A post shared by Nate Harvey (@nateharvey2600) on

Chin up. Pull your shoulder blades together. Fill your stomach. Stand up strong with the weight. Take one small step back with each foot and you should be set up.

Wide stance for athletes doesn’t mean as wide as they can physically go. We have two criteria for wide stance with athletes. One, feet wider than they are used too. Athletes typically don’t like to get outside shoulder with when in the weight room. Two, they have to be wide enough to be able to push out on their feet and take advantage of their leverage. If the feet are too close, they can’t do this. If we can get them to do these two things you’re on your way to bringing up their hips.

On the eccentric: pressure should be out on the feet like the athlete is trying to split the sides of their shoes out through the whole movement. Fill the stomach with air. Reach the hips back and slightly roll the knees out while keeping your chest out. They should feel the pressure building in their glutes and hamstrings.

On the concentric: to reverse the weight, simultaneously drive the shoulders back into the bar and drive out on the feet.

This movement is usually used as a second barbell movement on max effort lower days. Sets and reps are typically 3-4 x 3-8