The Ups and Downs of high-bar squatting

20/4/15 - Monday

After a 4 day break due to work and personal commitments it was time to get back into it. But after a chain of nights of little sleep, lack of proper diet I didn't have much hope.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
77.5kg x 4x9

3rd set was all over the place but that was sorted out quick enough.

Bench (Paused)

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

Took a set or two to get back into it. Hopefully I'll be feeling my usual self by Wednesday.

Happy with that session considering for my body feels atm (extremely tired and worn out). Food, rest and lets see what Wednesday has waiting for me...
 
22/4/15 - Wednesday

Well this was definitely the most interesting training session I've had.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
77kg x 2
82.5kg x 5x7

Pleased that's over with. Felt a lot better than Monday's session.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 1
62.5kg x 6x5

1st and 4th set were just strange, all the others were decent.

Sumo deadlifts

60kg x 5
100kg x 5
112kg x 3
125kg(B) x 1

The last rep was followed by me blacking out because I had to rush... I shall never rush deadlifts again, especially when I have a training session similar to this. Nonetheless I got up and started OHP...

OHP

Bar x lots
26kg x 12
24kg x 11

I was rushed again so I missed the least rep, and last set entirely, due to having to leave the gym.

All in all it was a good session. I met all reps on the main movements without any issues. It was only because I was rushed, maybe the belt was a tad tighter than I'm used to due to an influx in weight, and I lowered the last rep relatively quickly, so that all contributed to the incident. Time to rest so I can go in again tomorrow and redo OHP, add in some dips and maybe some rows.
 
mrthingyx said:
Video or the worst excuse for missing a rep ever. :D
Click to expand...

I actually made the rep :D It went up and completed with full lockout and returned to the floor in a controlled manner (I didn't just drop it, but I did put it down very quickly), and then once my hands came off the bar the incident occurred. No video though. Apparently I was out for 3-5 seconds :p

Unless you were referring to the OHP to which I missed the last rep due to fatigue since I finished one set, stripped some weight off the bar and then went immediately.
 
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23/5/15 - Thursday

Time to finish off what I started yesterday.

OHP

Bar x lots
26kg x 12
24kg x 12
22kg x 15

Incredibly light but the volume and fatigue was horrific. Every rep had solid form but the last set I had to break down just because my shoulders aren't used to that kind of volume.

Chest-supported rows

Bar + 10kg x 10
Bar + 20kg x 10
Bar + 25kg x 8
Bar + 30kg x 6
Bar + 35kg x 4
Bar + 40kg x 4
Bar + 27.5kg x 4x8

Light enough that I'm not worn out, heavy enough to notice it :p

Tricep pushdown

41kg x 5x20

Done.

Nice and simple, should be in good condition for benching tomorrow... and squats :(
 
24/4/15 - Friday

So many squats.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
87.5kg(B) x 7x5

I did the first set without a belt and whilst I could have done more belles I thought I'd be sensible and play it safe by putting the belt on for greater bracing and better efficiency.

Bench (Paused)

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

Not as fast as I would have liked but still easy and powerful.

Dips

BW x 6
BW x 7
BW x 6

Really focusing on keeping the scapular contracted to prevent the shoulder from rolling forwards.

And that's that. Time to rest and prepare for tomorrow. Dear goodness tomorrow is going to be horrid.
 
24/4/15 - Saturday

Today wasn't as hellish as I thought but it was tiring.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
92.5kg(B) x 10x3

Felt pretty decent. Just gets tiring towards the end but the strength was consistent throughout all sets.

Sumo Deadlifts

60kg x lots
100kg x 3
110kg x 1

I'm currently feeling horrid pulling these from the floor. I had noticed that I changed my setup for some reason. I changed it back to what is was for block pulls and all went well.

Sumo Deadlift Block Pulls 5"

122.5kg(B) x 4x4
137.5kg(B) x 2
150kg(B) x 2!!!!

It felt like I had maybe 1-2 more in me without too many issues.

Rather pleased with today, more pleased with the deadlifts than anything else. No more heavy deadlifts for a few weeks now. I need to find some some form of rep scheme that will allow me to work on paused deadlifts for a while.
 
26/4/15 - Sunday

I had some benching to do, so I did some benching.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5 (Paused)
50kg x 3 (Paused)
60kg x 1 (Paused)
62.5kg x 6x6
62.5kg x 1 - I wasn't sure if on the last set I did 5 or 6. played it safe by doing another.

The last rep on the 5th and 6th set was tough. I did an extra rep at the end just to make sure I did actually do all of my reps.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 6
30kg x 2
34kg x 3x3 - Felt harder than they should have
30kg x 2x8
30kg x 6

Pretty decent. I assume this would have gone better without the benching but I am doing this as an accessory as opposed to a man movement so I'm rather pleased with this.

Tricep Pushdowns

45kg x 2x20
39kg x 3x20

I'll stick to going a tad lighter for a while.

Bro Curlz

Ez + 12.5kg x 4x8

Easy enough, could have handled more weight.

Pleased with that session. Finished up with rolling, stretching and mobility. Time to get ready for squats tomorrow!
 
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27/4/15 - Monday

Squats, just squats.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
87.5kg(B) x 4x9

Well damn that was...actually ok tbh. It was just the amount of time having the weight on my back that was the issue. On the last set I had to quickly rerack because my wrists felt like they might have snapped but the weight was fine.

Rest tonight, bench tomorrow!
 
28/4/15 - Tuesday

Bench day :cool:

Bench (Paused)

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

Reasonably easy, had a bit of a grumpy left elbow for some reason. TLC is needed.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 4
28kg x 10
26kg x 10
24kg x 12

I had to really focus on keeping proper form and timing the movement correctly. Fun times.

Chest-Supported Rows

Bar + 10kg x 10
Bar + 20kg x 10
Bar + 30kg x 6
Bar + 40kg x 4
Bar + 27.5kg x 4x8

Moving on to 30kg next time.

Dips

BW x 6
BW x 7
BW x 7

Had to really try hard to keep the scapulars pinned back and together.

Face Pulls

~17kg x 4x12

Hammer Curls (Weight each hand)

9kg x 10
8kg x 3x10

And finished! Decent session, feel worked enough without feeling super drained like normal when squats are thrown in. Maybe it'll be worth doing this kind of split training (not a push/pull training split...) just for a change to give a chance for the body to recover properly and feel bit more fresh.
 
29/4/15 - Wednesday

More squats!

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
92.5kg(B) x 5x7

These went a lot a better than expected, considering that I rapping that weight for triples on the weekend.

Paused Sumo Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 4x3

I need to add in some glue work and at this kind of weight deadlifts aren't taking at all. It also gave me a nice chance to adapt to a better foot position since my glutes are now kicking in, making it much easier to break off the floor.

Feeling much better than I was expecting but I know that every other squat session for the next week and a half will be hell.
 
GSVBagpuss said:
Great squatting!

It's my deadlift deload day today and I was thinking of doing a few sumo-style for fun. Any top tips?
Click to expand...

Thank you :) There's plenty more where that came from over the next several weeks.

Regarding sumo:

1) Start with a narrow stance, do a rep, and then move the feet out a bit and repeat until it's uncomfortable/inefficient then you know it's too far and your previous stance is currently your best choice.

2) Rotate your feet out enough that you can bring your hips all the way though. Simply take your stance and squeeze with the glutes to bring hips through. If you can't bring them through properly, rotate a bit more. Don't rotate too much other wise you'll lose balance.

3) Keep your knees pointed out over your toes/foot at all times.

5) When gripping the bar before the pull, make sure your arms are inline with your shoulders. This will probably mean you have some fingers on the knurling and some fingers off the knurling. This is fine.

5) Use mixed grip and chalk.

6) When setting up, keep your chest up, neutral spine and no pulling your neck back, and get your hips as close to the bar as possible, without breaking form. Getting hips closer to the bar occurs by rotating your hips out more. This *should* stop you pulling convention with a sumo stance. Just because your stance is wider does not mean you're pulling sumo, it's a different technique.

7) "Spread the floor" and squeeze your glutes as hard as possible as if you have just dropped a bar of soap in the prison showers.

8) Lockout with the legs first and then the hips. If you try to do it simultaneously like you would on conventional your legs will give out and you'll end up hitching. Don't hitch.

If you find your hips shooting up lower the weight and do some paused reps just below the knee to get glutes firing.

Sumo will feel harder off the floor and it will feel slower, but that does not mean that it is worse than conventional. It takes a long time to get the technique right and is a pain if your mobility isn't up to standard.
 
30/4/15 - Thursday

The bench taper begins!

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x lots (Paused)
50kg x 3 (Paused)
60kg x 1 (Paused)
65kg x 5x5

Little bit of left elbow clicking going on. Weight was ok.

OHP

Bar x lots (8?)
25kg x 6
30kg x 4
36kg x 3x1
32kg x 3x5

Turns out my grip was a tad wide, brought it in a bit and elbow clicking cleared up nicely.

Low cable row

~31kg x lots
~45kg x lots
~55kg x 6
77kg x 4x6

I wasn't able to use the chest supported row today so just worked up to a weight that felt kind of heavy at 6 reps to mimic what I would have done.

Tricep Pushdowns

35kg x 5x20

And that's me done.

Rather happy with that session. I shall make sure I press with the new grip to make sure I keep the elbow nasties at bay.
 
1/5/15 - Friday

So many squats.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 2
97.5kg(B) x 7x5

Definitely one of the harder sessions I've gone through in a while but the weight wasn't too bad. Once I had my positioning sorted I was fine.

And rest. More squats tomorrow.
 
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2/5/15 - Saturday

That was a lengthy session. Squats and Bench.

Squats

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x some x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 2
102.5kg(B) x 10x3

Stretching the hamstrings in between sets really, really helped. The last 3 sets were absolutely brilliant. Gave me plenty of confidence for next week.

Bench

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

Not too amazing tbh, easy but meh. Left elbow was still clicking for some reason. Stretching, tlc and treatment tomorrow should help nicely.

Dips

BW x 3x7

Not too amazing since there is something going on with the left shoulder, not enough to cause an issue though.

Thank goodness that is over with. The weight on the squats wasn't too bad, I was just very tired, yet picked up towards the end.
Benching was a tad disappointing because I was hoping it would feel stronger. But with the left elbow clicking it was to be expected.

Finally tomorrow is my first rest day of the week! It is needed!
 
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