Your wrists hurt, your back is tight, you feel like you are getting choked out. How can you hold a front rack?!?

Holding a front rack is imperative to improving maximal strength, improving rate of coordination and enhancing dynamic trunk control. These strength characteristics can be trained and achieved through various technical coordination movements where the front rack is used by the athlete. The power clean forces a rapid deceleration and rigid trunk, the front squat can train leg extensor maximal strength while also improving isometric action in the torso. Mastering these movements improves overall performance but what if the limiting factor is the front rack?

Mobility in the upper body is key. The first step is to make sure the athlete has been shown how to properly hold a front rack position. If they still struggle with the front rack, it’s time to troubleshoot the problems. Many coaches will side step the front rack because it requires patience and hard work, but that is an error in many systems of training.

When analyzing the front rack, it is best to work from the small joints, back toward the larger joints. That means the first analysis is based on whether or not the athlete can flex their wrists with minimal pain. The next step is to analyze if the front rack triggers tremendous tightness in the triceps or working backward, see if the athlete struggles to keep their elbows high due to lat and shoulder tightness.

Use these movements to hold a stable front rack. T-Spine extension exercises to open up the shoulder and upper back, tricep stretches with a barbell to lengthen the tricep and finally, simple pressure wrist flexion holds with the barbell to improve holding a front rack.