JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================v" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?<V:am3W7Hpko ZG,QptQ.O51?@k$k&lr-!t{/l:r XZuVgѧߵ2 Nۛx&F}\^IgKOeq GWy4efVSR9ּؙ2LgnT}-o]xYY-!E I$Zj~87;m3\%\;D]>Xíu`V(of8qI]ަ֛iqClP7rjZt[_+ۦ$kȪBv ?sG>\ּZǹ(20P:f:hLMcqvFT)e^wLyn|ʇhyys+Ťq>}a t(l+ֽ O.q}#,qoykswgIYQm2:ʩskt@cO&*r@%*g&3FDkOƫ< @9kRWfHlV-B|޳>,Ci<%#8;?ifXX:kcm|I}vn#g95ȕj3Ӡo8 E%n˩kQĢb58b!b$H6w z t/4=>O1 Z=QI;hqo|0|D#pNϛo ::[{96ޣ+ݯt dcog+. hس5d|8OfF(qpO{4pYzٹnH/(Xa1QiX>w(u&*1lφDZprڻ?xY/Ħг,=JmXvA6ֶԢ|\lc𭏜VkW^qEn]݉I?}-mg>5b&ܩ{lIlaityomt]u8^OAhd+gF:K&͒$j<-&+5ڦ}ymnw|ں"k\:C,$7~ʲu Y4=Aڡt=OZ;jYN^I]g yė s|UDc8Zf.H(qr\0*q-4Şݱ4O'`0A#ѐ=ZUހ Ta'֢JːOa(JY`B= z6Ū ${JIh3e($vZ„R=~YG8XYpA$40Qrr"qS*nYcoڠIXFw9; `My@kռoody~Q5Q2]01U!&z[Ii3)= , ̤`8fV6/< )!#J(2=i y)\VT+9ң+y3S1 5g}E !2;[>PSqTQv+:8fqEҎaS[ Jm*K 3)ފ({ nz]mb0ڞ{Ƅ/-W/SNj#[nG<¹RRvaQ[Gc)=ۚ(3,Z]cpZѸ<C^iLDh,>E,nm 4 8=sE sV5i;x_Jv!D<(pER@.(wer position.&nbsp; The athlete has his feet&nbsp;close to the Squatting Stand. His feet and heels are firmly planted on the floor.&nbsp; His knees are back and not extended past the toes.&nbsp; The athlete is at a perfect parallel position.&nbsp; His eyes are focused on a point which helps the lower back and upper body position.&nbsp; If you said one of the major problems in figure 2 and 3 was the head position, I wouldn't argue.&nbsp; Notice the difference in the chin position of figure 2 and figure 6.&nbsp; The athlete pictured is my son, Matt, while he was in the 8th grade.&nbsp; At this time, he weighed 125 and Parallel Squatted 225 pounds. </P> <P align=center><STRONG>PRE-SQUAT TECHNIQUE</STRONG></P> <P align=left><STRONG>A. Grip:</STRONG> There are two technique guidelines to consider when establishing a proper grip on the squat.&nbsp; First is thumb position.&nbsp; Should you have your thumb around the bar or in back of the bar as illustrated in figure 7?&nbsp; About 60% of power lifters have the thumb in back while 40% of power-lifters prefer their thumbs around the bar.&nbsp; Both styles are acceptable, but I prefer to coach my athletes with their thumbs in back of the bar.&nbsp; I feel this style is superior as it tends to prevent slippage of the bar.&nbsp; Sometimes athletes will have a problem in keeping the bar on the shoulders.&nbsp; Sometimes the bar will actually slip off the shoulders and slip down the back.&nbsp; The bar seems to be more secure with the thumbs in back; but if an athlete, after trying both styles, really prefers to have his thumbs around, I don't object.</P> <P align=left>The second grip guideline to consider is the width of the athlete's grip.&nbsp; This is another one of those secrets which can give you an edge.&nbsp; At clinics, I ask everyone to pretend they have a bar on their shoulders and to get a "very narrow grip".&nbsp; Then, I ask everyone to sit tall, spread their chest and lock-in their lower back.&nbsp; Next, they are asked to take a wide grip and lock-in their lower backs.&nbsp; Now I ask, "Which grip makes it easier to lock-in the lower back?"&nbsp; It's unanimous!&nbsp; It's the wide grip.&nbsp; Make sure you use the lines which are grooved into most Olympic bars about four inches from the inside collars.&nbsp; Use these lines as reference points.&nbsp; An athlete might put his first finger on each line with his thumb behind the bar.&nbsp; Now, he is properly balanced with a wide grip and has some assurance that the bar will remain secure on his shoulders.&nbsp; He is now ready to place the bar on t