Saturday 030628

Here Dave Leys is executing a front squat. Notice that the weight is sitting squarely on his chest and shoulders with his elbows pointed forward. This posture, called “racked”, is critical to weightlifting, and demands and improves essential functional flexibility.

Practice the rack with a large load on a squat rack. Reach out for the bar pushing the shoulders and chest up and out, and then step under the bar resting the bar in the channel formed by the chest and shoulders. The hand’s grip is compromised with several fingers possibly coming off the bar; that’s O.K. the hands are only babysitting the bar.

With regular practice anyone can learn to “rack” the bar and even arrive at acceptable levels of comfort with the position. Without this flexibility your weightlifting progress and CrossFit participation will be increasingly challenged.