My quads were a little sore from strongman training, regardless my form usually looks like that at heavier weight anyways. I might have been able to do 365x5 if I was fully recovered, i think. Yes, I’ve tried olympic shoes and I feel way weaker in them and GM the weights a lot more.
I started 5/3/1 for squats, hoping to add some mass. I’ve never trained more than 5 reps, so hopefully change is good in the long-run. I will be doing it for 3 weeks only and then switching to a strength phase.
You are strong, that’s a lot of GMing going on. Once the weight gets out in front of you like that, it takes a lot more strength to lift it than if it were in line.
Just curious, why 5-3-1 for a month? Its a long term program, not designed for quick gains over a month. If you only have a month and want to jack your squat and gain some mass, give Smolov a go.
First off, before I offer any criticism I should mention that you have a pretty strong squat.
I agree with the above poster - the weight is way out in front of your center of gravity. You would be able to handle more weight if you kept the bar more aligned over your center of gravity. Your descent is good, but when you come up from your bottom position, you get a lot of knee extension, with very little hip extension - which is what causes the weight to come forward, making the top of your squat look like a good morning - since the top of the ROM is mostly hip extension.
Personally my advice is that if you’re after long-term progress, you might want to consider some glute activation work and adding more glute and hamstring accessory work. This might help your hip extension strength coming out of the hole, and cause you to keep a more upright position, which would probably equate to lifting more weight and being at a reduced risk of injury.
Thanks guys. I will keep all the advice in mind!
I’m thinking of doing 5/3/1 for only 1 phase because I usually don’t respond that well to high reps, and I prefer to go heavy. I still think high reps/hypertrophy phase will yield strength gains in the long run since I would have more mass but it will take some time to get used to heavy weights again, at least for me.
First off you kneed to spread the floor hard to open your hips up, which will make it easier to pop your hips through not up. You need to squeeze your glutes and flex your hamstring in the hole also. Both of these are going to prevent your ass to rise before your back. Also, another important thing is to arch your back and point your elbows down.
[quote]Ever_Arias wrote:
Thanks guys. I will keep all the advice in mind!
I’m thinking of doing 5/3/1 for only 1 phase because I usually don’t respond that well to high reps, and I prefer to go heavy. I still think high reps/hypertrophy phase will yield strength gains in the long run since I would have more mass but it will take some time to get used to heavy weights again, at least for me. [/quote]
you’re obviously not getting it… only 1 set out of 3 are for max reps… jesus christ, just do the fucking program (5/3/1). it works for christ sake. your squat will go up 120 lbs, if not more if you do it right. so a year from now you might be squatting 500 for all i know…
What you need is volume work with good form.
Watch that lumbar flexion too.
Here is a suggestion for a decent program:
http://programs.squatfanatic.com/smolovSalpha.xls
Lifting heavy weights is good, but not when form is sacrificed really badly. Once you adhere to this advice, you will be squatting heavy again in a short while, then as the years go, you will thank me for this advice.
You coming here to ask for advice is very good. That is how you learn. If you have the chance, hook up with a more experienced lifter so that he can watch your from.
You are strong, keep it up!
– Stallion
stallion what is your opinion on front squats? For both its carryover to squats and being its own lift.
Right now on your eccentric you are moving forward(your knees shouldn’t cross the horizontal plane that the balls of your feet create), you need to me sitting back and down, sit down like you would onto the toilet.
Your concentric should be driven by your glutes and quads, driving with your hips. Also keep your upper body as vertical as you can, keep your eyes looking high on the wall. Reduce the weight and focus on your form. If you keep doing what you’re doing now you will hurt yourself.
I used to be really bad about this but now I keep a big chest and constantly try to be looking straight up.
My squat used to look a lot like yours and I still have a bit of a hip kick when I squat max weights. In my opinion, you have too much of a hip kick for comfort. I fixed my problem by doing box squats and pause squats, really focusing on coming out of the hole properly. High reps are a really bad idea for you right now because your form isn’t good enough. You need to work with moderately heavy weights, forcing yourself to drive with your head out of the hole and shutting down your sets when you start to shoot your hips. The most important thing for you right now isn’t the weight on the bar, it is getting your form dialed in so you’re setting yourself up to squat heavier weights down the road.
My squat weight is about the same as yours and for me what helped most were box squats westside style to prevent gm’ing the weight. To a lesser extent, moderately heavy gm’s so I could correct myself easier if I felt I was starting to lean over.
Are you pushing your knees out? I know I tend to start gm’ing when I fail to do that.