Strength vs Technique , separately or concurrently

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hey BBM,

I recently hit a new PR on Squats . Did a side and front view (poor quality)

It was a high effort lift , but my knees drifted back heavily and my back had some extension, not sure if it’s hyperextended. I wanted to know if I should focus solely on technique and not increase the weight until the knee drift is better. Vice versa, would it be better to focus on both strength and technique simultaneously?

My first meet was back in March this year and I squatted 150KG for my third attempt . I’ve added 17.5KG since then with a little more in the tank, so I’m happy with the strength progression but I don’t want to overcompensate technique for it.

My plans for my next block would be to use low RPE percentage backoffs after a heavy single (1@7-1@8) for competition squat and the squat supplemental (pin squats) alongside some dedicated quad work. Would this be a good bet for technical and strength progression simultaneously?

Thank you

2

Hey Jacky,

Congrats on your PR :slight_smile: I don’t see anything really wrong with this except it was a little high. I think that probably led more to your hips and knees looking how they do in this particular movement.

I don’t know how it’s possible to focus solely on technique, as working with very light weights probably doesn’t work well for improving technique during heavier lifts you care about until they get closer to the productive intensity range for this application. I’d rather see someone trying to improve their movement quality each time they train, with most of the work being done in the 60-80% range.

That all being said, I really would caution folks against getting too concerned with their technique. Yes, we’d like to improve efficiency over time, but we don’t want to paralyze ourselves with the process by building harmful narratives and being hyper vigilant to stuff that doesn’t matter.

-Jordan