Starting Strength

the forearms. The elbows should be cranked up to trap the bar between the hands and the back. If a lack of flexibility in the chest and shoulders prevents your achieving this position, use the high-bar position until proper stretching can make you flexible enough to get the bar down to a better position. If you’re flexible enough now, take a grip wide enough to permit straight wrists under the bar, and then with each set, narrow your grip a little until it is tight and secure. Mark this position as the grip you will use.

    Figure 2-18. Wrist alignment on the bar. The correct grip keeps the hand above the bar and keeps all of the weight of the bar on the back. An incorrect grip intercepts some of the weight, loading the wrists and elbows. Note that the thumb is on top of the bar and the hand is between the outer ring and the inner edge of the knurling.

    With your grip in place, and your hands and thumbs on top of the bar, dip your head under the bar, and come up into position with the bar on your back. Place the bar in the correct position , just immediately under the bone you feel at the top of the shoulder blades – the spine of the scapula – and then secure it in place by lifting your elbows and chest at the same time ( Figure 2-20 ). It should feel as though the bar is resting on a “shelf” under the traps and on top of the posterior deltoids. This action tightens the muscles of your back and lifts your chest, placing the thoracic spine in an extended, straight position and thereby fixing many of the problems encountered with a round-back position. Enormous weights can be safely handled this way later. Most people starting with this method will place the bar too high on the back , perhaps just above the scapular spine instead of just below it. Check to make sure the bar is in the right position.

     
    Figure 2-19. Position of the barbell relative to the scapular anatomy. The bar is just under the spine of the scapula.

    First and foremost, ALWAYS STEP BACK OUT OF THE RACK. ALWAYS. NEVER PUT THE BAR BACK IN THE RACK BY STEPPING BACKWARDS. NEVER. This cannot be done safely. You should never be in a position to have to step backwards and rack a weight at the end of a set. You cannot see the hooks, and even if you have spotters, there will eventually be a wreck. If you do this, or permit it to be done by someone you’re training, you are a fool.
    Take the bar out of the rack in the same position in which it is to be squatted, with the torso and shoulders tight, the chest and elbows up, the head position down, and both feet under the bar. Everything should be the same as it is for the full squat, so take the bar off of the hooks by extending the knees and hips, just as in the top of a squat. In this way, any weight can be taken safely out of the rack. Many problems are caused by doing this improperly. It is very common to take the bar out of the rack with a loose back and chest, and then attempt to tighten everything just before squatting. It is obviously much more effective to tighten the muscles and then take the weight onto tight muscles than it is to take the weight, let it mash down into your back through loose muscles until it stops on some crucial skeletal component, and then try to tighten everything up underneath it.
     

    Figure 2-20. Simultaneous lifting of the elbows and the chest “trap” the bar between the hands and the back, creating a stable back and chest position and a tight bar placement on top of the posterior delts.

Likewise, taking the bar out with one foot back and only one foot under the bar, like a lunge, is a bad habit, one that everybody gets away with when the weight is light but that can cause back problems from the unevenly stressed hips when the weight gets heavier. Unrack the bar exactly like it is in a squat, even when it is light, and you’ll have no problems later when it is heavy.

    Figure 2-21. The proper position in which to receive the bar from the rack.

    Once the bar leaves the rack, don’t take a hike with it, backing up three or four steps before setting up to squat. This is unnecessary, and it could become a problem if the set is heavy, the spotters are unreliable, or the trip back to the rack is just too far on this particular day. One step back out of the rack with good form is enough to clear the rack and allow the spotters to do their job while minimizing the trouble of getting the bar back home.
    The stance should be the same as the one used during the