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Barbell Even easier strength question

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Kim Philby

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Hi all

I have been following the even easier program for six days and have a question. I am 46, 6’, a chubby 205 lbs, and have been lifting weights on and off for 30 years. Here are my lifts for the program.

Bench (max 210) working with 135 to 170
Row (max 185) working with 115 to 135
Squat (max 250) working with 155 to 185
Ab wheel. 10 reps.
100 Swings with 40lb kettlebell (heaviest the gym has) - takes about 8 minutes
Loaded carries with trap bar @205 for 150 yards

My question is does This look correct for even easier strength? The main lifts are, well, easy. But the swings and loaded carries have me grunting and huffing and puffing. Especially the carries I’m drenched I sweat after those.

I’m worried that I’m going to hard on the last two and it will affect strength. Should swings and carries be like that or should they be easy too?

Many thanks for any input.
 
The way I understand it, the swings are more of a warm up, esp combined with goblets. Dan John prefers the DL over the squat, but others find it works too. Since the swing is your hinge, you probably need to do a bit more than just a warm up. BUT, for ES, the important thing is consistency, being able to do it comfortably every day. So, try dropping either the weight or volume of the swings for a bit. You can always add more later.

The way Inhandle loaded carries is to do them last in the session. Then I play it by ear. Usually I just grab some DBs walk them a bit and quit. But on days I feel frisky, I do more. Everything in the workout stays the same except the carry, which I can adjust to how I feel. I also like to do a light Cook drill as a warm up.

BTW, I like your user name. Is your alter ego George Smiley?
 
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About the squats and the whole program. Please watch this video. It explains everything. I just watched it yesterday!




-> Don't do squats, do DL's instead!
 
Don't do squats, do DL's instead

Great video! Thanks for sharing. As for the squats, he doesn't say we should avoid them. Rather you have to be careful because doing squats every day can be difficult to recover from if your sport or domain requires a lot of running (ex. running back in football).

Also the deadlift does not replace the squat. He recommends a pull, push, hinge, squat and carry.
 
Great video! Thanks for sharing. As for the squats, he doesn't say we should avoid them. Rather you have to be careful because doing squats every day can be difficult to recover from if your sport or domain requires a lot of running (ex. running back in football).

Also the deadlift does not replace the squat. He recommends a pull, push, hinge, squat and carry.
DJ has said that he wants the squat to work for ES, but it just doesn’t. He does recommend to work the pattern with goblets, but save the load for the DL. However, other folks on his forum say the squat worked for them. The last time I ran ES I neglected the goblet squats, and it became a problem when I switched to a squat dominant winter program.
 
@vegpedlr, I was going by the video above. One of the categories is literally a squat. Do you know where he mentioned that we should not load the squat?
 
DJ has said that he wants the squat to work for ES, but it just doesn’t. He does recommend to work the pattern with goblets, but save the load for the DL. However, other folks on his forum say the squat worked for them. The last time I ran ES I neglected the goblet squats, and it became a problem when I switched to a squat dominant winter program.

Trap bar DLs might be perfect for this.
 
He mentioned squats were too recovery demanding for the ES format for most folks, at least for many athletes.
That's what I understood. According to Dan John, many athletes will have a hard time recovering from doing daily loaded squats. I'm assuming that's because most athletes do a lot of running. But for the average person, I'm assuming doing a push, pull, hinge, carry and squat will be just fine.
 
He also recently posted that if you succeed with squats in the program he will applaud you all the way. He has found too much chronic soreness and a lack of recovery when squats are included. If that is not your experience then have at it!
 
Check out the new thread at Dan John’s forum on this topic. Also, the new website mentioned in that thread for more info.

DJ recommends working the squat movement pattern with goblets in the warmup, but not working the load as a main lift.

Not everyone agrees.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys! I watched that video and enjoyed it, though i am starting to think so much of what Dan John says is in the context of HS or college athletes (or in some cases former Olympic or NFL competitors.) I am assuming it also works for 46 year old desk jockeys.

Anyway i am on workout #13 and am still following to a 'T' as best i can. no noticeable different yet. i'm sticking with it but am wondering if the swings and carries should also be 'easy' (they are not.)

Question: anyone know the reasoning behind DL over squat? I'd always read that DLs are generally much harder on the system than squats.
 
Lighten up the swings and play the carries by ear. You may want to mosey over to Dan John’s forum where there is more ES discussion.
 
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