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Strength Goals


PeterSweden

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To everyone working on a squat goal, what is the plan of attack?

I have a main squat day every other week. I rotate between 5x5, 5x3, 5x1. Then follow up with sumo and lunges and then some accessory work.

I also squat every Sunday for like 3x10. I usually try to work on form issues and get some volume this day.

I always need more ideas of things to try. How are you planning to reach your goal?

What is your goal, and what kind of squat are you doing? If you say back squat, please specify highbar or lowbar. Where are your other lower body lifts (see # 36 for ideas).

I'm squatting high bar... I dont find low bar comfortable. Can you tell me specifically which lowr body lifts you are refering to? I have been studying since 9am, took a break at 1:30p and told my study partner to meet back up at 2:30pm but it's currently 2:45pm.

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I dont remember who this was in reply to but I looked up this quote as a reply:

 Lord Naoshige said, "The Way of the Samurai is in desperateness. Ten men or more cannot kill such a man. Common sense will not accomplish great things. Simply become insane and desperate"        -- Hagakure
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To everyone working on a squat goal, what is the plan of attack?

I have a main squat day every other week. I rotate between 5x5, 5x3, 5x1. Then follow up with sumo and lunges and then some accessory work.

I also squat every Sunday for like 3x10. I usually try to work on form issues and get some volume this day.

I always need more ideas of things to try. How are you planning to reach your goal?

What is your goal, and what kind of squat are you doing? If you say back squat, please specify highbar or lowbar. Where are your other lower body lifts (see # 36 for ideas).

I'm squatting high bar... I dont find low bar comfortable. Can you tell me specifically which lowr body lifts you are refering to? I have been studying since 9am, took a break at 1:30p and told my study partner to meet back up at 2:30pm but it's currently 2:45pm.

Good luck with finals man!!! Actually, I was aiming that question at JHenze646; I already know what you are doing :). I don't however, mind elaborating. So I am asking where is your deadlft? Do you do conventional too? ? Do you do front squats, cleans, or snatches? Have you ever done snatch grip deadlifts? Where is your jefferson deadlift? Hack lift? Do you do one hand deadlifts? And if so, is the bar in front (like a regular deadlift), inbetween the legs (like a jefferson), or to the side (suitcase)? Do you do hip thrusts or glutebridges? Do you exercise with iron boots? Do you do anything like a hip lift, harness lift, back lift, or hand and thigh lift? Do you train your core, or do rows? Anything along those lines. I am asking because knowing what kind of squat you do, and where you are on your other lower body lifts helps me be more specific with my suggestions.

The main thing I would recommend for you is that you get started on either the glute bridge or the hip thrust. When you get to 500 lbs on that you will notice a stark improvement in your squats and deadlifts.

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What is your goal, and what kind of squat are you doing? If you say back squat, please specify highbar or lowbar. Where are your other lower body lifts (see # 36 for ideas).
I place the bar where I can get tightest around it. I am guessing it would be considered highbar. I pull conventional <500. Front squats around 280. No snatch, snatch grip, jeffersons, hacks, hip, hand & thigh lifts. 1-hand deads I do to the front. I do carries. Does that count as core work? -humor
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What is your goal, and what kind of squat are you doing? If you say back squat, please specify highbar or lowbar. Where are your other lower body lifts (see # 36 for ideas).
I place the bar where I can get tightest around it. I am guessing it would be considered highbar. I pull conventional <500. Front squats around 280. No snatch, snatch grip, jeffersons, hacks, hip, hand & thigh lifts. 1-hand deads I do to the front. I do carries. Does that count as core work? -humor

A high bar squat is where you place the barbell on the upper trap and go down in a semi-upright postion. It is the back squat version which is most similar to a front-squat and is more conducive to doing full squats (as are front squats). The low-bar squat sets the barbell no higher than the back delt, and often as low as the middle/lower part of the scapula. It combines the hip hinge of the deadlift with the knee press of the squat--practically though, it looks like a squat-morning with one heck of knee drive. Most people end up doing the highbar squat because that is the only version they know--and, it dosen't require wrist straps. So if you think you are doing Highbar, you probably are--powerlifters like my brother are the only people who seem to make time to master the low-bar :).

That being said, the most important factors in a highbar squat are ankle flexibility, hip extensor and external rotation strength, hip adductor strength, core strength, and lat strength. Knee extensor strength is important too, it just becomes less important when the hip extensors, adductors, and external rotators pick up their slack.

I think what might be most beneficia is for you to determine where you are weakest. An idiotically simple way to test your ankle flexibility, hip extensor, hip adductor, and hip external rotation strength is to set your high bar squat and then go down to full squat position and pause. I have short femurs and and short torso (classic squat build) so this is no problem for me. When I get there, my thighs touch my calves and I swing my knees so that they are directly over my pinkie toes. Doing this takes almost all the pressure off my knees (I literally don't even feel a stretch), and insures that it is my glutes that drive me out of the hole. If you have never tried that, start with the barbell, and prepare to fall.

That however is only one part of the lift. Once you get out of the hole, you need a great deal of lat strength in order to equalize the glute extension and continue the drive upward. I could obviously talk about many other muscles involved in this process (such as the obliques and hip flexors) but I have hit the points that I wanted to.

If you determine that you are weak on the initial drive than you need to work your legs and hips. If you determine that you are weak on the lockout (starting inbetween parallel and 1/4 squat postion) then you need to aquire more lat strength.

If determine that you need to train your lower extremities, do paused highbar squats for about 1-3 seconds (with a spotter and safety bars). That is the simplest thing. After that, glute bridges and hip thrusts are one of the best ways to improve glute strength. Jefferson deadlifts are one of the best ways to build hip adductor strength and oblique strength, and you don't even have to do them from the floor; I am doing them as a rack pull (i can't be moving the bar more than six inches) and I am noticing substantial improvements in those two areas. Other things you could try are deficit deadlifts, or snatch grip deadlifts from the floor (because of the wider grip, it functions like a deficit deadlift). To speak on what you have already mentioned, I think sumo deadlifts (and other wide stance lifts) are a great way to build adductor strength, I just don't think it transfers as well to an activity (like highbar squat) where the stance is not quite so wide.

If you determine that you need more lat strength then I recommend Rack pulls from just below the knees and then snatch grip rack pulls from around there too. Jeffersons can be thrown in first to ensure that the core is warmed up (I am doing Jefferson rack pulls from both sides, then conventional rack pulls, and then snatch grip pulls and I feel like that is working).

I hope that the above is helpful, or at the very least, gives you some ideas.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 6 months later...

As the year draws to a close, have you reached your goals?

Has your focused changed? Where were you successful and what was a waste of time?

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I've had the problem of shooting too high with goals.

So:

100 lbs strict curl

115 lbs strict press

200 lbs bench press and clean

250 lbs squat

300 lbs deadlift

What's next? Maybe another 5 lbs on each lift.

My focus in training shifted from the PLs to more gymnastic type movements lately. Fortunately, I hit many goals.

100# strict curl - hit that

115# strict press - got 120#

200# bench press and clean - did not do any cleans this year. But hit 195# on bench, which was 150% BW.

250# squat - I changed to front squat, but can't hit this if I tried. I'm still squatting regularly because of a pact i made with D.Lewis, wonder where that kid is lately? Anybody know?

300# Deadlift - Damn this. I chased this goal very hard. My no belt PR was 285# this year. I peaked and went for 300# multiple times and it stuck right near my knees. Next year.

Other notable PRs.

Competed in nationals, had a great time with awesome people.

My axle jumped 50lbs this year, and I'm easily pulling 2xBW now.

Got the #3 shivering in a corner.

Weighted chin up max gained 10lbs (BW+90 strict)

Back lever.

Almost got front lever.

Finally got my one arm chin! Need to be able to do it on command now.

Mikael S. put me in his "2HP badass list".

It was a great year. Other facets of my life had some PRs too, which is always important.

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So I'm gonna set the bar real low.

500# dead lift with no wraps or belt (currently at 475) single rep

Bench press 130# dumb bells 2 sets of 5 (currently at 125# 2 sets of 5)

Bigger long term goals

Big g8 in imps

Koasb in doubles

Cert the #3

Met my lifting goals and then some, after a few months of better eating and more sleep. I dicked around until maybe the end of August. Then really focused starting September.

Bending goals are gonna take more time. My skin isn't tough enough.

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I tried for my 585 conventional dl right after my 36th bday and missed it. Damn. I'm at 340 bench and listed 350. I am not at my 450 squat yet. 425 is still a pr on that. Pr on front squat is 350 still.

It's all good.

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