Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 We recently added some 1/4 squats to our squat and leg day.We do 5 sets of 3 or 5 reps on the partials and then follow it up with Rock bottom 'pauses' with the same apparatus.Followed by 2 or 3 sets of 6-rock bottom-thick bar Front squats. You can get 12X45 on a Safety Squat Bar and then fit on one of those dinky chrome collars.Thats it.13 plates could hang on but would likely fall off??? Fortunately..due to the non flexible nature of the Squat bar AND the short range of motion of the movement the plates stay on.(we go DEEPER than the pic of Steve Justa in Milo,Dec.2000 issue that he calls a 'half squat' and deeper than the pics of Bud Jeffries doing his 1700lb quarter squat) Just for anyone wondering...we walk out most of our warms ups(to get the feel and control of heavy walk outs)and we do our last heaviest set from the 'squat up'or 'rack squat'position. There must be a simple way of adding an extension...IF the gym owner will let us...any ideas? Hanging on weight like Bud does looks time consumeing and we move through 'legs' pretty fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 4, 2003 Author Share Posted April 4, 2003 thats 12 plates a side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 PDA might be able to make something for you so you can use more plates. They would need to be like the extensions for shrugbars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Black Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 12 plates to a side! Yeah, I have that problem when I bench. That is some impressive weight you guys are moving around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underdawg Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 tom, how bout some 100 lb plates? especially if you could find some thinner ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan McMillan Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 Doesn't Bud have some dumbells hanging off of his bar with chains??? That might be an option until you can get some 100lb plates (good suggestion) or get PDA to make you a modified safety squat bar (also a great suggestion). Jon@han Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 4, 2003 Author Share Posted April 4, 2003 Yes we saw Bud and his dumbells.It looks like it would take a while to load up.We don't rest much between sets and.... We'll add the 'hundreds' next work out(which will be in two weeks)and that will let us squeeze a little more on the bar. The gym has 6X100lb plates. However this is only our second work out doing the 'quarters' and(it's not me)the bar is full and it's easy.Even-From the squat up position(rack squat position ala' Bud Jeffries)I think the poundages are going to get big.Walk outs with well over 1000 might be pushing our luck this early in our lifting..(although ?what motivates us?? is the report of Savicus and the Lithuanian strongmen doing Yoke walk with over 1100#,nothing is impossible.) We could go deeper(instead of quarters) but thats not the point of the work out.(the point is COMPLETE overload)And we do follow up with two rock bottom exercises....and THEN we also do deep 35 degree leg presses and finally Deep vertical leg presses.We believe in leaveing no angle untouched...sometimes we'll do a rep set of 'hacks' at the end. Today we all talked and we thought a hard but thin gauge steel 'sleeve'over the ends of the bar.Although it is thin gauge?IT(the sleeve)would only be supporting perhaps 3 or 4 more plate? This wouldn't work on a regular bar because of the way they flex.But the 'Safety Squat Bar'doesn't flex.(did you know those things weigh 71lbs?)we were counting it at 45 then said..DDDUUUHHH....and weighed it. Old guy-yes PDA has some sweet equipment and can make anything.Just a bit pricey as we(and the gym owner)have spent a lot $$ on specialized equipment lately.....the 'necks'have been hounding her to buy ellipticals Yuck. Adam,i bow out at 10plates and a quarter a side(for now)The beast just keeps slapping on 45's.It's just not right He has some lofty goals if we can safely do it.basically-day 2 of quarters?he had a geo metro on his back and just laughed at us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan McMillan Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 Wow!!! ...to have these problems Ok the only other quick fix I can think of is J.V. Askem's cable bar system. If one of you is mechanically inclined then maybe you could set up something like this. Jon@han Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 5, 2003 Author Share Posted April 5, 2003 Thanks Jonathan...I'd read about the Cable Bar system and forgot all about it.In fact they used this system at an old time strongman contest that J.V.was involved with for this very reason.....So ..if you want to follow along...First i went to J.V.'s website...saw the 'system'photos..then it jogged my memory and i found the Dec.1998 Issue of Milo(coincidentally my mentor/friend had an article in the same issue) Low and behold?a beautiful picture of Bull Stuart doing a 1088lb cable bar system deadlift??An inspirational pic.Worth a look IF you have that old issue. The article also mentioned an event:Rack Squat the winner was Bull Stuart with a 1315lb lift! This further jogged my memory I remember another description or article of the Rack Squat -as done in that contest. JV Askem was a big fan of the Rack Squat and it is a tough test..(Keep in mind you cn do a rack squat from the 'Rock Bottom'position.)And for all you fans of the walk out..we walk out our Full squats.We walk out our front squats.AND we walk out our partials to a certain poundage Ok-I'm sure I've bored you with the trivia. I grabbed the two IM loading pins that are kept in the grip area of the gym- and about 2X4 ft links of heavy chain chain...rapped the the chains around an old Pair of Olympic Collars and added them to the End of the Squat bar. I found two huge Carabiners that were laying around the gym and attached the chains to each of the IM loading pins. Although my back is compressed like it has never been and my quads are sore i tested it out. Beautiful. The chain/old collars/carabiner/IM loading pin at a sweet 17.5 lbs a side...Plus room for ANOTHER 540lbs-in plates...........Per side 'Now were getting somewhere'. God Bless J.V. and may he rest in Peace.A beautifully simple and effective idea. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan McMillan Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 It would have been neat to see the cable bar system in action -especially with those kindof poundages !!!!. Sounds like the setup you rigged is pretty good, although you might want to invest the time to make a sturdier setup more like the CBS with guide posts for the weight stacks so they don't start swinging From the sounds of it you guys are going to be running out of weight to put on the bar!! Keep usi updated on the progress -it's awesome!!! Jon@han Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 I have never supported more than 495 across the shoulders. I cannot imagine what the kind of weight that you guys are using feels like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 5, 2003 Author Share Posted April 5, 2003 I'll get pics of next partial work out in two weeks.This will be our third partial work out.And a result of 7 years of weight training in my case and about 10 months for Josh A kid was so amazed that he took a pic of our Thursday work out.i think he might of caught a shot of Josh at 1200 or 1300?All the plates back there in the power area are at least 2 lbs 'overweight'..most 3 or 4 lbs 'over'45lbs....so if you have 24 or 26 'overweight'plates on a bar??....'you ARE getting somewhere'. I undestand if there is any scepticism...Hey i don't think anyone believed he could hit a 255 PLUS!!! Rolling thunder after 3 months of training either..........or close a 3 without any training and or deadlift the INCH and the Eagle loops deadlift???(as pictured in the gallery)we can't get enough weight on the loading pin for him now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 I remember when I use to load up the legpress with huge numbers of 45 lb plates. Putting all those plates on and then taking them off became a chore in itself. I got nothing out of leg pressing anyway! These days I am content to have 29'' thighs and do not train legs heavy. I depend mainly on deadlifts and shrugbar lifts to train thighs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 5, 2003 Author Share Posted April 5, 2003 No knee wraps either. He claims his back and knees and fingers are steel...with a smile.They must be... Old guy??I think with your kind of structure you could do what you want with the squat...but we all have different goals..and we work with a 'pack'or 'mob'mentality which pushes the envelope..or at least the envelope of our little world Heres a thought..there is no official world record- so it shouldn't matter me posting this-( and there is an OLD pic of him hitting 406 on his first attempt-ever)..you mentioned 495 ?try 495 Plus!! supported by the finger tips...of one hand.(as usual..not me akthough i am getting pretty good at this lift..it is VERY painful when you get OVER say?300lbs and I guess he just does not feel it?or he blocks the pain?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 Back in the sixties I used to do only front squats. I tried them recently but even a light weight was hard to support in the correct positon and for some reason my lowerback went into spasms. Age I guess! Recently I went for several weeks specializing on cleans and presses as my son likes to do them a lot. When I returned to deadlifting, without thinking I was still using the clean grip. My son let me lift 500 before he told me what I had been doing! I was pleased to be able to hold onto that much weight without a reverse or thumbless grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 5, 2003 Author Share Posted April 5, 2003 I'd trade away a lot of muscle for a good set of hands and better grip! My dad has big hands and always told me I had my mothers hands.....gave me a complex. I've done front squats for years it has been my priority for legs until just recently!!awesome exercise .Yes they keep you VERY upright so perhaps it 'tweaked'those muscles in the 'ol lumbar region just because they weren't used to it.If ya want to do it-just start all over with 135 and go up slowly..( Me giving advice to you..now thats funny)Interesting story?Josh was unable to get the bar to set right on his front delts so he avoided 'fronts'...a couple of weeks ago he did them with the 2 inch thick Olympic bar(that he made)and now he CAN do front squats. for some reason the thick bar made them easier for him. Another 300lb plus ogre at the gym --that had for years whined to me that he couldn't do front squats cause "they hurt his shoulder" (boo-hoo)-- observed Josh working the thick bar --jumped in and did some nice fronts..decent weight too.Thick bar made fronts do-able for both of them! Ok not trying to one up ya-but oh yes loading and unloading plates is a chore- but the gym I work out at-has 6 differentt leg presses..ALL different angles(4 are plate loaded -2 selectorized).We only use two of them.The vertical leg press(the toughest)has a capacity for 12 plates a side and two plates in the middle.The sled of this machine weihgs 200#.The vertical leg press IS true weight.Then there is the Nebula leg press it has a capacity of 20X45pounders PER SIDE,the 'sled'weighs 200lbs..it is a 35 degree so of course you are doing a percentage of the weight.There is also a 45 degree sled that has a 16 plate -per side-capacity. Obviously it is wise to do your squats first so you can't use as much weight on the leg press.OR you'll be doing an extra grip work out with all the loading and unloading. There is a guy(Sean 'the cyborg'McCabe that ADDS people(for added weight)to both the Nebula and the vertical leg press. I have sent a pic of him doing this on a fully loaded vertical legpress to Mobster...hopefully(snail mail to England)they'll be up and viewable in a couple of weeks.I believe when I first joined the board i snail mailed Roark a pic of Sean doing that 1800lb vertical leg press........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Tom, Have you ever seen the Greg Kovacs tape? Save for the fact the man is HUGE and very muscular, he throws around enormous poundages... at one point in the video, he took almost every 45 pound plate in the place and stacked it on the hack squat machine, THEN proceeded to do reps with it!! CRAZY! I figured he probably had about 1450 - 1500 pounds on it (counting the plates alone). An awesome display of strength; not unusual for Mr. Kovacs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mac Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 I think Mr Kovacs is now somewhat a victim of his own press - his claims of strength have overshadowed the fact that he is (in fact ) awesomely strong as it is. Whether he could match any of his claims I don't know - but I've always thought that at his max bodyweight (claimed to be around 420 I think, and it would certainly not be too far off that...) he could certainly be close to them?? In the old days I've supported more than 1,200lbs on my back - I wobbled all over the place but managed to hold it up for a good long while. I find the compression of such weight and the feeling it gives actually very enjoyable - much different than making a full-range lift or a rep target - and as I've mentioned before, I hope to get back into some support type lifts in the near future. Tom, I look forward to seeing those pics of you all. Sounds VERY impressive!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 Snott and The Mac, Yes I believe Kovacs is VERY strong...but as The Mac said his press clippings got ahead of his real strength...too bad that supplement company marketed him the way they did.Kind of made a lot of people laugh at him....but again his strength is probably way!! up there....at least on a lot of 'gym'lifts.Also-he's not much of a bodybuilder-wrong look-no symetry-...too bad he wouldn't try powerlifting or strongman(yes ..months of or years to convert over)But ?as a bodybuilder...now that the marketing of his freakiness is almost over....he's just about toast? Yes the feeling of compression...relatively new to me...is interesting.I did my last set of 1/4 'rack squats'(squat ups)with 1020#(more becase of our plates)Its 'otherworldly'and made me dizzy.I had done my previous sets with a 'walk out' with about 900.L-i-t-t-l-e t-i-n-y steps this time.The next day my erectors were sore,traps bruised,and the front and top of my quads were sore.(which was interesting)Josh walked out with over 1000 and did his racks with 1300Plus. The next day he felt."nothing".Keep in mind that we followed our partials with Rock bottom 'pauses' with the squat bar apparatus(for you powerlifters I know a Squat bar squat is NOT a legitimate powerlifting squat)and he did his last set of 5(pauses)with about 625#(6 'heavy'45's -a side-on a 71lb Safety Squat bar).And then followed it with verltical leg presses and Nebula 35 degree presses.(the 'bodybuilding crap" as we jokingly call it-is all taken to failure with occasional drop sets) He told me NOT to talk about his grip training..he didn't say anything about reporting squats... Next week we'll start with Rock bottom squat bar and work up to a few doubles and follow it with Thick Bar front squats(also into the toilet)OR we'll start with fronts and follow with Rock bottoms on the squat bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 Since this is the equipment section..and to justify the above The gym has a 45 degree leg press,a 60 degree leg press,a Nebula 35 degree leg press,vertical leg press.a 40 degree hack squat and tow selectorized leg presses.(actually great for calves)There are two power cages for squats and the smith machine is heavy duty enough to take up to 700Plus for 'a change of pace'squat work. Our new 'equpment' discovery:2 inch tick bar front squats may allow those -that didn't have enough of a front delt 'shelf'or for those that didn't like a thin bar digging into their shoulders (as the weight goes over 315)-to finally 'enjoy' heavy front squats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest josephbd Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 Impressive numbers Guys. I built extensions for percisely that problem. The powerrack attachments will hold an extra 1200 lbs. You can email at djbdagostino@aol.com. I've been designing equipment for a couple of years now but these happen to be one of my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 7, 2003 Author Share Posted April 7, 2003 I e-mailed you....when you e-mail me back put: Attention ofTom so the lady who's e-mail account I utilize doesn't dump my mail(accidentally). Extensions for trap bar too? I have seen extensions that allow people to use a trap bar in a power rack(i believe PDA makes em?and somebody else too..can't think of the site?)Thats NOT what we are looking for.But what we are looking for is just a way to add MORE weight to a trap bar and/or hip bar? You can get 7 plates a side on ours...but go to 8 a side? and you have to use duct tape to keep them from falling off. I would guess the extensions for the Safety Squat Bar would fit on a trap bar? The gym does HAVE extensions for our Hammer Strength machines also. They allow you to add 4 or 5 plates per side to ANY of the Hammer stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 8, 2003 Author Share Posted April 8, 2003 Anybody know of any other links/sites that have good partial squat pics? I went to Bud Jeffries site again and there is a pic of 1700# but he has reportedly raised the bar to 2000#(a 'cool' ton) Other subject ..but none the less as cool pic. Not a squat but there is a Pic of the grip boards own John Beatty doing a 1250#Plus partial deadlift...over on the page that sells kevlar stitched training straps.....looks to be from around? 24-25 inches?(just above the knees). Again..looking for good pics of partial squats well above a thousand. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted April 8, 2003 Author Share Posted April 8, 2003 www.prowriststraps.com/strongman scroll down..lots of cool pics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amaury Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Keep on chatting guys, this thread is definitely very cool Some day i'll use big poundages, some day... Amaury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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