I have a Strength training facility in Frankston, Australia, and I have quite a few lifters doing 400lb squats. We only squat 100% raw.
My son squatted 320lbs @ 147lbs, he is was 16, turned 17 last week. The biggest raw squat at PTC is 455lbs.
No belts allowed.
best gym squat…360 / legal depth / 185 lbs
best meet squat…352 / 180 lbs
both were belted / knees wrapped
zero progress being made recently , so not sure of time-span to hit 400
[quote]PTC Frankston wrote:
I have a Strength training facility in Frankston, Australia, and I have quite a few lifters doing 400lb squats. We only squat 100% raw.
My son squatted 320lbs @ 147lbs, he is was 16, turned 17 last week. The biggest raw squat at PTC is 455lbs.
No belts allowed.
[/quote]
no cheater gear at all??
If I ever go to Australia, I would have a session there! Do you disallow mirrors too?
yeah im hoping to hit 405 by september too… possibly trying smolov base cycle, but would it screw me over at all because of how hard it is and how young i am (just turned 16)?.. ive been through some really intense leg training that made mine impervious to soreness while gettin only 6 hours of sleep a night. Just wondering if it would be good as long as i was getting proper rest and eating.
I got 315 ATG before football season this year (Feb) and i hope takign it easy on lifting durign the season didnt put me too far behind hah, i tried 230 for reps and got 17 so i hope thats a good sign.
good luck to all and thanks for any help.
[quote]stallion wrote:
No belts allowed.
Nothing, only chalk on deadlifts. The training is practical, in real life, you dont run off to get gloves, belt and wraps to carry the shopping in. If I have a client who wants to lift in assisted powerlifting, then of course we train like that, but if you dont plan to compete, why kid yourself with all that gear. On my website you can see pics of all the lifters with zero assistance gear on
If I ever go to Australia, I would have a session there! Do you disallow mirrors too?
Absolutely no mirrors, I hate the things. Olympic barbells, bumper plates, squat racks, Stones, kettlebells, chains, bands, kegs, fat bars, dumbbells. My heaviest KB is 141lbs, we cant get anything heavier in Australia.
Anybody coming to Australia from the states or anywhere else in the world can train free at PTC. My contact details are on my website www.ptcfrankston.com
[/quote]
[quote]bigclint wrote:
yeah im hoping to hit 405 by september too… possibly trying smolov base cycle, but would it screw me over at all because of how hard it is and how young i am (just turned 16)?.. ive been through some really intense leg training that made mine impervious to soreness while gettin only 6 hours of sleep a night. Just wondering if it would be good as long as i was getting proper rest and eating.
I got 315 ATG before football season this year (Feb) and i hope takign it easy on lifting durign the season didnt put me too far behind hah, i tried 230 for reps and got 17 so i hope thats a good sign.
good luck to all and thanks for any help.[/quote]
They have football in Canada? Wow
Hit a 385 squat today in a belt/wraps. And a 375 w/out wraps. Not sure if im doing the base cycle of smolov this summer or not, but if I am, you can count on me hitting 400+.
It’s been mentioned here a couple of times about belts, so instead of starting a whole new thread I thought I’d post it here where people are talking about wearing it while squatting.
Belts allow you to lift extra weight, no matter what people say. If they didn’t then every single powerlifter wouldn’t be wearing one at meets.
But for an athlete should they be wearing a belt, since it allows them to strengthen there legs more by using extra weight. Or should they squat beltless to improve their abs and lower back and then the extra weight will get on the bar?
[quote]OooahhhCANTONA wrote:
It’s been mentioned here a couple of times about belts, so instead of starting a whole new thread I thought I’d post it here where people are talking about wearing it while squatting.
Belts allow you to lift extra weight, no matter what people say. If they didn’t then every single powerlifter wouldn’t be wearing one at meets.
But for an athlete should they be wearing a belt, since it allows them to strengthen there legs more by using extra weight. Or should they squat beltless to improve their abs and lower back and then the extra weight will get on the bar?
[/quote]
I’m not an expert but I think it would make sense to squat more weight with a belt and then strengthening your abs sepperately.
Then what happens the first time in life you have to lift up something heavy and you havent got a belt, why not simply bring a security blanket to the gym.
If a guy lifts in competitions, then he should use whatever equipment is permissable in that comp. But none of my clients compete in comps outside PTC, where I dont allow any equipment, so why train in it.
If a 16yo weighing 147lb can squat 320lb without a belt, anyone can. He has NEVER worn a belt, so he doesnt know any better. My wife competed in National Powerlifting Competition, so I have wraps, suits, shirts and belts in my gym, its no big deal if he wants to try them, he is simply not interested, he just wants to know what HE can lift.
I have new clients come in with their belts, and I dont let them wear them. The rule is if your not lifting the most weight in the gym, then you dont need equipment. I have Record Boards up in the gym, so everyone can see what the most weight lifted is. The best squat is 475lb, best deadlift is 585lb, both without a belt.
My 16yo is the only lifter to do double bodyweight squats and 1 1/2 times bodyweight x 20 squats, all without a belt. Anyone doing less than that is kidding himself if he’s wearing a belt.
Tony squatting 420lbs to an 11" high box…no belt
Chris squatting 400lb to an 11" box…no belt.
oh boy, I just failed to squat 405 last time. People in here are gonna rub it in my face judging from how they feel about me. lol.
Shorty squatting 363lbs @ 149lbs…no belt
Back on the belt thing, recently I had 3 clients lifting in the gym, Hamish is 230lbs, Fat Dave is 240lbs and Kaspar is 200lbs and 17 years old. The girls were comparing Max’s size, 147lbs to Kasper, they are the same age, and having a giggle. The 3 big boys had all just failed at clean & pressing 175lbs. Max had an injured knee and couldnt lift, he hurt it playing soccer. He replied “At least I can press that” to which the guys gave him an open invite to try.
With no belt and no warm whatsover, he clean & pressed 175lb @ 147lb, just to stop the giggling. He has perfect technique, and seeing he has cleaned 220lb before, even on one leg, this was no challenge, because he always lifts without a belt, he never relys on anything but his own strength.
Here is a pic taken in January 2009, Max with 210lb overhead @ 147lb…no belt, 16yo
[quote]VikingsAD28 wrote:
They have football in Canada? Wow[/quote]
oh ha ha ha, lol
I competed in my first powerlifting meet on May 2nd but only managed a 375 squat and a 450 deadlift. My goal is to by Septemeber hit a 400 squat and a 500 deadlift…just in the last 2 weeks I have managed to squat 350 for 5 reps and 375 for 3 reps. I’m starting work on the deadlift this week by working up to a 5 rep max.
[quote]ronaldo7 wrote:
Hello everyone. A lot of you on this part of the forum probably have a 400lb squat already but I bet there are some out there just like me who hope to one day squat 400 or more.
My best is currently a 265x5 at 180lbs ATG or very close to it. I can probably squat 300 but have no spotters to test my max( I do but my OLY coach won’t let me…yet). So I have a LONG WAY to go and I’m cool with that. Currently have a few knocks on my left knee and ankle…oh well SQUATZ AND MILK :D.
The reason for this post is to see who is working to improve their squat number and is bellow 400lbs.[/quote]
I was in the same boat as you – could squat a good amount, but was afraid to test my max. I would suggest the “rule of 90%”
Basically, you pick a weight that’s 90% of your 1RM, go through 3 weeks, deload, and do again. I started right at 90% and added 5-10 pounds a week. In 4 months I added 30 pounds to my 1RM. But, more importantly, handling loads at and above 90% gave me confidence to max out. Just a thought. Good luck to you.
Finally got to film my lifts!
And i set two new PRs in the gym today, with one being a squat PR
here’s a link for the squat. there’s also a deadlift video on there to.
also I dont think it was deep enough, but I’m still rather happy with my form.
Tell me what you think.
It was 350 lbs (160 kg)