Garage Strength — squat

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Going back to the stranded island game!!! I have a few mobility movements that I absolutely love for warming up: foam rolling, worlds greatest stretch, single leg squats, lax ball tempering, etc...This specific exercise can warm up ANYONE and target just about every muscle grouping in the body.

CLOSE GRIP OVERHEAD SQUAT: This movement can be used for virtually any sport. I used this with great success when programming the development of the weightlifting program for our local high school’s strength program.  The close grip overhead squat sped up the mobility process to enable the football players to hit depth and positions sooner than they otherwise would have been capable of.  

Ultimately, the goal would be to hold a position with hands touching on the bar and maintaining upright posture in the hole when squatting, holding the arms in a long extended position, holding thoracic spine extension, maintaining full foot integrity on the ground which means the hips and lower back must also be very mobile!  

This difficult warm up can follow a few different progressions.  Begin with snatch presses off the back, bringing the grip closer each set, pausing for 10 seconds in the bottom position on the last rep of each set.  I also recommend doing some driver squats to loosen up the hips and then plate pick ups to the overhead position, this will lead to a more active thoracic spine and thus more control overhead with the close grip overhead squat!

Learn how to incorporate this movement into a comprehensive training plan! Sign up for a custom strength program today!

Just got off the phone with Travis Mash and Wil Fleming. People wonder why coaches are successful and why they have athletes consistently putting out big totals. They will sit there as the Monday morning quarterback and talk trash about their methods, accuse them of drug usage and come up with 30 other reasons as to why their lifters aren't as strong.

I fall into this same boat. Prior to the phone call, I felt that Nathan Damron squatting 300k was stupid. I have criticized other coaches and their training methods amongst my lifters without fully comprehending their system of training. After having a great discussion with Mash I learned a few things.

1. Atmosphere is what matters most. Being positive and having a happy environment that focuses on positive improvements is what makes for a great lifting team. Speaking negatively about ANYTHING is pointless.
   
   
2. Communication is king. Develop a healthy relationship with your lifters and gain their trust to ensure they continue communicating. The more lines of communication there are, the more developed the relationship will be between athlete and coach!
   
   
3. Practice what you preach. I know everyone hears this all the time but they don't analyze it from different walks of life. Sure, Travis Mash was one of the best power lifters to walk the planet and he is still as strong as an ox...with that being said, he works his ass off and runs a successful business. His athletes see him not only as a great coach but also as a great business person that is motivated and willing to make sacrifices for his lifters. That generates a bond between he and his athletes that is hard to replicate.
   
   
4. Learn outside the box. Read books and content from coaches that are not in your specific field of work. Something that a swimming coach does in training, can be something that a weightlifting applies and finds to be very successful in their own system!
   
   
5. Take Earth Fed Muscle. Travis said it himself....Damron squatted 300k, solely because he takes EFM!!! Lol