Last night was leg night but I ended up going tonite instead. I incorporated back squats into my routine @ 3 months ago. It took me 28 years to get back into the squat rack. I tore a glute or hammy maxing out for football back in 1979 (I’m now 45 years old) and feared the same ever since. I always did the leg press and extensions instead.
Well, since I started doing back squats and had made some nice progressions in weight. But, in the back of my mind I knew I wasn’t doing a good, deep squat. Tonite that changed. I stripped a MAJOR portion of weight off the bar and focused only on form. Hell, I even did some light front squats, too. It was an exhilerating feeling knowing what proper squat felt like. I didn’t care what anyone else in the gym thought. I was only lifting against me.
After leaving the gym, I just about fell off/down the curb from the sidewalk going to my car. My legs were noodles. I just laughed because I knew that good things would come from this.
Big Props to you. Always humbling to do but in the long run the best thing you culd do for yourself. I often get pissed at myself for loading up the weight and then doing Half or Quarter reps.
[quote]daddyzombie wrote:
Congrats hawk! Coming back from an injury can be a real chore.[/quote]
Thanks, I actually tore (not pulled) my glute or hammy. My ass cheek had a nasty bruise for what seemed like 3-4 weeks. It kept me out of the 1st half of wrestling season. What sucked is that I still had to cut from 185 to 155 to make weight. The lingering effect was all mental. That was the hardest to overcome. It only took me 28 years. :^)
Smart move, Hawk.
Sometimes we gotta go back to walking, so we can run later, instead of limping along and thinking we’re doin’ good. Trust me, I know the mental game with injuries.
BTW, Hope you can walk tomorrow! LOL!
You WON"T regret doing it mate.
It’s a great thing to do and brings results in no time at all.
I also found it good to load the bar up to 2.5 or 3 times my max lift and just get it off the pins and stand there with slightly bent knees for 8 seconds (technique learned on this site).
the ol’ legs shake and wobble but after you’ve done this for a couple of sets, then unload your bar and do your light, ass to grass squat, and you’ll be amazed at how light the bar feels.
You made a good decision and I salute you all the way. Now you have the mental, and apparently physical as well, satisfaction that you aren’t cheating yourself. Most people in commercial gyms are looking at the weight on the bar instead of doing movements correctly with good form. Don’t rush it and just work into the weights slowly. Keep the form strict and go deep. The weight will come later in time.
[quote]Duke wrote:
You WON"T regret doing it mate.
It’s a great thing to do and brings results in no time at all.
I also found it good to load the bar up to 2.5 or 3 times my max lift and just get it off the pins and stand there with slightly bent knees for 8 seconds (technique learned on this site).
the ol’ legs shake and wobble but after you’ve done this for a couple of sets, then unload your bar and do your light, ass to grass squat, and you’ll be amazed at how light the bar feels.
good luck buddy.[/quote]
Duke, thanks. I may give this a try. It’s the same priciple as swinging a lead bat in the on deck circle when I played baseball.
I was already overloaded and omly doing 1/2 to 3/4 squats.
yeah, same theory. I guess that’s why I’ve seen baseballers swinging three or more bats at once before they go up to the plate. (I know nothing about baseball, I’m just guessing). I’m more of a cricket and football kind of guy.
Very cool. I try to back off my normal lift weight just to tune form every time I tweak my routine. It takes discipline and an ability to not give a damn what anybody else thinks. I’ve found that it’s very often the younger guys who feel this is beneath them.
When I started squatting for the first time in 2005 after not having done them since 1991, I was shocked.
I could barely lift 275lb’s off of the rack, and even stripping down the weight to 225lb’s made my legs burn and cramp up at first. I stuck it out, and kept coming back for more, and the weight got a lot easier.
Now the squat is my strongest lift out of all three, and it is the great equalizer for me in the 198lb weight class generally. I don’t bench over 405lb’s, nor do I pull great, but I am knocking on a 600lb squat right now.
Lift heavy, and lift smart. Best of luck to you in your new pursuit of the squats!
I can tell for a fact my squats and deadlifts feed off each other. Maintaining form on each one has allowed for some gains and growth.
On leg day I do either back or front squats, leg press and stiff leg deadlifts.
Back day always starts with deadlifts. I get some peculiar looks from the majority of 20somethings when I do my deads. One kid (nice kid) asked me what muscles deadlifts work. I told him everything but your ear lobe. He asked about technique and weight. Hopefully he’ll start and forego the cardio/curl program that I see the younger crowd do.