Squat suggestions?

[410klaWK]

So my squat has given me a lot of trouble in the past. The difference between my raw squat and geared squat at this past nationals was about 140 lbs. My raw peaks out about 350 (maybe + 10lbs) and, although I didn't get to attempt it because I lost my balance after the judge called squat, I was looking at putting up 495 and pretty sure I would have gotten in. Assume I would have gotten 485 and I can get 360 on squat, just to be conservative. That is still 125 lbs from raw to geared.

I feel that there shouldn't be this big of a gap and that it probably stems from weakness in the hole. Since I get the most help in the hole from my gear, that is why my suited squat is so much higher.

So I was going to see if you guys have any suggestions on fixing this? I notice I have some flexibility issues on just my right leg that make it hard for that side to break parallel. I was planning on doing some stretching post workout and on some of my off days. Also I have incorporated pause squats with chains into my routine to help with explosion. Although, in some sense that seems counter intuitive. Like I am doing the least amount of weight where I am weakest.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Aoife]

pin squats?
hmm…
I had a trainer that also had me do bounces at the bottom before coming back up, basically a 1/4 way from hole to up, and down and up and down 5x, then all the way up. so it looked like down, bouncex5, up, down, bouncex5, up… for 5 full reps. that sucked ass, but did bring my squat number up significantly.

[pjb923]

If you can't break parallel, the first thing you should do is get your flexibility issues fixed. Maybe you can find an ART practitioner to help work out your imbalances.

Once your issues are worked out, you can start to work on your power out of the hole. Pause squats would be a big help, and I agree with your thoughts about chains. Adding weight at the top is not what you need.

Low box squats can also be great for learning to develop power at the bottom of your squat.

[GqArtguy]

Originally Posted by 410klaWK

So my squat has given me a lot of trouble in the past. The difference between my raw squat and geared squat at this past nationals was about 140 lbs. My raw peaks out about 350 (maybe + 10lbs) and, although I didn't get to attempt it because I lost my balance after the judge called squat, I was looking at putting up 495 and pretty sure I would have gotten in. Assume I would have gotten 485 and I can get 360 on squat, just to be conservative. That is still 125 lbs from raw to geared.

I feel that there shouldn't be this big of a gap and that it probably stems from weakness in the hole. Since I get the most help in the hole from my gear, that is why my suited squat is so much higher.

This is still an assumption because you havent tested both squats, so how do you really know you would have had a weight from simply unracking it?

So I was going to see if you guys have any suggestions on fixing this? I notice I have some flexibility issues on just my right leg that make it hard for that side to break parallel. I was planning on doing some stretching post workout and on some of my off days.

Could be a million things from stretching, mobility, or alignment issues, as well as poor form.

[Frank.S]

Originally Posted by 410klaWK

So my squat has given me a lot of trouble in the past. The difference between my raw squat and geared squat at this past nationals was about 140 lbs. My raw peaks out about 350 (maybe + 10lbs) and, although I didn't get to attempt it because I lost my balance after the judge called squat, I was looking at putting up 495 and pretty sure I would have gotten in. Assume I would have gotten 485 and I can get 360 on squat, just to be conservative. That is still 125 lbs from raw to geared.

I feel that there shouldn't be this big of a gap and that it probably stems from weakness in the hole. Since I get the most help in the hole from my gear, that is why my suited squat is so much higher.

So I was going to see if you guys have any suggestions on fixing this? I notice I have some flexibility issues on just my right leg that make it hard for that side to break parallel. I was planning on doing some stretching post workout and on some of my off days. Also I have incorporated pause squats with chains into my routine to help with explosion. Although, in some sense that seems counter intuitive. Like I am doing the least amount of weight where I am weakest.

Thanks for the help guys.

125lbs from raw -> geared is not much at all. What gear are you using? and what feds are you lifting in?

I wouldn't bother with bouncing squats as mentioned earlier, they are actually going to teach you to get good at decelerating a few inches out of the hole.

What style of programming do you follow? westside, linear, russian etc?

At your strength I would just follow something simple. I personally like 3 week cycles using the same movement. For instance say you are using squats with chains and you max say is 300 + 50lbs of chain.

w1: 2reps, 5sets @ 240lbs + chains
w2: 2reps, 5sets @ 260lbs + chains
w3: 2reps, 2sets @ 275lbs + chains, then work up to 1rm (>300lbs + chains)
w4: deload if needed.

I just made up those #s, but you get the idea. If you picked 3-4 different variations IE (raw box squat, geared squat, squats with chains and low box squats) then cycled through them a few times your strength would go up.

Make your accessory work basic. Various good mornings, pullthroughs, ghr, back extension. Pretty much everyone when squatting raw is going to get stuck in the hole, so just make your goal to get stronger. Using the 3 week wave method Ive had great results with the added ability to handle decently heavy weights almost every week without it killing me. My rotation usually is: high tension, reverse bands, straight weight and sometimes ill throw in a volume cycle if im far out from a meet.

I'm not a huge fan of pause squats, but some people like them. I would do those with straight weight or very little in terms of accommodating resistance.

Can't help you with the depth issues. In all honesty when i'm having problems getting to depth I just put another 100lbs on the bar and they go away.

[Darkmind]

Romanian deadlifts help pretty well with the hole since it targets your glutes and hamstrings. The weakness of coming out of the hole is usually the glutes. It could also be a mobility factor. I just know that when I did romanian deadlifts, it gave my hams a good stretch, and gave my glutes a good workout. Just don't overdo the stretch part, a torn muscle is not a pleasant feeling. You do wanna start light on this exercise as it can mess up your back pretty badly. Look up proper videos for form.

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