[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Zep, I hate to get all preachy. First off, your squat training has gone pretty damn well recently so I can’t get after you on that. Second, who the fuck am I to tell you what to do? But I don’t see anyone more experienced than me saying it so I’ll say it:
You’re missing a lot of lifts in training, especially in the Bench Press and Deadlift.
I’m guilty of it too. But since I’ve changed my training to address this in the past few weeks, if I’ve missed a lift in training I’ve been able to get it on another attempt. Yes, I have had sets where I didn’t do as well as I hoped, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is I haven’t had to endure the psychological stress of missing a weight or the physical stress of being buried by a weight and forced to do isometrics instead of make progress.
The reason WHY you’re missing lifts frequently seems pretty clear to me. You’re not doing using the Max Effort Method correctly.
If you want to use the Max Effort Method you need to understand a few rules:
(1) You only do 1* Max Effort Lower Body Day and 1 Max Effort Upper Body Day.
*If you are feeling good on a particularly sunny Dynamic Effort Squat Day, you may work up to a heavy double or single, but nothing that will have you wondering if you will make the weight or not. This should NOT interfere with your Max Effort Work. When you do this, you should only allow yourself to work up to weights that are above 90% of your max (at the top with all the tension and bands or whatever) once every 3-week wave. If you don’t feel like a Million Bucks, don’t work up!
(2) You MUST rotate the Max Effort Exercise. This is something I never see you do. It looks like all your training is Squats or Deadlifts every day. You MUST rotate exercises in order to keep the CNS from fatiguing. This is not bullshit. This is fact. Have a set rotation of 3 Squat and 3 Deadlift exercises that you will rotate between. This way you are only maxing out on the same exercise every 6 weeks. You don’t need to be creative to come up with Max Effort Exercises if all you have is a Rack and a Barbell. If you are a low-bar squatter, the difference between a low-bar squat and a Manta-Ray squat will be a sufficient change.
(3) You MUST perform adequate volume on Max Effort Day. Really, refer to Prilepin’s chart. On Max Effort Day you must perform 4-10 lifts above 90% of your max. 7 is optimal, but 4 total lifts above 90% of your max is probably the thing to do if one of those lifts was 100%. So keep in mind, once you’ve hit that PR, you’re still not done.
(4) This is my humble opinion, not really a rule: If you can’t move 315 in a given exercise, then you shouldn’t be training it with the Max Effort Method. I just don’t think the musculature is there to benefit from such a method of training.
There those are my rules. I know you don’t do any Dynamic Training, so here are some alternatives that strong people do:
(1) The Thinker uses what he calls the ‘SE’ method where he has a Max Effort Day, then he has a day where he does reps with weights in the 80-85% range.
(2) Matt Kroc alternates Max Effort with High Reps.
Week 1: Heavy Deadlifting on Sunday, not necessarily Maxing out. Olympic Squatting on thursday, reps usually never lower than 10.
Week 2: Back Extensions on Sunday, doesn’t look very taxing. Full Gear Squatting on Thrusday, usually working up to a single in either briefs, suit straps down, or suit straps up depending on how far out he is.
So please, for your own good, go forth and practice the Max Effort Method Correctly, or if you’d rather start training DC now, which I saw you suggest before, I don’t think anyone would tell you that you aren’t ready.
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Fair points. I will start incorperating more volume into my training, however I feel the need to have a deadlift and a squat day. I now have a lot more recovery time with the 9 day week and I feel like I’m ready to make some progress.
Do you think that for example I should try to do 4-5 singles or doubles with 315 for squat and 405 for deadlift next week?
I do switch between box squats and squats, I have a manta ray thing in my gym but I never use it. I squat high bar and with a close stance for box squats and squats, what else would you think I should use? I’ve been switching every time I stall.
For deadlifts I could probably do RDL, deadlifts and platform deadlifts with chains. I do rack pulls or gms for assistance so I would keep those out of the ME rotation.
I’ll do chain platform deads next time I deadlift. And I’m gonna keep doing plain squats till I stall then find something else.