I’m sceptical it’s exacerbated by a lack of beltless squatting. If your deadlift’s going up, you’re either just exposing a weakness that was already there; or your back is lagging behind your legs which have gotten stronger.
Either way, beltless squatting may not be the best way to bring your back up. I know my back is a bit of a weak link in the squat, but I’ve found SSB good mornings and back extensions with added weight to help more than beltless squats, and arguably cost less to recover from.
Not that beltless squats are a bad idea, I just figure other stuff works better.
You’re right in that it is a weakness that is already there. My posterior chain has been a weak point but I think I’ve been more successful at bringing my hamstrings up so my lower back weakness is just more pronounced. I’m going to try the beltless squats on deadlift day and keep my volume or pause squats on squat day for now I think. Going to rotate in some back extensions, band good mornings, and other posterior chain movements that I use less often as well.
Bodyweight 238.2 - was 237.2 yesterday which is the lowest yet of my weight loss excursion. Just a fluctuation today.
Had to bench and squat today as I missed training yesterday. My daughter has had a virus for the past few days so it has been hectic getting her to and from the doctor, as well as working more hours than usual to meet tax deadlines. Gotta push on anyway…
Bench 205x5, 230x3, 255x6. Not bad, didn’t have a spotter so I cut it about a rep short of a true max-out.
Squat 325x5, 365x3, 410x2. This sucked, and I really want that fucking top set back. I didn’t stay tight on the second rep and basically deflated in the hole.
Kind of a frankenstein workout since I had to combine squat and bench. I think I’m ready to pitch my Sheko/ 5/3/1 hybrid program to Wendler (just kidding).
Counting macros has been not bad so far. Even had to slam some rice and milk after training to hit my numbers. I will evaluate week-by-week to see if I am losing weight an acceptable rate and adjust as necessary.
BW 235.8 - up a tick from 235.2 yesterday, which is a current weight loss PR and marked 10 lbs down. Nice.
Hit some floor press today: worked up to 265x4, 275x2. Previous PR was 265 for 2.5 less than 2 months ago so this was good!
Just hammered some volume after.
Neutral Grip DB Bench 45’s x27, x22
DB Rollbacks: 20’s - did 5 sets all between 15-17 reps and kept rest periods about 45 sec
Band pressdowns 4x25
Cable Rows 85 lb x30, x20, x18
Face Pulls 35 lb 3 x15, x20, x12
Finished with some EZ bar curls just 2 sets to failure
Then a weight vest walk for ~25 min.
Notes:
My strength is up, and my work capacity feels great. I’m 10 lbs down and the conditioning is starting to pay off. No need to go crazy with it, just want to keep my GPP high and maintain.
My brief 5/3/1 vacation was nice, but I’m back to conjugate training. I feel like a shitty program hopper but the more I thought about it, the less I could justify committing to a different program. Conjugate has worked for me for the past year or so and I don’t see a reason it should change. I’ll probably do this again in a few months, lol, but I always end up coming back to conjugate and it continues to work. So there you have it.
OK, never bench and deadlift heavy on the same day. It’s horrible. If you pull first, your upper back is cactus and good luck getting your lower back to arch. If you bench first, your upper back will suck at keeping the bar close in and your lower back will be tired from arching and want you to die.
Bodyweight PR was 234.8 yesterday. It tends to fluctuate down the morning after training, then back up the next day, but I’m currently at about -1.5 lb per week.
DE LOWER
Warmup:
Agile 11 + lax ball to the pecs
Box Jumps 3x8
Goal today and for the next few DE sessions is to hit a shit ton of volume and really test out my work capacity.
Box Squats: 225: 25x2 - completed in 27.5 minutes. Would like to get to about 1 set per minute or less.
Speed Deadlifts: 245x 12 singles. Completed in just under 7 minutes. Not bad but 30 sec per pull is ideal.
GHR x12, x12, x6
Leg Curls 50 lb 5x25
Side Bends 60lb 3x20 per side
Sled Mill - 10 minutes with intermittent rests, forwards and backwards
The squats were the real test of work capacity and I did pretty well. My conditioning really is pretty good for what my training calls for and even in the early stages of my weight loss I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how I’ve been able to really push my volume and rest periods so far.
This was my first time box squatting in almost a year. Felt awkward at first but after 25 sets I was in the groove. Will probably take the same weight next week and just try to beat my time. A few weeks of this and then I’ll look at setting up a 3 week speed-strength wave, and maybe even use some bands.
I have my sights set on 198. Would like to get to about 200 lbs to give myself an honest assessment of my ideal weight class in the long run. I think with my frame it will eventually end up being 220 but my body composition needs to improve before I settle in there. One step at a time.
@max13 sounds like a good plan. Lean out, reset the body, add muscle. I’m doing exactly the same, and I reckon I’ll end up somewhere between 220 and 242 lbs.
Gotcha, sounds like you’re probably right about your weight class. At 5’6" most of the literature would have me at 181-198 ideally but I have a very thick lower half and I think I’m going to end up more in the 198-220 range.
Side note: I’m considering doing my next meet in the USAPL, our IPF affiliate here in the states. The weight classes actually go 83kg, 93kg, 105kg, with a 2-hour weigh-in, so I’d be looking at 93kg (205lb) and sitting at weight instead of doing a water cut like I do for the RPS meets.
Speed Bench 155lb 15x3 - completed in just under 14.5 minutes which is spot on
DB Incline Press - 40’s x28, x26
DB Skull Crushers - 35’s 2x12, x10, x8
Chest-Supported DB Rows 35’s 2x20, 2x13
Lat Pulldowns to Belly 85lb x15, x12, x9
Band Face Pulls x many
Decided to forego conditioning today as I was pretty wiped out and sore all over. Hit some super-light leg curls to get some blood flow to my super-sore hams while I set my fantasy football lineups then called it a day.
SSB Squat to Low Box - Worked up to 385x2, then 385x3. Wanted to hit a max triple so I was pissed I only hit 2 at first. Psyched myself up and came back to get it for 3 on the next one.
Leg Press 4 plates x 15, 6 plates x 15, 8 plates 2x15
Cable Pull Throughs: 57.5 lb 3x20
Avg Band Good Mornings: 4x25
Ab Wheel 3x10, 1x8
Weight Vest Walk ~ 1 mile
Wow, these weights look fucking light when I write them out. Even so, I’m fairly sure I’d be good for 500 on a competition squat any day now, but I’m not going to test that out for another few weeks.