Coach,
I’m wanting to improve my squat numbers. I was thinking of doing the Leg Phase of I,BB to do so. Would this be a good idea?
Maybe my form is just not that great?
Squat 250
Deadlift 350
Bench 225
You can see my squat is greatly lagging my deadlift.
Do you have any suggestions? I would really appreciate it, I want to squat 315 ASAP!
Thanks CT!
-Adam
[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Coach,
I’m wanting to improve my squat numbers. I was thinking of doing the Leg Phase of I,BB to do so. Would this be a good idea?
Maybe my form is just not that great?
Squat 250
Deadlift 350
Bench 225
You can see my squat is greatly lagging my deadlift.
Do you have any suggestions? I would really appreciate it, I want to squat 315 ASAP!
Thanks CT!
-Adam[/quote]
Hi Adam!
It looks like your back is coming forward a bit when you come up. You will overtrain your quads this way and place unnecessary pressure/stress on your back.
Here are some things you could try to improve your back squat technique:
(1) Get a foam roller and use it on your legs before squatting
(2) Activate your glutes with a swiss ball in the same manner as with the foam roller. Be sure to flex your hamstrings, quads, and glutes when you roll the ball forward and back. So you should have your upper back on the ground and lower back somewhat in the air to fully activate your muscles.
(3) Elevate your heels somehow when you squat (maybe put two 45 lb. plates on the ground and squat with only your heels elevated on the front part of the plates)
hope this helps,
Eric
I guess I never answered your real question-lol. If you plan on incorporating excellent peri-workout nutrition (specifically one of the ANACONDA Protocols), then I would suggest only doing the leg phase as part of the rest of the I,BB (in the exact order the program was layed out).
Otherwise, you would probably be better off just doing a leg spec. phase. So you have two options–depending on whether you can get in the gym once or twice daily.
(1) If you can only get into the gym once a day: make sure you include some leg exercise(s) into your workout
(2) If you can get into the gym twice a day (30 min. in the morning, 40-50 min. in the afternoon or evening): pick a squat or deadlift variation (it doesn’t seem like you’re a long limbed individual, so stick to the basic bilateral movements). Use Christian Thibaudeau’s max force training method with perfect rep technique (ramping every set up to your max force set) for that one exercise in the morning. In the afternoon or evening, just resume with your regular workout. Learning and executing autoregulation is the best way to reach your goal ASAP because it allows you to make sustainable gains.
In my opinion you would be better off doing something else. The leg phase of IBB is designed to add mass. It will make you stronger as well, but there is not enough emphasis on squats for you to improve radically. Remember that strength is exercise specific.
Having said that, I also notice from your vid that you should probably not squat at all before you correct your mobility issues. At least you should hold off on going that deep. Your pelvic tilt is pulling your spine so that you lose your arch. It’s only a matter of time before you injure yourself. It’s impossible to assess your exact needs from that video alone, but stretch your hams, glutes, external rotators, and possibly even hip flexors. Also foam roll like a mad man.
It looks like you’re running out of ankle room at you get near the bottom. This could be because you’ve got relatively long legs and a shorter torso. Thus the nicer deadlift number too. Looking at that lower back tuck under, I’d say it’s only a matter of time before you significantly injure your back. Your chest is falling forward at the bottom as well…You need to squat as if your life depends on keeping your chest up, especially with your proportions. You also need to assess whether you’re getting enough movement through your calves/ankles.
From the side, it’s hard to see what legs are doing, but the left one seems really wobbly, a front or back video would be helpful so that we can see what your adductors are doing.