How Do I Reach a 405 Squat?

Hey i haven’t been much on T Nation since i was posting those silly questions. My squat is at the mid 300s and i think i will hit 405 in late spring early summer. My primary focus is to gain muscle and strength. Im sticking to 5/3/1 for an entire year. Im doing a modified 5/3/1 with a powerlifting coach. The help i am getting from this training group is great. My form is better than it was before and i am having fun with 5/3/1. We add some sled work and some reverse hypers some days. I have been doing boring but big on my squat and bench and i cannot complain. I trust the coach and my gym and it does help my confidence in the training group knowing that Jim Wendler himself gave my gym permission to use his program as a class.

here is a picture of me before i started 5/3/1 this was taken at the end of my diet

This is a picture of me on 5/3/1 im a Bit heavier than when i ended my diet but i am stronger i hope to continue to grow with minifal fat gains. http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz326/marvin1993/bbgn_zps7495ce23.jpg

the physique can use a ton of help! but like others said i must focus on one thing and that is to get stronger. once i have a solid base then it may be time to make my body look better :slight_smile:

I hate to be that guy, but I’m doubting the legitimacy of your squat numbers…

i would post a video on here but im not going for another 1 rep max until 5 more cycles.

[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
i would post a video on here but im not going for another 1 rep max until 5 more cycles. [/quote]

it’s ok, I can wait.

[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
i would post a video on here but im not going for another 1 rep max until 5 more cycles. [/quote]

it’s ok, I can wait.[/quote]

Or just post a vid of a PR set, e.g. reps at 315. No reason it has to be a 1RM.

yogi why do you doubt what i squat? i have an old video of me squatting 325 from a while ago.

Ill take a video in 4 weeks when i go for 270lbs x10 on the squat. I managed 260 x10 last cycle with at least 1 more maybe 2 reps left in the tank.

[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
yogi why do you doubt what i squat? i have an old video of me squatting 325 from a while ago. [/quote]

I’m just a cynical old dog Marvin, and to be honest you don’t look like you could. I’m not trying to insult you, and I apologise if that’s how it comes across.

I will await your video

I’m assuming that you recently made this goal (not because of the new year) but if you didn’t you wouldn’t be asking about leaning out. It would have already started happening. This is a long process that is going to take a lot longer then you think it will.

Cleaning up your diet is just the start of your process which will call Operation Lean and Mean. There are two things to realize when looking at diet. 1. Quality constitues in fat loss and takes along time, however it does not hinder strength gains. 2. Amount of Calories Taken In, this is going to drop the weight very fast, however, bye goes the weight, so to goes the strength.

I’m assuming this decision is based more on estethic than weightloss and you would be happy to look like Pudzianowski weither you weigh 185 or 215. If so, your best bet is to worry more about quality of food and being patient with the weight loss (if any) and keep focusing on gaining strength. Trust me, you’ll need the extra calories to gain strength, especially when dealing with squatting.
Another huge factor that people look past is the benefits of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and the instant impact it has on fat lose.

Sucks to do, but once you see the benefits of it, you won’t be able to get enough of it. That and it will actually help you recover from the high volume work you will need to do to get that 405lb backsquat.

To answer your question about the backsquat, consider each rep you do 10 lbs closer to your goal. So if you want to do 405 then you would need to hit these weights for this amount of reps.
305x10 reps
355x5 reps
375x3 reps
Etc.
Your best bet is to get on a three day a week program focusing on Backsquats, Deadlifts and Front Squats. This will work the three most important factors to your squat. 1. Legs 2. Back 3. Core
Make sure to work high percentages with a lot of intensity. Meaning, you’ll need to squat your ass off.
Hope this helps!

no problem yogi no offense taken. but lifting is not about looks. I have seen plenty of guys with no muscle size at all outsquat people who are huge.

[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
no problem yogi no offense taken. but lifting is not about looks. I have seen plenty of guys with no muscle size at all outsquat people who are huge.[/quote]

absolutely man, I have seen it myself

As promised yogi here is my squat video this is me doing 270 x10

Why do you squat with such a high bar and wide stance?

Doesn’t look high bar to me. The bar is below his traps. He could have a slightly more horizontal back angle and keep his head down, but overall pretty good.

I squat with a wider stance due to my flexibility. It feels more comfortable if i narrow my stance i can do deeper. It just feels more natural to me and my coach says in the future and i mean when i become advanced if i do decide to use a suit using a wider stance could help me get more power. But thats just an idea i squat wide stance because it just feels better to me lol.

[quote]craze9 wrote:
Doesn’t look high bar to me. The bar is below his traps. He could have a slightly more horizontal back angle and keep his head down, but overall pretty good.

[/quote]

I did not say it was a high bar squat, unless this comment was meant for someone else. I was asking why he had the bar so high on his back with a stance that wide.

[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
I squat with a wider stance due to my flexibility. It feels more comfortable if i narrow my stance i can do deeper. It just feels more natural to me and my coach says in the future and i mean when i become advanced if i do decide to use a suit using a wider stance could help me get more power. But thats just an idea i squat wide stance because it just feels better to me lol. [/quote]

You may consider a lower bar placement with a squat that wide.

I agree with Punisher that bar is def pretty high considering everything else going on here.

Glad to see you follow through with the video. At this point, I think you’d benefit from giving your coach priority over internet advice. He seems to have done well by you so far.

If/when the time comes that you want to focus 100% on dropping fat or “recomping” or whatever, that could be a different matter depending on your coach’s experience. But generally, when you can find decent real world coaching, it’s best to stick with it instead of looking for “better” online. At the very least, it can get confusing to you and can be disrespectful to the coach.