Hey, Girl!
If you wanna become the powerhouse lifter you were born to be, you’ll need to learn how to properly engage the muscles of your body.
Let me pass on to you the incredible power of “The Locked Position.” I learned this from Tim Ferris’ book, The Four Hour Body.
First, it protects your shoulders while lifting heavy.
Second, it allows you to increase your bench press immediately and safely by 5-10%.
It does this by forcing your lats (back), glutes (butt) and core to engage together. It gives you more power as a result of the fact that all of the major muscles in your body are working in symphony with each other.
In addition to better bench presses, this translates into more pull-ups and pushups, more weight on overhead presses and deadlifts, and more!
OK, so, how do you actually apply this?
In the video below, I use my friend Billy to show you the difference between a “locked” body and an “unlocked” one.
Here’s what happens in the video:
I stand above Billy and pull his arm upwards.
The first two times I tug on his arm, his whole body rolls with him.
This shows that he is not “locked.”
Then, we pause while I provide him with instructions to “lock”:
1. He gently but firmly squeezes his butt cheeks.
2. He pulls his shoulder blades down and back, and subsequently pulls them down towards his hips by 1-2 inches.
3. He keeps a slight arch in his back. If he were to extend his arms in front of him while lying down, his elbows would be closer to nipple height than collarbone height.
The result is that, subsequently, his entire body comes off the ground when I pull him up. (While it’s helpful to have someone with you to help you test your locked position, as I did with Billy, it’s not necessary! This video is just for demonstration. You can totally apply the position simply by following the above 3 steps!)
You can and should recreate the locked position for pull-ups, TRX rows, bench presses, overhead presses, and more. You can also apply it to deadlifts, simply allowing yourself to bend at the hips to pick up your weight, but maintaining the same kind of engagement in your back and core.
Does this make sense? If not, write me back and ask for help!
Sincerely,
Branden
