Hello,
I am currently doing WS4SB3. The squat has always been my weak point… I think my body is better suited to the deadlift which comes much more easily. My bench also progresses rather easily. I am sick of the squat being a weak point… I want to be able to get under the bar with confidence, and lift some respectable weight.
Which exercises should I choose to develop my squat? And how often/how should I rotate through these exercises?
Thanks!
The squat?
I would work all variant of the squat. Front, back, bulgarian split etc.
-chris
[quote]JFG12 wrote:
Hello,
I am currently doing WS4SB3. The squat has always been my weak point… I think my body is better suited to the deadlift which comes much more easily. My bench also progresses rather easily. I am sick of the squat being a weak point… I want to be able to get under the bar with confidence, and lift some respectable weight.
Which exercises should I choose to develop my squat? And how often/how should I rotate through these exercises?
Thanks![/quote]
One thing I have been doing is hitting my lower back very hard two times a week. I have noticed a huge difference in the way the weight feels on my back and such.
I don’t want to come accross as one of those “all you need for squat is squat” guys but I believe there are huge benefits to doing the lift you want to improve more frequently. Nothing will grove your motor patterns or build the muscle you need to squat like squats. Once you develop some competence with the lift then you can start examining weak points and looking to specialty exercises but for a beginner (I’m assuming you are) the best way to increase your squat is to squat more
[quote]Astar wrote:
I believe there are huge benefits to doing the lift you want to improve more frequently. For a beginner (I’m assuming you are) the best way to increase your squat is to squat more[/quote]
x2 You can do some low-intensity squat (let’s say 2-3 sets of five-six reps with 50-60% of 1RM) every time you get to the gym, first thing in your WO (think of it as a part of your warm-up, a kind of poor man’s Greasing The Groove).
EDIT: I did it for power clean…I think it will work for squat as well
Don’t assume the squat isn’t for you. It takes way less time to get a respectable deadlift than a respectable squat. As you add weight an experience, your squat will catch up.
Iâ??ve gone from about a 150 pound squat to deadlift difference, down to only about 50 pounds in the past year or so.
Also, if you really want your squat up, Iâ??d recommend you take some time and focus on it. Run a smolov cycle.
[quote]JFG12 wrote:
Hello,
I am currently doing WS4SB3. The squat has always been my weak point… I think my body is better suited to the deadlift which comes much more easily. My bench also progresses rather easily. I am sick of the squat being a weak point… I want to be able to get under the bar with confidence, and lift some respectable weight.
Which exercises should I choose to develop my squat? And how often/how should I rotate through these exercises?
Thanks![/quote]
Front, zercher, high bar and low bar, with varying ranges of motions, stances, accomodating resistance, and either having a pause or no pause at the bottom. Work on the muscles after your ME exercise that were least activated with the chosen ME exercise. Example: Do sumo pulls after doing close stance ATG high bar squat.
Nothing’s going to mess with the OPs confidence in getting under the bar and shifting some weight quite like pissing around with 500 variations of the lift. He needs to squat more often, not waste time changing exercises every 5 minutes because of boredom, impatience or stupidity.
OP - what are your current numbers, BW, age, training schedule?
[quote]TYPE2B wrote:
Front, zercher, high bar and low bar, with varying ranges of motions, stances, accomodating resistance, and either having a pause or no pause at the bottom. Work on the muscles after your ME exercise that were least activated with the chosen ME exercise. Example: Do sumo pulls after doing close stance ATG high bar squat.[/quote]
And, what is your squat?
I think everyone saying that the guy needs to squat more are absolutely right. Varying exercises on ME day is great for intermidiate/advancecd squatters, but for a lot of beginners I think a 5 x 5 program or something similar would help them make faster progress on the squat.
I train with a certain Andy Bolton and he only Squats. No other variations.
For the creater of the thread, I’d say:
[quote]elliotnewman1 wrote:
I train with a certain Andy Bolton and he only Squats. No other variations.
[/quote]
I lol’d.
[quote]dmunro wrote:
elliotnewman1 wrote:
I train with a certain Andy Bolton and he only Squats. No other variations.
I lol’d.[/quote]
Interestingly enough, I actually know a guy that knows Mr. Bolton.
I used to live down the road from him, and I once parked my car near Bodies. That makes me almost as strong as him just by vague association.
[quote]mahwah wrote:
TYPE2B wrote:
Front, zercher, high bar and low bar, with varying ranges of motions, stances, accomodating resistance, and either having a pause or no pause at the bottom. Work on the muscles after your ME exercise that were least activated with the chosen ME exercise. Example: Do sumo pulls after doing close stance ATG high bar squat.
And, what is your squat?[/quote]
…ATG? High bar? Low bar? Please be specific… And please don’t urge me to brag. (…not that I have anything to brag… lol.)
[quote]elliotnewman1 wrote:
I think everyone saying that the guy needs to squat more are absolutely right. Varying exercises on ME day is great for intermidiate/advancecd squatters, but for a lot of beginners I think a 5 x 5 program or something similar would help them make faster progress on the squat.
I train with a certain Andy Bolton and he only Squats. No other variations.
For the creater of the thread, I’d say:
In my humble opinion, 5x5 sucks ass. Why not just follow Prilepin’s chart?
I think WS4SB3 works fine for squat. I would just do regular squat for 3 weeks, really low box for 3, inch above parallel box squat for 3, and snatch grip deads for 3 then just start over. Make sure to hit assistance work hard.
[quote]TYPE2B wrote:
…ATG? High bar? Low bar? Please be specific… And please don’t urge me to brag. (…not that I have anything to brag… lol.)[/quote]
good fucking grief
What is the most amount of weight you can put on your back and squat, and get 3 white lights?
I don’t care about the specifics.
You offer up such great advice and thoughtful ideas, let’s see what it has yielded.
[quote]mahwah wrote:
TYPE2B wrote:
…ATG? High bar? Low bar? Please be specific… And please don’t urge me to brag. (…not that I have anything to brag… lol.)
good fucking grief
What is the most amount of weight you can put on your back and squat, and get 3 white lights?
I don’t care about the specifics.
You offer up such great advice and thoughtful ideas, let’s see what it has yielded.[/quote]
I’ll be attempting 405 soon (Wide stance, low bar, only to parallel).
Estimated ATG back squat is 340.
Estimated ATG front squat with a pause with a stance slightly wider than shoulder width is 283.333
I’ve tried ATG front squatting 315 (shoulder width stance) with no pause and failed. There’s a sticking point slightly above parallel and I have probably made it if I strained a little further… Nevertheless, It’s a failure. No excuse.
Your attitude of “not caring about the specifics” will cause ALOT of misinterpretations… For example, Scott Weech holds the world record in 100% RAW federation of 826.5 pounds. Hossein Rezazadeh has clean and jerked 580.92 pounds… Do you care? You should, because the clean and jerk is an accurate measurement tool of how much a person can back squat. Here’s how you calculate:
-Approximately 129-137% of a weightlifter’s C&J is his front squat, which means Reza can front squat atleast 749.3868 pounds.
-Weightlifters can back squat 15-25 percent more than what they can front squat… Let us assume the bare minimum which means Reza’s back squat is 861.8.
-…And if you think Kirk is a legit squatter, wait till you see how deep olympic lifters squat: http://www.mensgarage.com/wp-content/uploads/squat4.jpg
-Reza can squat an easy 900, or even 1000 if he doesn’t go ATG… which means he can easily smash Scott’s record…
-Every minute thing counts.
Keep dodging and dancing.
I’m not talking about attempting or estimating. I’m not talking about what your mancrushes can do. I am not asking about a clean and jerk.
You, Type2B, what is the most weight that you, yourself, has put on your back and squatted past parallel and stood back up with?
Just a number, not a fucking paragraph long explanation.
I don’t think I can be any more direct.
[quote]Astar wrote:
I don’t want to come accross as one of those “all you need for squat is squat” guys but I believe there are huge benefits to doing the lift you want to improve more frequently. Nothing will grove your motor patterns or build the muscle you need to squat like squats. Once you develop some competence with the lift then you can start examining weak points and looking to specialty exercises but for a beginner (I’m assuming you are) the best way to increase your squat is to squat more[/quote]
I agree with this comment… I’m just wondering how best to fit it in with WS4SB3 template. I don’t want to mess with it too much because another common piece of advice is to not tinker with a tried and proven system, just stick with it.
My second exercise on the DE and ME days is usually Bulgarian Split Squat, and once in a while I’ll do weighted step ups above the knee.
Perhaps for my main movement on the DE day, rather than a jump, I could do some light/explosive squats for 8 sets of 1-3 reps every other week?
For ME, should I just stick to a box squat below parallel? Or, should I do as suggested and cycle below parallel box squats, squats, and above parallel box squats?
Running a Smolov cycle would be great… however I remember reading that you should do it during a time where you have 13 weeks that don’t require much else out of you, and to plan on eating a whole lot of food. Well, I always have a bunch of school work, and I work two jobs, don’t have much money, can’t afford to eat whatever my heart desires, and also do other things over the summer such as tennis and basketball. I know a typical response is that if I want it bad enough, I could find a way to make more money, and do it. I’m sure I could… but that time is better spent on school work… it’s definitely priority.
I’m just looking to navigate through WS4SB3 in such a way as to benefit my squat. So I need to know which exercises to choose from the options given, how to pair them up, how to cycle through them etc. I’d love to be in a place where I could dedicate more time to my training, eat more/better food etc. Unfortunately I’m not there yet… doesn’t mean I have to be a skinny bastard though lol.
Stats by the way:
In February of this year:
5’9, 146lbs, 24yrs old
Bench: 175lbs x 4
Squat: 145lbs x 3
Deadlift: 225lbs x 4
NOW
5’9, 172lbs, 24yrs old
Bench: 225lbs x 5, 250lbs x 1
Squat: 185lbs x 5 (box below parallel). Guessing 225lbs x 1 free squat
Deadlift: 315lbs x 3, 355lbs x 1
Not great… but good for a few months of work.
