In between holiday week taking care of my son and his cousin and a week spent sick, I had misgivings about testing on working out Tuesday. A thought confirmed when I decided to test on squats instead of doing my leg press workout. May be it was my body being asked to do a lot or my wider than normal wide stance, but 155 felt heavy for 5 reps and I had little speed. By the time I got to 305 4 sets later, it plastered me to the point where I had to grab the pins to help myself up (The Manta Ray held the bar to my back). My backside would just not engage, so I couldn't explode from the bottom. I adjusted my stance and got myself psyched up but my next attempt was no better than the last.
I then attempted arched back good mornings: starting at 65 lbs, I worked up to a max of 255, and all my reps were slow. I had nothing left for anything else but dragging my butt out of the gym.
Some change is in the works. Funny, the leg press/GM combination made my deadlift jump but not my squat so that experiment will be dumped early. That, and for almost 9 months I have neglected my quads to pound my posterior chain. I want to try the Dave Tate nine week cycle for beginners, to build a strong base especially for benching. But for the next 6 weeks, I'll be using a Prilepin cycle to build my squat plus a strong enough back and shoulders to back up my bench for that - - - I want my push press, Dips, and rows to get as equal to my bench as I can. I'll test tomorrow on rows to see where I'm at. Front squat will be my heavy squat movement, with arched back GMs being my light day movement. I know I can squat more than this. Maybe, I shouldn't have tried quite so soon!
Oh yeah, the backs of my legs all the way to my ass hurts so much I can barely walk!!!
2 comments:
Welcome to blogland, Alberto!
I don't know why your squat max ended up being so low... didn't you box squat 285 not long ago? That would make you good for 315 at least. You just had a bad day... you should rest and try again.
Maybe you should give the 3x3 a try... squatting and deadlifting three times a week will build up any weakness in your posterior chain or quads.
My advice... leave assistance movements as assistance only. Concentrate on the big three and their variants. So make a deadlift or squat your max effort exercise and ditch the push pressing for benching.
I am, of course, assuming that powerlifting is your main objective. If it's all around strength and overall athleticism, then yes... keep the variety.
Hard to tell. I still don't feel completely right. I remember that first set, at the bottom feeling a really hard stretch - - - not a bad one, but strong - - - and when I looked while in the hole my stance was so wide that my feet were under the platform. I used this same position for the next three sets. Thus, the soreness. I have to cycle in regular squats more often, just as a reference point.
I've thought about the 3x3 program, with arched back GMs replacing the DL. Just so I can only do thoose lifts. I think my only thing is that I like variety and also I like training for sports, too, vice just powerlifting. Next week, I'll be starting something, and I'll let you know what. What's your plan for tomorrow?
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