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S/B/D

SBD... Squat, bench, deadlift.

These are commonly known as the "Big 3" lifts. This is because, in powerlifting, these are the 3 lifts that are judged. At a powerlifting meet you have 3 attempts on each lift to lift the most weight you possibly can. Knowing this, many people assume that these moves are ONLY for powerlifters...which is noooot true! I think that every women/female/girl should be doing these moves. I'm not saying you're 80-year-old grandma should try squatting 225lbs...I'm just saying these compound moves are good for YOU, not just powerlifters. Heck, your 80-year-old grandma could work on squatting her body-weight! That would be super beneficial to her body and strength!

If you're too intimidated to do these moves because you mainly see big guys doing them with 45lb plates...don't be! Just the fact that you're willing to give these a try is HUGE. Don't doubt yourself. You might as well try, right?

All three of these (Squat, bench, deadlift) are called "compound" moves, which means that they work more than one muscle at a time. Even if you're not trying to be a bodybuilder or powerlifter and are just trying to be healthy, doing 1 single move to work multiple body parts seems like a slam dunk! Focusing on these moves can make your workouts much quicker. Instead of doing 10 different isolation moves to work these body parts, just do this 1!

Alright..now that everyone and their grandmas are going to start squatting, benching, and deadlifting, let's talk about form. Doing these moves with correct form is crucial to not getting injured. I would suggest starting with body-weight and learning the movement. You can learn these from a friend at the gym, or, my new favorite, YOUTUBE! (I've recently started watching informative YouTube videos and am obsessed)

Once you get the movement down and want to add some weight I have a couple of great YouTube videos to suggest. (I'm not saying heavy weight-I'm just saying more weight than your body) First, if you don't know who Layne Norton is, definitely look him up. He's a scientist, with a PhD who also is a bodybuilder/powerlifter and has an informative YouTube channel. He has also done videos for bodybuilding.com to show how to do these compound moves correctly:

Next, for squat and deadlift, Amanda Bucci has recently came out with great technique videos. She began as a bodybuilder/ bikini competitor and has also done a powerlifting meet...and is damn strong! Here are her two videos:

She doesn't have a bench video yet-but as I said, these two are pretty recent so she may just add in a bench video in the near future!

As you'll see in these videos.. there are multiple ways to do each move. (Squat-high bar/low bar, deadlift-conventional/sumo, bench-wide0grip/close-grip). Choose the one that feels most comfortable to you, it's as simply as that. Test both out to see what you prefer, or do a combination of them both! Like I said, if this is just for you to be healthier and you're not planning on competing, have fun with it!

Maybe you'll fall in love with lifting-like I and so many other females have- and continue to get strong and decide to pursue powerlifting..or maybe you won't! One way or another you're getting stronger and making your body healthier, so it's a win. You don't have to lift really heavy or want to be a powerlifter, you just have to learn these movements and execute them safely! And I mean..let's be honest, doing these moves with any weight make me feel badass.

Let's try and pass along this message and get more females into SBD. Together we can be strong, together we can be healthy, together we can be badass. And that's a community I want to be a part of.

xo (I wish there was a more badass signature line),

with love and badassery, (better?)

BFC, (badass female community?)

[You get the idea]

Cam


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