I love to squat. That being said, I don’t weigh much. I have long limbs. I love to front squat and box squat; however, back squatting has the tendency to fuck my lower back. I am currently progressing my front squat. I am increasing the weigh 10 pound for 5 repetitions each workout.
I am currently at 105 for 5. 95 pounds for 5 was fairly easy. The highest I’ve box squatted was 195 pounds and I quit there, I belive I could probably get 205-215. I haven’t back squatted in a few months, but I have 185 for two without a belt. I guess what I’m asking is for advice on increasing my squat-- possible squat program specialization with accessory exercises.
I’ll be very blunt, but here’s the truth: at 6’0, you’ll never squat heavy weights weighing 140 pounds. Those lightweight olympic lifers who do? They’re really short. You need bigger legs for a bigger squat eventually.
You front squat 105lbs, the harsh truth is that you don’t need specialised programs, you need to do a basic program and probably eat more.
You are extremely weak. I’m not saying this to be harsh, but you need a reality check. My squat sucks donkey balls and I squatted a hair under that for 365 reps non-stop this new year (thanks for that Colucci), My 100lb girlfriend with serious back issues (I forget the proper name right now) has squatted similar amounts for 10 reps, first time out the box. I don’t say any of these things to get you down or to criticise you, but you need to be aware of the realities of the situation.
If you insist on a specialised program, I would recommend the Squat 101 6 week program from Dan John’s Mass Made Simple.
In my opinion, squat frequency is the way to go for developing a solid squat (both mechanics wise and strength). Simply-- the more you squat, the more your legs will grow.
I agree with what the above posteres are saying but I also think you can really do whatever the hell you want. You could do Smolov (an intense Russian squat program) today and it wouldn’t mattter at all. If you wanted to squat 7 days a week, it still wouldn’t matter. It all revolves around how much time and effort you want to pour into your training, in this case, sepcifically the squat.
If you wanted to round out your training, really just follow a simple strength program. The beat to death programs that would serve anyone well:
-5/3/1
-5x5
-Westside for Skinny Bastards
-Insert another one that is popular, but works.
As far as other advice… Frequency is key. 3 x per week in my opinion if you want to get good. The squat is actually a hard lift to master for most people. So don’t worry about how much you are pushing, rather dial in your technique and push “heavy” weights that you can control and grow with. As you mature in your training really push the barriers then. For now, you could probably add weight just by fixing shit. Go on YouTube and watch good squatters squat. I would check out the channels “Squat Rx” and “Johnny Candito” for some really solid advice on the squat. Best of luck.
I agree largely with evolv a cparker. Squatting takes lots of practice and jacking your squat involves frequency and reps when you are starting out (and lots of food).
My 2 cents would be: squat high bar; pretend you are a piston and really get your form grooved where you are going consistently up and down in the same line without breaking forward; squat 2 to 3 times a week; and get 30 to 35 working-weight reps in each session. By “working-weight” I mean reps that are relatively heavy for you on the last rep or two but that don’t even come close to resulting in failure or missing any reps. Rotate 7 sets of 5, 4 sets of 8, 10 sets of three, etc. If you don’t come close to failure you should be able to recover in this rep range going 2 to 3 times a week if you eat enough and sleep enough. Your body and squats should grow quickly.
You need food and lots of it. At this point you could half ass your programming and with good nutrition and sleep you will grow and see leaps and bounds. Until you get up to about 200lbs your squats are going to be lacking. Even then I am 205 at 5’6" and even my base is still lacking for elite level squatting.
[quote]Reed wrote:
You need food and lots of it. At this point you could half ass your programming and with good nutrition and sleep you will grow and see leaps and bounds. Until you get up to about 200lbs your squats are going to be lacking. Even then I am 205 at 5’6" and even my base is still lacking for elite level squatting.[/quote]
I will happily place bets that the OP will never, ever squat as much as Reed, which means that the 200lb barrier is too high IMO. I do agree he needs more food though. Much, much more food.
Eat heaps and start conventional deadlifting. It’ll strengthen your back, your leverages are probably decent enough being tall and it"ll pack on the size. Strong back = happy back. Beware of getting good at box squats compared to normal squats - box squats are assistance work, and beyond a certain point may not improve your squat. IMO you might be better off working with goblet squats as your assitance to reinforce the correct movement and working hard on squats with a nice wide stance. Hell, just to pack on size don’t be afraid to hit the leg press after your squats if you find it works for you.