My gym is full of arrogant assholes; a lot of PTs don’t like me because their clients prefer my training styles, people think they have the right to tell me how I should train, what I should compete in, etc when they met me only 10 seconds ago, I can’t be in the weight room AT ALL because I’m a female, I just flat-out intimidate most people, and don’t even get me started on the prejudice/racism in that place. But I have to train with all that crap everyday, and you’ll drive yourself crazy asking “why”.
Believe me.
Get some new earphones and keep training in Beast Mode.
Bring on the PR’s and Beast Mode! I guess I don’t have things so bad… I’ve realized that I do have a tendency to be a bit of a complainer / whiner in my log. I figured it didn’t matter if I went ‘wah!’ over squats so long as I did them. But now I’m thinking that a better attitude would be directed at kicking the bars ass / taking pride in having given it my all if not having actually won. Yes to earphones.
I’m always nervous about programs. Still, I’m a beginner so I’d need to have a seriously stupid program in order not to make gains.
Goals:
Squat more (in order to clean more). Indirect route of 6x6 for greasing the groove / conditioning / learning not to be a wuss.
Snatch more / Snatch better.
Get / Keep my Jerk better than my Powerclean.
Maintain / build general strength. Legs are a priority (the weak link).
Monday
A BACK SQUAT 6x6 (will try and build up to a max attempt once a month or so)
B SNATCH (bar work, 8x3, work up to heavy single as seems appropriate given technique)
C CLEAN AND JERK (as with snatch)
D CHIN UPS (10x1 trying to work to getting 1x2!)
E ABS (planks or roll outs)
Tuesday
A OVERHEAD SQUAT 5x5 (this is more a mobility / balance than a strength drill for me)
B SNATCH
C DEADLIFT VARIANT (working up to one heavy set of 5 or a 5x5 at a lower weight)
D ROW (inverted or bent over barbell)
E BACK EXTENSIONS
Wednesday
A FRONT SQUAT 6x6
B SNATCH
C CLEAN
D STRICT PRESS
E ABS
Thursday
A OVERHEAD SQUAT
B SNATCH
C JERK
D PUSH UPS
E BACK EXTENSION
Friday
A BACK SQUAT 6x6
B SNATCH
C CLEAN AND JERK
D DIPS
E ABS
Weekend (one rest (mobility or maybe cardio) day, one work day:)
A OVERHEAD SQUAT 5x5
Circuitlike:
B CHIN UPS
C PUSH UPS
D DIPS
E INVERTED ROW
Will see how I go, anyway. Might be a bit much overhead work… Either I’ll adapt or the program will, I guess.
That is a shit load of squatting in a week. And 6 days of workouts with 1 day of rest? I am hoping some of those days are lightweight drilling form days. I’d rather see you take another day off or two and push to adapt. You’re already setting yourself up to adapt the program. But if you want to prove me wrong go ahead and kill. it’s just my 2 cents as usual.
I am in agreement w/Nlmain. That is lots’o’squats. Make sure that you do lots of stabilization/rehab exercises for your hip. And by all means, proceed with kicking that bar’s ass!
I can offer no programming advice except to say that goals and a plan are two very good thing to have. Glad to read you’re feeling up to getting after it! WTG.
I’ve been doing something like the above since the break. Except I’ve been bad with the ab / back work.
Realized the main reason I’ve been putting this off is that D has to go. A, B, and C take me 1 1/2 hours if I’m careful with my rest times. Too tired to really do D properly at that point and having D in there will only make it more likely I bail on my back / ab work - which is important! I do want to get stronger on those basic upper body push/pull movements. But… Can’t do everything at once.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday are serious work days. Tuesday and Thursday are more active recovery / technique drills (except for deadlift). Saturday is different enough from regularly scheduled for it to be okay. Sunday is serious no lifting heavy stuff day.
It is a lot of squatting… Maybe it helps to realize that my squats are practically air squats with respect to the weight I’m moving. My squatting work is more about trying to get the motor program right. Basically, I’m not getting glute / hip drive out of the hole because of my femur issue. Once I have the hang of glute / hip drive I’d expect my numbers to soar - at which point it will be time to move to a new program for my new weakness. I really don’t get any DOMS from squatting so frequently. In fact, if I have a day off squatting it takes me twice as long to warm up the movement so it is comfortable the next time I do it.
I didn’t write this but: Foam rolling as needed between warm-up sets for squatting. Glute activation drills, too. Need to get my body both able and confident to really activate my glutes out the hole safe in the knowledge that my femur isn’t going to pop out of its socket or rub painfully on the front of the socket.
Realized today (in the spirit of stopping with the complaining already!) that the squats actually don’t feel heavy. I’m not wanting to complain about the weight being heavy so much as I feel like complaining about the actual movement of squatting. The thought of air squats is just about as hard for me to bear as the thought of 30kg squats. It helps, actually… Now I’m really focused on how I’m holding myself and when I do get the hip drive right (it feels better sometimes like I’m starting to get it) it actually feels easy. Wow.
TODAY:
Back Squats: 20kg 1x6, 25kg 1x6, 30kg 6x6. Much easier since I’ve stopped with the mental ‘wah!’. Damn, I was turning into a hollywood…
running really short on time so wanted to see what my max jerk might be just worrying about moving the weight rather than technique (powerclean into position). Locked out 40kg ok. Tried 42.5kg (PB) but needed to press it to lock out (yay for strongish arms but illegal for comp). Tried again but didn’t drive it high enough to even press it out. pretty happy since max powerclean is around 45kg.
We’re squat twins. I’m working the same thing. I notice when I do a squat clean, my squat is a lot deeper than when I do a back squat. Funny, that. My bugbear is keeping my arch - I’ve spent so many years sitting on my arse that my hip flexors are tight as guitar strings and I lose my lumbar curve very easily. As you say, I don’t find the weights heavy but I do find the movement taxing, physically.
One thing that helps with hip drive is kettlebell swings. If you don’t have access to a kettlebell, a dumbell can be used (it’s just not as comfortable to hold).
My reluctance to finalize my program was about not wanting to face up to the fact that I’m trying to do too much. Deadlifts need to go, too.
TUESDAY (light day):
OVERHEAD SQUATS (5x5):
warmup: 20kg 1x5
25kg 2x5
27.5kg 3x5
27.5kg didn’t feel much harder than the 25kg - but a little less forgiving with respect to balancing. My log tells me I was doing 5x5 with 27.5kg at the other gym over the break so should get back to that pronto.
SNATCH PRACTICE (8x3 - kinda sorta - lots of rest between reps at 30kg/32.5kg):
25kg P, P, S
27.5kg P, P, S
30kg P, PX (chickened out on pull), P, P
27.5kg P, S, S
30kg S, S,
32.5kg P, P, P, SX, SX (powersnatch PB)
30kg P, S, S
32.5kg S, S, SX, SX (missing by losing balance rather than by being a chicken which is progress)
30kg P
First time I’ve tried 32.5kg since before the break. Good to have experience safely missing it. Lost one forwards which involves me coming down on my knees (gently) from the bottom of a squat and reverse arm curling it down. I do this a bit with less weight. Didn’t smash my kneecaps or rip my biceps Lost a couple forwards pretty hard (think because my balance was a back in the catch). It bounced from the steppers okay and the bar was uninjured
When I get it it feels really solid and easy (like I could do a lot more). When I don’t quite nail the catch or I miss I’m very grateful that there wasn’t more on the bar. Happy that I did this today but also happy to be going back to 27.5kg / 30kg for a bit to try and get them feeling a bit more reliably solid and easy.
It looks ridiculous but I’ve found that actually touching the bits I want to kick into action helps. For the first glute bridge or so, my hands tend to be on my ass. Maybe something to try in the comfort of your living room a few times?
Your program calls for lifting six days a week. And doing some form of squats on every one of those days. Where’s the recovery? If strength is your goal, you must build in recovery time. And that means days off from lifting. Oly lifts are a huge energy suck. And if you’re pushing yourself, squats are hugely taxing on the system as well.
You might find that by backing your squat down to two or three (still a lot!) days a week will help you make gains. More work does not necessarily equal more strength with lifting. Although so many people believe it to be the case.
Regarding the gym environment . . . maybe I’m really daft but I just tune everyone else out. I never notice people looking at me and rarely does anyone approach me for any reason. Hmmm.
:)…i sigh and drool over all that squatting you have planned! LOVELY! uninjured me squats alot! but that’s because i really like it.
Snap’s got a point. I kinda think as well though that like you said its not the wt’s for you but the squatting itself, so maybe that amount of work can be manageable if its not close to your max in any major way, sorta endurance training vs strength training for your muscles.
Maybe you’re not even CLOSE to your squat strenght training kg/pounds? its just the technique you wanna get grinded into sorta a mindless easy thing? then i’d say more is better a lil bit
another thing for me at least is i can’t do more then 4 liftng days a week. serious days maybe three. but word! go with your heart, your body will tell you what works!
thanks andy! turns out you were right about that amount of weight not hurting me. just needed to find some courage
thanks pch. i’ll give that a go. otherwise i could ask one of the PT’s at the gym… (jk)
kpsnap. i should be a beginner dammit (according to my strength ‘achievements’) but i’m not progressing like a beginner should dammit (with respect to feeling able to increase the weight every time i train). so… i suspect i’m messing up somewhere…
i want to whine… but i won’t. instead… i’ll try ditching the overhead squats for a couple weeks and see what happens to my M/W/F sessions. if it takes me too long to warm up / become mobile (such that squat sessions run over 30 minutes) i’ll rethink things.
i guess basically what i need to do is: clean. jerk. snatch. bring up my squat (ability to stand cleans up). work my back and abs a little (so i don’t fold under cleans / to help my squat). that is all.
tuesday, thursday, saturday TECHNIQUE ONLY (maybe just a couple chins). Sunday - don’t go to the gym.
i’ll try… thanks for not writing me off or ranting at me for such a stupid noob mistake :-/
brute - the sad thing for me is that my max is so pathetic that it is practically indistinguishable from my mobility drill. for some crazy reason squatting 27.5kg for 5x5 overhead squats is thought of as a ‘mobility drill’ whereas 6x6 front / back squats at that weight or at 30kg is ‘wah, i couldn’t possibly put the weight up it feels so heavy!’ so something is wrong… probably attitude (i think i’ve become unjustifiably dramatic about front / back squats)… probably also under-recovery…
Alexus: With the disclaimer that my training instincts sucks, I’ll say this–if you’re looking to train the movement and work technique with squats than I think frequency with light weight is fine. But, if you’re looking to get stronger less is usually more. I spent most of last year not adding weight to my squat because I felt weak. The bar on my back felt heavy and I was slow, slow, slow.
I made the mistake of waiting until the weight I was working with felt easy before I tried to progress. The problem was it never felt easy. Getting past this feeling approach to lifting really helped me to just add weight. My new stance on squatting is that if I can squat x for x, regardless of how hard or heavy it feels or how slow out of the hole I am, I add weight. And honestly, I’m finally making progress and good progress too.
