[yllihp]

yllihp on October 6, 2008 at 11:33 am #14909

What do you guys think of the hip drive during squats as described in mark rippetoe’s starting strength book? Anyone read that book?

To my understanding, rippetoe advocates driving the hips upwards out of the hole when squatting to kind of initiate the squat movement, as this engages the posterior chain more. This contasts with other sources I’ve read, which advocate moving the hips and shoulders upwards at the same rate.

Hoewever, wouldn’t driving the hips up to initiate the movement cause the torso to become more horizontal, creating a larger torque about the lower back and increasing the risk of injury? A kinda semi good morning then has to be done to finish the movement. This doesn’t seem like a very safe squatting method to me…

So I’ve tried squatting rippetoe’s way recently, and it does indeed seem to work my hams and gluts more, as they feel sore the next day. However, I can’t seem to squat as much this way, although the posterior chain is supposed to generate more power. Is this because my posterior chain is weak? Or am I doing something wrong (perhaps over-exaggerating the hip drive movement)? Or is rippetoe’s method wrong?

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on October 6, 2008 at 4:24 pm #73135

I’ve read Ripetoe’s book and think it’s quite good. This is one of the things I’m a little divided on what Rip says. Here’s a video though where he actually describes this cue to drive the hip. His rationale seems very sound and I have no doubt it works the posterior chain more BUT I am a little concerned about unwanted stress on the lumbar area. Also, I prefer a high bar Olympic squat which would seem to be a little less conducive to using this cue effectively.

ELITETRACK Founder

[BLogaN]

BLogaN on October 9, 2008 at 9:28 am #73210

This is the first time I see squats taught this way.

I guess it’s just a different kind of squat that one could implement
in his training from time to time, though I agree that I would be
uneasy about the long-term implications on the lumbar area if one
were to use this method exclusively, particularly when going heavy.

Perhaps this kind of GM-Squat form comes more naturally to people
with long legs/short torsos anyway?

[mortac8]

mortac8 on October 11, 2008 at 11:39 am #73285

I wouldn’t try to do anything fancy with your squatting without a coach in person. I would worry more about getting comfortable squatting than mastering some fancy style. I thought the kid’s first set was good.