I want to get my unequipped squat up. I am pretty good at using a suit and have done a 575 single in a single ply Titan centurian suit but with no gear or belt I have done 365 for 2 sets of 5 (all well below parallel) but I wouldn’t say I am pleased with that. I would like to increase my raw squat.
Enough about me Tell me how this sounds:
Week 1: with a belt go up to a heavy triple, take belt off and do 3 sets of 5 with 50 pounds or so less, to work on technique and increase volume.
Week 2: do 3 sets of 5 with the same weight as week 1, but no heavy triple so I do not burn out.
Followed by assistance, then week 3 I’d do it over with hopefully a higher weight on the triple. Etc.
Does that sound alright or would you recommend something else?
All I can do is tell you what worked for me. This spring I hit 605 X 1, with knee and wrist wraps and a belt, no suit, @ 215lbs. That’s being natural and after lifting for three years.
I did a lot of front hack squats [face pressed into the padding] to get stronger in the rear. I also did a lot of “10-3’s”, or doing 3 rep sets with a 10 second eccentric on each rep, on squats. I got where I was doing those with 405, 425, and up; doing those and the front hacks will do a great job of getting you stronger at the bottom of the squat. I also would do back squats on one day and front squats on another.
Beyond those, the best thing you can do is squat as heavy as you can, week in and week out. I went as heavy as I could, every week, for three years. It’s really that simple, I think. A lot of people would see me handling that kind of weight and ask how to get that strong, but I didn’t see nearly as many people squatting as heavy as they could every week.
Keep forcing your body, and will get stronger. Keep at it.
[quote]saavedra wrote:
I want to get my unequipped squat up. I am pretty good at using a suit and have done a 575 single in a single ply Titan centurian suit but with no gear or belt I have done 365 for 2 sets of 5 (all well below parallel) but I wouldn’t say I am pleased with that. I would like to increase my raw squat.
Enough about me Tell me how this sounds:
Week 1: with a belt go up to a heavy triple, take belt off and do 3 sets of 5 with 50 pounds or so less, to work on technique and increase volume.
Week 2: do 3 sets of 5 with the same weight as week 1, but no heavy triple so I do not burn out.
Followed by assistance, then week 3 I’d do it over with hopefully a higher weight on the triple. Etc.
Does that sound alright or would you recommend something else? [/quote]
Don’t back off on the weight like this. You want to work up to your maxes and then repeat that attempt over and over again. getting stronger is about repetition and progression. Doing one max set and then dropping the weight is like taking 2 steps forward and one step back. I did a similar set up to what you have listed where I would work up to 1 heavy set and then drop the weight. My squat went nowhere. You’re better off doing multiple sets of triples then try to progress up in weight using triples going up in 5 to 10 pound increments. Your better off going balls out for a few weeks straight like this and then taking 7 to 10 days off to recuperate, rinse and repeat.
[quote]saavedra wrote:
Thanks for your replies. Does this sound better?
Week 1: heavy triples
Week 2: heavy triples
Week 3: 3x5 with an easy weight?
Then start over…[/quote]
It’s just my .02, but I’d do something like
wk 1–heavy triples
wk 2–heavy triples, add sets or weight
wk 3–heavy singles (90+%, though PR attempt is up to you, aim for 4+ singles)
wk 4–back off weight
or
wk 1–triples
wk 2–singles
wk 3–triples, more weight or sets
wk 4–singles/PR attempt
wk 5–back off, aim for new rep max or something
repeat cycle with slightly more volume
Try to drive up (carefully, of course) the amount of volume you can tolerate at heavy percentages, whether singles or triples, or whatever. Try to get to the point you can tolerate a lot of intensity work, then back off for 1-2 weeks and try for a PR.