Great improvement Rob - there is definitely signs of hip drive there but continued practice will yield even more.  I’m a bit jammed at the moment but will follow up with some further cues and if I can, my own version of the vid GD made that was linked in my thread but has since gone offline.  Has a good drill or two that really helped me.  I would also re-read the squat section of SS particularly the set up and stance.  Think that would be very beneficial.

Cheers, kempie

robnobby - 20 August 2011 09:26 PM

Homemade concrete kettlebell but its too light - I’ve just bought some piping for $20 to make a T-handle that I can load up with plates.

Off topic but I’ve made one of these myself.  Word of advice: if you can weld, the 4” handles to the T-connector.  If you don’t, the one on the right has a tendency to unscrew as you swing (due to the direction of the threads).  Also find an iron collar to hold the weights at the bottom of the neck otherwise they come sliding down at the top of the swing.

Ok, back to the regularly scheduled thread…

LSM - 15 October 2011 05:51 AM

robnobby - 20 August 2011 09:26 PM

Homemade concrete kettlebell but its too light - I’ve just bought some piping for $20 to make a T-handle that I can load up with plates.

Off topic but I’ve made one of these myself.  Word of advice: if you can weld, the 4” handles to the T-connector.  If you don’t, the one on the right has a tendency to unscrew as you swing (due to the direction of the threads).  Also find an iron collar to hold the weights at the bottom of the neck otherwise they come sliding down at the top of the swing.

Ok, back to the regularly scheduled thread…

I’ve used it a couple of times and just make sure the handle is screwed up each round. I tried using hose clamps top and bottom but they still seem to work loose and the weights start clanking about. Its easy to pick up cheap standard size weight plates in small sizes so I’m thinking maybe get some to make up to 1 pood and get my brother in law to weld them on. I also found I can’t go as near vertical above my head with the t-bar cos it flips over more easily than a KB and that really stuffs up your rhythm. My concrete KB handle is made from PVC pipe and is thicker and its a lot easier to control the weight - if I could work out how to fit this to some weight plates I’d be set.

From http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html#Power, Rip’s hip drive video.
Hip Drive, Mark Rippetoe [wmv][mov] » May 23 08

It wasn’t listed on the mainsite exercises and demos page for a long time until someone on the forum here spotted it. Score one for the BX forum.

Rip has a SS DVD too, but that clip shows hip drive better than the DVD does.

The guy in this video is getting into the problem GD talks about that people learning by Rips method tend to, he’s concentrating so hard on his hips that he’s folding forward as he drives up. The hip drive element is important, and still you have to keep your back angle the same.

Your squat shows what you already know, that your hamstrings aren’t engaged, especially as you pass parallel. About there or a little above you lose your hamstrings, your knees come forward and you drop straight down. It’s where your butt winks too so that’s a useful queue.
Some things you can try:
Hamstring length. MWOD stuff for hamstring length and external hip rotation.
If you can’t get the connection with your hamstrings, try squatting in well fitting jeans, or cycling/compression shorts or tight fitting stretchy boxers (not the loose fitting sort is what I mean). Something that will give you feedback that you’ve stopped pushing your butt back. I don’t mean workout in jeans all the time, I mean use them some of the time to learn what a good squat feels like.
Try box squats. Start high and with a light bar learn to squat with your shins at least vertical and then actually leaning back at least a little. The skills, flexibility and connection you’ll establish with your hamstrings will be unmatched.
Practise. Practise squats a lot. Lots of air squats, going for that same shins behind vertical position. It will seem impossible for a long time, like some sort of contortionists feat, but it is possible.

Have you ever seen a toddler sit on the ground? If you have you’ll have watched an almost perfect squat descent. They plop down by sending their hips back with their knees almost straight and chest up. They’re aided by their proportions and the fact they’re not trying to get back up again the same way, but that’s what you’re after. Don’t “plop”, control it, but if you could squat to below parallel and get back up again that way you would have to be powering it with your hamstrings. If you haven’t seen a kid do this, ignore that bit as it won’t make sense. Kelly Starret used the illustration in his presentation to Google staff and it hadn’t occurred to me before then, but he’s completely right.

robnobby - 15 October 2011 11:56 AM

LSM - 15 October 2011 05:51 AM

robnobby - 20 August 2011 09:26 PM

Homemade concrete kettlebell but its too light - I’ve just bought some piping for $20 to make a T-handle that I can load up with plates.

Off topic but I’ve made one of these myself.  Word of advice: if you can weld, the 4” handles to the T-connector.  If you don’t, the one on the right has a tendency to unscrew as you swing (due to the direction of the threads).  Also find an iron collar to hold the weights at the bottom of the neck otherwise they come sliding down at the top of the swing.

Ok, back to the regularly scheduled thread…

I’ve used it a couple of times and just make sure the handle is screwed up each round. I tried using hose clamps top and bottom but they still seem to work loose and the weights start clanking about. Its easy to pick up cheap standard size weight plates in small sizes so I’m thinking maybe get some to make up to 1 pood and get my brother in law to weld them on. I also found I can’t go as near vertical above my head with the t-bar cos it flips over more easily than a KB and that really stuffs up your rhythm. My concrete KB handle is made from PVC pipe and is thicker and its a lot easier to control the weight - if I could work out how to fit this to some weight plates I’d be set.

I found the flipping over thing to be an issue too so I don’t go completely to vertical with mine. I was lucky and several of my standard bar plates are are tight on the pipe and the pipe seems to be a little off round. If I put one of the tight fitting plates on the top of the stack and then twist it, the whole stack stays together. Very handy.
I’ve also found that the unwinding thing doesn’t happens so much after a while. It did when I first started using it, I had to tighten it up at the start of each round. It took all of 2 seconds, so no big deal. Now though it stays in place throughout an entire workout.
Starting to crank the weight up a bit too. I seem to have the technique back again and I’m going to try working it up to 30kg from the 22kg I currently use on it over a few months. Trying not to rush it this time. It’s proved one of my most useful tools to teach my right shoulder to stay back and tight so it’s been a big part of rehabbing the darn thing. I’m intrigued to see how that translates to using a standard KB. I may have to head to a gym that has one and see how they feel after using the T-Handle. In the past I’ve found KBs to be much easier to use than a dumbbell of the same weight and I’m curious whether the T-Handle has the same transfer.

Thanks Metric - checked out the Rip video. I think I got the theory.  I’ll see what Kempie says as well but it looks like I should initially be doing some skill work focussing on squatting without the knees coming forward until it becomes habit. May be also widen the stance a bit to help keep the shins more vertical.  I dont think of my hammys as being particularly short but I do have trouble sitting in a good squat for several minutes - prob a hip mobility issue.