Good Morning Titans,
As discussed in a
previous article, we have a certain philosophy when it comes to our assistance work. Instead of choosing our movements based on aesthetics we instead look to our main mover and choose an exercise based on where we break down in that movement. The body is one piece and treating it as such will result in the body becoming stronger as a whole. When the body is strong as a whole it is better than the sum of its parts.
Today we will cover assistance exercises for both the squat and the deadlift. For this to work we will assume that your primary squat is a low bar back squat and your primary deadlift is a conventional deadlift. These assistance exercises will carry over to other forms of these movements but I won’t go into details on how. Using this article and a little critical thinking and I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out what the intended message is. If it’s still unclear then don’t hesitate to email me at cameron@atlasstrengthshop.com.
Despite being different movement patterns, the squat and the deadlift will still use most of the same muscle groups. Primarily these are the quads, the hamstrings, the glutes and the back (as a whole). Personally I like to split these up into two camps. The quads being the first camp while putting the hamstrings, glutes and back into another group being, the posterior chain. Depending on where your movement is breaking down is going to determine where we focus our assistance work.
Quad Dominant Assistance
During the squat a sure fire way to know if your quads are the weak point in your lift is if your hips shoot up as you begin to rise. When it comes to the deadlift, I’ve found that having strong quads helps your initial drive off the floor. You can combat this by choosing assistance work that puts more emphasis on building strength in your quads. If you have a leg press then this is a great option. If not, front squats are going to give you the most bang for your buck due to their specificity to the squat. Lunges are a great option as well.
One of my favorite options to build the quads is the banded sissy squat. You perform this exercise by taking a band and looping it around a power rack or another stable surface at knee height. You put both legs through the loops and walk backwards as far as the band tension will allow you to. From here lean back slightly and sit back into a squat. You shins should stay fairly vertical but if they travel forward a little that’s ok too. Once your hips break parallel, stand back up and squeeze your glutes together hard at the top. If your body weight is too easy you can load this movement with a plate, kettlebell or even a barbell. I like to do these as finishers at the end of my squat days for high reps. Think 50 reps in a few sets as possible.
So What About the Hamstrings?
If your hamstrings are week you’ll have issues with your knees caving in as you begin your accent on squats. During the deadlift, weak hamstrings will become apparent if your sticking point is around the mid shin region. You can always combat this by using a hip circle or a similar device during your warm up but nothing beats direct hamstring work to correct this issue.
For a majority of my hamstring work I like to stay as specific as possible to the movement that’s giving me the issue. For squats this means I’ll put a bar on my back for some good mornings. Remember when you’re doing good mornings to push your hips back into your hamstrings. This will keep as much of the tension as possible in the hamstrings and keep it away from the lower back. It’s best to do this movement in a power rack because you can set the safety pins at the level your shoulders need to reach. This is just in case the weight tries to fold you up. After all, we want you to walk away from your sessions.
For the deadlift I really like to use the Romanian Deadlift. Your body positioning looks remarkably similar when performing these as it does during the Good Morning except the bar is in your hands. In order for grip to not be your limiter I’d recommend using straps here so you can focus on your hamstrings. You don’t necessarily have to go all the way to the floor on each rep. Just focus on getting a stretch in the hamstrings and then squeezing up with your glutes.
For isolation work I really like to use my GHD. Personally, my lower back tires out long before my hamstrings do so when that happens I like to get a few more sets in with the GHD. You’re looking to increase your time under tension so try to move slow if you can. You can add extra resistance to this movement using a plate or a kettlebell.
Guess what… Your back matters in this one too.
Your back plays an important role in the stabilization of the weight in both of these movements so don’t neglect it. Do all of your vertical and horizontal pulling and do all of your rear delt work. This includes rows, pull ups, band pull aparts, rear flys, lat pull downs, you get the idea.
Gotta Have a Strong Brace.
If you’ve been following what we do then you already know how important breathing and bracing is. One of the best ways I’ve found to strengthen my brace is to do more direct core work that allows me to challenge that brace. I’m not a big fan of a lot of spinal flexion in my core training. Instead I like to do things like hollow rocks, ab wheel roll outs and hanging leg raises. These allow me to get a good brace and maintain it under a load that challenges it properly. Between these and Good Mornings you’ll never have a bracing issue again!!!
So that’s it for this article. If you liked what you read then come back next Monday to see what we write about next. You can also follow our
Facebook here and our
Instagram here. We also have a YouTube channel with new videos every week so make sure you
subscribe here. And I’d really appreciate it if you shared this article with someone that you think it might be able to help. If you have any questions at all feel free to email me at
cameron@atlasstrengthshop.com. Until next time.
Release the Titan in You,
Cameron Ray
