Excerpt from my book: Strength by Sara

2. Drill: Bone Rhythms
Bone rhythming is something I learned through Z-Health. To spite the simplistic breakdown using larger bones as examples here, bone rhythming offers an alternative approach to lifting. Focusing on the timing of each end of a bone can make for a more powerful lifting groove. Muscles are subservient to the bones they attach to. Changing focus from muscle bellies to their end attachments instantly improves strength.

During the squat, the simple bone rhythm foci are the hip and knee joint articulations. When squatting, the head of the femur (long upper leg bone) rolls back, down and into the hip socket. At the same time the femur head is moving, its distal end (at the knee) is moving up and forward. The reverse happens on squat ascent: the hip rolls up and forward as the knee moves back, the two joints align precisely at the same time to “lockout.” This same bone rhythm happens during the swing as well, but to a different degree.

During the press, the simple bone rhythm foci are the shoulder and elbow joint articulations. When pressing, the head of the humorous (long upper arm bone) rolls back, down, and into the shoulder socket. At the same time the humorous head is moving, its distal end is moving up and away from the torso to lock the elbow joint overhead. (The reverse happens in the press descent.) Done correctly, the shoulder and elbow lock out overhead at precisely the same time. Consider the press the squat of the upper body, because the humorous articulates like the femur, respectively. When you think of the elbow acting like the knee and the shoulder acting like the hip, it is easy to understand the press as a squat and vice versa.

Additional Notes:
Practice bone rhythm drill with a partner to palpate the respective joints. You may also video yourself and review the footage (perhaps in slow motion) to see if the joints are moving together precisely.