Dream's...something or other log

21/01/14 - A day

A slight better sessions and at least I managed to fit everything in this time. I wanted to keep the squats a bit lighter today as I've had sod all sleep and was not feeling my full self. I'm still getting used to these high-heels, it seems like I need to sit down more rather than extending my hips as much as a I was at it seems I may have been over-extending them, which would explain my lower back pain I've been experiencing.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 4
80kg x 2
85kg x 3x5

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
57.5kg x 3x5 (Tricky but I felt good pec activation for once).


BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
55kg x 3x5 (Tough but good)

Dips

BW x 10
BW x 5
BW x 5

A bit better than what I had expected but I need to get that form nailed on the squat before I move up in the weight.
 
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Whilst low bar back squatting in high heels isn't necessarily a problem, it will not make the movement any easier.

Tje whole point of them is to get a huge amount of flexion in the ankle, knee and hip to allow for deep, upright squatting, which is not a low bar back squat.
 
mrthingyx said:
Whilst low bar back squatting in high heels isn't necessarily a problem, it will not make the movement any easier.

Tje whole point of them is to get a huge amount of flexion in the ankle, knee and hip to allow for deep, upright squatting, which is not a low bar back squat.
Click to expand...

Is that to say that the heels will make it harder?

I may try doing the low bar squats without the heels on then and do the high bar squats with them. But nonetheless they have significantly helped with the ankle mobility and allowing me to get to depth in either type of squat as without them getting to parallel without the heels on for low bar is difficult atm for some bizarre reason. But I have to say it is nice practising both types of squats now due to the shoes.
 
It makes them slightly more awkward, because you might be taking out certain elements of the posterior chain by having your ankle plantarflexion boosted by the shoes (i.e. shunting your knees forward more than they need).

If you struggle hitting depth on low bar squats, then I would take a guess that your ankles are not necessarily to blame, but that your stance is not sufficiently wide enough (or hips aren't mobile enough in the right planes) to enable you to move your pelvis correctly. You also have to remember that hitting depth on low bar is quite different: it means "parallel" (i.e. head of femur in line with the knee joint or just below) rather than the awesome that is the high bar ATG position. ;)
 
mrthingyx said:
It makes them slightly more awkward, because you might be taking out certain elements of the posterior chain by having your ankle plantarflexion boosted by the shoes (i.e. shunting your knees forward more than they need).

...rather than the awesome that is the high bar ATG position. ;)
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I knew that last bit was coming :P Well at least I'm now practising high bar, and it is satisfying getting to depth and feeling rather 'up-right' unlike low bar when I was a little bit further forward. It just looks like, practise, practise, practise to make sure I'm getting the different styles correct and not mixing the two as I may have been... I'll try and get some videos tomorrow when I'm training and to see what yourself and the others think.

I appreciate that they may make low-bar a little more awkward but I've seen many powerlifters use the shoes in high heels and use low bar. So my question is, would you say to avoid wearing them for low-bar squats or would the impact they have the on the squats not be significant enough but would require a slight mechanic change?
 
Practice is the best teacher, to be honest. Unsurprisingly. :)

Regarding the use of heels? If it works, then they're not going to ruin anything. As I said, they bring a degree of greater quad activation into the exercise, which is a good thing depending on what you're using the squat for.

I - personally - wouldn't take them off (I wear my shoes for benching, so go figure...), but my concern is that you may be using them as a workaround for an underpinning issue which itself needs resolving... namely ankly and hip mobility.

The wonderful contradiction to all that I've said is that it is actually important to use both squat styles depending on the programme you're using, simply because too much high bar without specific hamstring work will not assist your posterior chain, and too much low bar without front or high-bar squats will not help your quads. :)
 
mrthingyx said:
I - personally - wouldn't take them off (I wear my shoes for benching, so go figure...), but my concern is that you may be using them as a workaround for an underpinning issue which itself needs resolving... namely ankly and hip mobility.

The wonderful contradiction to all that I've said is that it is actually important to use both squat styles depending on the programme you're using, simply because too much high bar without specific hamstring work will not assist your posterior chain, and too much low bar without front or high-bar squats will not help your quads. :)
Click to expand...

Don't worry, I'm still working on the ankles and the hips, as much as the heels make my life easier I'm not not neglecting working on my mobility.

I took your advice that you gave to someone else/ a discussion that you were having about mixing up the squats due to the different muscle activation that it uses which is actually why I'm starting to mix it up myself since it made perfect sense and I'm hoping I'll develop a better drive out of the hole.
 
25/01/14 - B day

Shotty diet throughout the week and feeling extremely tight going to training today so I didn't want to push the squats hard as I wasn't feeling my full self and I've had issues with form the past few sessions. Fortunately however, shoes + big bar = win. Now that I'm getting used to unracking the bar with my hips underneath it and 'popping' up, the slight niggle that I used to get in my back has gone. I still can't seem to do low-bar squats comfortably in the shoes though.

And yay for 110kg deadlift for reps :D

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
87.5kg x 3x5


OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 2
45kg x 1x5
40kg x 2x5

DS:

30kg x 7


Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
110kg x 5 (Whoop!)


Wide-grip Pull ups

BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 3

Farmers Walk

Frame x 1x2
Frame + 10kg each x 1x2
Frame + 20kg each x 1x2

My grip strength is atrocious at the moment so I'm having to use mixed grip on my last working set of Deadlifts but I'm hoping that the farmers walk will help along with ensuring that I use DOH for all other warm-up sets.

Doing high-bar squats is hitting the legs nicely so I shall try and carry this on for a good while and hopefully get used to doing low-bar squats in high heels.

All-in-all, feels like a good session. Really need to focus on getting the squats into the 90kg's+ / 100kg asap for at least 3x5.
 
26/01/14 - A day

Everything seems to be going a bit smoother now even though it was a back-to-back with yesterday, and with added weight on the squats (and bench!).

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 4
80kg x 3
90kg x 3x5 (smooth and sexy)

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
57.5kg x 3x5
60kg x 2x5 (Was only going to do 1x3 but they were flying up!)

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
55kg x 3x5 (Really explosive, loved it)

Dips

BW x 10
BW x 8
BW x 5

Squats took a while to get into as everything was rather tight from yesterday but the reps were getting better each set. The bench really surprised me as 57.5kg felt ropey last time which is why I thought I'd give the same weight another go. It felt good so I thought I'd push 60kg (for the 20kg plates either side :cool: ) just because and to my surprise, it went really well. Rows were good too. Hopefully everything will be upped next session!
 
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29/01/14 - B day

A smidge rushed today but all in all not too bad considering sod all sleep again and lack of proper diet...again. I'm taking the squatting progress slowly and carefully, so hopefully next time there will be another weight increase either for 3x3 or 3x5 depending on how it feels on the day. I've done the same with the OHP too, hopefully lowering the weight, nailing the form and throwing in a dropset is helping.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 1
92.5kg x 3x5

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 2
42.5kg x 3x5
DS 30kg x 8

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
110kg x 1
115kg x f
115kg x f
115kg x f
110kg x 5


Chins
BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 3


No time for farmer walks today and I just could not get the 115kg dl up, although I was knackered by that point so I'm hoping that was the reason. I could get it off of the floor slightly but not enough to get any ROM on it.
 
31/01/14 - A day

Pleasantly surprised, squats were good but there wasn't any super activation getting out of the hole, but nonetheless the reps were solid.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 4
80kg x 3
90kg x 1
95kg x 3x5

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 3
55kg x 1
60kg x 3x5

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
57.5kg x 3x5 (Too much of a pop up on the torso on a rep on the last two sets)

Dips

BW x 10 (sooooo close to 11)
BW x 5 (pump + fatigue = no use whatsoever)
BW x 4

I may try 3x3 97.5kg on the squats and then add in a drop set depending on how it feels on the day, hopefully 3x5 should come out on Sunday.
I feel it's about time I go up on the bench, the weight felt ok, reps were good but maybe just needed to focus a bit more on the warmups to make sure shoulders are top notch and the lats are in use properly.
Rows need to be stricter, I'm going to either keep the weight the same or drop t back to 55kg to make sure the form is aweeeessoooommmme.
The dips need to be more consistent to eventually get 12,12,12 ideally but fatigue plus 'dat pump' left my arms useless, big, but useless.
 
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mrthingyx said:
Nice squatting. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you :). I'm curious as to how the squats will go tomorrow but I'm trying not to put myself into the mindset of 'eurrghhhh it's going to be heavy' so I can just go in and find out once I'm doing the reps. I think maybe upping the eating may help as well, I've been rotating carbs with training days and then not on off-days but maintaining high protein and fat intake. And it's going well, dropping the fat and what not but the extra noms may help get the weight up.
 
02/02/14 - B day

Rather tiring but pleased with the squats and that I've managed to get my low-bar form back again. I tried high-bar but it felt like a bit too much pressure through my back so I swapped to low and it felt goooood. OHP was not special. I tried a slightly narrower grip on the deadlift and for the first time in ages I felt it in my traps.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 3
60kg x 3 (switch to low-bar)
80kg x 3
80kg x 3 (switch to low bar)
90kg x 2
90kg x 1
97.5kg x 3x5

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 2
45kg x 3x3
DS 30kg x 8

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
105kg x 1
115kg x 2 (PR!)

Wide-grip pullups
BW x 4
BW x 3
BW x 2


Squats = yay, rather happy with those. Hopefully 100kg will feel nice too since low bar made it feel so much smoother.
OHP - meh, not great but hopefully by changing my grip on the dl and feeling a bit more activation in the traps it may possibly transfer over and I'll start to see progress soon.
Deadlifts were nice with the new grip and I managed 115kg x 2 using DOH grip but after that (and the squats, and just the energy used on OHP) I was done for. Mixed grip didn't help and dropping it to 110kg did nothing either. Admittedly the rest between retrying the weight was rushed as the gym was closing. Still pleased though.
 
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04/02/14 - A day

Went for a deload on the squats after buggering my knee whilst rolling the other night... (and no, I was not rolling my knee :p) I think the underlying cause was when I tried on a belt for giggles in the last session and it popped off half way through which put me off, I managed the rep but I have a feeling my knees may have buckled slightly.

Squats

Bar - lots
Bar /w bands x some
40kg x lots
40kg /w bands x some
60kg x 2x5

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x some
40kg x some
50kg x 3
55kg x 1
62.5kg x 3x5(PR! and may have shouted gains when I finished the first set because bench and OHP always seems to stall and never goes anywhere, I was pleased).

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x some
40kg x some
50kg x 3
57.5kg x 3x5 (Form was a lot better)

Dips

BW x 8
BW x 6
BW x 4

Kroc Rows (for grip strength)
15kg x 25/25 (Dat pump)

Squats were nice as long as I pushed my knees out nice and far, np. I had to make sure the form was spot on though to ensure there wasn't any unwanted internal movement going on. i think I'll carry on the reload for the rest of the week whilst treating the legs properly an just gradually push the weight up again. Potentially 70kg on Thursday and 80kg on Friday and then reset next week back to 95kg and see how things go.
I was pleased with the bench so hopefully I can push that up again on Friday.
Rows were a lot better but possibly one more time at the same weight just to ensure the proper form and then move up to 60kg (looks like my year target is coming around pretty soon...).
 
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06/02/14 - B day

Squats were ok since I'm trying to rest it since my knee went a bit funny, it's getting better but I still may drop the weight back to 60kg on Saturday and focus on just making sure knees are out nicely and the speed is good.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 3
70kg x 2x5 (Fast, focusing on power and speed)


OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 2
45kg x 3x5
DS 30kg x 8

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
110kg x 1
115kg x 2 (at least I got something)
115kg x f
110kg x f
100kg x 3x5


Chins
BW x 4
BW x 5
BW x 5


Happy with the squats, may drop weight on Saturday though just to make sure the knees are ok for Monday.
OHP, not bad but not sure if I want to push the weight, they weren't full 3x5 straight sets but nonetheless still an improvement from last session.
Deadlifts are starting to annoy me again, still couldn't get 115kg x 5 and then 110kg just wouldn't pull. I'm going to take Delvis's approach of doing 3x5. So I'm going to drop the weight and increase it by 2.5kg per session for 3x5 and see how I get on.
 
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08/02/14 - A day

Went for the deload again just to make sure that the knees were getting better so I capped squats to 60kg and did lots of band work and rehab stuff to make it mobile without straining it.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
Bar /w bands x some
40kg /w bands x some
60kg x 2x5

More banded squats.... x some

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
65kg x 3x5(PR! The last rep of the last 2 sets were a grind but they went up).

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
57.5kg x 3x5 Much better again, elbows need to be pinned back slightly but all were good solid reps)

Dips

BW x 12
BW x 10
BW x 8

Kroc Rows (for grip strength)
17.5kg x 25/25 (These were a lot harder than 15kg. I had to drop and pick up really quickly to continue a couple of times)

Knee's are feeling better which so a good sing so hopefully another rest day and I should be good for Monday at ~90kg.
Bench was gooooooood but I know 67.5kg will be tight as hell if today is anything to go by. I'll give it a shot but I won't be surprised if I need to give 65kg another few tries.
Rows were nice other than the elbows being a bit out for my liking, however it the form may have been fine from other angles, I shall film next time. I think I might push 60kg next session.
Thank goodness the dips are improving finally. Hopefully once I get 12-12-12 or even 12-12-10/12-10-10 I may start doing weighted dips.
Happy with that.
 
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19/02/14 - A day

Well sod... I had to miss an entire week of training due to the week being hectic with bits and bobs I had to deal with and simply had no time. However I finally got back to it and went nice and light. Diet, rubbish, sleep, rubbish, there was no way I could have coped going heavy. I had to keep the squats low too due to knees still being fubar'd. But hopefully now I have time to do mobility stuff and lots of stretching, fingers crossed I'll be fixed in no time.

Squats

Bar - 3 x lots
40kg 2 x lots
60kg x 2x5

Took a while to get the movement smooth again. Everything was tight and I was off balance, sometimes too far foward and once or twice I felt myself sit to the left once I was in the hole.

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
60kg x 3x5

Enough of a challenge, more food and more sleep should hopefully make next time easier.

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3x5

Surprisingly simple but again took a while to get the movement correct and symmetric on the pull.

Dips

BW x 8
BW x 6
BW x 4

Kroc Rows (for grip strength)
15kg x 25/25

Tough. I had to keep stopping for a split second before carrying on. Definitely room for improvement but I'm sure I'll be back to where I was in a few weeks.

Knee's are still iffy but hopefully mobility stuff and stretching will help so fingers crossed the squats will be back to normal soon enough.
Bench was ok but enough of a challenge, I'm hoping it was just lack of diet and sleep that made it feel tougher than usual.
Rows were simple so there will be no problem upping the weight next time.
Not amazing but at least it's a start.
 
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21/02/14 - B day

Another slightly pushed day and the first 'B' day in what feels like a very long time so I wasn't expecting too much. It felt tough but it was expected so a few more days of proper eating, sleeping and training should get me back on track.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3x5

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3x5
DS 30kg x 8

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 5 (surprisingly tough :( )

Neutral-grip pullups
BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 3

Bah, tough and disappointing on the dead lifts, 100kg should have been push but oh well, room for improvement.
 
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24/02/14 - A day

Still getting back into the swing of things and still a fair way away from my full strength but it'll be back in due time. Still having to keep the squats light and ramping up everything else back to what it was.

Squats

Bar - 3 x lots
40kg 2 x lots
60kg x 3x5

Felt good, smooth movement no clicks or clunks fortunately.

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
62.5kg x 3x5

Becoming tough again but should manage 65kg without too many issues, although I'm not sure if I should do one more session at 62.5kg or to push for 65kg.

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
52.5kg x 3x5

Still nice and explosive, slight pop at the top which is nice as it's not changing the form even though I would like to keep the exact same position throughout the movement.

Dips

BW x 11
BW x 5
BW x 5

Kroc Rows (for grip strength)
15kg x 25/25

Not bad. Same jip about the knees all in all but hopefully it's a sign of healing but I still don't want to push it just yet.
Bench was good, may push the weight but I'm also thinking that one more session at this weight may be beneficial.
Rows were comfty, time to move back to 55kg np.
 
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