Silicone implants.
What do you really want me to tell this guy, that he has no hope because he’s not big enough? Or just “believe in yourself, you can do it!” at 215 and 6’2"? Obviously he is going to have to spend years slowly gaining weight if he wants to get anywhere in powerlifting. Is that what he really wants to do? Only he can decide, he has to weigh the pros and cons and make his own choice.
It just seems a bit far fetched dont you think?
Going from 215 ibs to 270 and still lean? Building Muscle doesnt work like that. He could maybe get to a lean 240 ( if hes luck) and 250 at most if hes a genetically gifted freak. That will take years and years. But 270 is just a joke. 300 ibs had me almost crying in laughter.
I was 6’2" and when I was 190 lbs, I could workout with 225 lbs on squat. I don’t think it is his weight that is the issue. If we saw his form, we would know better.
At 6’2", 235 is probably a pretty good weight to lift a crap ton of weight.
My advice to OP is to do the 5 x 5 series at a heavier weight.
I have severe sleep apnea at 5’9" and 215 lbs, with an AHI of 67. But I have a 18.25" neck. My doctor says it’s pretty much 100% guaranteed at 18-19" neck. All that mass relaxes and collapses when you sleep so your neck tries to off you.
5 years on a CPAP machine. It sucks but w/o it I’d probably die of a stroke in my sleep.
Maybe Chris is exaggerating to make a point, but having put 40 lbs on since starting training 3.5 years ago, it would seem that a not-sloppy 250-260 is a good target for his height. 50 lbs of mass over the long haul isn’t unreasonable.
Alright professor, please tell it like it is then. What is your advice for the OP? All you have done so far is argue with me and say that I’m wrong (despite the fact that I’m quoting one of the top coaches in the sport, and most SHWs aren’t much over 6 feet), so why don’t you say something constructive instead of arguing?
There is no reason why someone like the OP can’t get to a lean 270. It will take time (not by the end of the year or anything like that) and may require some cutting cycles if he starts to get fat, but it’s certainly possible. Look at Sheiko’s lifter Christophe Rebreyend, he was 118kg when he started working with Sheiko and weighed in at 162.5 at IPF worlds last year - an increase of 44.5kg, nearly 100 lbs. So stop talking bullshit and say something that makes sense, based in reality. Personally, I wouldn’t want to gain 50 or even 100lbs., I plan to fill out the 242 class and try to stay around 15%bf. But I’m not 6’2". Whether the OP wants to do this is his decision, I’m not pushing him to do anything but rather giving him a realistic perspective of what he needs to do to become a successful powerlifter. He can stay at the same weight and try to increase his squat as much as possible is he so chooses, nobody said you have to be a powerlifter.
As inspirational as your tale of squatting 225lbs is, the OP is already significantly stronger than that and aspires to lift even more. Thank you.
I’m not even exaggerating, I’m just telling him what needs to be done if success in powerlifting is the objective. Maybe 300 was an overestimation, but most SHWs are not much over that and most feds have a 308 class. I just looked up Ray Williams’ height, he is 6’1". Now the SHW thing is a major life-changing decision since you raise the risk of hart problems and all kinds of other shit, but some people will do whatever it takes.
I just measured my neck, it’s around 16.5". I have noticed that it grew a lot since I started powerlifting and I think it’s largely due to using a safety squat bar a lot. I have no sleep issues (I’m about 235 and 5’9") but I better watch it, another two inches and I’m screwed.
This thread has gone off the rails a bit. OP asked what to do to increase his squat, not become a world champion.
You most likely need to do more than this.
I apologize. I thought that it was pretty clear… If I could squat 225 lbs at 190 lbs, then imagine where I would be at 215 lbs!
There wasn’t really a need for the snarky/sardonic attitude.
I had to go back and read what I actually wrote at the beginning, I never told him that he needed to bulk up to 300 (or 270) but rather that with his proportions he isn’t likely to become a great squatter. Somehow this was interpreted as me telling him his life isn’t worth living unless he holds a squat record in the 308 or SHW class.
My advice (which I still stand by) was to increase volume and frequency, build up his quads, and increase aerobic capacity. He responded that his cardio/aerobic capacity was good so he can skip that part, the main thing is getting more volume in the appropriate manner. If he plans to go far in this sport (this is the competitive PL forum, there are other “general fitness” forums like “Bigger Leaner Stronger”) then somewhere around 270 looks like the right weight for him, and the next weight class down is 242 which is still light at 6’2".
Its the only one he knows. Ignore him.
I guess I will just have to ignore him… le sigh
No chill hahaha
yup, when i went from 275 to 325 my body fat went down actually, still got sleep apnea, overall it was worth it
this thread lel.
Gain Weight/Add Useful Muscle:
Given you deadlift 500 your back, hams and glutes are probably strong enough. Quads is where its at for you. Quads of the gods. Ain’t nobody ever failed a squat cos they quads were too big. Lots of ways to do this and there’s quite a bit to it but it’s simple enough so I won’t cover that here.
300lbs lean is probably a bit of an exaggeration. Tho powerlifter lean is not bodybuilder lean especially when you natty. Anyways its the principle that counts. Over time you should be recompositioning to carry more lean body mass within your weight class (may end up going up a weight class but that’s for later). End up doing this for years and years and its gonna be quite a bit of weight. Don’t think about a certain number or weight just get bigger and stronger.
Improve Technique:
Cos everybody can and should have better technique. Being happy with solid technique is a great way to not utilize the quickest easiest method to squat more. A video of where/how you fail your squats or at least a formcheck with decently heavy weights would be helpful in determining where it breakdowns and where your weaknesses, technical or otherwise, lay and thus what you should be doing to best address these.
Programming:
Lots of decent suggestions in this thread but I reckon you’d be better off following a program instead of putting together your own. Some Sheiko template Smolov action is probably inappropriate for you right now. A decent intermediate program should set you up nicely for long term gains.
If you still wanna do your own thang here’s some suggestions:
Assistance/Accessory Work: Since there’s no vid of your “solid” squat or any info about where your weaknesses and form break down occur can’t make a suggestion for assistance work. More quad work(volume, frequency and/or intensity) will probably be great accessory work for you and any raw squatter tbh.
Frequency: Minimum twice a week. Play with volume/intensity until you can do twice a week. Great for technique practice and refinement and if you can squeeze in more SRA cycles in a given time you’ll be making more gains than someone getting half of that. At your weights you should be fine going twice a week or even thrice a week as long as you are sensible with volume.
chris’ point on possible rubbish work capacity and/or poor fatigue management is valid af but can’t say for sure from your info.
I have one word for you: Technique. Try fixing that first then attack the quads and the lower back. The hams won’t be used much because the angle of the hips and the angle of the knees will be cancelling each other out in a long legged, bent over squatter.
Get a coach to observe your form and post a video. Oh and don’t gain weight until your form is down as gaining a substantial amount of weight will change your form yet again.
It looks like others have already given some good advice, but here are some things that helped me in my squat (500).
high volume–I haven’t found this to be the case with bench and deadlift, but I personally respond amazing to high, high volume on squat. I would recommend a form of DUP as far as programming that.
form–watch good channels on youtube and refine your form. I picked up a few cues over time from watching other great lifters that have really clicked and dramatically helped me.
patience–this one is tough, but just remain patient and I really, really can’t stress enough how important it is to focus on mobility and staying healthy. Long term that is how you get insanely strong.