WHY. Is it that when I add only FIVE pounds to the bar, all of my power and strength is suddenly GONE? My RPE felt so much higher. Every other exercise I did for this session felt fine. I felt strong. But for these front squats, I felt so stinking weak and I HATED it. I always take the time to warm up with dynamic stretching, including some ankle and hip mobility drills. Does anyone have any tips or advice??
When do you do front squats in your program?
How many reps do you perform them for?
What was your last successful work weight, and at what bodyweight?
4 Likes
This and one more question.
With your previous Max weight prior to attempt is it explosive or grindy?
As this would affect how you should train.
1 Like
And what do your sets working up look like?
By the way, I really enjoy how solution-focused you are in all your posts. You ID what you want to get after, pick a strategy, and then spend some time at it; it’s cool.
4 Likes
I do them twice a week, focusing more on strength and power in the low rep range. Like 3-6 reps for 5 sets. They’re always the first exercise I do.
If I can get 5-6 reps for all my sets, then I go up in weight, adding only 2.5 pounds to each side (5 pounds total). September 13th was my last successful work weight: 135 pounds for 5 reps on all 5 sets. I added in a sixth set because I was feeling particularly strong that day. The Sunday before that, on September 6th, I got 4 reps for 5 sets. So I was feeling pretty confident about my progress.
On the most recent Sunday, September 20th, I went up in weight to 140 pounds. I was not going in with the expectation to hit 5 reps for all my sets at this higher weight; I was aiming for 3. I got 3 reps the first two sets and then could only manage 2 on the last few. I’m a little frustrated with getting such a low rep count, but I’m even more frustrated on how weak I felt. It’s like all my power was gone.
All in all: I’m not entirely surprised I couldn’t get 3 reps for all my sets. I’m more surprised in the fact that I felt so weak. Maybe my nerves got the best of me…like I said, I felt fine on the other exercises I did that day.
I also weigh 140 pounds.
1 Like
My previous max weight - 135 pounds for the 5 reps - was very explosive. I felt like I was on top of the world.
What did you do between 13 Sep and 20 Sep as far as front squat workouts go?
I always warm up with the bar first, focusing on getting out of the hole with as much speed and power as possible. I do this for 10 reps. Then I move up to 105 pounds, again trying to explode out of the hole. I do this for 6-7 reps. Then I go up to the weight I use for my working sets. It might seem like a quick jump, but I don’t want to risk pre-exhausting myself before my working sets.
I rest 4 minutes in between each working set.
And thank you, I appreciate it!
1 Like
So, for me (and both @T3hPwnisher and @bigpappafrance will likely offer better advice), there are two things I’d try:
- Day of: that’s a big jump (25+%) from warmup to work sets. If it’s really the weight scaring you or even just your nervous system not being ready, I’d think about adding additional ramping sets. I’m old, so I feel better when I do a ton, but you can get a feel for the weights without a ton of fatigue. Maybe even try the over-warmup, where you go heavier than your work sets (or just a hold) so the work weight feels light.
You could consider something like:
Bar/10
95/6
115/4
125/2
135/1
150/10s hold (just unrack, walk out, and stand there tight for 10 seconds, then rack it)
Work sets
I haven’t increased your warmup reps, but you get a lot more practice/ exposure.
- Training plan: you might have beaten your reps at 135, but not yet be ready for that 140 (this is probably the case). I’d consider some other progressions to get you there. Maybe you work your way up to 4 x 8 and then even 3 x 10 on the 135 before you take that next jump. You could also play with your rest periods as an intermittent variable if you stagnate. So when you’re not adding a rep to your sets on your way to 4 x 8, you cut rest times down by 30 seconds between sets, without losing a rep, until you’re at 2 minutes… then try taking a run at the 4 x 8 with your old rest period and you’ll probably get it. If you’re knocking out 4 x 8 (and then 3 x 10 if you really wanted to be conservative), it will be less of a jump when you go back to 5 x 5 at 140.
3 Likes
Appreciate the nod dude!
Regarding the training plan approach: something even simpler that can work is just repeating the exact same weight, reps and sets as before. That may not APPEAR like progress, but even without changing anything else, we can simply “own” the weights better from workout to workout. This has been my recent experience with Tactical Barbell. For Operator, you keep the weights, sets and reps the same for 3 workouts in a row before moving up. But, from my own observations, the first workout tends to be somewhat tough, the second a little more manageable, and by the third I have mastered the workout and am ready for more. I’m also not fatiguing my system so much by forcing it to CONSTANTLY adapt to more weight, reps or sets, and instead give it time to grease the groove, ala Pavel.
3 Likes
I have a link to a demo i show people for warm ups.
2 Likes
Also, 2 things:
A) front squats are like this sometimes. They just… suck.
B) there are weeks or days where your body just underperforms the previous session. Its not all linear upward progress. Could be something you aren’t even aware of. Don’t sweat the one-off bad days too much.
PS a near-bodyweight front squat for more than 1 rep is really good.
4 Likes
there are weeks or days where your body just underperforms the previous session. Its not all linear upward progress. Could be something you aren’t even aware of. Don’t sweat the one-off bad days too much.
This is why I want to know what happened between the 13th and the 20th.
My crackpot theory is this; @badgerbabe1223 said they were feeling REALLY good on the 13th, so they added ANOTHER set, which is a deviation from the typical training plan.
Nothing happens in a vacuum. When we add something (another set), we must take from somewhere else. Often, this can be a downstream effect.
I’ve observed this in my own training: if I have a training day where I’m absolutely crushing it, it means I’m going to have a crummy training day soon. It’s because that day I was crushing it was ALSO a day I was digging deeper into my recovery well. We always have to pay the piper.
This was honestly the reason I stopped using Surge. I could train MUCH harder with it, and I wasn’t smart enough to know to STOP doing that, so I was pushing really far into the red.
Often, as counter-intuitive as it seems, on those days when we feel awesome, we should pack it up and go home, rather than push the boundaries.
5 Likes
Agreed!
Just for clarity sake all around, I’m also more in the “give it time” camp - it seems like she’s made a lot of progress quickly and starting to get pretty strong (so it gets slower)
3 Likes
Also your body may have acommidated to the exercise
2 Likes
Are you asking what other workouts I did between the 13th and the 20th?
Specifically front squat workouts. You said you train them twice per week.
1 Like
Oh interesting! I’ve never heard of over-warmup…that might be something worth trying so that, like you said, my working weights feel lighter. I’ll experiment with that next time I have them in my program. That doesn’t sound too fatiguing either.
That’s also good advice about changing up the rep number and/or rest periods. I’ll have to try that too. With how strong I was feeling that one day, I might have jumped the gun a little bit on the last day.
I’ll probably start out with your first suggestion, and if that doesn’t seem to work any better, I’’ll try your second one! Thanks!
1 Like
This is also a really good idea. So in this case, I would do the same exact reps/sets/weight as I did last time (when I felt powerless) and work to get more comfortable/confident with that weight?
I keep having to remind myself that progress isn’t always in the form of increasing reps and/or weight.
3 Likes
Ooooo thank you!! I’ll take a look.