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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2007 20:25:51 GMT -5
;D I need some help to build strength in the squat. My problem is when I am at the bottom I have a hard time getting out of the hole..
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Post by 3speed on Mar 22, 2007 23:02:49 GMT -5
SQUAT.......deep......often. Squatting responds to squatting. If you want to get stronger out of the hole, make sure you are using PROPER FORM and take the weight below parallel-powerlifting style. Pause squats are killers but will do more for your hole shot than anything else.
There are no short cuts or magic answers. Squats require a lot of effort and motivation to get stronger.
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Post by dopar66 on Mar 23, 2007 7:40:53 GMT -5
As always, 3Speed has given you SOUND advice! Sink it deep, pause, explode, keeping your technique flawless. Recently Chancey, who is one country-strong dude, took his squats back to the starting gate, working out with really really light weights (for him). He focused solely on technique and that rock-bottom squat with perfect form. I'd recommend PM'ing Chancey and chatting with him about his successes, what he learned, and what he can share for tips and such.
And 3Speed is ALWAYS a great resource!
Welcome to the forum!
God Bless.
Doug P.
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Post by chancey on Mar 23, 2007 11:43:42 GMT -5
I can hardly give you any better advice than what you’ve received but this is what I did. I had some issues with depth and a strong lower back that was allowing me to get away with terrible form. Basically, remove yourself from your ego and strip the weights to what you can comfortably squat deep with. Then it’s just squat, squat, and more squatting. Absolutely nothing is going to make your squat better than the squat itself. Once I found a weight I could perform for 5 set of 5 I then would add 10 pounds to the next workout. I did this for a few months adding a few drop sets with 8 reps or more to really burn up the legs. I was able to accelerate fairly fast because I was strong up top and was used to the weight on my back. This was clearly the best thing I ever did for my squat.
One other thing I can’t stress enough is form. Really think about what you’re trying to do from hand placement (an early pitfall for me), the sitting back, pushing your knees out, head up, etc.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2007 16:34:35 GMT -5
Thanks for the help. Chancey, I will try the 5 sets of 5. I have just recently gotten serious about boosting my squat. I realy never did the squat before but i want to be strong in all 3 lifts. I have been playing with my stance in the squat. A medium width stance seems to work for me the best. What other assistance work do you do to help your squat.
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Post by chancey on Mar 23, 2007 17:03:58 GMT -5
Medium stance is a good stance for beginning. Its what I use as well. My assistance work for the squat is more squatting (I love the high rep drop sets after my heavy stuff – it’s feels like running the 400). I am from the school of thought that if you are doing leg presses after squats then you clearly didn’t work hard enough on the squats. The other reason I do this is because I want my form to be second nature and the more I practice the better chance I have of this. Will I always do this? No. I have been entertaining the idea of pause squats as well as box squats. I will occasionally do some leg extensions. I think I get enough work on my hamstrings on the days that I pull from the floor therefore I don’t add any leg curls in. IMHO SLDLs are way better than curls for your hammies anyway. That’s what I do but I would defer to 3speed and Doug on this, as they are far more experienced squatters than myself.
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Post by 3speed on Mar 23, 2007 17:16:26 GMT -5
Excellent advice from Chancey.
IMO, leg extensions and leg curls are of no use unless you are a (ahem) bodybuilder. When squats are done correctly, the majority of your force is generated by your posterior chain and your hips. Stiff leg deadlifts and romanian deadlifts are excellent assistant exercises to help you develop this. 45 degree incline leg presses are also an excellent alternative exercise to the squat when your lower back is getting beat up. They also help you develop leg drive. But, dont get sidetracked. The squat should be your basic staple.
Good luck and get squattin'.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2007 18:41:46 GMT -5
Does anyone squat more than one day a week if they are a three lift lifter? I have read that some people do light days. Any thought's on that idea?
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Post by 3speed on Mar 23, 2007 19:16:49 GMT -5
I tried the Smolov routine (Squatting 4 times a week) and made phenominal progress doing it. I added 40 lbs in 4 weeks but I was not able to maintain it. I have found that for me my legs get plenty of work from squats and deads.
However, as I have said to everyone else, you have to experiment to find what works for you. For example, some people can deadlift heavy every week and make progress....some people every 10 days......some people every 2 weeks...and some people overtrain if they dead more than once a month. That's why I caution people about trying a routine just because it worked for someone else. Experiment and learn what you respond to. Don't be afraid to fail. That's how you learn.
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Post by biglifter on Mar 24, 2007 19:18:59 GMT -5
I found there to be a good carryover from doing sumo deadlifts. It didn't specifically help out of the hole, but did build a lot of strength in the hips/glutes. Like Chancey, I also let a strong low back compensate for a lot of form problems. Once the weak links were shored up, the form improved and weight shot up.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2007 9:45:03 GMT -5
I hope that I can get something to work. Sometimes I feel like I may never be able to squat a decent weight. I tryed sumo style deads for a while, but i like to deadlift better with my feet a little wider than shoulder width apart.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2007 12:47:17 GMT -5
good morning,
I have a ten day microcycle, with 3 x 12 @ approx 50% on the light day, and heavy doubles up to 90% on the heavy day... heavy and light are about four days apart all thru it, with a 24 rest day before starting over... working pretty well for Me...
Bear
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Post by dopar66 on Mar 29, 2007 13:45:35 GMT -5
That's pretty good, Bear. I'm using a similar approach on my bench, and with some folks' abilities to recover, it may darn good and well work for the squats. Two summers ago I was squatting 2/week, but saw no noticeable gains. It "just might" do the trick for JGean though.
JGean, coupla things I thought of in the meantime. If you do auxiliary deadlift days with good mornings, Romanian deadlifts etc, next time you do Romanians focus on what you're doing with your hips. Then, when you squat the next time, try to copy that hip rotation into your squat. It's more from the middle up than in the hole, but it really improved my drive. (Thanks, 3Speed!)
Also, I'm a FIRM believer in pauses. Give rock-bottom paused squats a try, or at least pausing off a box. Both teach you to be mean and explosive out of the bottom. This week I squatted with about 55%, rock bottom pauses, and the 55% kicked my glutes. Before you worry about that first thing I just wrote, give the pauses a try for 6 weeks or so.
God BLess!
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Post by rickhussey on Mar 29, 2007 14:14:50 GMT -5
Doug - you bring up a point I have been questioning recently. You said, "Two summers ago I was squatting 2/week, but saw no noticeable gains".
In one of Ricky Crain's articles he said he came to the conclusion that you are much better off to skip the "light" workouts. Reasons why:
1) He stated lifters should rest and recover and hit it hard on the heavy day. He eluded to the fact that light days rarely provide any sort of training stimulus. Light days may hinder recovery.
2) He also said, if you use a light day to work on speed, form and technique, you are much better off to do this on your heavy day. This is where form, technique, and speed really count.
Thoughts on this?
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Post by biglifter on Mar 29, 2007 14:50:11 GMT -5
IMHO, RDC's statement is 100% on the money. Let the bodybuilders do light days. My squat shot up when I piled on the weight, included partials, pushed beyond anything I ever tried before and went from 4 to 3 training days/wk. I'd rather go into a workout as rested as possible, rather than semi-kinda-sorta 10% spent from the last "light" day. Not that DE days and the like don't have their place, but I'm not there yet. Just happy to lift heavy and healthy  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2007 16:37:38 GMT -5
Well crap I am not sure what to do. I was thinking of doing a light day on a rotation for each of the three lifts and not training the one lift that gets trained twice the previous week. I guess I will try that and see if it works for me.
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Post by biglifter on Mar 29, 2007 16:45:13 GMT -5
Yeah, I guess we did a full 360 right back to the original question . The law of individual differences strikes again. Post your progress so we can see it! Once you put your plan down in writing, the suggestions can be a little more precise. Everyone here is super helpful and knowlegeable. |
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Post by rickhussey on Mar 30, 2007 10:34:19 GMT -5
jgean...lots of people still squat 2x a week. I was just curious about RDC's opinion on that matter. Like BL said, everyone responds a little differently.
My goal in training is to find the optimal training system. By that I mean, I want to be efficient. I want to find the system with the least amount of volume and frequency that generates optimal results. Anything beyond that is useless and may cause unnecessary joint wear and overtraining. If I can achieve the same results squatting once per week as I can twice per week, than I would eliminate the second training day.
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