Alright feeling a little better now, I’ve ate and rested, that workout this morning took alot out of me, more than anything I’ve done in quite a while. When I came in, and was updating my log while I drank my litter of milk, my hands were shaking so bad, that I could hardly type. It dosen’t look like anymore of a workout then usual, but it’s been awhile since I’ve had my free squat up to 365, so I generaly use the box for anything over 315 to save my knee’s, and when I do go heavier without the box, it just for one set, to check where i’m at.
Today wasn’t so bad on my knee though, I might be able to start using 365 as my top working weight for free squats. For me it comes down to where my form breaks down, and how it effects my left knee, but I was able to keep my knee’s pushed out, and my lower leg completely upright during all these squats this morning. This is a good sign, and must mean I’m getting stronger, to be able to hold my form, and feel no pain at this weight.
I know I’m good for a couple reps at 405, thats my max squat, but when I do this, I’m crippled for atleat a week, I’d like to get my strength to a point where I can handle this weight regularly, while keeping my form solid, and pain free. This is where I think these reverse bands are going to come in handy, as Reed told me.
I usually use the box for all my top sets, so as not to agrivate my knee, but the box dosen’t do a good job of replicating regular squats, so when I do put a heavy weight on my back to check where I’m at, it feels weird ( and a little scary) to me. It also dosen’t help, that I always squat in a rack at comercial gyms. At home in my garage, I have no saftey catches, plus I train all alone, so when I’m going for a max squat atempt over 405, I get a little tentative to drop down in the hole, so I always revert back to the box.
This was Reeds theory after looking over my training, was that using reverse bands, would give me the same peace of mind as the box, and the same form reinfocement, for my bad knee, but would better replicate free squats, to build my confidence to handle the bigger weights, and dropping down into the hole. I don’t know if any of this makes any sense to anyone else, but it dose to me, and I’ve been stuck at a 405 squat max for I think 6mths now, mainly because of mental barriers, and I think this might be a training tool that works for me training all alone, with no safety catches.
Sunday I’ll use this to do some heavy squats, today was just a trial run, and some volume, but Sunday I’ll see how it feels with 400+, I know that was alot of babbling, but trying to describe how I’m going to replace box squats with band squats, and my reasoning, seems a little confusing, but I’m looking forward to getting my squat moving again. later
