The front racked position of the front squat demands that we stay as upright as we can throughout the lift. However, the natural curve of the upper (thoracic) back tends to make this more difficult. Unlike the natural curve of our lower (lumbar) back, the thoracic is a bit “humpback” in nature. While that nickname is an exaggeration of a healthy thoracic curve, most of us have spent 40 hours a week adding to the humpback by sitting in front of a computer with more than questionable posture (as I may be doing as I type this!).

So, when you rack a heavy bar on our shoulders, drive them elbows as high as you can, and squat, sometimes you just feel your torso slowly caving. Inevitably, the barbell will dump forward and you’ll be upset you have to clean it all the way back up for another attempt!

Today when you go for your 1RM attempts, we’ll try to combat that by:
1. Be cognizant of your posture today (and by today, I mean every day). Sit straight up and don’t hunch your shoulders!
2. Foam roll the upper back during your warm up
3. Take a huge breath, puff up your torso, and brace from lower abs all the way up.
4. Open your hands up and “babysit” that bar on your fingertips as you puff your shoulders up and forward to create that “bed” for the bar.
5. Think about keeping your upper back solid throughout the lift and don’t exhale until you finish the lift at the top.
6. Don’t lock out your knees at the top. Sometimes you want to drive so fast out of the hole you end up slamming the knees to a locked position. It limits your options when you stand with a lot of weight on locked knees, especially since you tend to lock them and lean slightly forward in the process. Drive out of the bottom and control the finish at the top.

WOD 01.21.11

Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1

7 rds:
7 OHS (Jeremy weight)
7 Burpees

(UTC competitors do 5 burpee box jumps)