Squats, Squats, Squats

podge57

Ive noticed there are quite a few people interested in powerlifting around here, and I keep a log anyway, so it would be good to post it and get some feedback

Firstly, Im 19, 6'3", and around 94kg - long term goal is 120kg, so quite a bit to go yet

Ive been lifting seriously and intelligently for about 16 months, and ive been on a powerlifting programme for about 8 weeks, and Ive settled well into my westside programme
Ive made great lower body gains, upper not where i would like to be yet

I have signed up for the IDFPA single lifts comp next month, not sure if i will bench yet, we'll see how it goes

My progress over the last 8 weeks has been
Squat: 147.5kg to 160kg (the 160kg was a parallel box squat, havent done full squats yet)
Deadlift: 190kg to 205kg (although 205 was easy, im confident of 215kg, Im really pleased with this progress since Ive only done deads once in the 8 weeks, sldls and good mornings have really pushed it up)
Bench: 95kg to 100kg (i have big problems with my bench, ive never liked doing it, have some form issues)

podge57

Pretty happy with this workout, bar speed was good on DE box squats, they were about 2" below parallel, so i went 5kg less than i usually do on DE day

DE box squats
20kg x 7
60kg x 5
80kg x 4
80kg x 4
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
120kg x 2
120kg x 2
120kg x 2
120kg x 2
120kg x 2
120kg x 2
120kg x 2

Deficit SLDL
80kg x 8
100kg x 7
100kg x 7
110kg x 6
125kg x 4

Reverse Hyper (one-legged)
60kg x 7
55kg x 8
55kg x 8

Leg Raises
+5kg x 12
+5kg x 12

Decline Crunches
+25kg x 10
+25kg x 10

BB Lunges
35kg x 52

Hanley

Everyone's on a powerlifting buzz these days.... awesome!

You may as well do the bench anyway. Sure get your first total in and work towards beating it over the next while. There's nothing to focus your training like knowing that a bad lift will mess up a good total.

(as an aside, at my first comp I did 165/112.5/190 for 467.5 at 90kg), so you're ahead of that!

Get full squatting as soon as possible. You've only 5/6 weeks left. It's a totally different ball game. And make sure you've someone with an experienced competition eye watching your depth, or get it on video.

Also, don't go too mad with max deadlifts between now and the comp. I certainly wouldn't do any more than 2 days over 90%. Maybe one day up to 95% of your current max and one day to an opener (around 90%).

Hanley

That's a lot of weight to be using for DE box squats... I was doing them with like 100-120kg when I was doing 190kg off the same box height!!

podge57

Hanley wrote: »

Everyone's on a powerlifting buzz these days.... awesome!

You may as well do the bench anyway. Sure get your first total in and work towards beating it over the next while. There's nothing to focus your training like knowing that a bad lift will mess up a good total.

(as an aside, at my first comp I did 165/112.5/190 for 467.5 at 90kg), so you're ahead of that!

Get full squatting as soon as possible. You've only 5/6 weeks left. It's a totally different ball game. And make sure you've someone with an experienced competition eye watching your depth, or get it on video.

Also, don't go too mad with max deadlifts between now and the comp. I certainly wouldn't do any more than 2 days over 90%. Maybe one day up to 95% of your current max and one day to an opener (around 90%).

thanks for the comments

I have a few vids of my box squats, theyre all a good height, from this week on tho i will be doing full squats - ill take vids and try and post them here

As for the deads, next week will be my last ME deadlift day, and I will try and decide on my opener ( probably 192.5kg). I havent done much deadlift work at all, the assistance lifts are really making it shoot up

On DE box squats, I might lower it to 115/110kg next week, bar speed was good at the top of the lift, but a little slow off the box, and I was pretty tired by the last set

My bench sucks tho, but ive a feeling if I nail my form/setup and get more consistant with my bench training, i would see quite an improvement

I am doing more of RE method for upper since my bench is so poor, on wednesday I will probably do 4x6 paused reps with 70kg, but ill still try and get the DE explosiveness off my chest

Thanks again for the input, great to hear from someone experienced and who knows what theyre doing

Hanley

The DE squats are supposed to be fast off the bottom.... anyone can snap light weights at the top, but being truly explosive out of the bottom's a different story.

Think of it this way, the DE squat's are there so you can use speed to blast thru your sticking point. Say now, if you only get really fast just after your sticking point, what's the point in doing em?

Any other Q's about the IDFPA or anything else, fire away.

Where'd you hear about em outta interest?

podge57

Hanley wrote: »

The DE squats are supposed to be fast off the bottom.... anyone can snap light weights at the top, but being truly explosive out of the bottom's a different story.

Think of it this way, the DE squat's are there so you can use speed to blast thru your sticking point. Say now, if you only get really fast just after your sticking point, what's the point in doing em?

Any other Q's about the IDFPA or anything else, fire away.

Where'd you hear about em outta interest?

yeah, i see what youre saying - i will definately drop a bit off next week and focus on exploding the whole way up

I dont think I have any questions right now- ive read most of the rules and forum topics on the site, so i have a decent idea of how the events are run etc

Do you know if there are any members in Dundalk? There is only one person i currently know who knows anything about powerlifting, everyone else i meet thinks its either olympic lifting or bodybuilding :eek: . But one of my reasons for competing is to get to know a few more people interested in the sport

As far as I can remember, i just searched "irish powerlifting" or something on youtube and seen some videos (which im guessing were you) and just started to look into it from there

kevpants

Very nice Deadlift Podge. I'll be lifting at the single lifts too. Must sign up for them this week actually. It's my first comp as well so I'm gonna do all 3 just to get the experience and see how taxing it is to do 9 heavy lifts.

Does your gym have a reverse hyper? If it does I hate you.

podge57

kevpants wrote: »

Very nice Deadlift Podge. I'll be lifting at the single lifts too. Must sign up for them this week actually. It's my first comp as well so I'm gonna do all 3 just to get the experience and see how taxing it is to do 9 heavy lifts.

Does your gym have a reverse hyper? If it does I hate you.

Thanks for checking out my journal, ill be sure to have a look at yours

My deadlift has always been way ahead of everything else, i have really long arms, but on the other hand its my downfall on bench

Glad to here i wont be the only first timer there - im sure ill see you there. Ill probably do all 3 too, i cant avoid benching forever

I wish we had an actual reverse hyper, i have to settle for a machine-type version - i would describe it as a stiff-legged hamstring curl, lol

so you dont need to hate me

podge57

- I sort of went for a DE/RE hybrid today, with pause benching and trying to explode off the bottom. It actually helped me realise that my sticking point is at the very bottom, once i get it 2" off my chest, im fine, so ill focus a bit more on shoulders and inclines
- Mini rant about my gym - the flat bench is only 12" off the ground, which makes it impossible to arch and get leg drive at the same time. I have asked them to get a proper rack, but we'll wait and see.
- 46kgs x 5 was a PR on DB rows, but it was tough holding that DB straight
- Idk why, but on seated press, 55kg was easy, i tried 60kg and i couldnt get, dropped to 57.5kg, and it was pretty easy too
- ME squats tomorrow, although I am just going for a 2rm

Pause Bench
20kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 7
65kg x 6
65kg x 6
65kg x 6
65kg x 6

Seated OH Press
50kg x 8
55kg x 6
57.5kg x 5

JM Press
55kg x 8
65kg x 7
70kg x 6
72.5kg x 4

DB Rows
38kg x 10
42kg x 8
46kg x 5
34kg x 20

Incline DB
26kg's x 10
26kg's x 10

podge57

- Good workout, worked up to 152.5kg x 2 on squats, and looking back at my journal, on dec 26, i struggled with 152.5 x 1, so im pleased with the progress.
- Also hit 2 prs on good mornings
- the 135kg squat was supposed to be for 2 reps, but my shorts split at the bottom of the first rep, with the loudest tearing noise imaginable, so now everyone in my gym knows i wear bright red boxers
- My squat form and setup has improved a lot recently, for a gew weeks i wrote out a checklist i would run through to make sure i got the setup right, now its coming naturally

Squat
20kg x 7
60kg x 6
90kg x 4
90kg x 3
100kg x 2
135kg x 1
145kg x 1
152.5kg x 2

Good Morning
55kg x 8
65kg x 7
70kg x 6
75kg x 5
82.5kg x 4

Hyperextension
+15kg x 12
+15kg x 12

Walking DB lunge
34kg db's x 12
34kg db's x 12
34kg db's x 10

Cable crunch
25
18
(weight not accurate)

Vertical Plank
50kg x 60secs
55kg x 60secs

podge57

- Good workout, first time doing incline bb for a while, 85kg was relatively easy, just couldnt get the 90kg, should get it next week

Incline BB
20kg x 7
40kg x 6
60kg x 4
60kg x 4
67.5kg x 3
72.5kg x 3
80kg x 2
85kg x 1
90kg x 0

DB Extension
34kg x 8
38kg x 7
42kg x 5
42kg x 5

DB Rows
38kg x 10
42kg x 8
46kg x 5
34kg x 20

DB Shrugs
38kg's x 15
42kg's x 10
46kg's x 6

Stretching / prehab

podge57

- Ive exams this week, so schedule is a bit different - will get all workouts done, but most will be at the end of the week
- As suggested, i lowered the weight on box squats, really powered through the concentric phase, i would say i was about 25-35% quicker than before
- Pr on front squats, although i had a lot more in me - im going for 100kg x 4 next week

DE Box squats
20kg x 6
60kg x 4
80kg x 3
80kg x 3
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2

Pullthrough
8
7
5
5

Front Squat
72.5kg x 7
82.5kg x 6
92.5kg x 4

Reverse Hyper Machine (per leg)
60kg x 7
55kg x 7
55kg x 7

Ab pulldown
25
15

Captains Chair
14kg x 10
14kg x 10

Stretching / grip

podge57

- Pretty happy today - finally got my arch set up right, took quite a bit off my ROM, and my elbows dont have to go anywhere near as deep, which makes a big difference.
- Also i weighed some of the plates at my gym today , to make sure i wouldnt get nailed to the floor on my squat opener due my gym weights being off, but happily enough all the 20kg plates were between 20.7 and 21kg, so my maxes should be a bit higher than i thought
- No real prs today, just a good solid workout. Felt a little twinge in my back on DB presses, so i stopped, nothing wrong with it now

Pause Bench
20kg x 10
40kg x 8
60kg x 7
60kg x 7
67.5kg x 6
67.5kg x 6
67.5kg x 6
67.5kg x 6

DB Shoulder press
28kg's x 8
30kg's x 4(stopped at 4 reps)

CGBP
60kg x 8
67.5kg x 6
72.5kg x 4
60kg x 8

Lat Pulldown
80kg x 10
80kg x 10
87.5kg x 8

Preacher Curl Machine
40kg x 15
35kg x 15

stretching etc

podge57

- Bah, failed on 215kg dead, got it up to just below my knees, it sort of stalled, i knew to get it up would require a lot of hitching, which would be pointless. Given the inaccurate plates, it was likely 220+. Was my last DL before the comp, i think i will set 190 as my opener, maybe 195, 190 went up fairly easy today. 190-215 was probably too big of a jump
- Rest of the workout was good, PR on GM's , and decline crunches with the plate behind my head were awesome

Deads
60kg x 6
100kg x 4
140kg x 3
160kg x 2
180kg x 1
190kg x 1
215kg x 0

Good Morning
60kg x 8
72.5kg x 6
80kg x 6
87.5kg x 5

Decline Crunches(behind head)
+5kg x 12
+10kg x 10

Captains Chair
+14kg x 10
+14kg x 10

BB Lunges
55kg x 20
45kg x 62

DB holds
50kg's x 30 secs

the drifter

190-215 was def too big of a jump lad... how how much of a deload are you taking before the comp? with a 7 day deload.if its your first comp open 185 just to make sure you get that first lift in... confidence builder like!!! seriously good deadlift though!!

podge57

the drifter wrote: »

190-215 was def too big of a jump lad... how how much of a deload are you taking before the comp? with a 7 day deload.if its your first comp open 185 just to make sure you get that first lift in... confidence builder like!!! seriously good deadlift though!!

thanks,
yeah, i really should have done 200 or something, i dont really know what i was thinking, i had it planned out and everything, all the studying must be messing with my head

im going to take it handy for a week before, some really light stuff just to keep myself ticking over, i will probably start at 190, i dont want to be making too big of jumps between attempts (like today, lol)

podge57

- Good session today, a good few pr's, up to 90kg on incline, flat benching next week, hopefully i will be well over 100kg, surely my incline cant be 90% of my flat bench
- Exams nearly over - ill have 2 weeks to do nothing but train, eat and ps3

Incline
20kg x 8
40kg x 6
60kg x 4
60kg x 4
70kg x 3
80kg x 2
85kg x 1
90kg x 1

DB Front raises
16kg's x 10
18kg's x 8
20kg's x 7

Dips
15
15

One-arm DB Rows
38kg x 10
42kg x 8
46kg x 6
34kg x 20

JM Press
55kg x 8
65kg x 7
75kg x 4
70kg x 7

Machine Preacher
40kg x 15
35kg x 15

- Stretching / joints etc

podge57

- Really good workout tonight, exams over, so i can really focus on lifting again.
- Went about 2.5in below parallel on boxes, just to make sure depth will not be an issue. Will also get a vid of fridays squats
- Didnt go as heavy on SLDLs today, because i feel the lower my reps, the more back i use, so i finished on 100kgx10, which was an awesome set
- PR of 100kgx3 on front squats, i was going for 4 reps, but still relatively pleased with it

DE Box Squat
20kg x 6
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2

Deficit SLDL
95kg x 9
107.5kg x 7
115kg x 5
100kg x 10

Front Squats
75kg x 8
85kg x 6
100kg x 3

Decline crunches
+10kg x 10
+10kg x 10

DB Side bends
30kg's x 10
30kg's x 10

podge57

- First time doing DE bench in a while, was really good, speed was about 2.5x quicker than on a ME attempt
- Easy PR on pushpress, I did them out of a rack today and also pushed my head through, which made a big difference. Could have got 72.5kg x 4

DE Bench
20kg x 8
50kg x 6
50kg x 6
67.5kg x 3
67.5kg x 3
67.5kg x 3
67.5kg x 3
67.5kg x 3
67.5kg x 3
67.5kg x 3
67.5kg x 3

Push Press
55kg x 7
62.5kg x 5
67.5kg x 4

DB Extension
34kg x 10
38kg x 8
42kg x 5
42kg x 5

Lat Pulldown
72.5kg x 12
80kg x 10
87.5kg x 7
72.5kg x 12

DB Floor Press
30kg's x 15
30kg's x 10

podge57

- Bad session yesterday, was going for a 165 squat, but i was struggling, even with 100 x 3, and the spotter just took 155 at the top. I took some caffeine before, which i havent used in a long time, didnt have a good effect - was very light-headded, my walkouts were unsteady, setup was awful. Ill just have to put this behind me, i know i have a lot more in me, im still confident of 155 for a double next week.
- After squats, caffeine seemed to wear off, and the rest of the workout went back to normal - pr on Good Mornings and lunges

Squats
20kg x 8
50kg x 5
80kg x 4
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
140kg x 2
145kg x 1
155kg x 0

Good Morning
65kg x 8
75kg x 7
82.5kg x 6
90kg x 5

Hyper Extension
25
25

Cable Crunch
30
15
15

BB Lunge
60kg x 14
45kg x 65

podge57

- Good stuff today - used a different gym, which had a much firmer and higher bench, which allowed me to set up and arch much better, and it made a big difference. I hurt my RC a little on one of the lift-offs, so i think i have more in me. Got 100 paused easily, just missed the second rep, and then got 105, which was semi-paused
- DB's in this gym only go to 40kg, so I went for higher reps on the rows.
- Going to go a bit easier on DE days this week, and try and conserve myself for ME.

Bench
20kg x 8
40kg x 6
60kg x 5
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 1
105kg x 1

CGBP
65kg x 8
70kg x 7
75kg x 5
70kg x 7

DB Rows
40kg x 10
40kg x 10
40kg x 10
35kg x 15

DB Fronts raise
14kg's x 7
18kg's x 8
22kg's x 6

- High rep pushdowns, flyes

podge57

- Good stuff today, went heavier on DE squats, but speed was better than ever
- Didnt want to hit hamstrings too hard, so I did low-rep GMs, which dont leave me with as much ham soreness as sldls

DE Box Squats
20kg x 7
60kg x 6
80kg x 4
80kg x 4
110kg x 2
110kg x 2
110kg x 2
110kg x 2
110kg x 2
110kg x 2
110kg x 2
110kg x 2

Good Morning
70kg x 7
80kg x 5
85kg x 5
92.5kg x 5

Front Squat
80kg x 8
90kg x 5

Leg Press
195kg x 20

Captains Chair
+14kg x 12
+14kg x 12
+14kg x 12

podge57

- Nothing crazy today, just wanted to make sure i didnt get any soreness/doms/injuries, so i can hit 100x2 on saturday
- felt a bit dodgy in my stomach after 2nd set of push press, so i didnt do any more of those

Bench
(paused)
60kg x 8
60kg x 8
65kg x 5
70kg x 5
75kg x 5
(DE)
65kg x 3
65kg x 3
65kg x 3

DB Rows
38kg x 12
42kg x 9
46kg x 6
34kg x 20

Push Press
60kg x 8
65kg x 6

Tri Pushdown
12
8
10
20

podge57

- Happy enough with today - got 152.5x2 - i got this a few weeks ago, havent progressed much on squats since then, i really need the deload. Im confident to use this as my opener, should be handy enough - todays lift was probably more like 158 if it was with accurate weights.
- Decided after the comp, i will go with 9 weeks of sheiko up to the next IDFPA comp. I made good progress on westside, but i want to try as many training styles as possible, so sheiko will fit well in this timeframe.

Squats
20kg x 8
50kg x 6
80kg x 4
100kg x 3
115kg x 2
130kg x 2
145kg x 1
152.5kg x 2

Deficit SLDL
80kg x 9
100kg x 7
120kg x 6
130kg x 4

DB Lunges
30kg's x 12
30kg's x 12

Ab pulldown
30
20
20

podge57

- Good workout, had to bench in my regular gym, couldnt get any arch or leg drive, still got 102.5x1, had my wraps on a bit too tight, so i just racked it then.
- This was my last full workout, taking it easy this week, very, very light workout monday and wednesday

Bench
20kg x 25
50kg x 7
70kg x 4
75kg x 3
82.5kg x 3
90kg x 2
95kg x 2
102.5kg x 1

DB Extension
34kg x 12
38kg x 9
42kg x 6
42kg x 6

Lat Pulldown
72.5kg x 12
80kg x 9
87.5kg x 6

DB Front Raise
18kg's x 12
20kg's x 10
22kg's x 8

- Flyes, curls, pushdowns

podge57

taking it easy this week, have just been doing dynamic stretching, today i also did some squat with the bar, just for my setup, some hex db holds and a low intensity jog on the treadmill

podge57

so i competed at the single lifts competition yesterday, lifts didnt go exactly to plan, but i learned a lot just from being there, and its given me a new perspective on training and other stuff

i just scraped into the 90kg t3 class, my home scales must be off, because they had me at 94-95kg all week.

now i know what everyone means when they say gym and competition lifts are completely different, you have a lot less control of when you lift, and then of course there is the pressure

i opened on 150 in the squat, a lift i have made many times in training, got it pretty easy, but stumbled before the rack command = no lift
went up to 157.5, which i shouldnt have done, and then the pressure was really on, and i just missed it twice

i opened on 95kg on bench, got it, but it was harder than expected, and missed out on 100kg twice - for some reason my right arm was shooting up a lot quicker than the left. From now on, i will train with the press command in the build up to a competition, i have been pausing, but it is not the same.
For all lifts, but particularly bench, i found that i had a lot less composure than in the gym, and my setup suffered as a result

even after the poor start, i was still looking forward to and confident about deads, and in the end they made the whole day worthwhile. 197.5 and 212.5 were easy, and missed 222.5 at the lockout - finished with a 5kg pr, nearly 15kg

i really took a lot from the competition, and it has made me more determined than ever. I also need to concentrate on my diet, at my height, i really need to be 110kg+, but that will come with time too

the next competition is in about 9 weeks i think, still undecided on it. From tomorrow, i will start the intermediate 5x5 programme, and although there will be no pr's for the first 4 weeks, by week 7, which would be when i would stop prior to the comp, i am scheduled for 145 x 5 squat, 92 x 5 bench, and 205 x 5 deadlift, which would be significant increases
( i have set my maxes a little low, because when it was calculating a 5rm from my maxes, they were to high, because i rarely go over 3 reps on the lifts, so the first few weeks will help me adapt )

Malteaser!

Congratulations again dude!

Are you thinking about the Nationals or are ya gonna hang on a bit for your next comp??

podge57

Malteaser! wrote: »

Congratulations again dude!

Are you thinking about the Nationals or are ya gonna hang on a bit for your next comp??

Thanks very much!

I really havent decided what to do yet, the main priorities are to get my squat and bench up to par and gain some more weight, but it isnt as if competing again will hold me back, even if i wont be able to make any major improvements by then, it will still serve as another learning experience

kevpants

podge57 wrote: »

!

I really havent decided what to do yet, the main priorities are to get my squat and bench up to par and gain some more weight, but it isnt as if competing again will hold me back, even if i wont be able to make any major improvements by then, it will still serve as another learning experience

That's it man. Just use April to try and achieve what you didn't on Saturday but knew you were capable of. That's what I'm gonna do, a proper bench and any kind of pull :pac: