all posts post new thread

Barbell Should I Squat?

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
william bad butt said:
Congrats! I do something similar. Except I do once per week instead of every 4 or 5 days. A "Jumbo Day".

How are the squats? Any pro's or con's for leaving them into your routine?

Regards,

Eric
Click to expand...
Good question. Hard to say as I don’t have anything to compare it to.

I would say the pros are that I have been enjoying them, have no pain outside of a little elbow discomfort when squatting, and feel like they are contributing to overall strength.

The cons are that, with all of the cardio work I’ve done, even though it’s light cardio, it has seemed to be a lot at times. Eliminating squats could help me to make more progress on the other two lifts. Maybe.

But all in all, happy I’m doing them.
 
Last edited:
oukeith1 said:
The cons are that, with all of the cardio work I’ve done, even though it’s light cardio, it has seemed to be a lot at times. Eliminating squats could help me to make more progress on the other two lifts. Maybe.
Click to expand...
How often are you doing them? And how hard?
 
solarbear said:
How often are you doing them? And how hard?
Click to expand...
Every 3-5 days, along with my other exercises. I think I was going “pretty hard” for a while there, and likely had more weight on the bar than I probably should have. It’s been a bit easier lately, as I’ve gotten stronger, but haven’t increased the weight.

Mostly I think it’s the cardio that’s taken the real toll, and has made it a little harder to stay fresh for strength training. It’s the big picture of everything combined, and going a little more minimalist might make it easier to progress in some exercises.

That is just a theory. I’m not dropping the squats until December or January when I rotate to KB’s for a season.

Mostly just learning as I go.
 
oukeith1 said:
The cons are that, with all of the cardio work I’ve done, even though it’s light cardio, it has seemed to be a lot at times. Eliminating squats could help me to make more progress on the other two lifts. Maybe.
Click to expand...
Yeah, maybe. Training squats hard makes progressing on bench press harder, no doubt. And, it's tough to give a lot to deadlifts if you've already wiped yourself out w. squats. People can progress on all three of course, especially beginners and intermediates, but if you're adding a good chunk of cardio to that, it can be a lot.

Are you training for anything specifically (a sport, cardio health, general fitness, etc)? What are your goals for training (numbers, benchmarks, etc)?
 
Last edited:
Boris Bachmann said:
Are you training for anything specifically (a sport, cardio health, general fitness, etc)? What are your goals for training (numbers, benchmarks, etc)?
Click to expand...

Mainly just general health, wellness, longevity, and a desire to get stronger.

I had to think about what my strength goals truly are.

Half body weight KB press if my shoulder cooperates.

I would love one day to bench 225 for reps.

Get a 3rd plate on the bar for my deadlifts and squats.

Lose 15 more pounds.
 
oukeith1 said:
Mainly just general health, wellness, longevity, and a desire to get stronger.

I had to think about what my strength goals truly are.

Half body weight KB press if my shoulder cooperates.

I would love one day to bench 225 for reps.

Get a 3rd plate on the bar for my deadlifts and squats.

Lose 15 more pounds.
Click to expand...
Some of those goals are complementary. Some are not. Benching 225lb for reps will absolutely help you pressing a heavy KB. Losing 15lb would probably help you in the health/wellness/longevity department, but it's not going help your bench and squat numbers. Doesn't mean you can't do everything, it just means it'll be harder. Not knowing how far you've come and how far you have to go to get there, I can't give more specific advice really, but bench and squat work 2x/wk + DL work 1x/wk, plus cardio where you can seems reasonable to me.
 
oukeith1 said:
Mainly just general health, wellness, longevity, and a desire to get stronger.

I had to think about what my strength goals truly are.

Half body weight KB press if my shoulder cooperates.

I would love one day to bench 225 for reps.

Get a 3rd plate on the bar for my deadlifts and squats.

Lose 15 more pounds.
Click to expand...

Those goals seem very reasonable to me, even without more info I'd bet on you being able to reach the barbell goals in 2022. I think Boris' general plan sounds good for those. If you are concerned about your shoulder, that is where you might look at additional work. Some effort to make your shoulders more stable is probably a better approach than hoping for cooperation. Also this would make the benching safer for you.
 
oukeith1 said:
@Boris Bachmann @Steve A

Thank you both for the encouraging feedback.

What would you consider to be a better schedule?

M SQ / BN
W DL
F SQ/BN

or something like

M SQ / BN
TH SQ / BN / DL

Does it matter?
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that given your current strength levels, you plan on making one of the BP and one of the SQ sessions lighter than the other. In which case I don't think it matters a lot, you could even be inconsistent between them if your life schedule gets mixed up. As you get stronger the 2nd option might allow you better recovery.
 
oukeith1 said:
What would you consider to be a better schedule?

M SQ / BN
W DL
F SQ/BN

or something like

M SQ / BN
TH SQ / BN / DL

Does it matter?
Click to expand...
It might matter. You could also consider this:

Week 1
M BP/SQ
W DL/BP
TH SQ

Week 2
M SQ/BP/DL
TH SQ/BP

My general advice is (although mixing up exercise order is a good idea from time to time ) work what you need the most improvement on first/early in the workout/microcycle/week.
 
oukeith1 said:
Greetings!

I recently achieved timed Simple, and my intent was to transition over to ROP for some pressing work. Turns out the pressing is bothering my right shoulder, so I’m going to pivot over to some barbell work. I just dropped some coin on some nice equipment for my garage, and I’m looking for some input on what I should focus on.

My goals:
-Get stronger
-Lose some weight. I weigh 192, and should probably bring that under 180 lbs. I am 5’10”.
-This is more for GPP and general well being, but it would be nice to build up some decent lifts. I completed Simple, but I am historically not a strong person. At all.

I am thinking of focusing on two lifts: deadlift and bench press.

There will be some light to moderate cardio in the form of running and jump rope 2-3 times per week. This is mostly for general wellness and mental health. Having some conditioning is an absolute must for me.

Given the two main lifts plus some cardio, should I be thinking about squatting as well? I know Pavel is not a fan, but I’m looking for some other perspectives.

I will say that the back squat is the lift I am the least comfortable with. It bugs my knees and I’ve hurt my back doing it before. (My form was probably an atrocity.)

I am open to learning front squat or Zercher.

But mainly I am interested in whatever thoughts you may have on the pros and cons of adding squats to the above routine.

Thanks!
Keith
Click to expand...
I think you should squat. It is incredibly conducive to your goals.

Don't bother with advanced variations. Build up your base with the basics and follow a simple novice program e.g. 5×5 or GSLP.

You will initially make gains every single session. Ride this wave for as long as you can without compromising form.

You may get sore. Better your diet and work through it. It is normal to be sore until your work capacity catches up. Providing lifestyle factors are good then your work capacity will catch up.
 
Well, since you bumped this thread, I’ll share some of my thoughts on my last 6 months of barbell training, and back squatting.

If goals are numbers on a piece of paper, I definitely didn’t succeed. Lifts did not improve like I had hoped. I trained very consistently.

Also did not lose any weight.

Poor nutrition and excessive alcohol consumption did not help.

Having said that, I FELT stronger by the end of the fall season. There were a few occasions moving furniture (and people) where I felt noticeably stronger than I did at the start of the pandemic when I bought my kettlebells. So that is good.

I can’t say I particularly enjoy the back squat. Although I don’t doubt its effectiveness. I think I improved my form, but find it very tricky to perform clean, balanced, reps under load.

I have gone back to S&S for the winter months. My stint of barbell training did NOT help my S&S. I feel I regressed, particularly with getups. I’ve have found it difficult to keep balanced with the 32, and the initial move off the floor with my weak hand has been tough. Even after a few weeks of getting back into the groove.
 
oukeith1 said:
Well, since you bumped this thread, I’ll share some of my thoughts on my last 6 months of barbell training, and back squatting.

If goals are numbers on a piece of paper, I definitely didn’t succeed. Lifts did not improve like I had hoped. I trained very consistently.

Also did not lose any weight.

Poor nutrition and excessive alcohol consumption did not help.

Having said that, I FELT stronger by the end of the fall season. There were a few occasions moving furniture (and people) where I felt noticeably stronger than I did at the start of the pandemic when I bought my kettlebells. So that is good.

I can’t say I particularly enjoy the back squat. Although I don’t doubt its effectiveness. I think I improved my form, but find it very tricky to perform clean, balanced, reps under load.

I have gone back to S&S for the winter months. My stint of barbell training did NOT help my S&S. I feel I regressed, particularly with getups. I’ve have found it difficult to keep balanced with the 32, and the initial move off the floor with my weak hand has been tough. Even after a few weeks of getting back into the groove.
Click to expand...
The last sentence highlights the concept of "if you don't use it, you lose it."

The effectiveness of building a good base are self evident here. You found it easier to move furniture and people.

This is already positive feedback as to the benefits of barbell strength training.
 
No doubt about the benefits! More about structuring it in a way that is most beneficial and enjoyable.

I can’t help but already start thinking about my training plan starting on April 1st, 2022.
 
I’ve recently fallen back in love with a heavy low bar squat and will be including them in my training 3 times a week going forward.

There is something mental about being under a super heavy squat. With a deadlift, if it’s too heavy you can let go. With a heavy overhead press, if it fails, it’s in a rack position and you can just walk it back in. With a heavy back squat, if you fail and don’t have pins or a spotter you are kind of screwed because it wants to take you down and it’s heavy enough and in a position to do so.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom