28-Days-to-Lean Meal Plan
With the right plan and the right discipline, you can get seriously shredded in just 28 days.
Read articleA front rack position—in which you rest a bar on your fingertips with your elbows pointed forward— is necessary for moves like hang cleans and front squats. It also reinforces proper posture, since you’re forced to stay upright, says Tim Robinson, C.S.C.S., head strength coach at Illinois College. Most lack the wrist and shoulder mobility to properly pull it off, though, which leads to lackluster form. Below, we fix your front rack.
The mere thought of having your elbows up and extending your wrists back leaves you anxious and dreading the pain associated with it, leading you to say, “Screw front squats, I’ll just hop on the leg press instead.” That’s an issue, since front squats are generally safer compared with the spine-compressing, back-loaded version.
Simply put: You lack the shoulder and wrist mobility and make no effort to fix it. As a result, you skip over all front-rack-related moves, and your body never gets used to the position. (And inactivity is never the answer.)
Ease into the position by slowly practicing it—rush into it and your body won’t allow it. Then nail the proper shoulder and wrist positioning with the stretches at right. Soon you’ll have a picture-perfect front rack position.
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