I’ve never used a wide stance regardless of bar position. Fortunately after lowering the bar and focusing on properly breaking first at the knees, I have felt my legs doing much more work the past few months than in previous years. I think old habits die hard at the heavier weights. I think belt squats are helping, but clearly I’m still disappointed and impatient, so maybe in the next wave I’ll throw in some paused squats like you suggest after deadlifts.
8s realization
49 pull ups
Press
35x5
42.5x3
50x2
52.5x1
57.5x8
54 dips
10 more pull ups
139 band pull aparts
Did 3 giant sets of z-presses with empty barbell, lateral raises, and band pull aparts.
Another meh day.
The number of reps you do is so frustrating.
I think the same could apply to you, no?
CrossFit numbers are indeed very weird, but sometimes it’s a for a reason, like the Wod “Mansy” I did the other week was making you do 7 pull-ups, 17 push-ups and 77 air squats because it was to honor a guy born on 07/17/1977
I’m guessing a philosopher here would just say something like “but Bro, what is a weird number of reps? Why is it we never do sets of 7 or 11?”
You ever done a front squat block? Not going to be able to good morning those and puts more focus on the quads.
I’ve tried… not recommended ![]()
@aldebaran Sure, I’m familiar with CrossFit WODs. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re also doing plenty of reps ![]()
@heretolog I used to do tons of front squats. Honestly, in some ways I find them more tolerable than squats. The front rack position comes easily to me, and having a strong upper back helps. But the reality is that I only get good at front squatting. I still cheat the movement when it gets tough by shifting to posterior chain. In early 2020 I did 115x7 on the front squat, but 135x10 on the squat was a struggle.
I meant more… 49 pull-ups, 54 dips… These are not round numbers like this is frustrating ahah, 49, almost 50! 139 pull-apparts? Jesus what would happen if you did 138? In the gym this would kick my OCD
Ah, now I understand what you mean. I dunno, that’s just how it works out. I just do a decent number of reps and log the total. I don’t have OCD, so it doesn’t bother me.
Since I was paid a few days ago, I guess I’m treating myself to this belt. I’ve read good enough things that it should be worth the wait.
http://www.bestbelts.net/Powerlifting-Belts/The-3-Inch-Belt.aspx
Interesting, that makes me think that quads aren’t necessarily the culprit for your good mornings.
Are you getting it in fuchsia? That’s loud(and would match my straps well)!
I dunno, I’ve always been weak off the floor when deadlifting also, though that’s maybe changed recently. So I took that as another indicator of weak quads.
Nah, I’m not a fuchsia person. Though that would match the straps that I have (and never use). I’m thinking maroon.
Yea, I don’t actually know enough about squat mechanics to have a good opinion on what else might be wrong but it just seems like after a while of focusing on quads you’d start to see change in your patterns if that was the exclusive culprit.
In any case, maroon is a solid color, it’s less obnoxious than its younger brother, red.
Can’t hurt but I don’t really buy into “weak quads” anymore when it comes to stripper squats. I think in most cases it’s a case of sub optimal technique (wrong stance width, weak bracing) and not enough hip involvement (for which box squats might help).
Yea, that’s kind of what i’m intimating, she has been focused on quads for a non-trivial amount of time. It isn’t a bad idea to keep focusing on them but it’s likely there is at least one other compounding factor behind her lack of progress.
In @Bagsy’s recent videos I don’t think there is a lack of progress. The squats are a lot better.
I’m with @Koestrizer, 16 reps…
Also, as an aside @Bagsy, you mention having good dorsiflexion. Maybe you do, I have no idea really. What I’d say in response to your rebuttal against @aldebaran is: I used to think my dorsiflexion was adequate. I could squat ATG, I could pistol squat, so it is not that the dorsiflexion wasn’t there but utilising it didn’t come effortlessly. I’ve spent some time on it, but I’ve also spent time doing some other things to enhance my squat so I may be confounding factors but I believe that my improved dorsiflexion has made it easier for me to load my quads. Consider this entire paragraph a devil’s advocate kind of thing. Or just don’t care about it, I liked Jim’s recent post on his blog.
Strong And Fast.
I also really liked that blog post, resonated with my approach to form.
I’ll second the Pioneer belt recommendation. They are the best belt I have used, and I have tried a few.
I bought mine on EliteFTS. Their belts are made by Pioneer, but more affordable. Here is a 3" one.
Funnily, I found it on T-nation now that I wanted to share the sentiment with a friend. From 2013.