If its working don’t fix it. Front squats are great. I love them. how you do 20 in a row is beyond me. I end up chocking, my back gives in, my wrists hurt… But you appear to have it sorted.
My point (which echos PWN) is just that - the more stimulus you provide the less fat you will add when you eat. I’m fat already and I’m eating in surplus and managing to get leaner. Because I’m training harder than ever. for yourself if you work hard enough AND eat right you should be able to add lots of lean mass with very little fat.
The weight is light so that’s why I can do 20. Once I get over 10 reps I need to stop and take a few breaths between reps to finish the 20. I feel like it’s more an exercise in cardio than strength. However, I think that’s going to stop happening by week 3 of this program when I have to squat 110. Might even stop in week 2. However, I sort of have to really push myself to try and get the 20 so if I miss the 20 it’ll be because I really couldn’t do it.
In terms of fat gain, which I’d had trouble with in the past, the best thing for that is tracking everything you eat with MyFitnessPal. That’s made a world of difference.
How much are you front squatting, though? I underestimated my 1 rep max for squat so I started off pretty low. That’s why I am able to do so many…for now at least. I’m pretty sure once I get over 100 lbs it’ll probably stop.
Yeah - I’m a bit stronger than you. My estimated 1RM is about 150kg (330lb). I’m front squatting 112kg (250lb) for 5 reps I think it was. But I’ve been at this a lot longer than you. That’s all.
Why? Is 100lb some sort of magic barrier? I mean I get what you are saying - and you are right. At some point the “gains” will slow. However don’t wait for this to happen. Work so hard your body can’t stop getting bigger and stronger. Work so hard 100lb for 20 reps comes easy. And then 105lb, then 110lb and so on. Its all baby steps. And so long as you work hard and eat well 200lb front squats are well within your gift.
I have a similar issue with squats. When I get working sets over a certain weight, my mind convinces me the weight is heavy and it therefore feels heavy. I tend to psyche myself out and underperform. I still haven’t “solved” the issue, but I’m getting closer by not psyching myself up for the lifts, just approaching it with exactly the same set up and mindset I would with any other work set.
A concrete example for myself: I did 120 x 6 a few weeks ago having convinced myself for weeks it was the biggest set of squats I was ever going to do. I built it up all day and built my entire day around it and underperformed. Looked like shit, felt like shit, was an absolute shit show. I got in my own head and made it into too big a deal.
About a week later I did 117.5 x 5. Marginally lighter weights, marginally fewer reps so didn’t think anything of it. Had limited time to lift, didn’t even know what I was meant to be lifting until I got to the garage, hadn’t eaten or prepared. Absolutely smoked it, approached it exactly the same as i would have with 80 on the bar, and it just went with no dramas. Didn’t even realise how close I was to that big set of a week before until I was writing it up later.
TL:DR: 100lbs isn’t a big deal except in your head. Approach it like any other set and it will move like any other set.
I’ve also used this extensively, and still do to a point. My thoughts are that it’s a great meal planning tool, but it’s only as good as the data you put in. It isn’t accurate, and can’t be because there are so many factors involved in this.
100% agree in this point. 147.5x10 is my all time max. Every time I go to move more than this I freeze up.
I tend to jump well past a number and try to add reps slowly over time or drop the weight and add loads of reps.
Example - I was looking for 150x9 earlier in the year. Just about managed 6.
However I’m now doing 22 reps with 140kg. So I can safely say I’m past it.
You are VERY kind. My squat is “okay”. Call me once I get 250kg a few times. That’s my gold standard.
Fyi it’s always my work ethic I question. I’m always doubting if I’m working hard enough, if I’ve left anything / too much in the tank. Because you have a choice in how hard you work. It’s in your gift to work hard.
Your compliment on that means more than the good squat.
Assistance work:
Dips (body weight): 15,15,15,10,10
EZ Curls: ~55 lbs - 2x25 (Oops! The logs on my phone were wrong. I was suppose to increase this to 57.5 lbs)
How difficult are your upper body assistance sets? It looks like you’re upping reps quite a bit. Could be affecting your main upper body work if you’re pushing them hard.
They were difficult. I have a hard time going easy on assistance workouts. I feel like I’m not doing work if I’m not pushing them. I was sort of wondering that too though, that doing so will effect main lifts.
It absolutely will. Going incredibly hard for 1 set and expending 90-95% of your energy for a training session in that set is a skill that you need to learn. Do your best to be conservative on your assistance and put almost all of your energy into your top set for the day. It will help you develop your physique and develop strength better than over-emphasizing assistance work.
Again, you need to remember that training isn’t supposed to bury you. It should be tough, but manageable.
You shouldn’t be progressively overloading your assistance, it’s not really a part of the 5/3/1 methodology and will take away from your work on the main lifts. Look at how well your squat and deadlift are progressing while your only assistance for them is ab work. Do straight sets on assistance with a weight that you can dominate for 5 sets of 10-20 reps depending on how many total reps you’re supposed to get. Anything more will take away from your progress.
I feel like if you’re not progressively overloading on something then what’s the point of doing it? It’s not building anything otherwise. I guess that part is lost on me a bit.
This is a decent compromise between what is optimal and what will keep you happy. Smart idea. Re-read Jim’s section on assistance work in the book you bought, it may add some context to what I’m saying.
Edit: increasing assistance per cycle should keep it in line with your strength increases due to training. Just make sure your weight feels heavy by the end of the last few sets, but make sure you can still do 1-2 more reps on your final set.
Also, I wouldn’t cut ab work if you can help it, it’s probably the most important assistance as you’re trying to learn squatting and push squats/deadlifts. How long are your sessions taking with and without ab work?