Alrighty, round 2. 18 reps this time, still looked like I had more but breathing became an issue. Also noticed my low back had some fatigue after this set, I dipped forward a bit on rep 16 (1:33 in the vid) so that may be where I place the blame. For reference this is 63% 1rm but not sure if that matters at this many reps/low intensity.
I swear I’m trying to work harder but I keep getting more reps and they keep looking easier. I know you adapt to metabolic training fairly quickly but this is getting ridiculous. Or is this just what happens when you man up?
20x275 after 2x15x275. Still looks like several reps in the tank but breathing is becoming a limiting factor again.
@T3hPwnisher am I still stopping where you consider the real work starts at?
I know this might sound obvious but… Have you tried upping the weight if you’re getting “too many” reps?
Actually upped the weight to 295 on my other squat workout over the weekend and thought 3x12 was challenging, had to grind that last set.
But if I’m hitting 20 reps at 275 maybe this day needs to go to 295 and the weekend workout to 315.
I think too many reps may be the issue at this point now that I’m fairly out of breath at the end of the set, should probably record my slightly heavier squat day to see if I’m really slowing down as much as I think or still being a wimp and not training hard enough.
I so rarely take squat videos because the internet tends to explode when I do, but here’s an old one I hope to illustrate my point
Rep 7 is where the grind starts happening in the set of 11. I can tell it’s where I’m struggling because I come out of the hole, slow down/stop, and have to grind through that point to complete the rep.
On your set, I never see that grind. The 20th rep moves out of the hole just as smoothly as the middle reps of the set. It may just be that, as you rest at the top to let your lungs catch up, your body is recovering faster than your lungs do, so that, by the time your lungs are ready to go your body is there and then some.
That first rerack gave me heart palpitations.
I’ve had my suspicions that I’m fat and out of shape so I think I just needed to hear it from outside sources. I think I can apply this to what @Veteq said about not locking out between reps as well. Or if I lock out for a breath or 2, be in good enough shape for another 3+ rather than 1 at a time.
I’m wondering if the unintentional rest-pause nature isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’d rather it be intentional though than necessary due to lack of fitness.
I’ll be sure to necro this thread several months down the line after I fix my heart and lungs.
See, I stop my sets at a similar point if I have an open ended set, because beyond that my technique and speed will suffer. Except, I’m not squatting to get bigger, I’m squatting to get better at squatting.
I think you definitely could add more weight if you wanted. If you really want to make that 20 reps work to the point of failure, don’t add weight. Do this instead:
5x2x275
20x275
Rest for 10 seconds between all sets, which is basically going to mean standing with the bar for five deep breaths. I guarantee you won’t be asking if you worked hard enough after that.
Appreciate the shout out, but that post was directed at a teenager who set his TM too high, not a guy who leaves reps in the tank after 20x275 and is competing in a sport where crazy people do stupid shit to failure for no good reason.