***Every first Saturday of the month, Saturday Steel delivers helpful takeaways on strength, mobility, nutrition topics, and the most effective coaching techniques. (Did some amazing friend forward this to you? ***Subscribe here.***)

Welcome to this month's "Saturday Steel" - where we focus on forging ourselves into better versions, much like the process of forging steel. As we delve into May, let's explore some tips on a Barbell movement - the Zercher Squat - as well as a nutrition habit we’re focusing on this month “Eat Slowly & Mindfully”.

💪 Explore The Zercher Squat

ZERCHER SQUAT

The Zercher squat, a unique exercise that involves cradling the barbell in the bends of your elbows, offers several distinct advantages over traditional back and front squats. It's more straightforward to master proper form with the Zercher squat, allowing full hip extension at the movement's peak. This exercise intensely targets the abs - and who doesn’t want stronger abs? The Zercher squat offers the benefit for improving your deadlift and back squat performance out of the various squat techniques. Importantly, it's gentle on the wrists, elbows, and shoulders, requiring less upper body flexibility than other squat types. Moreover, the lower center of gravity in the Zercher squat enhances stability, making it a safe option for maintaining form under heavier loads without the need for spotters.

How to Improve Your Technique:

Method

Preparation: Wear long sleeves. Unrack a barbell by positioning it in the crooks of your elbows.
Walk-Out: Carefully walk the barbell out from the rack to your starting position.
Positioning: Set your stance appropriately to ensure stability and balance.
Execution: Perform a squat, descending below parallel. Complete one to five repetitions.
Completion: Walk the barbell back to the rack and securely re-rack it.

Standards

Barbell Position: Hold the barbell in the crooks of your elbows throughout the lift. Your hands can either be supinated and apart with fingers flexed, or with one hand placed inside the other, both supinated.
Posture: Start and finish the lift standing erect with hips fully extended and knees locked.
Spinal Alignment: Maintain a neutral spine during the lift. A slight extension in the neck is permissible.
Knee Alignment: Ensure that your knees track over your toes throughout the motion.
Bar Movement: The bar should continuously move upwards during the ascent without any downward motion.
Synchronized Movement: The hips and shoulders should rise at the same rate.
Foot Stability: Keep your feet motionless, with both heels and toes firmly planted during the descent, ascent, and at the final lockout. Adjustments in foot positioning are allowed when setting up for subsequent repetitions.

🤷WHY Squat?

Cultivating proficiency in bodyweight squats is invaluable, as it enhances the foundation for most movement-based goals. Given our bipedal nature, strengthening our legs is crucial for overall fitness. Progressing towards weighted squats safely enhances this benefit even further. Executing squats with good technique and weights tailored to your strength level refines muscle tone in the legs and core. It also fortifies tendons and bones, contributing to healthier hips, knees, and ankles. If you are looking for a barbell variation of the squat, try the Zercher squat!

Who is the Zercher good for?

For ➡️ Anyone wanting to get stronger

For ➡️ Individuals looking for specialized variety
For ➡️ Individuals wanting to improve their Deadlift or Back Squat
For ➡️ grapplers

No rack, no promblem!

Which Squat Variation should I be using?

Check out Pavel Tsatsouline’s article The Best Squat Exercise to learn more about when to use each squat variation for different strength goals and training situations! Read the article to see how the squat variations below differ in training attributes:

Pistol with added weight
Lunges, split squats, and company
Barbell back squat
Barbell front squat
Double kettlebell front squat
Zercher squat

Learn How To Zercher Squat

J O I N U S for our upcoming Mini Workshop: Hard Style Abs and the Zercher Squat as we teach & guide you in honing your technique and connection with these powerful strength skills. All levels welcome!

Date: May 18th
Time: 10 am-12 pm
Location: HomeGrown AthletX (HGX)
551 Taylor Way Units 3-6, San Carlos
Register using the button below⬇️

Register Here* Mini Workshop (Hard Style Abs and the Zercher Squat)

🍽️⏲️ Nutrition Habit: Eating Slowly & Mindfully

“The benefits of slow eating include better digestion, better hydration, easier weight loss or maintenance, and greater satisfaction with our meals. Meanwhile, eating quickly leads to poor digestion, increased weight gain, and lower satisfaction. The message is clear: Slow down your eating and enjoy improved health and well-being.”

All About Slow Eating by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

Unlock the Surprising Power of Eating Slowly

In our fast-paced world, meals often resemble pit stops rather than experiences to be savored. But what if slowing down could unlock a path to better health and deeper enjoyment of our food? Eating slowly and mindfully is a simple yet profoundly effective practice that can transform how we eat and feel, leading to improved digestion, enhanced satisfaction with meals, and better control over portion sizes.

What Does Mindful Eating Really Mean?

Mindful eating is not just about refueling the body, it's about engaging fully with the eating experience—savoring the taste, texture, and aroma of our food, and tuning into our body's hunger and fullness cues. It's about slowing down, chewing thoroughly, and decreasing distractions. This practice not only enhances the joy of eating but also supports our digestive system's function, allowing for better nutrient absorption and reduced gastrointestinal discomfort. Having vitality, feeling good and maintaining a healthy body composition isn’t just about WHAT we eat, but HOW we eat it. Eating quickly can lead to tuning out our bodies needs while eating slowly helps us become experts at reading (and fueling) our bodies better.

Why Eating Slowly Works Wonders

We get it. When we first talk about eating slowly with students we get a some healthy sceptisism but the benefits of this practice are backed by science! Eating slowly helps us recognize our body's level of hunger as well as “full” signals, preventing overeating and supporting weight management. If eating quickly is a tried and true method for athletes looking to put on weight (read eat a caloric surplus), then eating slowly is an invaluable tool for someone looking to lose or maintain their weight. Eating quickly can also lead to food not being broken down as well, making it harder for our intestines to do their job and making the nutrients in the food less accessible for the body to absorb. Furthermore, it’s been found that eating quickly even leaves the eater less satisfied afterwards and more likely to eat again sooner, leading to more daily intake overall. Read more about the science behind eating slowly from a Precision Nutrition article, "All about eating slowly."

Implementing Mindful Eating in Your Daily Routine

How do I slow down if I’m used to eating fast? Here are some places to start:

Create a conducive eating environment—reduce distractions by turning off the TV and putting away your phone. Sometimes Coach Mel enjoys stepping out into the garden while eating or snacking.
Use smaller plates and utensils to help control portions and encourage smaller bites. Try eating with your non-dominant hand or setting down your utensils between bites.
Reflect on each bite, savoring the flavors and textures.
ENJOY the process. Food and cooking has played a key roll in human connection and evolution - actively engage in the tastiness of it, the memory it conjures or the general experience it gives you.
Pro tip: follow the pace of someone who eats slower than you; in this case, Coach Luis follows Coach Mel since she is a master at eating slowly.
REMEMBER: it doesn’t have to be perfect - even just a little slower than you’re used to is a great place to start. Staying open and curious goes a long way!

Reflect and Adapt: Keeping a Food Diary

To deepen your practice or as a tool to get the process started, try keeping a food diary that goes beyond documenting what you eat. Record HOW you eat—note the times you ate quickly versus when you ate slowly and how each experience felt. Noting which meals were eaten in a rushed or during stressful time can be helpful data. This log can help reveal pattens which helps deepen minfullness so you can more easily make adjustments where necessary.

Join the Movement Toward Mindful Eating

Body composition changes, getting stronger or improving health & wellness are all worthy goals which involve lifestyle changes that can be challenging. Improving our relationship with food is a much more intuitive and kind first step when embarking on any lifestyle changes - it can mean we start to have a healthier mindset towards eating because we get more enjoyment out of the process rather than starting such a journey by counting calories - a method that is effective for some, not as effective for many and anxiety producing for most. As the purpose of eating slowly is to contribute to our health, wellness and enjoyment of our food, everyone will find different ways of slowing down and make surprising discoveries along the way. Coach Luis has noticed that he doesn’t need as much food to feel satisfied after meals when he eats slower. He also noticed better digestion. Coach Mel notices she feels generally less anxious when she eats at a slower pace. She also feels like the food tastes better and she gets full with less food than she does when eating fast.

What things do you notice when eating slowly and mindfully? Please share any discoveries that you make, we’d love to know! Feel free to share on the OMP Discord channels or via email!