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Post by battler on Apr 3, 2013 11:18:19 GMT 10
I was taught to look up in both squat and deadlift when I first started powerlifting. Over time, I've found that looking down, or a mix of looking down then up or straight ahead works better for me. In the conventional deadlift, if I look down about 3m in front, I get better speed off the floor, then switch to looking straight ahead with chin tucked in gives me better lockout. In the sumo deadlift, looking straight up gives me a better start, then looking ahead with chin tucked gives me better lockout. I'm still trying to figure out the combo in the squat (I squat medium stance, low-ish bar with WL shoes, more down than back). I seem to squat better by looking down at the bottom then looking up from half way to top, but haven't quite found the consistent groove yet. I need to experiment more. I'm also not quite sure whether keeping my neck long and neutral (Kelstar of MobilityWOD recommends that) is better than the head back in traps pose. I read in Pavel's Power To The People Professional in the chapter where he explains the round back deadlift technique (i.e Konstantinov and Bob Peoples' style) that neck extension (looking up) emphasizes posterior chain while neck flexion (looking down) amplifies quads and abs. What do you do? Help me figure this out! Thanks  |
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Post by jrd on Apr 3, 2013 12:22:18 GMT 10
Looking up definitely works best for my squat as I tend to drop my chest and looking up helps me keep my chest up. Olech (one of the best squatters ever) looks down, so it is definitely a matter of finding what works for you.
My friend recently tried looking down and compacting the neck/chin on his sumo deadlift and got good results. I've never tried that, but I am a rubbish deadlifter, so hey-ho.
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Post by pritchard on Apr 3, 2013 13:07:51 GMT 10
Interesting. I look down in both deadlift and squat. I have been told the Russians warn against either extreme and prefer a neutral position.
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tudor
New Member
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Post by tudor on Apr 3, 2013 15:20:04 GMT 10
I think you need to consider what change the head position has on your thoracic spines flexion and extension. Different people with different builds will favour one over the other so whether you want a neutral position, flexion, or extension deponds on their body. e.g. someone like KK with a thick solid torso might do better under flexion that a 66kg lifter.
I think what the russions told SP sounds right, it's best to avoid extremes.
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Post by hawkeye on Apr 3, 2013 15:43:13 GMT 10
I think this is a great topic to bring up.
I always got taught from the start to look up by my old schooled coach. For both deadlift and squat.
I have a habit of dropping my chest big time for both these lifts so it does seem to work as a cue for that although i think holding my chin high and head back might actually be better.
Always got the better of me what to do and why some of the most upright squatters aroudn can look down. Ive never been game to try it with a heavy weight
But i suck at all lifts so more interested to hear others input and reasoning that share my own!
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Post by greekiwi on Apr 3, 2013 19:05:46 GMT 10
Really good topic.
I think like most things it is what suits best, but there is sound logic in trying to keep your head in a fairly neutral position, so an extreme upward or downward position could have the affect of the body following, ie in a squat if your head is down and then you drive out of the hole it "could" cause the rest of your shoulders/upper body to follow, then your hips to drive up first, pushing the bar out of alignment and then it would go pear shaped from there. I'm no expert, so would be keen o hear other school of though on this.
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gp
MSIC
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Post by gp on Apr 3, 2013 19:29:18 GMT 10
I've discussed this with battler previously, I have actually found it easier to keep my chest up by adopting a neutral head (cue is to tuck the chin) and looks slightly down. I am super flexible and looking up for me makes me hyperextend my low back, which in turn kills core tightness and kills hip drive. I've observed the difference in video. Same whether its squat or deadlift. Looking down = neutral back, tighter abs, more hip drive in the bottom position. With squat you sacrifice a bit of upper back tightness because you can't shrug as much if you're not looking up, but the extra tightness in the core and hips I get appears to make up for it.
A related but forgotten question: eye position in the bench press....look at the bar, or look at a spot on the roof?
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Post by pritchard on Apr 3, 2013 20:09:45 GMT 10
I think I end up watching the bar. Habit I think.
With head position- I think you hit the nail on the head- the important issue is what is happening with the neck/ spine. I can't get tight looking up. But then again I have a very thick neck and I can't actually look up that far. People laugh at my sad neck mobility.
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Post by battler on Apr 21, 2013 14:40:04 GMT 10
So I was doing yoga and in a series of poses that have a stance similar to my sumo DL stance (with a Warrior pose or two in between). Naturally I was thinking of deadlifting. My yoga teacher was correcting my pose, and one key factor was to get my neck long and neutral. She says my neck is pecking forward, nothing too dramatic, but it's typical of someone with a desk job. As I pull my neck to neutral through the back of my head, make my neck long and tuck my chin backward slightly, my rib cage sits in a nice position and my shoulders drop down an inch and relax a lot more. My hips also seem to align well with my spine. Then I got home and watched this video by Mark Bell on sumo deadlift (would apply to conv as well, I reckon) where he talks about keep the noggin in a similar position, that allows the shoulders to drop down more and the hips to get in the ideal power position: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OAIdkVnUFwBeen practicing that pose in a sumo DL position all morning and it feels great. Can't wait to test it on the barbell! |
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Post by battler on Apr 21, 2013 14:54:24 GMT 10
Another thing my yoga teacher was showing me was how much the spine's position shifts around when you move your neck just a little bit. It makes me realise how important keeping a neutral neck is.
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