Reader Beppe posted in StrongLifts.com Forum:

About lifestyle matters: a thing I really appreciate about your blog is that it is not just a great source of information about health, nutrition and strength training, but also about life and motivation.

The “crabs” and “expectations” posts are helping me in this phase with annoying people and boss that demands extras.

Have you some suggestions on good reads about alternative sources of income and self employment (I started reading the 4-hour workweek)?

Recommended Reading. Here are some of the books that I read, and that I recommend you to read too if you want to become self-employed.

• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. This book gave a name to what I was experiencing: “rat race”. I don’t agree with some of the how’s, but the comparison of self-employment vs. employment is good.
• Law of Success by Napoleon Hill. ““Nothing can bring you success but yourself”. This book builds the right mindset: confidence, leadership, concentration, co-operation, persistence, etc. Hill’s promise: once you’ve made the 15 lessons your own, you’ll be ready to achieve your goals. I wouldn’t be doing this today without this book.
• Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell. Debunks myths people have on opportunities: that you need money, luck, skills or whatever to succeed. Conwell’s points: there are still plenty of opportunities, you can find them right where you are, and it’s easier today than yesterday. You can download this one for free at Project Gutenberg.
• Awareness by Anthony De Mello. People often think that money is key to happiness. Nothing is worse than doing a job you hate for years just because of the paycheck. Awareness will open your eyes on life.

Quick Tips. Let people/boss continue to annoy you, it will motivate you to find something else. Choose something that you LIKE to do, not because you think there’s less competition or because it could make more money.

Read everything you come across. Work on your project daily, even if it’s only 30mins. Build experience. Analyze & track everything. Help people out. Persist. Overcome failure. Persist. Stay confident & focused. Persist.

The Rack Pull is a partial Deadlift. Rack Pulls start with the bar at knee level instead of on the floor. Get the correct height using the safety pins of your Squat Rack, or by starting with the weight on blocks. Rack Pull video:

Benefits of Rack Pulls. Rack Pulls strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, core, grip and upper-back. Rack Pulls are especially good at building upper-back thickness.

• Deadlift Substitute. If your lower back keeps rounding on Deadlifts, you could do Rack Pulls while working on hip mobility.
• Overload. Depending on the height at which you start and your sticky point, Rack Pull can let you hande heavier weights than Deadlifts.
• Hip Power. Correctly performed Rack Pulls start from a dead stop with little knee extension. This builds a strong, explosive posterior chain.

Rack Pull Starting Position. Set the safety pins so the bar starts below your kneecaps. Get used to this height before trying different ones.

• Foot Stance. Shoulder-width stance with toes slightly out. Curl your toes up. Jump up a few times: that’s the stance for Rack Pulls.
• Shins Vertical to The Floor. Neglecting to do so involves your quads. Put your shins perpendicular to the floor when looking from the side.
• Grip Width. Too small & your hands touch your legs on the way up. Too wide & you have to pull the bar higher. Use about 51cm/20″ grip width.
• Gripping the Bar. Put the bar close to your fingers, not in the palm of your hands. This will minimize callus formation & torn skin.
• Straight Arms. Pulling with bent arms can tear your biceps muscles. Keep your arms straight. Tighten your triceps.
• Bar Against Your Shins. The closer the bar, the easier the lift. Put the bar against your shins, just below your kneecaps.
• Shoulder-blades above The Bar. When looking from the side: shoulders in front of the bar and shoulder-blades above the bar.
• Chest Up. Shoulder blades back & down, chest up. Imagine someone puts a pen between your shoulder-blades and you try to squeeze it.
• Straight Neck. Safer for your cervical spine. Keep your neck inline with the rest of your spine.

How to Perform Rack Pulls. Once you’ve set up correctly, the Rack Pull is like a Deadlift: push the floor away from you until lockout.

• Push Through the Floor. Curl your toes up and push through the floor. Think of pushing the floor away from you.
• Keep the Bar Close to You. The closer, the safer & easier. Start with the bar against your shins. Roll it over your thighs until lockout.
• Bring Your Hips Forward. Push from the heels & squeeze your glutes hard. This prevents pulling with the lower back.
• Lock Your Hips. No need to roll your shoulders or hyper-extend your lower back. Rack Pulls end when your knees & hips are locked.

Lower the bar by pushing your hips back until the bar hits the safety pins.

Common Mistakes on Rack Pulls. The biggest mistake is the shoulder & shin position: bad positioning kills posterior chain emphasis.

• Dropping Your Knees Forward. Involves your quads instead of your hips. Put your knees perpendicular to the floor. Push your hips back.
• Shoulders over The Bar. Usually coupled with knees forward. Shoulders in front of the bar, shoulder-blades above the bar.
• Looking Forward. Hyper-extending your neck increases risks of cervical spine injury. Keep your neck inline with the rest of your spine.
• Bending Your Arms. Can tear your biceps when pulling heavy weights. Pull with straight arms, tighten your triceps.
• Bending Your Back. Harder to do here compared to Deadlifts, but still possible. Big chest, shoulder-blades back & down, tight upper-back.
• Hyper-extending at The Top. Posteriorly stresses your lumbar discs. Lock your hips at the top, and come back, no need to hyper-extend.

Check the video below on how NOT to perform Rack Pulls. 3 errors: shoulders over the bar with knees dropped forward, hyper-extending the lower back at the top and hyper-extending the neck. Avoid all of these on Rack Pulls.