JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================w" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?M[[ѭۨ†l~s3e؜ VUԮ5 C#n#ڈ(\K|S9!8t0Q*̞"FgiI%c@~GXJ*p;s]8"=QҼ~ h"˻88wuON{8+6Yq@O_?Vlo,< H$m1[\0%O99{W 2ǵ?€<04qɮ{I՟ƥ$p.RXar=>ײ 6-a^uYA[_ǵx1b=TԠY\4duW󢫘c?&4LڠwPV?oiGL=s$q[cQ#_1: <~ҩSe־{bCH']Y'!8u Vp5&p8FI"46Ὑ$(<^ŤEs閬4 Yy2k'PMh!$R@8׮hWc̫ )93@4 Yi@NGvh6]OF%(<+{J`}r@C_F!A<̇qW5K\B+Ǽi40_̖u$YZNs] 0bnPhXQp:'R#=Œ`T,|e n .Kvb2~u4O`Qrl9R rO>BPAo=kio6qXȺ1|L=kt",Hϵr6C nhw%Kx 8S©<$uucq)9(t{-"I@I ,RBr21ފ>y-[q= S Cҹ˛+)6\dIJč_s1~ R:'*I֣ r0RTz, 1cmVXdaU&18n{Fƚ"9,A¢Ґh7H`{ܢ#nFqB/<8 򴀷gҫC**m$jѶ4<LHv|d皢S*8Pڬ't3T!#&W$*ɮ>&w\)U=8YrK4QL20(U X~Q[ Xu˛hZ~\gqa{Q@9k} 941R"f8cLmk?dae4A9exoUFHcoc# C]ڬ\(1Jצ}+cWjZ֔,aݠ2ف?Pu *I/Aր8a)AB=3J~Y. }Gđ[]"r ;sW=. ;VAJx[NsagKW^e$WR .H=E{s\H%8?b͠\xj\GBB%á'ޞSyDwdSWCYn-g ¤,2c`HsZH % !cUMuޟl--E䀀!x,[eR,i-ND̥ع99V/d=ӊ̹v7Y'֯ x>.o;j1}o€Bִ.:pw㴉7ղ7GM ѦYҳokmg{p@PB g9: 0MW,^Az)e{MpfbwEuˋ etj\r&$9>: SRE}Y\ 9 +)uŷnH.R/@A_Bhk񥏩t5xďk69yQӼ'uy[ڼ.d_#w~ դv(cx,Fso 2@huf J!Aܴ*մ9ֶPKWZy#lVU^ 8Vlb9 O _XcOԣBK4,Y6ukm*5 P]#w#d9l ;qW'mr>uk4"Ec Ҁ7euޙ1ǔ28yQP{HW0g4PO5ou-4CkHPe 8o\Yigj(B#dNij.M/Rm6mes*'/Qf嚥%Sow4][Rl&*z1Gkz᦭6L's?ox' =`{W]3G+Wyfž[68o ZWrh #fJP'T\]V8$X:E19QCzk2,;B1e=T^nQ@7h)uL]6׈^u;_xLmS2@8`InܿEX,21Ǫr_-y6B}(=T*:EP</P> <P>Figure 6 shows the perfect low power 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 b