JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?ݝJT[ XaU-ot8;c62cUʖ$g#YPٔ 4ܟS٧͗/5ZbѴr͓oS\=Ń8}hi #7Qt& VpEedvYF9}EQ%tB8q;ɹZzVlmNMX/$sڽ/U&(ƥVo׎.s i!,2J[in tb֧j"RZOcՊIu+&Qmǹ]6<.|ђz.ѷyeڧҫ; ETQc[6X,Clr9q Z+yX<6rZRq';za&M7,fq~4 '(zǢ Lb;cé5gG<%٘J 8P;k$p1 o >&=Z9Ԫē{_VI!q\Z]Ig9Yx wMxo]K<1sƺ=]k:.7 9$?xus'-.Nm Uwz9fKlciX.OAs \]s|ǩ'փL`Qy2 &,h=@cVb+1⛖(ϑ0DN9_3oJ8E H3Ҋ3ފAc{" 걽Ae8S֭u5(yE,e˅ŰYEǸaֳ}ޏqSVǓH/]l'o$b!aǩUUE0| j}=Pā֐S>GcĶnt[7?u>ϓfQg?)Ilu5cƧ}a,52+#€2s)Pe%He!}\[8[<"SqJb' $rgp8\ gtjL#&X-1 B0A?-ܒrkjЎf.H/&<;uJiOUlj:d h[҈<-yAJŶ}̆eFc\VJyrw*!-[rpڤOfP*{8&*'W3ݙivgQ7^Z~hcI#%MlYYT es%F!TvtotP? C?:<~c\?J` I?!f90=x 6zS ztB'NIErvJ~4ǼL⚪X)-v*ށN֥Ps2~SJv҃q44l0QGT2u`=iO$׭+>΃vp>T0n 2NLv(zf4s3F[Ō 9-\bP;[FV1 ASm-/Q))9h2=HX$N 94yqH<|zP98h&ʺZ-68|fl9V?:Be`qV+;iu ;QH\9 =G-Ix H (XɧvVd3pr>+c#9if0vgjL˞3Ry>@cئŨ@I#sE 1'Б$H9Lךgr/M=V23UttaO8R֒%oL2\ےzCM8#DCy O]qDtH*lp_,F9o4N:5{5/(e#j/}@ٖ0ऄ}`*DcCiw%ͺI$LFp Xے++; Kd58~[AqS$xRؒ#H;L=*,LH٨6Z qޚkXeOsK[p=sRagniLTA1NW*@p{bJ[IvngPsNҤ}{,,zc\X~GTd}*FPtSTg@SJ~EsZG pђY`,11=)WMI$hlpK{QO~Ҋ|¹\HD zVq\0gG,B¯ Q4Ɂ:u4v-^`NG6w"LÂ?Q]JuR),pns(prZf=- v*S]JtNLJ8'wzYJrm+ D$x]H >ښ9U,NK()gY3JrT N8N ~sBӞd1JO34봌ʿ5'GQ> {P|g =i$Hр9}(q9#R2IǵD`psi ѵG)ܫ0x@ؑvrGiHNIOzp,03~iƤ z{S P>ɎzSX{GZSppA'84'g\g5<BR@SL G2 t`J]G}yIs1p;ri5/rGjI‘9t50w` F;GSܔ󎫏Ɣ{`}iO#Hxg'pHH¢F7`iW&A}:S@94z @619S af!sJ]\qOf+1bA.7I\zQSʋ哎U the lower back is not locked-in; and third, the upper body has too much forward lean.</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.&n