Every time you don’t squat to depth, I pour a beer down the drain. And I HATE wasting beer.

Chris hits solid depth on this 585 double:


Some Common Deadlift Faults

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Brent is a pain in the ass, so let’s pick on him today. Here is a video of him deadlifting 405 for 8. It isn’t a limit set, but it’s tough.



On a side note, Brent was asking if he looks more swole in the picture (remember, he’s been focusing on swollertrophy as of late). I really can’t tell because he’s wearing white, the one color that reduces swoleness.

Irre-fucking-gardlessly, let’s talk about some mechanics. If you watch the first few reps, you can see that Brent doesn’t get a good squeeze in his chest prior to pulling. Since he doesn’t extend his thoracic spine to the potential that he can, there is some slack that gets yanked out as he starts the pull. Brent habitually does this for some reason (I noticed it on his Olympic lifts, and he was doing it in an Olympic weightlifting meet in March to deleterious effects), and I think training alone all the time is the culprit. As you can see, Brent is strong enough that the loose starting position doesn’t prevent him from pulling the bar off the ground, affect his low back, or change the bar path. This looseness can allow the bar to swing forward as it comes off the ground, and when the bar is in front of the middle of the foot (the balance point) it’ll be exponentially harder (and cause a missed lift if it’s heavy). Letting the bar swing out front also can cause the low back to round since the lever arm is less efficient.

As Brent gets tired, you can see his hips raise before the bar gets past his knees. Ideally the back angle shouldn’t change until after the bar passes the knees. His back angle changes (hips rising, chest dropping) because his hamstrings are getting tired. The hamstrings isometrically hold the back angle in place, and since he’s doing higher reps they are getting fatigued and not doing their job. You can clearly see this as the bar passes his knees. Brent pushes his knees forward and the bar doesn’t move upward. As a result, the hips extend without applying any force to the bar, and this makes the back more vertical. In other words, the bar doesn’t move that much and the hamstrings are no longer helping, so the lockout becomes primarily a knee and back extension without including the normal hip extension.

If you’re doing a 1RM, you should pull the bar however you can. But when you’re trying to get as much musculature strong (or maximally jacked), you’d want to keep your knees back so that the hamstrings maintain their role in the movement. Brent isn’t horribly sloppy here, but if he were, there would be significant stress on the lumbar spine. If you already have back problems then you’d want to be careful with this common form fault. I’ve coached lots of people that have lumbar disc problems and they have never re-injured the existing injury. However, I’ve heard several stories recently of people hurting their backs deadlifting, and this form issue is probably the problem. Any time you change a movement mid-lift to use less muscle mass, you’ll increase the injury potential.

A coach should take care of your form faults, but if you don’t have one, a friend or camera can identify your problems. You should have already learned enough about the movement that you would be able to see major errors. Once they are identified, you can cue yourself. At most you’ll think about one or two cues. In Brent’s case, I would verbally cue him to squeeze his chest up before the lift starts. This would fix his little “hips raising” issue as well as the “pulling the slack out” issue. Since 405 is relatively lighter for him, his lack of tightness isn’t detrimental, but he looks like a poon doing it. Next, I would cue his knees to stay back on the second portion of the pull. This will prevent his knees from falling forward and will keep his hamstrings tight, thus giving him a wonderful set of hams that will create the road map for a woman’s eyes to travel up to his prominent glutes he got from FedEx and squatting.

Next I would cue him to do pull-ups in his underwear.



Brent’s roommate does a fantastic job of giving him adamantly loud, yet non-descriptive cues.