Poor squat

[superman001jrt]

I have realised that although I can leg press 660lbs my squat is very weak, im about 160-165lbs
and I only managed 4x200lbs.

My bench is about 3x200lbs and about 2x310lbs deadlift so im guessing my squat should be about 270-280lbs?

 

[TODAY]

Due to the mechanical complexity of the movement, squats can take YEARS to master.


Keep at it.

 

[uphillclimb]

I have realised that although I can leg press 660lbs my squat is very weak, im about 160-165lbs
and I only managed 4x200lbs.

My bench is about 3x200lbs and about 2x310lbs deadlift so im guessing my squat should be about 270-280lbs?

How often do you squat?
Do you deadlift every week?
Do you do "good mornings"?
Front squats?
How much do you eat?

There is no number that you SHOULD be at, a lot has to do with genetics but also food, frequency of lifts, form and to be honest: The hunger for pushing for bigger weight and breaking down mental walls.

There are guys that squat 6-700lbs that don't weigh more than 240-250 on here.....

At 160-165, I suggest you eat until you're about to throw up.....then eat again.....and finish it off with a gallon of choc milk.

 

[superman001jrt]

I forgot to mention ive only been squatting about 3 weeks, due to an ankle injury and rotator cuff injuries ive just been using the leg press for leg training.

Forgot to mention my height, im 5'7 and generally 160-165lbs and have found that if I gain weight its usually around the mid section and find im not putting on any more lean mass when I go above 165lbs.

I take in about 3000 calories per day over 5 meals.

 

[uphillclimb]

Not enough food broski.....when you bulk, you WILL put on extra in your mid section. I'd be curious to your macros if you're actually getting 3k....not doubting you but 3k at 165 is decent but not enough if you want to lift more....how old are you?

Here's a cut and paste from Bigun11 back a while ago about bulking. Bulking is a time to throw the mirror away to achieve your goals.

1. Repeat after me: Beef, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, ice cream, pizza, pie, hash browns, oatmeal with brown sugar, grits, sausage, bacon, hamburgers, bread, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy.

Avoid like the plaque: tuna, baked fish, grilled chicken breasts, salads, lettuce, celery, vegetables in general (other than potatoes, lol).

Never let yourself get even a little hungry. Keep a Snickers bar handy. If you feel like you could eat something without throwing up, then it is time to eat something.

Cut back on your training to 3-4 days a week, heavy basic movements, no more than an hour each session.

No cardio. If you feel like doing cardio, slap yourself then go eat something.

Sleep 8-10 hours a night, and if you can get away with it take another nap during the day. Be a lazy ass at work.

Just my opinion. Others will differ with me on some of it. But this is what I do when I wanna get huge.

Good luck

And lastly, find a program.....5x5, 5/3/1, reverse pyramids, Westside, Cube method and stick to it. DOn't worry about the weight 3 weeks in. After a nagging injury that prevented me from squatting for about 6 months total, I went from 275 to 385 in 4 months.

Squat every week....it's the most important exercise ever!

 

[superman001jrt]

Also im squatting once per week as I find its taking 4-5 days to fully recover.

Im training chest Monday, legs Tuesday, shoulders Wednesday, arms Thursday and back on Friday, Sat & Sun rest days.

 

[Turbolag]

If your just getting over an injury take it easy.

Just do more reps on squats.

If you can do 200 X 4 try this. Do your warm up, then do a couple sets to get you to this:

Something like 185 for as many times as you can. Stop there

Come back the next week and see how you feel, if you feel good, go up a little, if not just do 185 again.

Take your time, and do leg press to supplement your squats.

Don't go real heavy on leg press, maybe 300-350 pounds. Do about 3 X 8-10 reps

As the reps get easier gradually increase the leg press weight.

 

[uphillclimb]

If your just getting over an injury take it easy.

Just do more reps on squats.

If you can do 200 X 4 try this. Do your warm up, then do a couple sets to get you to this:

Something like 185 for as many times as you can. Stop there

Come back the next week and see how you feel, if you feel good, go up a little, if not just do 185 again.

Take your time, and do leg press to supplement your squats.

Don't go real heavy on leg press, maybe 300-350 pounds. Do about 3 X 8-10 reps

As the reps get easier gradually increase the leg press weight.

I didn't get the chance to go into that with him....good post Turbo....he needs volume right now.

 

[superman001jrt]

I would love to eat all the food you listed but I find that when I eat a lot of rubbish I feel rubbish, I try to eat quite clean and have maybe 2-3 cheat meals per week.

Ive just started Mike O'Hearns Power bodybuilding routine which focuses mainly on the bench, squat & deadlift. After 7 sets of 2-4 reps of the main compound lift its followed by 5x10 of another exercise then 3x8 of an isolation exercise.

Im finding that on this program im out of the gym in about 55 minutes.

I'll stick at it and see if I can add about 5lbs to my squat every week or 2.

 

[nychris]

660lb leg presses and 200lb squats sounds about right. That's normal. Just keep at it and keep eating and it will go up.

1. Repeat after me: Beef, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, ice cream, pizza, pie, hash browns, oatmeal with brown sugar, grits, sausage, bacon, hamburgers, bread, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy.

Avoid like the plaque: tuna, baked fish, grilled chicken breasts, salads, lettuce, celery, vegetables in general (other than potatoes, lol).

There's some good info above but I don't eat agree with this part about purposely eating junk food and avoiding healthy foods. It's okay to eat junk food too at this stage, but just make sure you are getting in the good stuff first. If you want to eat 10oz of grilled chicken and brown rice and then feel like having a pizza, go for it! The junk food will make the scale go up faster, but that's because of extra fat and water weight. You aren't going to build muscle and strength faster because you're getting fatter. I'd suggest 300g of protein per day from high quality sources. Don't even count the protein intake from other sources, just add it up from the meats, fish, eggs, and protein shakes to make sure you get 300g/day. Complex carbs I'd say should be at least 500g/day.

 

[J-dub]

Anything you do will most likely work right now, routine wise. You don't have to eat complete crap to gain (it's easier) but beef and mash potatoes w/ gravy and vegetables will pack some lbs on without making you feel like total shit.

 

[uphillclimb]

660lb leg presses and 200lb squats sounds about right. That's normal. Just keep at it and keep eating and it will go up.



There's some good info above but I don't eat agree with this part about purposely eating junk food and avoiding healthy foods. It's okay to eat junk food too at this stage, but just make sure you are getting in the good stuff first. If you want to eat 10oz of grilled chicken and brown rice and then feel like having a pizza, go for it! The junk food will make the scale go up faster, but that's because of extra fat and water weight. You aren't going to build muscle and strength faster because you're getting fatter. I'd suggest 300g of protein per day from high quality sources. Don't even count the protein intake from other sources, just add it up from the meats, fish, eggs, and protein shakes to make sure you get 300g/day. Complex carbs I'd say should be at least 500g/day.

I agree to a point. I cut and pasted that, I don't follow it but I wish I did when I was 20-22....those aren't my words personally but for someone at 165, he needs more than what he's putting in that's for sure.

Good post Chris.