JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================f" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?(\f(Q@ih+Q J( E%U; o$0rw8Uti5݆hIғQi7KIN 撁L(#XqM知hC*5;aMN{I`IN=3Pi8dY9A5kYCSޠ%BV2A9i\}' bKRI$ c NZzBS8Poacy20,G zO?Z'`IW d-44%E>+i= 9?0<k78ΡdX,}80+ڭ f$gt@q>kOaqpJGSڒ [BxjZ#sԏzέEc˨R4?IܛԖ8D`yyRJ؃vqC>hO!H'?\5km'$`b@9UkB J,PF fqWG%Uro՚4Z]aBdP3PhEǬ \@Eq/t56s7@I5_ "#׭\ds mMƪ{Ok$‘^ҴK}c1Dm唁ʐ7`T7aml=+ _B*KxRRQۊ5-s&QhVI K\047SԙCrAmk ̷`bw`uӮ2j6ehR.Hi33@#־p]\&$ # JLMu$;|ۉ9h5NkZر4Xs qX7R.Va2BAXd1QgͳدR kEks]5nh\qd{ҙ<^Vc̊C $x@?_j񦟥[%Df!U8@qؼV1 ein^Dwda߾/[ KHm~~FB$eozxJUepKuk&V/店U; B{=t=Zub <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 sh