Mighty Kat, a fellow Oregon Olympic Weightlifter (and current state champion in her weight class), has an article up at Weightlifting Exchange entitled, “Six Tips for the Overhead Squat.”
The overhead squat is a pain in the ass, literally! But, it’s the first exercise that I tend to have people do in the gym. I give them a stick, do a demonstration, then have them try and “repeat after me”. I can learn a lot about where a person’s current level of fitness is by how well they are able to perform this exercise.
If they let the bar drift too far forward, or if their arms remain bent throughout, then I know they have shoulder flexibility issues. If they let their heels come up off the floor, then I know they have ankle and calf flexibility issues. Some times people will literally shake while performing an overhead squat. This can be from a number of causes, but foremost among them is a lack of stability strength and balance.
You can find a ton of other writing by Mighty Kat at her website, www.MightyKat.net, and at her blog, mightymix.blogspot.com/
…lack of stability strength and balance…and mostly caused by inflexible joints.
I’ve noticed girls to have a much easier time learning the overhead squat. Once I got my ankle stretched out nicely and my shoulders stretched…the overhead squat becomes a breeze. And having a wide enough spacing for stability.
I totally agree. Women, in addition to being more flexible generally than men to start with, have a wider base of support (wide hips).
Men have narrow hips and no flexibility when they start weightlifting and both work against them. Of course, men can’t do anything about their hip width. But, flexibility training makes a huge difference.
there are some definitely great ideas here. Can’t wait to put some of these into action. Its truly going to bring good vibrations where the vibrations should be
Glad you think so, CHI