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SQUAT LIKE A GOD by Shawn Béllon
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Before you begin this exercise program, or any exercise program, please consult your physician to make sure that you are medically clear for the level of intensity presented in an exercise program.
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INTRODUCTION Most people who know me laugh at the “squat god” nickname that I allowed to be placed on me. Don’t get me wrong, despite driving a car that some feel is like riding inside of a vagina, I am plenty meathead from time to time. So what is squatting like a god? How does one do this? Do we sacrifice a goat, virgin or a virgin goat? Well I am going to break down key variables that I believe are ignored, misunderstood or just plain forgotten. It is my firm belief that you will squat stronger, more efficiently, smart…LIKE A GOD. FORGET DOING ANYTHING LIKE A BOSS! I mean really, don’t we tend to inherently hate our bosses? SO, WE ARE GONNA DO IT LIKE A GOD! OVERTRAINING We always want to avoid this. First, set up a base heart rate when you first wake up in the morning for 1-2 weeks. Take your heart rate every morning. You can Google “orthostatic heart rate” to find websites that will help you take and explain in detail about using the heart rate to avoid burn out. Now, once your training gets going, monitor your heart rate for consistent increases. An increased heart rate can be a tell-tale sign that you need to back off or just rest out right. You might find too much rest pausing to be wearing you down. It is possible that an exercise needs to be cut. Do what needs to be done: self-assess. Self-myofascial release can be very helpful through use of a foam rolling, PVC pipe, lacrosse ball and other implements. Use these tools. They work out scar tissue, increase circulation and help improve your range of motion. If you are not familiar with selfmyofascial release think of yourself as cookie dough and the implements are the rolling pin. You work on working out the knots or adhesions in your muscles. The knots will not always disappear after SQUAT LIKE A GOD
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one session. The process takes time. Spending 5-10 minutes before and after training will help your recovery immensely! Once done with the knots, move on to stretching. Stretching is imperative! Do it. Personally, I think passive stretching is more suited for powerlifting. Passive is slow and controlled. No bouncing. No stretching until you feel like you're going to die. You can try fascia stretching but proceed with caution. I personally am not a fan. I think it traumatizes the muscle too much. There is plenty of research behind passive stretching for athletes. I have started using a tricep stretch with my PVC roller to work on my elbow issues. Hurts while working out some knots, but seems to be working my range of motion while getting some scar tissue broken down and getting some blood flow to my enflamed joints. Circulation promotes healing while keeping tissue pliable. Sleep is a must. It is always mind boggling to see when lifters talk about their training going nowhere and yet the last variable of the day, sleep, is totally neglected. I don't care how much you need. Everyone tends to be a little different but 8 hours does seem to work well. Listen to your body. If you are tired try resting while giving stimulants a rest. We live in a very intense and wound up world. Take some time to relax and meditate. Candles, chanting and funky robes I leave up to you but at least get somewhere quiet, dark and soothing. Just unwind in some solemn silence. Some of my best days are started listening to soft music, sitting at my desk, sipping coffee at 4 am. My day is always better for spending this mental recharging time. CARDIO/CONDITIONING/GPP
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Not my favorite topic but certainly does have merit. First, don't be afraid to be active and walk to the mail box. You will not overstrain from this...well...I hope not anyway. If so, just close this PDF and walk away right now...which will probably lead to you overtraining as well. Seriously, I am a firm believer of doing cardio but we have to keep it in the correct context. I like HIIT cardio after lifting; it's fast, effective and works. Sprints on hills, sledge hammer swings, wheel barrel runs, prowler work, sled pulling and sand bag drills are all very popular as well. I have no issues of doing a 45 minute walk on the treadmill either. You might be tired for the first few weeks but give it time. Keep eating, resting, foam rolling and stretching. You will get in better shape and your recovery overall will improve; except for the “mail box guy” since he is just FUBAR. I do like the idea of getting my cardio in on the same training day but some gym rats might like to use their off days. See what works for you. Again: self-assess. If you only do one conditioning session to start out, fine! Look, don't be an all or nothing freak. Just work up to things. If anything negatively impacts your CORE LIFT then something needs tweaked. Cool? Does this mean no cardio/conditioning/GPP? No, try again. Please refer to the overtraining section. Start simple in your assessment.
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NUTRITION My world as a strength coach has many buzz words. Some days I wonder if people just like to make up new terms to describe the same thing. But in the world of Phil Hartman from SNL fame, “I am just a caveman.” I don't get into a lot of the technical terms many times because as smart as it makes me feel having an athlete’s eyes gloss over as I chant “Buehler, Buehler” is not my idea of educating. If you do not log your food I suggest using Myfitnesspal.com to do so. The app for smart phones also can scan products to enter into your daily food journal. Knowing what you are taking in nutrient-wise is invaluable. I have had many clients that were shocked at how off their eating really was. “Putting it on paper” so to speak can have some real positives to conceptualize where you are and where you need to be. So what diet scheme do I recommend for you? How the heck would I know? I am not going to be some sales jackass that tries selling you on his magic “whatever” because I am against that. I like concepts and philosophies but it would be reckless and insulting to you if I just said, “DO THIS AND YOUR CARES WILL BE DEAL WITH.” I would say to investigate the Zone, Paleo Diet and possibly keto-style diet which would be like an Atkins diet but add more protein as an athlete. I will leave you with this for diet, if you aren’t getting your weight in grams of protein, taking in healthy fats and getting plenty of fiber, you are failing! If you are getting a little annoyed wondering why I just haven’t gotten to talking about squatting you are missing the point. All of these factors do in fact matter to your success. You know the SQUAT LIKE A GOD
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saying, “the early bird gets the worm?” Well in this case the “organized, intelligent and meticulous” lifter gets the prize! If you could change one small detail and it made the difference to being more successful wouldn’t you? SQUAT LIKE A GOD PRACTICE! Despite what Allen Iverson said, it is imperative to practice your technique! I use the same steps from the lightest warm-up to the heaviest work set when I train. Perfect practice does make perfect lifting. It’s critical that you don’t just go through the paces of training each day. Mentally prepare yourself for every single session, set and rep. I appreciate how Louie Simmons encourages lifters to treat their dynamic sets as if they were true max sets in a meet. Do this religiously and half the battle is won as a champion squatter. You will be amazed at how many injuries occur during warm up weights because lifters do not respect the weights. You can get hurt at any time. Accidents do happen, so be smart to keep yourself safe. I watched a friend set a 30 lb. dumbbell down on a rack and he tore the tip of his finger off. CONTROL THE MOVEMENT It is clear there is some misunderstanding about the speed of movement by equipped lifters because of how slow they go. Some people think this it means a raw lifter should be the opposite, with a SQUAT LIKE A GOD
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faster descent. I disagree, but I don't think you need to make it a five-count negative. I think a nice 3-4 count (not seconds) once the judge gives you the “squat” command works very well. This allows you to stay totally in control of the lift, to better find your depth and have the explosive power to come out of the hole. The faster you go, the harder it is to reverse the momentum. A high-speed “suicide squat” will eventually K.O. your powerlifting career! Somehow you need to find the speed that works for you to be the most efficient, so be sure to practice. FIND THE BEST STANCE The stance is potentially the most debated part of squatting, period. I have been told that if I spread my feet out really wide I would be unstoppable. Well, that sounds great, but the application just doesn't work for me. Granted, I liked what I heard and gave the stance change a try. My hips hurt. I was just never comfortable. I am very comfortable being a shoulder width stance squatter. I have large quads so it stands to reason that I use effective leverages to be optimal in my lift. Some of the misunderstanding on stance has also been predicated due to equipped lifters that stand extremely wide. Equipment is going to protect the hips to a greater degree than without any, just as it does so for the knees. It makes little sense to copy someone if you are not using the same methods and equipment. Based on my personal experience and coaching numerous lifters, I recommend that raw squatters use a shoulder width stance to start along with the toes pointed out around 45 degrees. The recommended starting stance is your base to tweak and adjust during practice to see what is optimal and comfortable. SQUAT LIKE A GOD
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One great tip for finding the correct stance for your structure is to sit on the end of a flat bench with your feet flat and spread at hip width. Attempt to stand up without leaning forward at all. By doing this, you will quickly find that if your stance is too close you lean forward excessively. Picture that same movement with 400 lbs. on your back and imagine how badly you’ll pitch forward. As you gradually spread your feet and do this over and over, you’ll find the stance where you can easily stand without leaning forward at all – that’s the ideal stance for you. Likewise, if you spread your feet extremely wide, you’ll find that you start to lean forward again. Bar Placement. This topic covers where the bar is going to rest and where you are going to grab the bar with your hands. Both are super important. Don’t neglect either factor! The bar placement or “ride” can be up on the neck, lower on the traps or placed on the rear delts like we do in meets. Let me say that using a pad to keep you comfortable from the bar is not ideal. You want the bar engaged with your body. Be one with the metal. The pad lifts the bar away from you while being an unstable service. Sure your neck might feel a little better while you happen to blow out your spine! Avoid the pad. Nice idea but too risky. The ride on the traps can be ok if you have traps. Make sure to squeeze your shoulder blades to keep the traps tight and solid for the bar. What you will notice is the bar being higher on the traps will possibly make you fight to stay upright. A beginner needs to just use whatever range of motion he is able to use while staying upright. Someone that is more experienced should keep the head and chest up while driving hard to also maintain good posture and power. Leaning with this ride will potentially put your mid back at risk. There are implements like the “Manta Ray” that you can also purchase online to put on the bar to be more in control while using this more upright style of squatting.
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Where you grip the bar is not nearly as tough to consider once you know where the bar will ride. Once you have the foundation of the bar ride you can think about how close or wide to grab the bar. I personally advise my athletes to grab the bar as close as possible without causing pain to their shoulders. So, yes, comfort is going to be a factor. You want to have the arms in closer because it allows you to keep the upper back muscles tighter for more stability and control of the bar ride. If you have mobility issues take time to stretch getting under the bar after doing some light cardio to increase your core temperature. Learn to breathe! Ok, in the context of your lifting. Once you are under the bar with your grip and the ride set, take in a deep breath slowly and hold. Lift the weight off the rack and walk the weight to your set up position to establish your stance ALL THE WHILE KEEPING THAT BREATH. Once you establish the set-up, take the time to catch a few controlled breathes. Before attempting the lift, take in a nice controlled breath and hold. Give yourself a second to hold the breath before starting to lower with the bar. I find that lifters rush the process and end up taking in their air as they are starting to lower with the weight which is totally counterproductive. Finally, as you come up with the weight let out the air in whatever fashion feels natural. The range of motion of the lift is something that I will not be very lengthy with. Squat deep if you can. If you can’t, find another sport. End of story.
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INTENSITY TECHNIQUES
These are concepts that you can apply to your training. All of the listed ideas can be helpful but always be mindful of what your goals are. Negatives, static holds, partial movements and/or pulses, walkouts, overloads, strip-downs and supersets are all options to add to your training. I have really fallen in love with using bands in my training as well. In one of my articles, I shared about the concept of overloading the lockout of the movement while being less strenuous in the weaker areas which can keep us healthier. Make no mistakes, bands are tough! Use some chains if you like as well. I have also toyed with using plyometrics. Box jumps with holds at the bottom position can really work on your explosiveness while being a great integrative movement regarding corrective exercise in your training. Remember to find techniques that work for your goals; based on your current conditioning and physical abilities. I have used a Westside barbell template. Basically, I wasn't satisfied totally so I tweaked things to fit what I wanted. MONDAY: SQUAT MAX EFFORT DAY
This was always a squatting day. The only thing I varied was my positioning, depth and bar positioning. I used different heights to box squat while changing my stance as well. These lifts were done in more of a touch and go to overload certain areas of my lift while not pausing like my traditional box squatting. I usually did about 15 sets with warm ups included. Using max effort work I focused on 1-3 reps SQUAT LIKE A GOD
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close to failure. Normally I ended up with 4-6 work sets. Good mornings for 3-5 sets of 8-10 reps reverse hypers or back extension 4 sets of 10 2 sets of 20 reps on leg extensions FRIDAY: DYNAMIC SQUAT OR SPEED DAY (NOT FUN!) This day I would squat on a 10" box with around 60-80% of my assumed max and paused each rep briefly ALTHOUGH STAYING TIGHT and then firing up. I would do 8-12 sets. I would rest 30-45 seconds between each set! I was cooked!!! Then I would sometimes go heavy on good mornings. Usually I use the same protocol as the previous Monday with only slight variations depending on how I felt. If my lower back was tired, I would skip GMs and ham curls. I would sometimes do leg presses but usually stuck with high rep leg extensions at the end. Sometimes I would do some rack lock outs if I had the energy. On my off days, I would stretch A LOT and spend time in the tub. Every Friday I see a massage therapist as well. Additionally, I trained my abs nearly every day. My favorite thing was doing decline sit-ups with four 45's. A program that I really enjoyed was my 3x3 cycle I called “Trinity.” The lifting works well to train your body to be ready for a full meet. Each session focuses on a squat, bench and deadlift movement.
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The split is 3 days a week: Monday Squat Narrow Grip Bench Press Romanian Deadlifts
Wednesday Front Squats Bench Press Good Mornings
Friday Olympic Squats Illegal Grip Bench Press Deadlift
Monday you can focus on your squat first. Wednesday bench pressing is the focus. Friday is all about top energy for your deadlifting. You can use a 3 week cycle of 3x8, 4x6 and 5x5 to lift by the numbers. These numbers are only for the focus lift that day. Example: Squat 135x10, 225x5, 315x3, 405x8, 425x8, 425x8 Narrow Grip Bench 135x10, 225x10x5 Romanian Deadlifts 225x10, 315x10, 405x10x3 Good mornings happen to be one of my favorite movements. They work the posterior chain (glutes, hams, erectors and soleus) while really improving a lifters strength and efficiency in the squat and deadlift. Good mornings can have some variations to them but for our purpose we will go with the standard movement. You will rest the bar on your shoulders similar to a power squat, meaning the bar will be SQUAT LIKE A GOD
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on the rear delts. Keep the back engaged and the abs tight. Think of sucking in your belly button to support the spine. Lean forward at the hips to lower the upper body until you are about parallel to the floor. Many times I have clients go until the see the bar on the top of their traps at the bottom position of the lift for good depth. As you lean forward bend the knees slightly to keep your balance and support your back. Do not attempt to do the movement with your legs locked. Locked knees will be too much on the joint, lower back and overall balance. Raise your torso while keeping the head up and driving the hips forward to the start position. Repeat Good mornings can be used as assistance work for squats and deadlifts. I have a few athletes that alternate weeks with deadlifts to go heavy with good mornings as their core lift. There are many options but keep it sensible especially to start out. It is always far better to undertrain especially with a new movement, than to overcompensate and fry your CNS. Example: Day 1: Squat – power scheme Good mornings – 3x10 80% max
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Day 5: Deads or Good mornings – power scheme **If doing deads that session for the core exercise feel free to use the good mornings as a simple 5x5 scheme while keep reps in the 60-75% range.** ***If doing good mornings as the core exercise hit some Romanian deadlifts or straight leg deadlifts for a simple 5x5 scheme with 60-75% range.*** ****The 60-75% range can be cycled for week to week for you can add 5% until you cap at 75% at the fourth session and then start over at 60% again.**** Safety is something I preach with clients. Strong means nothing if you are hurt so we always try to be smart and intelligent in our programming. As I close I want to give you a few points to consider regarding your own training: Warm up the body with 5-10 minutes on a treadmill, exercise bike or rower. Use whatever cardio you like but use the time to warm up the body literally. Once done warming up with cardio take some time to foam roll, PVC roll and use a lacrosse ball for trigger points. Using these movements for self-myofasical release will not only improve your strength as a lifter but prevent many injuries. These activities can break up adhesions and relax overactive muscle fibers.
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Stretch! The muscles are warm and relaxed from the previous steps so use that to work on stretching properly. Nice passive stretching with no bouncing for 20-30 seconds will work nicely. If you need more time by all means stretch more. Use your warm upsets with some intelligence. Warm ups shouldn't make you tired. Warm ups should be a gradual increase to get your body ready for heavier weights. Warm ups are also a great time to actively assess your training. If your second warm up feels like a ton then take some time to ask yourself if what you are doing is correct. Look back at your journal. If the warm ups are off then adjust. I had a client that struggled in her warm ups while deadlifting. She was just having an off day. She finished her last warm up and decided to call it a day. I am not saying to ditch training sessions. I am to self-assess and be aware of how you feel at that moment in the gym. Write this stuff down. How is this a safety concern? Really? Come one people! Keeping track of your numbers is a key safety issue to avoid using too much weight etc. Look around your gym. See how many people just guess and fail with their weights. Guessing leads to injuries. When we train we are not in the business of guessing. We are in the business of success with proven methodologies that transcend a coin flip. CONCLUSION I hope you enjoyed reading this ebook. I wanted to be able to share what has made me successful as a powerlifter – especially as a squatter. Obviously, these concepts can apply to all of your training and not just to increase the squat. Please feel free to contact me at my website where I am available for clinics, online coaching and motivational speaking.
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HELPFUL WEBSITES My Personal Site www.rawpowerlifter.com 5/3/1 Calculators: http://www.blackironbeast.com/5/3/1/calculator http://grigaitis.net/5/3/1/ Diet: www.myfitnesspal.com
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ABOUT ME I am Shawn Bellon from the great town of Edgerton, Ohio. It is a small farming community but as I get older I really appreciate what it offers: peacefulness. Small towns can have a very strict code of athleticism which ours did. In all the pressure, I really got more into lifting weights. Phase 1 for me was just being inspired by my mother who took great care of herself as a recreational bodybuilder. Phase 2 was the want to just get stronger to protect myself. Growing up poor affords no kid a limitation on insults. Phase 3 was a football coach that came into Edgerton. He was not a great coach but he was a great motivator. Phase 4 was one man – Ron Kauffman! The meanest and kindest man I ever met. He taught me how to power squat. Under his guidance, I was squatting almost 600 pounds. Phase 5 brought USPF World Champ Ernie "The Iron Sheik" Fleischer into my world where he brought me into his world of powerlifting. I was hooked. Now I live in the wild, Wild West of Phoenix, Arizona, with my wife, Tami. Gorgeous sky and hot! Traffic sucks. Tucson is more my speed. It is like comparing a meth head to a pot head. I mean really who would you want to be around? I am a writer for various magazines. I have written for Ironman Magazine, Powerlifting USA, and Boxlife magazine. I continue to freelance writing about practical strength training for athletes. I am open to offering clinics, guest speaking and coaching. I write programming for lifters and athletes while doing some base diets although I do not do contest preparation for bodybuilding.
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