If you don’t have an issue with the bar drifting forward or your back rounding then more lat involvement won’t do anything.
On viewing the vids again ur already half doing a little lat locking movement as u do u final hip wedge and initiate. I think it has to be that way in terms of sequencing because its after you’ve wedged in and gotten your shins forward and everything in the right position over midfoot that the lat’s should be maximally locked/engaged/tight.
Looking at the vids it’s very close, difference is tiny, but with 565 wedge happens first, quick twist to lock the lats and then the lift starts with a jerk. May just be the lighter weight but with 505 the wedge and lat locking happens simultaneously. So looks like you tension your hips and lats such that both hit maximal tightness at the same time when u hit your start position resulting in a smooth start. Maybe try syncing it up and see how things feel
Sometimes it crops up a bit as an issue but only if I’ve messed up the pull having it a bit forward off the ground in the first place or knees cave a bit knocking the weight out in front
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Yeah, I do engage my lats but I’m not really pulling the bar into myself at the start, mostly because I don’t want it too close to me. I think maybe I need to pull it in once I get around kknee level.
With 565 it like I was being more careful with the setup and bracing due to it being heavier, so I didn’t rush to pull it right away once I was in position. 505 just doesn’t feel like much of anything so I just went for it. The risk with heavier weight is getting thrown out of position if you rush the setup, but I guess I should probably be approaching lighter weights the same way too. I usually only record work sets, except on squats I record the last couple warmups.
Monday, October 5 - Squat day
Squat
Last warmup without wraps - 475x1 - Went up nice and easy, this would be like a last warmup set right now if I was doing a meet in knee sleeves.
SBD wraps - 535x1 - Moved well, actually felt like I cut depth but on video it looks good. If 565 last week looked more like this I would have been happy.
SBD wraps - 575x1 - Not really happy with this, last week was slightly better. Last week al my warmups felt like shit and while I wasn’t happy with the top single it wasn’t too bad considering the situation. This week was the opposite, warmups felt great but the top set didn’t work out as planned. It actually felt better than it looked and I thought I went extra deep but it sure doesn’t look like it. On the plus side, I didn’t let the bar drift forward. I felt like it was pushing me forward but I fought it and stayed upright, but it’s funny because other times I drift forward and the bar still goes up fast.
The other thing I noticed which @hardartery pointed out before is that the bar path is straight down but then goes slightly back before I hit the bottom of the squat, seems odd and probably can’t be a good thing.
EliteFTS Super Heavy wraps - 575x1 - I was watching that video of me squatting 600 in these wraps and I started wondering how much of a difference the wraps really make so I decided to throw them on and take another shot at this. These days my stance is just slightly narrower and I don’t sit back as much, feels better generally but seems like it won’t work with the super heavies because they are too stiff and stop me too much. You can see the bottom position here (which is a couple inches high) that my knees get kind of shaky, the wraps basically just stopped me dead right there and I almost lost my balance. Part of the problem is that I just randomly threw them on for one single and they feel totally different from the SBDs, but I don’t think they are the right wraps for me.
Here it was the wraps that limited my depth, in the SBDs it’s totally my fault.
Squat - sleeves
425x3 - I would have done two triples but I did an extra single with 575 so this is all. It was too easy, I should have done 6 instead but whatever.
Band leg curl
light band + mini band x13, 10, 8 - These are making my hamstrings feel real good in a way that I can’t explain, they just feel nice.
Band bad girl - Because who doesn’t need a bad girl after some heavy squats?
light band x15x3 sets - somehow I felt stronger on each successive set, first one was RPE 8-9 and I only rested about a minute between them. Maybe my glutes were half asleep?
I actually didn’t know what to expect today, I slept well last night but I was real from running around at work all day. There might be a COVID outbreak again (an employee tested positive) and there was a lot of bullshit as a result.
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Wednesday, October 7 - Main bench day
Bench press
355x4x2 sets - Went for 5 on the first set and failed, would have been a 5 rep PR. The 4th rep slowed slightly and there was doubt in my mind about the 5th, I think that messed me up but I should have tried harder to fight it, it stalled and I dumped it wihtout much of a struggle. But on the plus side I managed another set of 4, last rep was a grinder, and I kept my ass on the bench which I failed to do when I did 350x5 some time ago. I bench 415 with my ass losing contact not long after that 350x5, so in a few weeks I figure I should be good for at least 415 with my ass down. All is not lost, but bench progress is slow as fuck and I can’t think of anything other than gaining a bunch of weight or taking drugs to speed it up, and I have no plans to do either.
Close grip 2 board
325x6x2 sets
Floor pause DB tricep extension
50’s x12, 10, 8
Next week I’m going to do a couple singles for the top set(s) on bench. This last while was a bit of an experiment with higher rep work, I set some higher rep PRs but now that I went a bit heavier I’m not really ahead of where I was before. At least I’m not weaker though, I feel like squatting heavy 5’s in wraps set me back and in the past anytime I did a high rep phase for bench I did a ton of sets (because volume is so fucking important and has magical powers) and ended up weaker. If anything I could very well see a fast increase in bench strength as I ramp up the weights, and at worst it just gives me a break from heavier work. For squats if I’m going to do something volume-ish in wraps I would just do a few triples instead.
Friday, October 9 - Deadlift day - easy session
Conventional DL
Just some singles - 405, 455, 505 - trying to make the easy days easier
Barbell row - extra strict
185x15x3 sets - I should have put another 20lbs on the bar, I did a few reps with 185 and it felt like something but really I could have pushed it to 20 or so. So I did 3 sets of 15 instead, heavier next time. I’m taking a break from the cheat rows, seems like the benefits might outweigh the fatigue and strain.
Barbell curl
115x15, 12
I didn’t sleep well the last two nights, good thing this was an easy session.
Saturday, October 10 - Bench assistance day
Floor press
350x3
320x6
Both sets felt like I had another rep, but that’s what I said last week and I was wrong so better I just quit while I’m ahead. Performance was up to my expectations.
Military press
205x10 - Same weight and reps as last week so not really any improvement, I could have strained for another rep or two but not really worth it.
185x9
Side raise
30’s x15, 11
W shoulder rotation
super mini x3 sets
Slept well last night, went to bed early too because I was falling asleep. All the bullshit is getting to me.
Monday, October 12 - Squat day - easy session
Squat
up to 465x1 in sleeves
then 515x1 in wraps
The hardest part was wrapping my knees, no joke. Maybe for easy days I should drop the wraps?
Leg curl
Light+mini bands x15 - just getting some blood flow basically with this and the next exercise
Band bad girl
light band x15
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Hmm dunno if ur joking about dropping the wraps but if easy days are meant to be easy anyways may as well have limiting factors in there. Do you get a lot out of wraps? Is you a back or hip dominant squatter?
For examples I don’t get a lot out of em because my hip extension is the limiting factor so doesn’t matter if I get extra knee extension torque if I can’t get me hips through. Chad Wesley Smith was similar I think. He liked training in sleeves a lot because he was leg dominant squat pattern so it built up his hips well enough for when he actually chucked on his wraps.
So, I will admit a little ignorance here, as i never actually trained specifically for PL. I am under the impression that wrap training is mostly for getting used to gear closer to a meet, and sometimes for overload. This may not be current practice, or may have only been the guys I was around, I was just under the impression that most training was done as equipment free as possible - except maybe sleeves (I mean neoprene ones for joint warmth, not ones that actually add support to the lift). I remember a lot of guys adding in work cycles without even a belt for a while to develop the core a little. They felt like it carried over and improved the equipped lifts.
No, I’m serious. I don’t know if doing an easy single in wraps is any more fatiguing than an easy single without them due to the added weight, but the wrapping itself is, especially with these SBD wraps because the elastic is so strong. Not using wraps for a session would make some difference in reducing stress, and I’m not sure there is any advantage to doing an easy single in wraps vs. without.
You see how my squat looks, I use a lot of quads but I lean over a fair bit too. I would say I’m fairly balanced in terms of anterior/posterior dominance. Wraps probably give me 50-60lbs, nothing extreme but still something.
It depends, some people only use them when peaking for a meet and others use them year round. I really sucked at using wraps at first and still have issues with depth (which I don’t normally without wraps) so I figure there is some benefit to using them more regularly. I asked Josh Bryant about this at his seminar in Ottawa and he said it is a good idea, also Louie Simmons has an article where he mentions one of his lifters who had issues benching in a shirt so he used it every week for a year.
I tried that one time and when I put the belt back on it was like I forgot how to brace with it. I deadlift without a belt though, at least now since I’m pulling conventional. The belt doesn’t seem to help me and it gets in the way.
I was thinking of taking a couple months off from the wraps, just not right this moment. Maybe in another month and a half. I only do a set or two in wraps most of the time anyway, I go up to 455-485 before I put them on.
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Wednesday, October 14 - Main bench day
Bench press
375x2 singles - very easy
360x3 - could do another rep for sure but not trying to strain too much because I was planning on straining on the next exercise instead
Rack lockout - about 6 inches from lockout, top third of the lift basically
385x3
405x2x2
I probably could have tripled 405 if I gave myself a couple more minutes between sets, trying to move faster because this isn’t a comp lift. Last rep took 4 seconds though. First time ever doing this, felt like it really woke up my triceps.
Floor pause DB tricep extension
50’s x13, 11, 9 - +1 rep on each set
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Maybe a good sleeve would be close enough for a while? I’m guessing there might be a big gap til the next meet, which would seem a great time to fool around with one or two training cycles without. I remember Geoff Dolan talking about the first time he tried a heavy squat without a belt (500 lbs, this was AFTER his first time at WSM where he was top ten), he said he felt like his anus was outside his body. He trained beltless for a while to up his squat. A lot of guys were experimenting withit at the time, as most guys had always trained with at least a belt.
I don’t think there will be any meets in this part of Canada for a while, Ontario and Quebec are back in COVID lockdown. There are no sleeves that can compare to wraps though, maybe ace bandages but not the sort of wraps people use these days. My plan right now is to stick with what I’m doing (heavy singles and such) for about 6 more weeks, no exact timeline but somewhere around there, then switch back to lighter work and more reps, and like I said I think I will drop the wraps. Maybe use them for an overload set every 3 or 4 weeks but that’s it. I should try to push my non-wrapped squat up to 600, that would be the goal.
Just for the record, not saying you are wrong because obviously a lot of people train beltless at times, but a few well known coaches actually don’t recommend that at all. Boris Sheiko said he advises putting on a belt once something like 60kg is on the bar. Josh Bryant says it’s actually not true that the belt makes your core weak, it actually increases muscle activation (there is research back this up) and using the belt is a skill. I have never seen Yury Belkin squat without a belt, and Malanichev squats in wraps all year.
So I’m not saying you are wrong, I just haven’t found any benefit to squatting without a belt so I’m not going to do it, and like I said I don’t use it for deadlfts, RDLs, or barbell rows. I did plenty of beltless training in the past and never found any benefit. Wraps however are a pain in the ass so I don’t mind a break from that at all.
I honestly have no idea how much merit the idea has, or doesn’t have. Outside of I think that everyone should try it. My total lack of belted ability is probably at least in part due to lack of skill with it.
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Any suggestions for training the bench if your sticking point is off the chest? I’ve heard heavy front plate raises and high rep banded front raises will help to strengthen the front delts. I’ve been doing seated military presses every week and they continue to increase (225x5) last week, but yesterday during my top set of 345x6 on bench, I noticed toward the 4th or 5th rep, off the chest became a bitch.
Rear delts are also trained extensively, with high rep work on reverse pec dec, bent over flies, face pulls, etc.
At chest level it’s mostly pecs, so flys, dumbbell bench, and wide grip bench would be useful for that. Also long paused bench (2-3 seconds), some people like dead bench/pin press (I never got much out of that), and if your forearms are short enough and torso thick enough then floor press could help too. I would just pick a couple different exercises and stick with them for at least a month and see where things go.
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