Squatting-Use the Foam Pad or Not?

Training Powerlifting
21

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
I used the pad once and it stopped me from using my arms to push up on the bar because the pad made it more comfortable just to have the bar across my shoulders/back. I think the pad makes the squat less of a full body exercise, reducing it’s effectiveness. I’ll never use the pad again.

Plus the pad is for pussies.[/quote]

Uh, you’re not supposed to be pushing up on the bar with your arms. If anything, you should be pulling it down into your back/traps.

You are correct that the pad is for pussies, but it wouldn’t make it any less of a full body exercise. It makes it MORE of a full body exercise because it involves the vagina, which does not get worked when doing squats without the pad.

22

[quote]Racarnus wrote:

I know I need more thicker back muscles. The problem is these have been slow to grow, despite strength gains. I can do a one arm pullup and I’ve been working with 110 lbs shrugs 3 sets x 15 reps. In the time until these become thick enough, I’ve been using the pad.

[/quote]

110 is too light to make your back grow, most average joes can put 225 or 315 on their first time. The one arm pull up is impressive, but in conjunction with your shrugs, it makes me assume you are at a very light bodyweight.
I’d guess that you need to up the intensity in the gym and eat some food.

23

[quote]KBCThird wrote:
romanaz wrote:
quit being a pussy and take the tampon off the bar. Give it two weeks and your body will be used to it. Want the bar high on your traps? Put it there. Want it low on your shoulder blades? Pull your shoulder blades back and put it there. Man up already. Life isn’t easy and if you take the easy way out in the gym, what will you do in real life? As I was telling one of the new guys at the gym when he had a tough set of front squats “Quit bitching and do it. Do it here, appreciate the lesson and apply it to your life. When I’m in here and I need to do a hard, heavy set or a new weight, I just man up and do it. Teach yourself to put the fear to the test.”

I feel like this would be a more valid observation if every guy who was strong had his life in perfect order, and for that matter, every guy who had his life in perfect order were strong. That’s not the case.

Oh, and yes, the pad is for pussies
[/quote]

good point, but it can teach you lessons otherwise you wouldn’t have learned. And yes, this is a generalization, but isn’t the reason most of us here started lifting was to gain some confidence about ourselves or get in shape/get stronger to show up a bully or something similar to that? Then wouldn’t the person, in that case need to learn that kind of lesson? Not saying everyone is, but a good majority is.

24

[quote]Racarnus wrote:
I get tingling in my arms and hands when I don’t use the pad. Does this mean I’m putting the bar in the wrong place?

I know I need more thicker back muscles. The problem is these have been slow to grow, despite strength gains. I can do a one arm pullup and I’ve been working with 110 lbs shrugs 3 sets x 15 reps. In the time until these become thick enough, I’ve been using the pad.

“Quit bitching and do it. Do it here, appreciate the lesson and apply it to your life. When I’m in here and I need to do a hard, heavy set or a new weight, I just man up and do it. Teach yourself to put the fear to the test.”

You don’t know me.

[/quote]

your right, I don’t know you, but I know people like you. One kid wants to learn how to squat, but his back is terribly small and he says it hurts to use the bar by itself. I don’t pussy foot around with people when I am helping them out, just teaching them. Coddle the person and thats how they will always be, expecting handouts. Kid asked me how I stand having the bar on my back or on my shoulders for cleans. Told him, I just grinned and beared it and then, my body got used to it. thats how it is and will always be.

25

[quote]evansmi wrote:
Racarnus wrote:

I know I need more thicker back muscles. The problem is these have been slow to grow, despite strength gains. I can do a one arm pullup and I’ve been working with 110 lbs shrugs 3 sets x 15 reps. In the time until these become thick enough, I’ve been using the pad.

110 is too light to make your back grow, most average joes can put 225 or 315 on their first time. The one arm pull up is impressive, but in conjunction with your shrugs, it makes me assume you are at a very light bodyweight.
I’d guess that you need to up the intensity in the gym and eat some food.
[/quote]

Sorry, these are dumbbells. That comes to 220. I think I have shrugged 315 for fun once with a barbell that I deadlifted (which is nowhere near my max at 455). 110 dumbbells may be too light, but it’s very close to my 15RM and I’ve been going up steadily.

I am around 152 lbs. It’s entirely a diet problem which is hard to fix due to time and money and lifestyle (I’m extremely busy and in college). Additionally, small errors in diet have ended causing huge setbacks. During the summer I was able to get up to 164 lbs but lost most of that when I got sick this fall and didn’t eat much for a week and didn’t return to a big diet for a short while after that.

It’s not an intensity problem. I work harder and lift more than anyone I know.

26

[quote]romanaz wrote:

“Quit bitching and do it. Do it here, appreciate the lesson and apply it to your life. When I’m in here and I need to do a hard, heavy set or a new weight, I just man up and do it. Teach yourself to put the fear to the test.”
racarnus wrote:
You don’t know me.

romanaz wrote:

your right, I don’t know you, but I know people like you. One kid wants to learn how to squat, but his back is terribly small and he says it hurts to use the bar by itself. I don’t pussy foot around with people when I am helping them out, just teaching them. Coddle the person and thats how they will always be, expecting handouts. Kid asked me how I stand having the bar on my back or on my shoulders for cleans. Told him, I just grinned and beared it and then, my body got used to it. thats how it is and will always be. [/quote]

Claiming you know people like me is claiming you know something about me. You don’t. You don’t know anything about how hard I work (in life, in the gym), what I’ve accomplished, what my numbers are. Nothing. I was interested in knowing if there were any benefits to avoiding the pad.

I wouldn’t have made this thread if I wasn’t considering going without it. Several people, (not you) argued convincingly that it’s better to go without it. Suit yourself, but some of us tend to like to acquire information so we can make informed choices.

27

Do what you want, but there are good reasons to avoid the pad.

28

Racarnus, when you’re a relative newb to T-Nation, as I am too, and you post some shit, you’re gonna get flamed. That’s all there is to it. Don’t get your feelings all hurt, don’t get defensive, just take it like a man and move on. I’ve made some bad posts, and didn’t get any love when I did. You learn.
Doc

29

[quote]Racarnus wrote:
romanaz wrote:

“Quit bitching and do it. Do it here, appreciate the lesson and apply it to your life. When I’m in here and I need to do a hard, heavy set or a new weight, I just man up and do it. Teach yourself to put the fear to the test.”
racarnus wrote:
You don’t know me.

romanaz wrote:

your right, I don’t know you, but I know people like you. One kid wants to learn how to squat, but his back is terribly small and he says it hurts to use the bar by itself. I don’t pussy foot around with people when I am helping them out, just teaching them. Coddle the person and thats how they will always be, expecting handouts. Kid asked me how I stand having the bar on my back or on my shoulders for cleans. Told him, I just grinned and beared it and then, my body got used to it. thats how it is and will always be.

Claiming you know people like me is claiming you know something about me. You don’t. You don’t know anything about how hard I work (in life, in the gym), what I’ve accomplished, what my numbers are. Nothing. I was interested in knowing if there were any benefits to avoiding the pad.

I wouldn’t have made this thread if I wasn’t considering going without it. Several people, (not you) argued convincingly that it’s better to go without it. Suit yourself, but some of us tend to like to acquire information so we can make informed choices.

[/quote]

You know, if the majority of your posts in this thread are anything to go by then it would seem you just love to piss and moan about anything and everything.

Get over it.

I don’t think one person here has said keep the pad. That should tell you everything you need to know.

30

every time i see the pad in the gym i kick it like 20 feet away and under something, that thing is so stupid, makes the bar slip easier.

maybe its okay for girls starting out who are like all bruisable and stuff, or if you are elderly/have an injury, but absolutely NO girls barbell squat at my gym so fuck it im kicking it out of my sight.

and that whole high bar thing is tough for me, doesn’t feel right, the bar naturally just falls on top of my rear delts, so i just roll with it

31

I don’t feel the bar is as secure on my back if I use the bar pad. Plus, if you do a barbell good morning or a similar movement, a bar pad increases the chances of the bar rolling on to your neck during the eccentric portion of the movement.

32

I like to feel the weight of the bar on my back.

I would not like to put anything between me and the bar.

Koing

33

[quote]Racarnus wrote:
Claiming you know people like me is claiming you know something about me. You don’t. You don’t know anything about how hard I work (in life, in the gym), what I’ve accomplished, what my numbers are. Nothing. I was interested in knowing if there were any benefits to avoiding the pad.
[/quote]

Dude, you are getting free advice here. Stop being so bitter.

What if your numbers are better than his? Does that mean you cannot learn from him? No. I never understood the “I’m stronger, so I must be right.”

As to the pad, don’t use it. It makes the bar slip. It puts it is a higher position. It makes it harder to get into the ‘groove’ in your back. Using the pad makes the bar effectively thicker and makes you have to stretch your shoulders farther back.

34

[quote]Racarnus wrote:
evansmi wrote:
Racarnus wrote:

I know I need more thicker back muscles. The problem is these have been slow to grow, despite strength gains. I can do a one arm pullup and I’ve been working with 110 lbs shrugs 3 sets x 15 reps. In the time until these become thick enough, I’ve been using the pad.

110 is too light to make your back grow, most average joes can put 225 or 315 on their first time. The one arm pull up is impressive, but in conjunction with your shrugs, it makes me assume you are at a very light bodyweight.
I’d guess that you need to up the intensity in the gym and eat some food.

Sorry, these are dumbbells. That comes to 220. I think I have shrugged 315 for fun once with a barbell that I deadlifted (which is nowhere near my max at 455). 110 dumbbells may be too light, but it’s very close to my 15RM and I’ve been going up steadily.

I am around 152 lbs. It’s entirely a diet problem which is hard to fix due to time and money and lifestyle (I’m extremely busy and in college). Additionally, small errors in diet have ended causing huge setbacks. During the summer I was able to get up to 164 lbs but lost most of that when I got sick this fall and didn’t eat much for a week and didn’t return to a big diet for a short while after that.

It’s not an intensity problem. I work harder and lift more than anyone I know.[/quote]

Blah blah blah blah, just quit you’re bitching, it seems like this is an excuse to not Squat, more than anything. Stop using the pad, if you continue bitchin’ I win, and this thread is mine.

35

I hate the Pad and the Manta Ray. They put the bar too high.

36

[quote]Racarnus wrote:

Sorry, these are dumbbells. That comes to 220. I think I have shrugged 315 for fun once with a barbell that I deadlifted (which is nowhere near my max at 455). 110 dumbbells may be too light, but it’s very close to my 15RM and I’ve been going up steadily.
[/quote]

Soooooo…why are you shrugging with 220 lbs if you have shrugged 315 “for fun” before? Also, if you can deadlift 455 lbs then you should definitely have enough trap musculature to endure squatting without a pad.

[quote]
I am around 152 lbs. It’s entirely a diet problem which is hard to fix due to time and money and lifestyle (I’m extremely busy and in college). Additionally, small errors in diet have ended causing huge setbacks. During the summer I was able to get up to 164 lbs but lost most of that when I got sick this fall and didn’t eat much for a week and didn’t return to a big diet for a short while after that.

It’s not an intensity problem. I work harder and lift more than anyone I know.[/quote]

Well then wake up and get the diet in order. Are you training to try to stay in a certain weight class? If not and you’re just trying to get your lifts up as high as possible, you should probably start taking diet more seriously.

Let me ask you a question, why do you think the guys you see in the gym that are big and strong are that way? The answer is because they made it a priority in their life. If you want to get to a similar stage of development, you too need to make this a priority. Diet is not an optional component to this whole building strength and size thing. It’s a necessity. Until you realize that and start making it a priority, you’ll just be basically continually shooting yourself in the foot.

Oh, and here’s one more vote for ditching the pad.

Good training,

Sentoguy

37

[quote]Racarnus wrote:

Sorry, these are dumbbells. That comes to 220. I think I have shrugged 315 for fun once with a barbell that I deadlifted (which is nowhere near my max at 455). 110 dumbbells may be too light, but it’s very close to my 15RM and I’ve been going up steadily.

I am around 152 lbs. It’s entirely a diet problem which is hard to fix due to time and money and lifestyle (I’m extremely busy and in college). Additionally, small errors in diet have ended causing huge setbacks. During the summer I was able to get up to 164 lbs but lost most of that when I got sick this fall and didn’t eat much for a week and didn’t return to a big diet for a short while after that.

It’s not an intensity problem. I work harder and lift more than anyone I know.[/quote]

First off, thats a pretty nice deadlift for your weight.
But come on, at 152lbs, and in college, if you are trying to gain weight there is no excuse not to. You have more time than you ever will in the future, unless you land a pretty sweet career.

At 152, it does not take that much food to gain weight, plus you have the all you can eat cafeteria. If you buy your own food, no meal plan, than drink a gallon of milk and eat peanut butter. Stop making excuses.

And I realize this is completely off the topic of the pussy pad, but I just hate hearing people say they can’t gain weight, because I used to be one of them, and I wish I could get back those years I spent saying, “I already eat a lot, I just can’t gain weight,” its bullshit.

38

Squatting w/ the pad feels really odd and makes squatting harder for me (I typically squat high bar).

People still use the these damn things? Maybe a good marketing ploy would be the MAXout pad. Close enough to maxi pad w/o being one. HA!

I think using the pussy pad w/ zerchers is okay since I can’t hold the bar in the crook of my arms w/ anything over 185 w/o extreme pain.

If squatting w/o a pad hurts, lifting weights is not right for you.

39

[quote]Racarnus wrote:
It’s not an intensity problem. I work harder and lift more than anyone I know.[/quote]

Maybe you need to meet new people then.

40

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Racarnus wrote:

Sorry, these are dumbbells. That comes to 220. I think I have shrugged 315 for fun once with a barbell that I deadlifted (which is nowhere near my max at 455). 110 dumbbells may be too light, but it’s very close to my 15RM and I’ve been going up steadily.

Soooooo…why are you shrugging with 220 lbs if you have shrugged 315 “for fun” before? Also, if you can deadlift 455 lbs then you should definitely have enough trap musculature to endure squatting without a pad.
[/quote]

I shrug at the weight that I use because that’s just how my max strength to strength endurance ratio is. My 1RM is generally way ahead of my 15RM. (Additionally, it’s easier to hold on to a barbell with a mixed grip than two dumbbells at the same total weight) I use high reps because the range of motion is so small. I am increasing the weight and will continue to do so, and it feels very appropriate where I am.

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Racarnus wrote:

I am around 152 lbs. It’s entirely a diet problem which is hard to fix due to time and money and lifestyle (I’m extremely busy and in college). Additionally, small errors in diet have ended causing huge setbacks. During the summer I was able to get up to 164 lbs but lost most of that when I got sick this fall and didn’t eat much for a week and didn’t return to a big diet for a short while after that.

It’s not an intensity problem. I work harder and lift more than anyone I know.

Well then wake up and get the diet in order. Are you training to try to stay in a certain weight class? If not and you’re just trying to get your lifts up as high as possible, you should probably start taking diet more seriously.

Let me ask you a question, why do you think the guys you see in the gym that are big and strong are that way? The answer is because they made it a priority in their life. If you want to get to a similar stage of development, you too need to make this a priority. Diet is not an optional component to this whole building strength and size thing. It’s a necessity. Until you realize that and start making it a priority, you’ll just be basically continually shooting yourself in the foot.

Oh, and here’s one more vote for ditching the pad.

Good training,

Sentoguy[/quote]

When my strength gains plateau, I will start dieting more seriously.

Lifting isn’t my priority in life. It doesn’t have to be. I’ve made serious strength gains, and during the summer when I could focus more attention to it, I made significant size gains.

Right now, I have to go for long periods without eating. I don’t have an all you can eat hall. I have to buy everything. I still try to eat as much as I can. Cooking is time intensive. But these are small problems compared to the fact that with dieting I have to be damned near perfect all the time. Travel, sickness, missed meals…small mistakes erase weeks of good practice.