I think it’s possible that I could do well with one squat session per week if I just always stick with low bar squats, and have my technique sorted out by that point. But as for bench, if I can squat and deadlift on two separate days in a week then I don’t see why I can’t bench twice. I just thought it would be worth a try to see if I make better progress like that due to being more recovered, but actually it felt like my bench technique was off. I don’t really have a lot of conscious cues for benching, it’s pretty much automatic, so once that isn’t working I have a problem.
I don’t move as much weight as you do but I think this is part of the reason why I can get away with a 2 week gap in squat session sometimes and come back and still surprisingly feel good about my squat. All I do is low bar, and only variation is paused low bar. I doubt it’s textbook form but it doesn’t feel off. It’s more of a mental thing that causes the apprehension for me after a gap.
I didn’t feel stronger on twice a week squatting in 5/3/1 either but that was probably because I wasnt as recovered and I do have a pretty tiring game night once a week. Twice a week definitely felt like the groove was smoother though
I thought it was the exogenous androgens…
The problem is spending weeks and months training a different movement pattern, if you only ever squat one way and you do it for years and years it’s going to feel more natural and won’t require much to maintain technique. Sounds pretty obvious I suppose.
That’s the thing here, if your technique doesn’t feel right then it’s going to limit how much you can lift. For people who absolutely suck at squatting, higher frequency squatting (like 3-6x/week) can give them some quick improvements in technique, it seems to me like that is the main reason that some people have success with that sort of approach.
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Friday, August 29 - 2nd bench day
Bench press
360x1 - easy, again
Slingshot bench
405x4 - couldn’t lock out the 5th rep, not happy
365x8
Military press
215x7, 6
JM press
205x11, 9, 8 - I’m making some fast progress on this, hopefully it will help my bench lockout
Band pull apart
super mini x23, 16, 10 - closer grip than last week
Barbell curl
75x19, 14, 11
Don’t tell anyone! Still going for that Fake Natty vibe! Lol
Maybe I should start deadlifting twice
It might help, but deadlift is the one lift that actually seems to do best with less frequency. AMRAP sets are a bad way to train a lift that you don’t have good technique on.
What’s the best way to improve technique? Find a competent coach close to you and go give him money? I’ve wanted to get some help with my squat and reached out to the only legit weight lifting/comp place around and got nothing back.
Unless you have a competent coach or training partners watching you lift, you will first need to know what proper technique should look like and then record your work sets so that you can see what you are doing and make necessary adjustments. You should mostly do submaximal work that allows you to lift without form breakdown, and some heavier (not high rep) sets that challenge your ability to maintain proper technique. You can look at what I’m doing for my squat and deadlift in the last few weeks for an example of what that might look like, I’m coming back from a minor back injury, didn’t squat with a straight bar for a couple months before that and haven’t done conventional deadlifts in a while.
The important thing is to stop short of technical failure, if you can’t do another rep without it looking like shit then stop. And you can post videos on here for feedback.
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Friday, August 30 - Light squat/main deadlift day
Squat
315x2x6 - 45 sec. rest - These are starting to feel good again, moving almost as fast as they should. I want to just blast them right up out of the hole, almost there.
Deadlift - conventional
495x3 - I think this was easier than last week with 15lbs more, I would say 2-3 reps in the tank. Biggest problem is the belt combined with being more bent over puts a lot of pressure on my stomach, I went to pull the 3rd rep and felt like I was going to puke so I relaxed, let out a burp, then pulled myself back into place and pulled the 3rd rep. Not how I expected it to go, but I got the job done.
I’m making some fast progress on this and my technique is still not too solid, I get the feeling that maybe I have more potential with conventional than sumo. I’m not really partial to either, I’m just going to see where this goes.
405x3x3 - 2 min. rest - The belt was bugging me again, but this time because it was pinching my skin. On the 3rd set I tried setting it lower in the front but it still pinched me and felt worse overall so I moved it back to my normal position and pulled the last 2 reps. I guess I just have to deal with it, I don’t see another option.
Also, I tore the callus on the middle part of my right thumb, I think on the last set. Hook grip on conventional is much less comfortable than sumo because my thumbs are fully on the knurling and the pressure is on different parts of my thumbs. I think I’m going to start doing volume work (if you can call it that, it’s not much volume) with straps to save my thumbs.
Barbell row
265x10x2
Inverted row
bw x19, 14, 11
I’m guessing you’d suggest I’d stick to 5’s pro for the deadlift if I plan to keep using 5/3/1?
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Yeah, I think that’s a good idea for a lot of newer lifters.
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Well I don’t think I’ll be able to lift until october 4…was supposed to lift once a week as maintenance until then, but it now also seems unlikely to happen. When I get back, might as well relearn my conventional and use 5’s pro
Why, what happened?
Oh I’m not injured or anything. I have this really important exam for my career coming up so I’ve been studying close to almost 12 hours a day 6 days a week recently, might even need to bump up it to 7 days. I’d be adding to travel time and taking away time for sleep if I still squeezed in going to the gym.
You don’t think too much studying can become counterproductive? Sounds like you are pushing the limits of your brain’s MRV.
But yeah, if you have other priorities I can understand.
Well there’s a few minutes of breaks in between, some longer than I’d like lol. It really just boils down to not having a choice though. There’s just too much to study
Anyway, trainingwise, it’s just another minor bump in the road. Way better than being injured
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Monday, September 2 - Main bench day
Bench press
345x4 - This is sort of a PR, I did 345x4 with a wider grip not too long ago but as I mentioned before, it seems like I can do more reps with lighter weight with a wider grip but my 1rm is lower. Anyway, nothing to get too excited about but at least my bench is back on track.
310x7
Floor press
310x6, 6 - Last set was all out RPE 10. I stalled on the last rep and the thought of how much it would suck to get stuck under the bar on the floor flashed into my mind, instantly I found the energy to grind it out. I think I’m getting stronger in the top end on my bench, at least I hope so, and that’s the whole reason I’m doing slingshot bench as a sort of secondary main lift.
High incline
250x6, 5
Chin ups - close neutral grip
bw+20x12, 8, 7 - I felt like a chin up machine on the first set, maybe I should rest a bit more than 2 minutes so that I can get more reps on the last 2 sets. At the end of my workout I just want to get this over with though.
Anyone following this may have noticed that I haven’t had an actual deload in about 2 months, normally I wouldn’t do that but since I started back squatting and deadlifting with light weights and I’m still not moving anything too heavy plus volume is pretty low I’m not really accumulating any fatigue. It seems to me that bench doesn’t really cause me much fatigue at all, it’s mostly squatting and deadlifting. Probably in a few weeks I will have to deload since the weights are going up and up each week, I can only continue with that for so long but for now its working fine.
Tuesday, September 3 - Main squat day
Squat
450x2 - I wanted this to be an easy triple, instead I got a hard double. I think I probably could have done another rep, I strained a bit on the 2nd rep but it wasn’t max effort, but a 3rd rep definitely would have been. Probably better that I stopped where I did, next week I will do 440x3 and the week after try for 455x3, at worst it will be a double with 5lbs more.
I’m pissed off because the day I injured myself at the end of June I squatted 450x3 on the SSB and I was saying I should have gone for a 4th rep. Now I’m struggling to match that with a straight bar.
360x3x4 sets - 2 min. rest - These moved well, I think it was better than last week with 350.
Pause squat
335x6x2 - These were good too, just need to push more weight on the top sets where it counts
Split stance RDL
155x8x3
Thursday, September 5 - 2nd bench day
Bench press
365x1 - Nice and easy
Slingshot bench
410x4
370x8
Military press
220x7, 5
JM press
215x10, 8, 7
Underhand band pull apart - shoulder width grip
super mini x25, 17, 11
Barbell curl
75x20, 15, 12
Today went well, my upper body feels strong. It looks like what I’m doing is working for my bench. Now I just need to figure out how to get my squat up to something decent.
Friday, September 6 - Light squat/heavy deadlift day
Squat
315x2x6 - 45 sec. rest - this went well
Deadlift - conventional
510x2 - I was going to go for a 3rd but it felt like I was out of position, kind of disappointing but the 2 reps moved well, no straining at all and should be able to do a couple more. I didn’t even attempt to pull a 3rd rep, I just got in position and pulled the slack out of the bar and it felt like my back and hips weren’t set right, I wiggled around and did the same thing a second time before giving up. I guess I’m a bit paranoid about busting up my back again, I’m actually thinking that maybe singles would be better because I can set up for the first rep no problem, its resetting after each rep that is the issue.
Also I tried taping my thumbs since my right thumb is beat up from last week, it protects my skin but seems like there is more pressure when I pull and actually hurts my thumbs more.
415x3x3 - 2 min. rest - I used straps for these, I try to avoid using straps for pulling from the floor since I find it throws off my technique but it was better than the tape for sure.
Barbell row
280x10x4
I added a couple sets and skipped the inverted rows, last week I did 19 reps on the first set and there isn’t really a good way to load those, a dip belt would have a chain crushing my balls so that isn’t happening. My back feels fine so a couple more sets of these is a good substitute.