Any tips on Zercher's guys?

I'm going to try some tomorrow. My fitness test i have to do when i go out to the oilpatch resembles the standup position of the Zercher in which i have to walk with a 88lb bag.

It supposedly really strengthens the lower back also, which would be a great idea considering i'll be busting my ass/back the next 6-7 mths on a service rig.

Find a good spot to rest it on, I did them once and all it really challenged was my forearm pain threshold, haha. I like them, though.

Find a good spot to rest it on, I did them once and all it really challenged was my forearm pain threshold, haha. I like them, though.

Yeah i'm planing on putting a towel around the bar.

Yeah i'm planing on putting a towel around the bar.

That won't make that much difference. I think mastover used neoprene sleeves.

Now that I figured out straps for front squats I am less interested in Zerchers.

I've found that using a towel around the bar will compromise stability and balance. Almost like those foam pads you see people use for squats. Try it and see what you think.

I wear a heavy long sleeve sweat shirt and wrap the neoprene elbow sleeves over the shirt. I set the bar at stomach level in the squat rack for ease of positioning before unracking the weight and stepping back.

Zercher squats are pretty cool. It did seem i can do more weight then front squats though, is that normal? I plan on a linear progression the next few weeks using only the Zercher squat 3x per week to see how strong i am in the lift.

I wrapped some pipe insulation around the bar and it worked excellent.

Wish i would have started this lift in the past. Basically impossible to cheat and you have to stay very tight.