Squat Test

The last time I squatted conventional was January 14, 2005. I had just started this blog, had failed a squat test miserably days before, and barely squatted 325 in not-so-prize-winning form. Since then, I had been on a Prilepin program using good mornings and front squats and GHRs with good success. I have been considering using the 1974 USSR Weightlifting Yearbook squat program, but scrapped the idea for deadlifts because I need my squats to be where my deadlifts are now. So, with my Manta Ray and belt in tow, I made a detour to the gym en route to the post office.

No warmup, folks, just 315 lbs. I got under it, racked it (it felt light), then proceeded to do two good reps with it (almost the depth of my front squats) - - - a PR, since the most I had previously done for that weight was one rep. How I know about the depth was also a problem: I caught myself pausing a bit more at the bottom so I could check it. NSCA formula predicts a 330 1RM, so I loaded that up on the bar. This time, I waited til I was past parallel, took a fast glance, then quickly reversed it up in about three seconds.

One might expect more than a 5 lbs PR, considering the prior work. But I look at it like this: my depth was better, reps were faster, back was straighter, rebound from the bottom was more explosive, the weight felt lighter and with more control on the eccentric and concentric portions of the lift. I got a 2 rep PR, had enough for a fast single 1RM, and could have done a full workout after that, since my legs still felt fresh. Successes, in my book. I do need to conventional squat more than I have in the past year and a half, and that's why I'm considering this.