Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Caught on Tape...er, Flash Memory

Yesterday's CrossFit workout of the day, was 7 sets of 1-rep-max back squats. There's some difference of opinion in the lifting community as to what depth of squat is desirable. Some prescribe a 90-degree bend in the knees. Some suggest that the femurs should be parallel to the ground. (This is slightly deeper, since the shins lean forward.) Olympic weightlifters and some others descend until their thighs hit their calves. (We did quite a bit of this last kind of squat at our seminar.)

No matter how far down you decide you should go, it's very easy, when laboring under a heavily loaded barbell, to believe you've gone quite a bit lower than you in fact have. So, during yesterday's WOD, I had the bright idea to video our squats using my digital camera. This recording would let us calibrate perceived squat depth with true depth. I found the vids quite helpful, and I believe Alison did, too. I recommend you try it sometime, assuming squats are part of your lifestyle.

I won't burden you by posting our recordings, but I will tell you that I put up a personal record back squat of 265 pounds,* and Alison hit a new PR of 155. Yay us.

* My body weight yesterday morning was 139.0 pounds.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:43 PM

    We have a power cage, so since I'm six inches shorter than Stingray I use the safety bars as a guideline. I aim for going *just* above them before rising up again.

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  2. Ms. Rat,

    We also use a power rack. Doing heavy squats without it is not a good idea in my opinion. I've been using the catch bars as a guide for some time, too. (Alison and I are close to the same height (2 inches difference.) The thing is, the bar height can vary quite a bit, depending on now much leaning at the waist you do. Still, if you have a mirror, like we do, it's a lot simpler and more timely than using a camera.

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