Moving Heavy Stuff
- Thread starter kwmiles
- Start date
Stakem
Tômester
3 days left of Squatober and if im reading this correctly today and tomorrow are pretty cake workouts with thursday being the day to max out the squat and friday is the hangover workout.
Ive gotten to the point where im so use to squatting with sore quads that its gonna feel amazing to be back on a normal routine of only squatting 3x a week and actually being recovered between workouts rather than crushing my central nervous system more with every passing day.
The frequency and volume of doing highbar and buffalo bar squats has certainly given me new insight into what I am capable of.
For max out day, im looking to squat something in excess of 405 to be a high bar PR. Whatever I end up doing is going to be well shy of my max lowbar squat but maybe this will have carry over or maybe I can continue pushing this to see how far it can go in my next training cycle.
Ive gotten to the point where im so use to squatting with sore quads that its gonna feel amazing to be back on a normal routine of only squatting 3x a week and actually being recovered between workouts rather than crushing my central nervous system more with every passing day.
The frequency and volume of doing highbar and buffalo bar squats has certainly given me new insight into what I am capable of.
For max out day, im looking to squat something in excess of 405 to be a high bar PR. Whatever I end up doing is going to be well shy of my max lowbar squat but maybe this will have carry over or maybe I can continue pushing this to see how far it can go in my next training cycle.
Once the fatigue clears, you might surprise yourself on how well you do on the max day.
Stakem
Tômester
I was pleasantly surprised with 455.
45lbs shy of my best ever low bar squat and 50lbs over anything ive ever put on my back for high bar.
There was more in the tank but I didnt want to push to failure and risk hurting myself when im still this fatigued and sore.
I am confident with a proper peaking cycle I might be living in my strongest state right now.
This wasnt even a benching program and I added to my max and got 360 today which is just a touch shy of my best ever when I weighed 30+lbs heavier.
Hell yeah.
As my strength coach friend always said, "If you want bigger arms [chest], train legs"
Stakem
Tômester
Started a new conjugate block to try and get my body use to max effort work again rather than hypertrophy. There are some powerlifting comps on the horizon that id like to be ready for and this is my best course of action until I nail a date and can dial in a peaking plan.
Max effort upper day yesterday went about as amazing as I could have asked for to start off this block. My bench sticking point is 3-4 inches off my chest which ironically is exactly where my bar stops when I do floor presses so thats the variation of bench I decided to do for a 5 rep max yesterday. I was able to do 3 wheels for a set of 5 with the 4th rep being slower then the first 3 and last rep also being slow but possibly not a true 10 effort. Regardless, I dont believe I have ever done 315 in any form of bench variation (other than slingshot) for a set of 5.
What a great starting point!
Max effort upper day yesterday went about as amazing as I could have asked for to start off this block. My bench sticking point is 3-4 inches off my chest which ironically is exactly where my bar stops when I do floor presses so thats the variation of bench I decided to do for a 5 rep max yesterday. I was able to do 3 wheels for a set of 5 with the 4th rep being slower then the first 3 and last rep also being slow but possibly not a true 10 effort. Regardless, I dont believe I have ever done 315 in any form of bench variation (other than slingshot) for a set of 5.
What a great starting point!
Been struggling pretty hard lately. For about a month, I've only been going to the gym 1–2 times a week. It's been so inconsistent. This has led me to try and create a "forever program" that can be run in a linear way, where the day you do the workout doesn't really matter. You just run the workouts in order. All of the days are based on upper or lower compound movements. This way, I don't have to spend time warming up various body parts like I would for full body.
I'm doing Squat, Bench, and Deadlift days, all in the 5+/3+/1+ style progression with 3 x 10 drop sets. This will be the only strength work I am requiring myself to do. If I have the time or will to do accessories, I can just do what I want. The only other day I will run is a Snatch day. This is my favorite exercise of all time, and I think it's one of the best athletic exercises you can do. To keep me mobile and still moving fast, I'm going to keep snatching as long as I can.
I'm just looking to do something as simple and effective as possible while not being a major time commitment.
I'm doing Squat, Bench, and Deadlift days, all in the 5+/3+/1+ style progression with 3 x 10 drop sets. This will be the only strength work I am requiring myself to do. If I have the time or will to do accessories, I can just do what I want. The only other day I will run is a Snatch day. This is my favorite exercise of all time, and I think it's one of the best athletic exercises you can do. To keep me mobile and still moving fast, I'm going to keep snatching as long as I can.
I'm just looking to do something as simple and effective as possible while not being a major time commitment.
Now that I have the gym only 5 minutes walking vs 15 minutes walking, I have been able to add more stretching/ mobility before lifting and still finish in the 1-1.25 hr time allotment before work.
Introduced cleans into this recent cycle and it feels so good. I'm moving 50kg consistently, which I haven't been able to do, and it's getting me excited to test out 60, which has been my limit forever (mostly due to mechanics)
Wk 1& 2: 60-75% 5x3
Wk 3& 4: 75-85% 5x3
Wk 5& 6: 80-90% 5x2
Introduced cleans into this recent cycle and it feels so good. I'm moving 50kg consistently, which I haven't been able to do, and it's getting me excited to test out 60, which has been my limit forever (mostly due to mechanics)
Wk 1& 2: 60-75% 5x3
Wk 3& 4: 75-85% 5x3
Wk 5& 6: 80-90% 5x2
Haven't been watching any lifting/exercise content on youtube. My algo is almost completely void of lifting video recommendations. Then somehow it knows to it me with a perfectly timed Alan Thrall video.
Plus sets are so clutch, you can set your beginning maxes low and still get hard productive working sets. So far on my 5+ day I hit 100kg for 10 and the next week I had 130kg for 3+ and hit 10. A few blocks of high reps should pay off in the end.
mooselang
Train enthusiast, nice guy IRL
I have to search back on this thread, but I’m getting close to a year of being back on lifting. When I tore my meniscus last January, I hadn’t lifted since pre-Covid. I knew I couldn’t run, but instead of wallowing, figured I would try to strengthen everything around my knee.
I started the 5x5 powerlifting plan, as that’s the only thing I knew. But to speed it up (time is limited with 3 kids), I have been doing 3x8 with the same exercises. I’ll also toss in a couple extra bicep/triceps things and add abs to fill out an hour.
My goal was to squat 315 for 3x8 when I started. Definitely too lofty of a goal considering I was starting way back at like 150. Definitely not going to hit that. But I did a solid 275 today 3x8, and I guess that’s not nothing. Now, I could probably stand to squat lower, but my range of motion in my knee is not great. I think I get down low enough, but not sure it’s exactly competition worthy.
My biggest struggle is weight. When I ran my wheels off, I got down to 194. My goal was to be in the 180s. Ever since then, I have bounced between 200-205 (until recently). Now, I’m proud of making some gains without putting on weight. But I would like to cut a bit. November was a train wreck for me and I actually hit 208 which was disheartening.
Need to find the right balance of diet and lifting to maintain strength but also maybe cut a bit. I don’t know. Not sure where I was going with this, but I’m definitely equal parts happy with my progress but also just not sure where I want to go as we approach 2026.
I started the 5x5 powerlifting plan, as that’s the only thing I knew. But to speed it up (time is limited with 3 kids), I have been doing 3x8 with the same exercises. I’ll also toss in a couple extra bicep/triceps things and add abs to fill out an hour.
My goal was to squat 315 for 3x8 when I started. Definitely too lofty of a goal considering I was starting way back at like 150. Definitely not going to hit that. But I did a solid 275 today 3x8, and I guess that’s not nothing. Now, I could probably stand to squat lower, but my range of motion in my knee is not great. I think I get down low enough, but not sure it’s exactly competition worthy.
My biggest struggle is weight. When I ran my wheels off, I got down to 194. My goal was to be in the 180s. Ever since then, I have bounced between 200-205 (until recently). Now, I’m proud of making some gains without putting on weight. But I would like to cut a bit. November was a train wreck for me and I actually hit 208 which was disheartening.
Need to find the right balance of diet and lifting to maintain strength but also maybe cut a bit. I don’t know. Not sure where I was going with this, but I’m definitely equal parts happy with my progress but also just not sure where I want to go as we approach 2026.
Stakem
Tômester
Love reading this as I think its something we all deal with in different capacities. Fantastic progress man, thats nothing to sneeze at and should be commended!
If you arnt competing, there isnt a real need to worry about all the way depth, just do as much range as you are capable of or try swapping a traditional back squat for something different like a zercher or modified front squat for awhile and log that progress/progression.
Accept the seasons we go through in life. Its winter time- so lift heavy, get stronger and accept the weight going up a bit. Worry about thinning out when it starts to get warmer and natural movement/activity in your life picks back up again.
Back on the forever program after 3 weeks off.
Bench - 90kg for a 5+ (got 10)
Bench - 50kg for 3 x 10
Bi/Tri/Pull up circuit
10 minutes treadmill
Really going to put in work on the main movements and not much else.
Bench - 90kg for a 5+ (got 10)
Bench - 50kg for 3 x 10
Bi/Tri/Pull up circuit
10 minutes treadmill
Really going to put in work on the main movements and not much else.
I don't know if it's like this in all gyms that aren't lifting gyms, but I swear the people that go to my gym are fucking chaos gremlins with weights. Any time I use a squat rack, I always aim to have the proper set of weights on both sides so it's easy to go through my program. Since the rack only has 4 arms instead of 5, it's a bit annoying but essentially it goes from top to bottom:
- One 2.5 and 5 in whatever order as you switch between them
- Two tens
- A 35 or a 25. Whichever isn't on this arm, just gets leaned against the rack.
- As many 45s as you want. I only need 2 but who cares if there are more