In college, I squatted 650. So did my lifting partner. We were ecstatic. We were monsters. We were huge.
We were CHEATING. We never progressed past 650 and we wondered why. Then I started reading some of the HIT forums and reading about squat form and realized I was doing something very wrong--my range of motion was probably 6-10 inches with those huge weights. I was just demonstrating how much weight I could stand under without crumbling. I backed WAY off on the weight and began full squats below parallel. That took me down to 155 before I could do it with good form! But it was the only way to get stronger for real.
I'll never forget a high school football coach yelling at one of the other linemen. "You don't stand chest to chest and try to throw him sideways! That kid benches 300 pounds! Get underneath him!" Of course, on the next play I got lower too and the result was the same. Lesson?
No, strength will not dominate someone with good knowledge and training and an understanding of how to overcome strength and strike its absence. But wouldn't you rather have both?
(PS--yes, I know, football is not combat. But the principles are similar.)
We were CHEATING. We never progressed past 650 and we wondered why. Then I started reading some of the HIT forums and reading about squat form and realized I was doing something very wrong--my range of motion was probably 6-10 inches with those huge weights. I was just demonstrating how much weight I could stand under without crumbling. I backed WAY off on the weight and began full squats below parallel. That took me down to 155 before I could do it with good form! But it was the only way to get stronger for real.
I'll never forget a high school football coach yelling at one of the other linemen. "You don't stand chest to chest and try to throw him sideways! That kid benches 300 pounds! Get underneath him!" Of course, on the next play I got lower too and the result was the same. Lesson?
No, strength will not dominate someone with good knowledge and training and an understanding of how to overcome strength and strike its absence. But wouldn't you rather have both?
(PS--yes, I know, football is not combat. But the principles are similar.)