The Ups and Downs of high-bar squatting

14/3/15 - Friday

Terrible session. Warm up and mobility felt good but working sets ons squats were horrific so I spent ages working on form. Just horrific. Considering running smolov at a sub max purely just for squat form reinforcement.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 1
85kg x 5 - Not feeling right
85kg x 3
40kg x 3x3
60kg x 3
60kg x 2
80kg x 1,1
80kg x 3

Seems that my feet were a tad too wide for high bar. I had a training partner record some sets and my form just does not seem right but once the stance was adjusted I was told form was a lot better. I'll knock back the weight to where it feels comfortable and work up, again.

Some of the practise sets


Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 2
57.5kg x 8x4

Boom, nice and easy.

Lots of pec and shoulder mobility stuff.

Tomorrow is going to be hell with bench 10 x 3 followed with lots of deadlifts.
 
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mrthingyx said:
Do you have the vids for it?

There isn't really an ideal foot width for high bar, but there is a foot width that is comfortable and then again one that is optimal. Freefaller - as an example - uses a MUCH wider stance than I do... yet we both high bar squat.
Click to expand...

I believe there are vids around, I'll get my mits on them and pop them up. I think it was made worse in my head because it didn't feel right due to my knees clicking and what not but apparently my form looked good according to others.
 
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14/3/15 - Saturday

Bench and deadlift.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 4
50kg x 2
60kg x 10x3

Felt solid, which is pleasing since I was benching last night and only had around 6 hours sleep.

Sumo deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 1,1,1
107kg x 4x4
120kg(B) x 2
140kg(B) x 2! - Boom pb!

Pleased with the pb but annoyed that I had the prior warmup sets incorrect. Deload next week and then repeat the week after, so no harm done.

Dips

BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 4

Easy enough. Really focusing on keeping the shoulders back and controlled.

Face Pulls

23kg x 4x12

Nice.

Kneeling cable crunches

55kg x 5x20

Starting to do something to the core.

Rather happy with that session, absolutely shattered though. Bench form has dramatically improved already and deadlifts are progressing nicely.
 
16/3/15 - Monday

After such a long week, travelling and poor sleep, it's no wonder why I was exhausted half way through this training session.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3x8 - Practically cardio
65kg x 5
70kg x 2x2
75kg x 1

Well that was easy, yet tiring.

Last technique for a short while. I'll review it again in a few weeks time. But it's looking and feeling better, to me anyway.


Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 2
55kg x 6x6

Awesomes :cool:

BOR

Bar x some
40kg x some - feeling iffy
50kg x some - no power or energy left

Just gave up and called it a day with those.

Face Pulls

16.25kg x 4x12

Easy enough once I got back into the flow. The pully system is different to what I'm used to so a much lighter weight feels ridiculous heavy due to the way he cables are connected.

Tricep Pushdowns

18.somethingkg x 5x20

Same thing again, I'm used to doing 32kg+ but system is silly so a much lighter weight felt like I was doing a lot more.

Calling it there. Shattered. The sets and reps on Squats and Bench were nice and easy but as soon as I stopped to doing the BOR's I had all the energy sapped out of me. Lots of food and rest incoming.
 
18/03/15 - Wednesday

The flu hit me mid deadlifts but overall energy is miles better than it was on Monday.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3x8
70kg x 2x2
75kg x 1

Obliterated this rep scheme this time, solid form and decent speed and power too in comparison to what I have been producing lately.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 7x5

Felt epic. Hopefully the rest of the week should feel the same.

Sumo Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 5
95kg x 5
107.5kg x 5 - Horrid (I went full Flu)
120kg(B) x 1 - Felt amazing

All sets up until the single were horrid due to the flu kicking in. I was constantly coughing and trying to breath through a blocked nose. After about 10 mins, my training partner convinced me to pull a single, so I did and it was brilliant.

Left it there, that was more than enough considering I was splattering guts everywhere. Couldn't breathe properly so I thought it was best to leave. Still quite happy with everything. Form and technique is coming along nicely in all lifts.
 
20/3/15 - Friday

Squats and bench.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 1
65kg x 4x5
70kg x 3
75kg x 2x2
82.5kg x 1

Form and power are feeling miles better. I hope I keep this up and get back to where I was (again).

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 1
62.5kg x 8x4

Bench was feeling off to begin with because I had to alter my setup since it was a different style of bench to what I had been using the past week.

Finished off the session with some mobility and stretching.

More bench tomorrow with some speed sumo deadlifts.
 
21/3/15 - Saturday

Lots of bench, lots and lots of deadlifts.

Bench

Bar x many
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 2
65kg x 10x3

Rather tired towards the end of that but for the most part it was solid.

Deadlifts (Sumo)

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 1,1,1
100kg x 1 - conv.
110kg x 1
110kg x 1 - conv.
120kg x 1
120kg x 1 - conv.
130kg x 1
130kg x 1 - conv.
60kg x some
100kg x 2
110kg x 1,1
120kg x 1
130kg x 1

And that's me done. Hip was tight so the sumo pulls weren't amazing to start with. The got better as the session went on but by the end my back was really tired and I was fatigued to do much more.

Chest supported Rows

Bar + 10kg x 8
Bar + 15kg x 8
Bar + 20kg x 8
Bar + 25kg x 6
Bar + 30kg x 6
Bar + 20kg x 4x12

I prefer these a lot more to Pendlay's atm since they save my lower back and put a greater emphasise on my upper back too.

Not a bad session but I really need to work on my mobility to pull sumo more efficiently.
 
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23/3/15 - Monday

Not bad, not bad at all.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
75kg x 5

Easy enough but feeling a bit tired and hips weren't engaging properly. Still solid form so all is good.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 4
60kg x 6x6

Noticeably tired but still decent. The rest of the week will be tough unless Wednesday goes well.

Chest Supported Rows

Bar + 10kg x 8
Bar + 15kg x 8
Bar + 20kg x 6
Bar + 25kg x 6
Bar + 30kg x 4
Bar + 25kg x 4x12
Bar + 15kg x 18
Bar + 10kg x 2x18

That should counter my pressing volume...

Tricep Pushdowns

35kg x 5x20

Pump.


And that's that done! Squats, Bench and Deadlift on Wednesday. Squat volume and intensity is being heavily reduced to focus on Bench and Deadlifts for the competition in 2 weeks. I'll be back on proper squat volume the week after the comp.
 
25/3/15 - Wednesday

Well that was a brilliant session! Confidence is where it should be for the competition next weekend!

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
75kg x 5

Easy enough. If it wasn't for the competition I'd run work on increasing the weight properly but I'll wait until after the competition.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 2
65kg x 7x5

First set or two felt a tad meh but I was amazed I managed to power through and get all the sets and reps with decent form.

Sumo Deadlifts

70kg x 5
90kg x 3
100kg x 5 - Ugggh
107kg x 3 - Oooh, that's better
120kg(B) x 1 - Got it
130kg(B) x 1 - Yeah!
140kg(B) x 1 - Boom, confidence restored :cool:
60kg x 5
80kg x 2
100kg x 2
120kg(B) x 6

I had 1 or 2 left in me on the 120kg for reps but I wanted to be sensible and save the energy for sumo block pulls on Saturday and then completely rest and deload for a week with a light session or two next week.

Face Pulls

23kg x 4x12

Kneeling cable crunches

55kg x 3x20

Ran out of time for the 5x20

Really happy with that session. It has given me confidence for the rest of my bench sessions this week. If I could do this, the other two should be possible due to a volume decrease. My form and technique has improved on sumo deadlifts too so that has given me a lot of hope for pulling the numbers I wanted in the competition next weekend. Bring it on :cool:
 
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27/3/15 - Friday

Solid session. Light squats, "heavy" bench.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2x2
80kg x 5

Felt brilliant. Shame I only have one squat session next week but the following week I'll be working on a solid volume phase as that has seemed to have helped my technique and power out of the hole dramatically.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 3
67.5kg x 7x4
67.5kg x 3+1

The working sets were tough to begin with and then I had someone help lift off the bar which really improved how tight I could be under the bar. Tad annoyed about missing the very last rep but also rather happy that I've only missed 1 rep so far.

Chest Supported Rows

Bar + 5kg x 8
Bar + 10kg x 8
Bar + 15kg x 8
Bar + 20kg x 8
Bar + 25kg x 4x12

Holding back from heavier sets since I'm deadlifting tomorrow.

Tricep Pushdowns

35kg x 5x20

Damn tricep pump and fatigue all at once.

And that's that. One more bench session scheduled for either Sunday or Monday depending on how I feel and then a light session on Wednesday and that's it until the competition. Time to prepare for Sumo deadlift block pulls tomorrow!
 
28/3/15 - Saturday

Sumo deadlifts :cool:

Sumo Deadlifts 5" blocks

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
112.5kg x 4x4
127.5kg(B) x 2
140kg(B) x 2 - Boom!
112.5kg x 8 - Lawd.

Not bad at all! Everything was worked nicely and the back-off set really helped with pulling quick and efficiently.

Chin Ups

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

Oooh. Lats are getting stronger.

Face Pulls

23kg x 12
29kg x 3x12

Nice improvement. I shall do these each session leading up to the competition.

Hanging Knee raises

BW x 3x20

Last "heavy" session. Last bench session on monday, light session on Wednesday and then nothing until Saturday.
 
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30/3/15 - Monday

Absolutely horrid session. Shoulder was giving me so much grief benching but after doing lots and lots (more) of mobility and stretching all was good.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
75kg x 3x5

Easy enough. I'm really looking forward to working on progression from next week.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 4
60kg x 3
70kg x 1
70kg x 2
70kg x 1
70kg x 3
70kg x 1
67.5kg x 8x3

Left shoulder was just not working properly and I could not generate enough stability to move 70kg efficiently. At least the weight wasn't an issue. Dropped down to 67.5kg to be safe and that was relatively easy but after the 70kg attempts the 67.5kg were a bit harder than what they should have been.

Finished with lots and lots of mobility and stretching.

That's my final bench session now. Just a light day on Wednesday and that's it.
 
1/4/15 - Wednesday

Nice light session before the comp. Lots and lots of mobility work and light sets.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 4
60kg x 3
70kg x 1 (Competition pause)

Absolutely flew up and my shoulders are feeling miles better. Felt like I had another 10kg in me. As long as I stay ontop of rolling, stretching and mobility then I should be fine.

Sumo Deadlifts

60kg x 5+1+1
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
112kg x 1,1,1

Felt a smidge heavier than I anticipated but still super easy.

Tricep Pushdowns

32kg x 5x20

Kneeling cable crunches

55kg x 5x20

Full body sports massage tomorrow to help remove any niggles. Lots of food, rest and mobility work now and hopefully a good competition!
 
4/4/15 - Competition Day - Northern Universities Push-Pull

No weight PB's but body weight PB's instead as I weighed in at 63.6kg BW.

Attempts are as followed:

Bench

70kg - Boom
75kg - BW pb, matched previous weight pb.
80kg - Nope, needed a tad more control onto the chest and I would have had it.

I genuinely feel that if I had another attempt I would have got it.

Deadlifts

140kg - Nope, crazy spasm at the top prevented shoulder lockout apparently.
140kg - Yay, may have muttered "Thank **** for that" and got a little giggle from the judges.
150kg - Sumo PB :cool: Not best of techniques but fatigue was strong and rest was stupidly short.

If I didn't have to do 140kg twice my 150kg may have been better and I like to think there was another 5kg in there as the technique would have been more efficient.


At the time, I was so frustrated that I only matched previous personal bests. But on reflection I match them at a lighter bodyweight and the technique and the power was better too so that's always something. I'm now feeling much better about the attempts and rather please by how they looked.

It also turns out that the spasm on my first 140kg attempt might have been due to my sumo being a bit too wide for my build. The other attempts I narrowed it ever so slightly and the issue vanished so that's something I'll work on. I now have my numbers for my next training block so I'll plug those in and see how things go. If I'm feeling good tomorrow I'll go for a squat max just for an idea of where I am.
 
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5/4/15 - Sunday

I wanted to get a rough idea where I was squatting, so I did exactly that. The day after a competition probably wasn't the best of ideas but I was feeling good so I went for it anyway.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 2
70kg x 2
80kg x 1
90kg x 1
100kg(B) x 1
107.5kg(B) x 1
115kg(B) x 1 - 8kg high-bar pb.

Happy with that. I could have squeezed out a 120kg without too many issues but I wanted these numbers for my squat cycle starting tomorrow and the numbers produced from a 115kg or 120kg were identical so I thought I'd play it safe and save the energy.

 
6/4/15 - Monday

Start of a new training block and it feels good :cool: Just squats and bench today as the gym was closing early.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x3
70kg x 3x8
77.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 2x2
87.5kg x 1

Felt great. My stance has become narrower as it does't cause any clicking in my left knee and to getting depth is fine.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 1
62.5kg x 6x2

I wanted to do all reps paused but because of the gym closing early my recovery times were shortened so some were properly paused, some weren't.

Really happy with that session everything, is feeling good so far. Bring on Wednesday, similar session with some deadlifts.
 
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