treat light weights heavy and you'll treat heavy weights light

You're like the best kept secret of youtube.

Such a diplomat with that crossfit praise/callout haha

This is honestly one of the best weightlifting channels around. You've really inspired me to start seriously weightlifting, and all these technique videos have helped so much with identifying and fixing weak points in my lifts. Thanks so much for the awesome content, Zack! Keep up the amazing work!!!

I've been a strength coach for 8 ish years. I worked in a CrossFit Gym for a few of those. I believe in the full hand grip. The perspective you might be missing is that 90% of the clients in a CrossFit Gym are #1 over 35, and #2 only concerned about getting healthier and looking good. In the 45 minutes you have with them a day you try to focus on the things that will get the person healthier. For most people, preventing a heart attack or stroke is more important than lifting a lot of weight. Mobility work is definitely a priority and working toward a full hand grip is a long term goal. But most beginner clients can't even do a BAD front rack. So don't hate too much. Most of us are more concerned with what will help the 50-year-old stay healthy than what will make the 18-20 year old a better athlete.

Thank god my crossfit coach always says; FULL GRIP!!! But then again he learned from the best: D. Klokov!

I don't think CrossFit does enough research when it comes to proper technique, form, etc. The Level 1 seminar is a $1000 joke.

You’re one of the few people out there who actually knows their shit & corrects others without being a jerk about it. Much love for that!

man I never thought to use straps in the front squat to keep the f*****g pinky from leaving the bar. Actually genius.

My coach has started me on Olympic lifts 4 months ago I’m a 49 years arthritic male 94 kg He is a Crossfit coach but started in Olympic lifting your words ring so many of his changes to my form Great advice thanks and video too camera angles 👍🇦🇺

As a CrossFit coach and Strength and conditioning coach, I teach this exact thing, then again I was taught by Coach Mike Burgener himself. The open grip "opens" you up to problems later on, is what I coach to my athletes personally. Learn the best way from the start in my opinion.

I always said CrossFit is a great concept just executed poorly

This is where things get tricky with the semantics. Some of the best front squatters in the world open there hands when they squat (Clarence being one of them). However, MOST elite lifters keep their full grip throughout the clean and jerk. The issue with the crossfit version is that teaching the open grip leads to future issues in the clean and jerk. These issues you'd never find with someone elite who purposefully opens their grip in a front squat. Edit: their* thanks grammarians!

Such an underrated channel for the KZfaq weightlifting community. Keep up the good work Zack!

So informative! Thank you so much. I’m a college rower who struggles so much with front squat and will 100% be trying this out.

How these videos keep getting informative continues to amazes me. Good work.

Coming from a L2-Crossfit coach. This is really great advice and makes so much sense. Cheers!

WOW this went so much more in depth than I was expecting when I clicked the video. That was one of the most interesting things I've seen in awhile

I’m waiting for your channel to blow tf up man. You give the most specific, straightforward, BEST advice on weightlifting. And you engage with your following which is just so awesome and admirable. Your time is coming.

So in the CFL1 seminar I attended (Sep 2018) they definitely addressed this. It was framed up as "full grip is the proper way, but for beginner squatters that don't have requisite mobility we start with open fingers, and work on mobility to get them to a full grip....". Our coaching staff also preach the same, and just recently at a drop-in while out of town, I had a similar teaching during setup for FR box step-ups. So being that this video is a year old, and all of my recent examples are in line with your teachings, maybe this has been recognized and corrected by CF training. Great topic, thanks for doing what you do.

Went to his seminar in Dublin and loved it. Can't wait to pass on the knowledge that I've gained to my members. Thanks Zack. Looking forward to seeing you in our gym at some stage in the future.

A guy just snatched my deadlift. I will just keep browsing this damn youtube... p.s. Thanks for the great content, brother. Just recently discovered your channel. Very educating. Keep up the good work! 100k is coming.

Thanks for the info, I started crossfit this year and it has been absolutely awesome for my wife and I, we've lost a combined 75 lbs since we started. I'm now at the point to where I'm going heavier on my lifts, I recently hit new prs 405lb raw deadlift and 385 back squat. I've noticed that my clean and jerk is not increasing.

I love crossfit, and when it comes to queues, I always give priority to the sport specific coach. And all crossfiters (coaches and athletes) absolutely love to learn from them

Hi Zack , thanks for the video . I think that one thing is often overlooked when it comes to the front rack , that is the extensibility of the upper back muscles ( trapezius , rhomboids ..) . to get a good front rack you need to create a shelf for the bar , the shelf is created by protracting the shoulder blades so that the bar can rest on the clavicular bone and the anterior delts can secure the position by blocking the bar from sliding ( given that your neck is straight enough so that you can put the bar on the clavicular bone in the first place) . the roblem is when your upper back muscles are tight from having poor posture ( lordosis) or from just not using the full range of motion , you won't be able to attain shoulder protraction without compensation in the upper back ( rounding) , since rounding in the upper back ( followed by extension in the cervical spine) preserves the current length of the upper back muscles , and that's what gives the lordosis that you see in the crossfit video. i think adressing the thoracic spine without adressing the upperback muscle is pointless , since the shortened position of the muscles will just pull back the spine to that lordosis and hyper extension in the cervical spine . i think the lack of mobility in the uperback muscles also hinders the overhead press position since it blocks the scapula from moving properly and a lack of motor control in that area means less stability in the position ( especially in the internal rotation that is secured by these muscles ) . i would like to get your input on thins if possible . .

mindblowing video o_0 in a few minutes the guy just solved 5 problems with my training. Thats a coach of respect

that feel when female weightlifters lift more than male crossfitters

I feel the grip an athlete is able to achieve is very dependant on the length of the lower arm compared to the upper arm. I say this, and take myself as an example. If I take a full grip on the bar and attempt a front squat, the bar will have to be physically through the middle of my throat. This is not a flexibility issue for me. I've been doing olympic lifting for about 10 years. I can keep good T-spine extension through all squat movements. My lower arms are considerably longer than my upper arms. When lifting the bar into a front rack, I have to release the bar back towards the fingertips, otherwise the front squat is physically not possible. I've seen this issue with a few people.

Loving your videos Zack. I've been strength training for two years now, but recently on Saturdays I've been going into the gym and practicing the Oly lifts under light load (video analysis and all). Your videos are a huge help since I cannot afford coaching at this time. Once I can afford a good coach Ill probably switch over to Oly lifting full time but for now I can't thank you enough for the introduction to the sport.

Clarence Kennedy

Since yesterday I started to follow you. The title of the video took my attention because I do CrossFit but I really love weighlifting, thanks God I have an amazing trainer, she is always pushing me to be better at weighlifting correcting my postures and teaching me the correct techniques, I feel very proud of her. Thanks to this videos I hope to be better at what I love, thank you!! Greets from Mexico

Awesome cues on how to get a full grip on the bar! Thanks a lot.

I do crossfit and am lucky that one of our coaches is a seasoned weightlifting coach, but I will be using this routine in my free training, I keep losing my little fingers on the clean and it makes getting into the jerk a real bitch. Thanks again for a great video dude 👍

Zack, I appreciate the insight to the positioning and drills to correct/improve. Excellent, excellent detail. Thanks!

Holy shit, you have 14,000 subscribers? I’ve been watching these videos for the past few days thinking you’re at 100,000+. This has been a surprise. But great content, definitely one of the under appreciated KZfaq channels.

Just an anecdote: i legitimately didn't have the mobility in the shoulder for this. All i did was do weighted stretches and made this my bottom position for my shoulder pressing which apparently I'm really good at. 3 months later I'm resting it on my delts with mobility to spare. All you gotta do is practice the position. Front squats are the same way. Just practice. You don't need extreme body alterations to gain mobility, it's already there in you. I need work on my hips. The little i did made HUGE progress. Great videos Zach, attempting any of this was impossible for me and now i can at least start and do the positions. The speed at which I'm adapting is insane, though I'm not actually getting stronger yet. It feels more like I'm tapping into something that was already there.

Everytime it zooms in I get ready for a memey joke, but all I get is well articulated weightlifting advice. What the hell is this, a serious educational video?!

Dude! Thanks so much for this vid!! It absolutely adressed a critical matter that i personally struggled with in crossfit for some time!

Klokov was clear! In Russia opening hands is biggest mistake!

I significantly enjoy your videos even if i'm not into weightlifting (rather than in calisthenics). You offer highly informative and quality videos. Keep it up!

subscribed to your channel from this one video. This was very helpful and great explanation. Can't wait to see the rest of your channel

Excellent video Zack. This is why I teach the positions before the lifts. Many people (mostly coming from CrossFit) have poor posture and have been trying for months/years to gain strength without addressing this number 1 issue. They start gaining strength like crazy once they work on their mobility / posture. Great weightlifters and weightlifters that have been training since their childhood don't have this kind of problem.

So brilliant. I love this guy’s ability to articulate this stuff!

Looks like im starting from scratch again. LIVE FOR THE GRIND!! thanks Zack Telander.

Dude, thank you so much for running that point of where I struggle into my front squat. Awesome pointers.

I tried doing the strap in front squats and overhead pressing and it has helped a lot. Shoulders are moving a lot better and back squat shoulder position has become a lot more efficient and comfortable as well. Still working on the sotts press and cheeky ohs but

Thanks for this content Zack, it's gold. Bring your seminars to Toronto, Canada.

A bunch of good stuff here. Basic concept, don't start off by learning a bad habit that you WILL have to un-learn later. Start with the correct form from the beginning (especially) when it's harder to do.

I take all your tips back with me to my box here in Florida! Love having this base knowledge from your videos.

Great video. Full disclosure, I was introduced to the barbell movements via CrossFit and have my Level 1. You rightly point out the one of the great things CrossFit has done has brought weightlifting and compound barbell movements more into the fitness 'mainstream', which is a good thing. Now, regarding the point of the video, I would argue that the clip you showed of the training seminar may not do the coaching methodology justice. Every CF coach I've been exposed to has mentioned that a fingertip hold on the barbell in the front rack is a less than ideal position and should ultimately be progressed as shoulder mobility (and mobility overall) improves. Many people come to CF (as I did) with internally rotated shoulders and a tight upper back....this is epidemic in our society. It took about 2 years and I'm now able to front squat with a full-hand grip...as you might expect, loading and overall proficiency in the lifts has improved. I see this same evolution in the athletes I see in the gym everyday. Fingertip hold, while not ideal, is a starting point. I see the same issue with squatting to below parallel. Lots of athletes start without the ability to squat to depth, but as they work at it, technique and movement patterns improve. Just my 2 cents. Love your channel and I find the information every helpful!!

That was very clear from the beginning, never thought about it. I am a Crossfitter and trying to improve all the time. Thanks

Thank you for elucidating an important point. Weightlifting 🏋🏾‍♂️ and biomechanics in general do have a _right_ answer. Keep fighting the good fight.

CrossFit L2 Trainer here: The reason I tell athletes that they can use "fingertips hold" on the front rack position is that they don't have yet the mobility to keep the elbows up while front squatting. I have never heard of a coach/trainer in CrossFit saying that a loose grip is better than a full one (I'm sure there are some but I'm hoping they're very few). So, we encourage our athletes to work that elbow mobility to be able to hold the bar properly, but mobility training is not so sexy, so it can be hard to make a 40-year-old recreational athlete that just pops up for a sweat to spend some time working on it. We use the fingertips hold because it's better to squat like that than not squatting at all (we don't use the cross arms hold because it doesn't have a transfer to other movements like the clean).

As a teacher of Weightlifting I do not respect Crossfit. Way to many fly by night "certed" trainers blowing out waaaaay to many innocent peoples shoulders.

OMFG. Me so much at 4:50. Great content, Zach. Just started taking weightlifting seriously after being a Crossfitter for several years.

I'm a CrossFit coach, and I always have my athlete grip the bar with a full hand. Fingertips are only allowed when doing front squats from the rack and mobility makes it difficult to fully grip the bar, it is part of the progression. As for the thoracic spine, a neutral spine should be maintained, whether at the top or a the bottom of the squat, the aim should be to keep good form. The level 1 certification course is meant for new entrants, and should be seen as a primer, but each graduate should make an effort to develop & extend his/her skill set.

Greta video. I work at a gym (hired recently, 21 yr old) with 30 percent CrossFit, 30 percent calisthenics/military work, the. The rest is more bootcamp/acro stuff. Love videos like this because I want well rounded knowledge. Being someone that considers them self athletic, I’ve always been about mobility, functionality, and technique. I played many sports growing up and was fortunately taught lifting for the purpose of translating to my sports (football and shotput/discus college level). Learning now more about the lifting world ie Crossfit stuff, strongman, Olympic lifting, and power lifting. I enjoy channels like yours that respect different methodologies and the science/purpose behind them and help pass knowledge to others. Earned my subscribe and I hope to learn more.

Catching up on your past videos, this will now be my warmup before front squats.

I really hate when a coach demands you to do something, instead of figuring out why you aren't capable of doing it. This not only applies to weight lifting, but to sports in general, in my case, throwing events in track and field, there's a lot of technique problems that new athletes have, that just simply asking them to do what you say, isn't going to make them do it all of the sudden. That's where you separate the good coaches, from the D-bags that just order you to do stuff

I see Clarence I click like

I practice and love to train CrossFit style. This video is a an excellent source of weightlifting knowledge and I have personally learned from it. Happy to say my rack positioning is a lot better than the one shown but now I know how I can improve it even more! Thank you for the tips!

Just started watching. I feel like you were spot on with the crossfit. Alot of people join for several reasons with minimal knowledge and just take the advice from all the different coaches and their habits. I really liked the improvement video at the end

It’s so weird, I literally just finally realised this myself in the gym today, keeping my whole hand on the bar and my front squat immediately got stronger and felt smoother. Then all of a sudden I get recommended this vid!

Alright, you've convinced me. I'm going to try to keep my hands on that darn bar. I've got great hip/knee/ankle mobility. My thoracic mobility is . . . tolerable. I *feel* like my elbows are going to pop when I keep my hands on there, but I will PERSEVERE!!! I can clean/jerk 1.5x my body weight (45 years old), but that hand-on-the-bar thing . . . ! So hard. I'll try!

This is a great video! I've been lifting for years and had given up getting my full hand on the bar a long time ago. It's great when I can find a video that teaches me something that potentially solves an old problem for me (time will tell).

Oooh, I think you've answered my question of why I can squat so much more by grasping the uprights on the Power rack than I can by free standing - weakness in my back. I balance a Safety Squat bar on my shoulders which leaves my hands free to grasp the power rack uprights. Then I can freely go up and down in the squat and work my legs. But, I see where that leaves out half my body (my back muscles) and isolates to mainly my thighs just like on a leg press machine. I can see that I've got some remedial work to do to balance out my muscles. THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT TIP ZACK.

Great advice and very imformative,,, perfect form before function will make you stronger in the long run!!!

I tried this drill this afternoon, and it worked. Thank you coach..my front rack is getting better.

Amazing video! I've got some major hip dysfunction and very limited ankle dorsiflexion and I'd really like a one stop shop on how to fix it. So I'm voting for you to make a squat video.

This is a GREAT explanation for why the Crossfit way of doing things is wrong, besides just showing tons of videos of 150 - 300 pound barbells rolling off the balls of a crossfitter's fingertip.

I tried these drills tonight and honestly it was super hard. I thought i had great t-ext but i could only hit the rack maybe 1 in 4 and only hit the front squat once without losing my extension. Great drills ill keep at it thanks for the great content zack. Ps first saw you on alans channel.

This was an excellent description of mobility requirements for novice olympic lifters that is understandable by novice lifters. thank you!

So glad I waited to try these by myself without any direction whatsoever.

I remember that when I learnt the basics of weightlifting, was all about stretching and mobility. Besides, weightlifters have the best posture.

I liked the exercises in the end. I'm a crossfiter but I do weightlifting with pro weightlifter, so I get all this cues.

I'm glad I find your video, this is exactly what I think, the most important is the form of the movement and the technique (and not how many reps you can do in X time)

through my experiences just with trial and error, I have found that performing front squats from a rack is more comfortable with the elbows right up and the bar in my fingers. ANY other movement however, such as a power clean or push press I use the full grip. This includes a power clean into a front squat. I find that the finger grip thing is absolutely useless if your goal is to put heavy weights overhead. Sure you can rest a heavy bar there all day but if you want to move it upward it's just so much more complicated and difficult a movement to push press that off your chest, as opposed to Klokov's style of grip where your forearm muscles and delts are loaded the entire time With any lift, if you lack the mobility to do this, you need to work on that first before you start popping the plates on.

Great video. So glad I found your channel, so informative! Thank you!

I just hurt my forearm rolling the bar on my finger, i will try ur technique. Thank you

As a Crossfiter this is super eye opening and cool to think about! You don’t know what you don’t know right! A huge problem for me is collapsing forward. Time to work on that thoracic and hip mobility

Holy shit, i just saw you put on a show at the TSS chop 2 meet. And (if i remember correctly and you attend A&M) then you and your AM homies crushed us as the meet before that. Thanks for putting out some good educational stuff, helps for personal use and as a newer coach

I have recent;y been having problems with my front rack position. This video came out at perfect. Gods plan.

Great video. I have this exact problem and the excercises you showed will be of much needed help, thank you sir

Hello man, thanks to you, I realized that I have to improve my push press and my squats, I do crossfit and every day I try to improve. greetings from Argentina

You deserve no less than 3m subscribers. I appreciate you, sir

I appreciate the information you provide in your videos.

This was great advise, my friend! Thank you!

u nail it with this one,i found out my hips were preventing me for snatch and u just confirmed it cheers bruh

Wow as a crossfittee who is entering oly more seriously ive watched my videos with cleans and really seen how the elbows up is not as helpful as spine position. Amazing video, Zack!

I think I just found my new favourite KZfaq channel

I thought I know/have good front rack position, but I always learn something new from your videos, great work on approach and knowledge for weightlifting, cant wait for next video!!! (and I hope for some nice footage with Clarence)

I love you too 💚 thank you so much for sharing all that knowledge, means a lot! Regards from Spain Zack 💪🏽✨

Please do a video on fixing the squat. Would love to hear your break down🙌🙌

Great information! Thanks!

AWESOME video buddy; really clear and useful explanations. Can't wait to try it!! I love crossfit but you are absolutely right bro. Thanks for sharing!!! (By the way, thanks for using Lydia's images for your explanations, in Spain we are very proud of her!!)

This is such a useful video for beginners, really good to get off on the right start and this video is terrific. Thank you very much good sir

that chest out extended thoracic spine spoke to me on a deeper level

This is literally the exact video is needed... Starting those drills tomorrow!

thanks Bro...i am a new crossfitter and i was struggling just yesterday on power cleans and front squat....from the gym we mostly did that crosshand grip so everything felt foreign ..your video makes so much sense imma try it out later

Thanks for the advice, my gym doesn't have coaches and recently started to work out again since last year. I wanted to start doing the front squat as I also want to learn the clean and power clean so I started trying the front squat with light weight. I can grab the bar with full hand and do some squats but if I load it with weight I had to let go of the pinky finger. Since I've seen nobody doing front squats at my gym I didn't know who to ask but guess I'll work on my mobility, think it shouldn't take too long since it feels I only need to get used to the weight. Anyway nice video 👍