Barbell Skier

Setup

1. 01Hold a light barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip.
2. 02Hinge slightly at the hips with soft knees, like a skier in a tuck.
3. 03Raise the bar to about shoulder height in front with nearly straight arms.
4. 04Brace the trunk and fix the hinge angle.

Execution

1. 01Drive the bar down and back past the hips in one powerful arc, as if planting ski poles.
2. 02Keep the arms long with only a soft elbow bend.
3. 03Let the bar swing back up to shoulder height under control.
4. 04Repeat rhythmically without changing the torso angle.

Checkpoints

• -The power comes from the shoulders and lats, not from bouncing the torso.
• -Arms finish clearly behind the hips at the bottom.
• -The hinge angle stays constant rep to rep.
• -The bar path is a smooth arc, not a drop and heave.

Common mistakes

• -Loading too heavy and losing the fast, fluid swing.
• -Standing bolt upright, which cuts the range behind the hips.
• -Bending the elbows to muscle the bar down.
• -Letting the low back round as fatigue sets in.