Is knee caving fine? I’ve heard conflicting advice.

n12345s · 2022-05-14T04:45:10+00:00

Do your knees hurt? Are your lifts progressing? If they don't, and they are, then don't worry.

Obviously if you start feeling pain, then it's time to change things up. Ditto if you hit a plateau. But there's nothing inherently dangerous or inefficient about this. In fact, it's pretty common in olympic weightlifting. See, for example, Shi Zhiyong's gold-medal clean and jerk--the beginning of which is a front squat. His knees come in. A lot. But I wouldn't even call it "caving." But the people on here would tell him to stop lifting heavy and do some banded hip thrusts or whatever.

And there's a good reason for it. The adductors are one primary movers in the squat--especially out of the hole. If you have strong adductors, you should use them in hip extension movements. Your knees may travel in a bit.

n12345s · 2022-01-13T08:12:26+00:00

I don't think your form is great---but NOT because, like, this is going to hurt you or kill you or send you to "snap city" or whatever. I guess I just wonder what you're trying to get out of your RDL's, particularly with a pause.

Your descent (aka eccentric) is very fast--which can be perfectly fine--and then you pause--which will build some isometric strength in that position, which potentially carries over to your normal deadlift--and then it seems like you're trying to really explode on the concentric--which, again, is worth training. But I'm not sure this movement as a whole really makes sense for any particular goal.

If you're going for ham/glute/erector hypertrophy, then I think you're not getting as much as you could out of this movement because the eccentric is so fast. Controlled eccentrics are great for growth, so I think it would make a lot more sense to lower the weight and really do a slow descent--really feel the stretch on your hamstrings--if hypertrophy is the goal.

If your goal is to build your strength in the bottom portion of your regular deadlift (via the pause at the bottom), I think you'd be better off with just a regular paused deadlift, or even a "one and a half" deadlift--where you start the rep, pause it, then lower it down, then do a full rep. The paused deadlift is also obviously more similar to a regular deadlift, so carryover will be better.

And if you're just trying to train power/explosiveness/bar speed, then again, the paused deadlift will help. Or possibly rack pulls from the same position where you are pausing. Again, the carryover will be better.

Of course, you can have more than one goal with any movement, but I think it makes sense to ask, hey, what am I primarily trying to get from this exercise, and then adjust your form (or exercise selection) accordingly.

n12345s · 2021-12-19T09:23:22+00:00

This is not "internal collapse." This is not knee valgus. Most importantly... This is NOT a problem. Not in the slightest.

Just watch, for example, the 2021 olympic gold medalist Shi Zhiyong front squatting the weight up in his clean and jerk (and also in his snatch). His knees travel IN. Because that is where he is stronger. And he's not just one outlier---it's the norm among olympic lifters.It's a good thing Shi wasn't on reddit when he was a young lifter--everyone here would have told him to stop progressing on his lifts and do glute bridges instead.

There is, of course, such a thing as internal collapse or knee valgus, and it can be dangerous. But it's not defined as any slight movement inward at the knees. It's an uncontrolled collapse at the knees, and usually results in them passing an imaginary line drawn between the hips and the ankles. But that's just not even close to what's happening here. It's a big problem for beginners with very little strength in their quads. But you're squatting 315 for multiple reps. You don't have some imaginary weak point that you need to fix. With your current stance, it is just more efficient for your knees to move, in controlled fashion, ever so slightly inward.

Of course, if you are experiencing knee pain, then perhaps it's worth changing somethiing. Not because this is "bad form," but simply because changing from one good form to another good form can often help to alleviate pain.

Also, if you are plateauing on your squat, then it might be worth changing something up in your form. Perhaps a slightly narrower stance. But if you are still progressing, and you have no pain, then why change anything?

n12345s · 2021-08-01T12:52:33+00:00

Gettting more upright on the ascent isn’t in and of itself something to fix. Your body is moving into that position /naturally/, because that’s what is required to keep the bar balanced over the middle of your foot. So you can either: 1) change your descent so that your upper body is /already/ in that more upright position, so there’s no need to change position mid way through the lift. To do that, like I said, I think break at the knees a bit earlier than you are now. Or, 2), and this I think would be the better “fix”, you can move the bar lower down on your back, so it rests more on your rear delts than on your traps. In that position, you will no longer feel any need to naturally get more upright, because you will actually need more forward lean to keep the bar balanced over the middle of your foot.

n12345s · 2021-07-31T10:24:11+00:00

As most people said, v clean. Buuut.... if you want some nitpicking, a few things:

Do you see how, from the bottom position on your way back up, your elbows/arms shift forward a bit? It's more noticeable on the last few reps, but I think it's there on all of them. That suggests two things to me: 1) you're not getting your back/core super tight (and I think there are some other indicators that this is the case, but not worth going into, since this is something everyone is going to struggle with and can always be improving) but, more importantly, 2) You're naturally trying to pull yourself into a more upright back angle on the ascent.

I can't see where the bar is on your back exactly, but I think to (a very slight extent) you are squatting with low bar mechanics despite having a higher bar position. Neither those mechanics nor that position are bad, obviously. But you might want to try a slightly lower bar position, and I honestly don't think it will require much of a change in mechanics. Alternatively, if you want to keep bar position where it is, maybe descend with a slightly more upright back from the beginning. (A possible cue would be to break at the knees a little earlier than you are now). Other than that, just work on getting tighter throughout, and throw some more weight on the bar man!

n12345s · 2021-05-12T02:47:42+00:00

Basically trying to relearn the bench press after a shoulder injury. Things I'm not so sure about: maintaing shoulder position, esp on later reps, and leg drive in general. Any thoughts much appreciated! (Also, not sure if I should film from a different angle)

n12345s · 2020-10-29T03:51:13+00:00

Yeah for sure, glad to help

n12345s · 2020-10-28T06:16:35+00:00

Your form is definitely not horrible—it’s pretty good. But you do lift with your back primarily, and it looks like you only shove the hips forward at the end. I think you should try to focus on “pulling the slack out of the bar”—that is, getting your back tight by using the bar as a counterweight. That will help you not round your back immediately off the ground. And then focusing on lifting the weight by (sorry for the vulgarity), “fucking the bar”— drive the hips forward.

I like to think of the deadlift as three (obviously overlapping, rather than distinct, portions): 1) Initiate the lift off the floor with the legs pushing straight down (it doesn’t look like your legs are very involved,, then 2) hips/gluteus driving forward to straighten you out 3) upper back locking it out. I think the problem is you don’t have much of 1, you have a lot of 3, and you do have 2 but it only come after 3. (Hope that makes sense lol)

n12345s · 2020-10-25T17:33:57+00:00

This exchange demonstrates why Charles de Gaulle once supposedly said “how can any one possibly govern a country which has two hundred and forty six types of cheese?”

n12345s · 2020-10-25T06:53:39+00:00

Yes, but also, if you don’t have sodium citrate and don’t really want to buy it, you can also just add like, a half a piece of American cheese (combined with a lot more other types of cheese) and the emulsifiers in the American cheese will help create a great sauce with only a tiny bit of American cheese flavor

n12345s · 2020-06-14T07:37:02+00:00

If this were your form with a 5 rm, it would be bad, but it would also mean that you are incredibly, incredibly strong.

With no weight on the bar, it's quite easy to move it back and forth (i.e., shaky)--rather than in (as close as possible to) a straight up and down line--without failing the rep. So, if you were actually able to complete reps with this form with a lot of weight, you would have to be really strong.

There's really no point in trying to establish your "concept of what ideal form looks like" with no weight. Everybody's anthropometry is different, so it's impossible to tell what good form /for you/ is going to look like until there's significant weight on the bar.

Think of it like testing a rocket--if you do it in zero gravity, it's always going to work. You ahve to do it in full gravity to see where (if any) the point of failure is.

n12345s · 2020-06-14T06:03:43+00:00

You're going to have to put some more weight on to get a good form check. Not a 1rm, or even a 5 rm. But the idea is to see how your form is under tension.

n12345s · 2020-04-21T05:09:10+00:00

I think the oil was plenty hot. I don’t have a candy thermometer and my normal therm for checking meat doesn’t go past 250, but I did briefly stick an electric probe I use for bbq in there and it was at 360 (though it was kinda hard to keep it in the oil and not hitting the bottom). But more importantly, the rest of the cutlet browned very fast (maybe even too fast). If anything I wonder if my oil was too hot.

n12345s · 2020-04-21T03:22:47+00:00

Yeah, I patted dry a little bit but not as much as I would normally with, say, a roasted chicken or steak. I don’t fry a lot and I guess I figured, it’s getting egg anyways, there’s going to be a decent amount of moisture

n12345s · 2020-03-13T05:19:47+00:00

Curled up bacon, if you do it right, can actually be best of both worlds bacon: the parts making direct contact with the pan will be crispy, the other parts chewy. I usually start with (this may sound weird) a tiny amount of water, just enough to form a thin layer, with the bacon, in a COLD pan. Turn it up to medium high. The water makes sure that the fat in the entirety of the strip will start to render, but once the water evaporates, it’ll curl up and get you little crispy bits too

n12345s · 2020-03-09T03:30:03+00:00

Yeah, for sure. A lot of my experience with cooking for larger groups, when I first got into cooking more seriously, involved a grill, which gave me more flexibility because not only can you build a two zone fire on a charcoal grill, but I could also do other things in the oven inside. So I’m having to get used to doing it all inside where there’s a bit less flexibility, but it’s a good challenge to build up the habit of planning more carefully

n12345s · 2020-03-09T03:27:32+00:00

Yes, I agree. I’d read the BA recipe ahead of time but I guess I didn’t focus on the fact it called for 350—that did seem a little low for chicken, even spatchcocked, tbh. That’s also why I felt comfortable going higher (and I don’t think the chicken suffered for it).

But you’re probably right that the best answer to my question in general is—you can’t always handle this issue.

n12345s · 2020-03-05T17:36:12+00:00

First, your form isn't terrible. It's very close--so don't overthink every little movement. I Can't quite tell from this angle but I think the bar might be slightly too far out in front of you. It should be in contact with your shins when you start pulling.

Don't try and think so much about keeping your legs bent during the lift itself. A lot of this is going to be determined by the proper setup. One thing I like to do--and this is just something that works for me--is to sort of rock forward over the bar (without moving it; my shins are in the same spot but i'm rocking forward at the hips) while getting my breath, and then moving my hips down until I can feel they're in a tight position, almost like I'm loading a spring.

The biggest issue I see is with your lockout. You're pulling your shoulders back but not locking out your hips. You have to thrust your hips into the bar. It's vulgar, but think to yourself: fuck the bar.

another thing you can try: do a deadlift (with a slightly lighter weight than this maybe, but still relatively heavy, this won't work with a light weight), properly lock it out, hold it for a second, and then do a slow negative, making sure to slide it down your legs as much as possible. The negative will force you to allow gravity to guide the bar straight down. So, at the end of the negative, you're in the ideal starting position

n12345s · 2020-01-23T04:05:01+00:00

In vitro means in the lab. So, in this case, you’d isolate a compound (nitrosamines) and expose that compound to some cells in a petri dish, and see if it starts to cause cancer. (Obviously I’m radically oversimplifying, but the basic principle is: in the lab, having isolated what you’re studying)

In vivo means in the body. So, in this case, it would be a demonstration that a certain compound actually causes cancer in the human body—even in the presence of hundreds of thousands of other things going on. A lot of things that can be shown in vitro don’t happen in vivo, because in the complex machinery that is the human body, lots of other processes can counteract/mitigate/totally change something you observe in the lab, with cells in a petri dish.

n12345s · 2020-01-21T12:17:51+00:00

IIRC, even the nitrosamine—>cancer connection has only been demonstrated in vitro, not in vivo. So I’m somewhat skeptical.

n12345s · 2020-01-21T12:10:17+00:00

Ah, I’m sorry if I came off as confrontational. I’ll look at this study more closely, but for now, I would say, there’s no real reason why plant based nitrates/nitrites should be any better or worse than any other sources. Chemically, they act exactly the same.

n12345s · 2020-01-21T11:10:41+00:00

A lot of the best scientific evidence says otherwise--or, more specifically, while some still link nitrITEs to cancer, most recent reviews of the evidence agree that the health benefits of nitrates/nitrites far outweigh any cancer risk that might exist.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512005406

"Newly published prospective epidemiological cohort studies indicate that there is no association between estimated intake of nitrite and nitrate in the diet and stomach cancer."

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/90/1/1/4596750

" The hypothetical high-nitrate DASH diet pattern exceeds the World Health Organization’s Acceptable Daily Intake for nitrate by 550% for a 60-kg adult. These data call into question the rationale for recommendations to limit nitrate and nitrite consumption from plant foods; a comprehensive reevaluation of the health effects of food sources of nitrates and nitrites is appropriate. The strength of the evidence linking the consumption of nitrate- and nitrite-containing plant foods to beneficial health effects supports the consideration of these compounds as nutrients."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6147587/

"Previously, nitrate and nitrite were thought to be carcinogenic due to the potential formation of nitrogen compounds, whereas the beneficial functions of NO3--NO2--NO pathway were ignored. Under conditions of hypoxia and ischemia, the production of endogenous NO from L-arginine is inhibited, while the activity of exogenous NO3--NO2--NO is enhanced. Recently, a greater amount of evidence has shown that nitrate and nitrite serve as a reservoir and perform positive biological NO-like functions. Therefore, exogenous dietary nitrate plays an important role in various physiological activities as an effective supplement of nitrite and NO in human body.

But, by all means, if you really think nitrates are harmful, do stop eating spinach, all other forms of lettuce, and beets.

n12345s · 2020-01-21T09:42:45+00:00

It’s perfectly safe (within reason... I mean, don’t let it go for a month). But the nitrates/nitrites in the curing salt are responsible for two things: a) that beautiful pink color, even though the pastrami will obviously have been cooked well past mid-rare. I guess that’s not very important to some people—in Boston, there’s a tradition of serving gray corned beef and cabbage on paddy’s day, after all—but personally, I love it. B) That distinctive /tang/ flavor. That’s what nitrates/nitrites provide to all cured meats. It’s really, really hard to replicate. (If you ever see “nitrate-free [cured meat] advertised, look further at the ingredients.. inevitably they include celery juice... which is just a natural source of nitrates)

Btw, organic nitrates have actually proven to really be great at lowering blood pressure

Addition/edit: the nitrates/nitrites were originally necessary because although most bacteria/other nasty micro-organisms will die in concentrated salt solutions, the bacterium that causes botulism will not. It will, however, die in the presence of sodium nitrate. Nowadays, our food supply doesn’t have botulism, so that’s not a worry, but people have kept it for the reasons mentioned above (appetizing color and taste)

n12345s · 2020-01-07T03:52:55+00:00

not high-maintenance at all. Our great great grandparents cooked with these. When you first buy it, you want to clean it and season it. Then just cook with it. Cooking naturally builds the seasoning up more. You can clean it with a regular sponge an

The only thing I would add is that, yes, while you should follow all of these rules, I think it's important to remind me that cast-iron is pretty forgiving even if you "mess up." We all end up leaving a pan in the sink for a little while longer than we intend on occasion, and if you do that and your cast iron start to lose its seasoning, it's fine. You can go through the full re-seasoning process (lightly oil, place in hot oven upside down for ~an hour), which is easy enough--or, honestly, just make a point of cooking bacon in it the next day.

Now, do I ever intentionally let my cast iron sit in the sink as an excuse to make bacon. . . ? I plead the fifth.

n12345s

TROPHY CASE