Max squat for the first time in over 20 years (vids) New PR too!

[induced_drag]

I just wanted to see where I was because frankly, I really had no clue. I have not pushed myself because of a hip injury I suffered a while back with still bothers me. I have had to adapt to squatting fairly close to be able to do it without pain. I have gotten to where I am decently strong squatting like this, but had no clue where I really was.

I just got tired of have to say "I know my squat is somewhere over 500". I have never gone over 500.

I decided to change that today after a good showing on deads last week. (625 single)

Here is my critique and observations.

I can tell you this....I waste way too much effort on walking out. 495 felt really light and not a problem and I took a long walkout but it did not hurt me.

When I jumped to 525, I struggled to get my feet right and you can see I look shaky. The lift felt good, but the walkout sucked.

For the last one, I moved the stands further apart so I did not have to walkout so far. This helped a lot, but I still did not feel that comfortable with setting up my feet with that weight on there. I could not get my feet where I wanted them, but was getting tired, so I just sat back and squatted it before I wore myself out. I did not go as deep as I did on 525...but watching the vid, it looked decent.


Jumping up 45lbs is a big jump (just the feeling on my back). I have singled 500 plenty of times and am accustomed to how it feels. 545 just felt plain heavy on me, but I was not scared of it dropping down.

Nice to have a good deal of confidence in one's back. After the decent deads last week, I just wanted to go in today and see what my legs would push.

I stopped at 545 (although I think there is more in the tank) If I plan on squatting heavy, I need to get more accustomed to having over 500 lbs on my back and walking out. Amazing how much heavier 545 feels vs 495.

At least now I know where I am....and dont have to guess


495



525



545

[TouaregV8]

Crazy-strong, ID. That's a $hit-ton of weight for anyone, especially at your bodyweight.

[Plateauplower]

Very impressive. Even more so not having trained up to that. You have some freakish strength. Update your sig...some people's lb for lb strength just blows my mind. I can see 500+ squats being in the realm for a 250+lb guy but some of you guys just throw down mind boggling lifts.

[JimmyJonny]

Great lift ID.

I can't even do half of that, lol.

[Jtbny]

Hella strong and great weight but I'm still more jealous of the gym you lift in with the cool azz weights and the group of liters who support and cheer on.

[johnmackay]

Just awesome!! Thanks for sharing the lift

[silverlightning]

that's muscle. makes me want to go squat again.

[raynerd]

Awesome! You are an insane powerhouse!! Very inspiring!

[ironwill2008]

Great job!

[mirroroferised]

Great job as always on those massive lifts.

[Tmax55]

Awesome!

You inspire me.

[drudixon]

Kudos bud. I think with a few more attempts over 500 the walkout will be smoother.

[GnomusMaximus]

Wow, nice!

[doughnutgut]

Major strength. Great work ID.

Yup. As was already said. Update your sig.

[Nikonguy]

Awesome squats.

If I'm seeing the video right it appears you have the bar on your traps. Is that just your preference or do you have a problem with having the bar lower?

[CropDusterMan]

That was a serious lift man! I see what you mean on the walkout...it's always been a terrifying part of a heavy squat.

Great job man.

[ajdahlheimer]

You should post that over in the Power Lifting forum. They'll tell you that you are squatting too high (even though it looked like you went BELOW parallel on the 525) like they did to Rawelite.

Great lifts ID.

[67fastback]

Amazing, way to rock!

[GreenWave1]

That's outstanding. Congrats.

[x-trainer ben]

And now the important question...How is the hip injury?

[Jbizzlechizzle]

Awesome lifts! You set the bar pretty damn high for the under 5'9" 200lb crew!

[induced_drag]

Crazy-strong, ID. That's a $hit-ton of weight for anyone, especially at your bodyweight.

Thanks man. I have 'little guy' complex. I just like lifting weights that are 'respectable' regardless of size. Factor in that I am not all that 'big', just makes it a plus....but I dont like pulling the "bodyweight" multipliers. I know that is a small mans game and I have too much respect for the big guys to do that.

Very impressive. Even more so not having trained up to that. You have some freakish strength. Update your sig...some people's lb for lb strength just blows my mind. I can see 500+ squats being in the realm for a 250+lb guy but some of you guys just throw down mind boggling lifts.

Thanks. Just goes to show you do not have to go into heavy singles to get 'strong'. I do think though that jumping up that much higher then I have ever gone was not the 'smartest' thing ever. It was obvious that I was not used to feeling that much weight on my back. It is something I will need to become more comfortable with.

Great lift ID.

I can't even do half of that, lol.

Thanks!

Hella strong and great weight but I'm still more jealous of the gym you lift in with the cool azz weights and the group of liters who support and cheer on.

Yep! I have found a pretty cool place to lift. It is a throwback place for sure. You probably cant see in the vid, but those plates are all milled back Yorks. Even the 10's!
The guys are all very supportive too. The guys that spotted me all compete in powerlifting. They give me hell because I cant exactly pick one direction to train for. I am always getting encouraged to quit worrying about 'abs' and let my weight come up to the top of 220, but my concerns for being 'fit' wont let me do that either.

I am happy tying to do both, even though I know that means leaving a good deal performance on the table. In the end, I am happy.

Just awesome!! Thanks for sharing the lift

that's muscle. makes me want to go squat again.

Awesome! You are an insane powerhouse!! Very inspiring!

Thanks guys!

Great job!

Many many thanks IW. I know I have said it a bunch of times, buy your nutrition advice when I first joined here is probably one of the most single largest keys to overall (LONGTERM) success. Many Many thanks....from a former "I eat a good diet with plent of protein crew"

Great job as always on those massive lifts.

Awesome!

You inspire me.

Thanks!

Kudos bud. I think with a few more attempts over 500 the walkout will be smoother.

Yea, the walkout was ROUGH. Crazy how just adding a little weight (relatively) makes it feel so different. Since I have never put any more than 500 on my back, it was shaky for sure. I need some conditioning for sure!

Wow, nice!

Major strength. Great work ID.

Yup. As was already said. Update your sig.

Gotta do my sig for sure! Thanks

Awesome squats.

If I'm seeing the video right it appears you have the bar on your traps. Is that just your preference or do you have a problem with having the bar lower?

Yea, I tried 'low bar' but I never felt real comfortable getting into position. My shoulder and wrist mobility is poor at best. It aggravates me days later if I try to drop the bar down more. I wish I could get in 'tighter' for sure. I think improving my shoulder mobility would help greatly, but it is always a balance between trying and feeling them ache, and just living with it.

That was a serious lift man! I see what you mean on the walkout...it's always been a terrifying part of a heavy squat.

Great job man.

Love the 500 in your AVI. I used to have a 369a (standard cat). I have a comm/cfi and have close to 1500hrs. Lots of 269, 22/44 time and a good deal of 369 as well (some JR sprinkled in as well). I have not been flying for sometime now. In a different place financially then I was when I had the extra cash to keep a few helicopters around Here is a pic right after it got out of paint and getting all new glass.

You should post that over in the Power Lifting forum. They'll tell you that you are squatting too high (even though it looked like you went BELOW parallel on the 525) like they did to Rawelite.

Great lifts ID.

Thanks man. Funny how everyone becomes the squat nazis. It seems as if ATG squats are the only ones people think are a squat. They forget that legal depth is crease of the hip and knee is the definition. There is also a huge variation in limb ratios that allow some to be more upright and lower when squatting. (I was not blessed with being an 'upright' squatter. But I am lucky that my back is plenty strong enough that being bent over in the 'hole' does not bother me.

Truth is I am just happy to be able to squat at all. With my hip issues, I dont have the greatest hip mobility. Even with 135 on the bar, I cant get much lower.

Amazing, way to rock!

That's outstanding. Congrats.

Thanks guys!

I am still trying to find a happy medium in my training. I am getting to the point where I go through phases for heavier and lighter (volume) type workouts. Still finding my way for sure. The key for me is not how much I can ultimately lift, but how much I can lift and still feel good doing it!

[brucedelaney]

I just wanted to see where I was because frankly, I really had no clue. I have not pushed myself because of a hip injury I suffered a while back with still bothers me. I have had to adapt to squatting fairly close to be able to do it without pain. I have gotten to where I am decently strong squatting like this, but had no clue where I really was.

I just got tired of have to say "I know my squat is somewhere over 500". I have never gone over 500.

I decided to change that today after a good showing on deads last week. (625 single)

Here is my critique and observations.

I can tell you this....I waste way too much effort on walking out. 495 felt really light and not a problem and I took a long walkout but it did not hurt me.

When I jumped to 525, I struggled to get my feet right and you can see I look shaky. The lift felt good, but the walkout sucked.

For the last one, I moved the stands further apart so I did not have to walkout so far. This helped a lot, but I still did not feel that comfortable with setting up my feet with that weight on there. I could not get my feet where I wanted them, but was getting tired, so I just sat back and squatted it before I wore myself out. I did not go as deep as I did on 525...but watching the vid, it looked decent.


Jumping up 45lbs is a big jump (just the feeling on my back). I have singled 500 plenty of times and am accustomed to how it feels. 545 just felt plain heavy on me, but I was not scared of it dropping down.

Nice to have a good deal of confidence in one's back. After the decent deads last week, I just wanted to go in today and see what my legs would push.

I stopped at 545 (although I think there is more in the tank) If I plan on squatting heavy, I need to get more accustomed to having over 500 lbs on my back and walking out. Amazing how much heavier 545 feels vs 495.

At least now I know where I am....and dont have to guess


495



525



545

PR Vids always deserve Reps... That some serious steel being moved there... congratulations on the PR

[olyw8lifter]

Solid squatting!! I thought it was plenty deep, too!! Very inspiring!!

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Def more in the tank! Nice job

[OzChops]

Love these lifting threads!

Interesting for someone new in this game (me) to hear (again) that top end strength isn't necessarily built by testing it up top all the time.

[induced_drag]

And now the important question...How is the hip injury?

Hip feels fine today. I have a little different all over soreness today. A deep one. Not really concentrated in the muscle bellies though. Could just be a little connective tissue stretching. My soreness is equal bi-laterally, so I know it is not my hip as I only feel pain in one from the injury.

All in all I am pretty encouraged.

PR Vids always deserve Reps... That some serious steel being moved there... congratulations on the PR

Solid squatting!! I thought it was plenty deep, too!! Very inspiring!!

Def more in the tank! Nice job

Thanks guys!

Love these lifting threads!

Interesting for someone new in this game (me) to hear (again) that top end strength isn't necessarily built by testing it up top all the time.

As to your observation, I have experienced that you can build decent ultimate strength without ever doing sets lower then 5. A few years back, I used to only workout at home (no spotters) and was slightly intimated by loading up a bench with 315 on it. Finally after a 1rm calc showed my bench was WAY past it, I decided to go for it.

It was uneventful. The first time I tried to bench 315, I repped it 6 times. . (I usually get it for 11 these days) That felt good but taught me a lesson about how mental blocks and overall outlook can have such a large influence.

It has only been in the last few years of training that I started to go into triples. Prior to that, I NEVER went below 5 reps. I worked equally working sets from 5-10 reps (rotating rep ranges every few weeks) shooting for an overall TOTAL of 25-30 reps. This could be 5x5 or 4x7 or 3x10.

I actually think I might go back to that type of training as it was easier on my joints overall. Any real strength increases for me here on out will be slow and small. My best chances of improvement come from improvements in form and activation rather then just my ultimate strength of each muscle group.

[silverlightning]

I have a long walk out also. check out my videos on my profile. I think i'm going to try for a two step walk out thursday. have you seen joe defranco's limber 11 video on youtube? it has helped me with my left hip flexor.

[fittofattofit]

That was great lifting ID ... you can see that the deadlifting has given you the PC strength to carry out those heavy squats: you've got great control all the way down and you can see that your glutes are strongly activated throughout. Great strength just driving up from the hole without any rebound happening at a all. It looks like you've easily got a 1600 total at a meet. That didn't look like an inordinately long time ~ 12 seconds from the unrack, given that you had to take a few steps back to clear the base of that stand. If you were unracking from the back of a rack or from a squat hook it would be much quicker

[Fishman15]

Beyond impressive strength ID, congratulations! Although all 3 of the lifts are beyond my imagination...I think my favorite part is when you step under the bar on the 495 lift. You got those plates bangin around trying to get that bar just right on your traps...sounds like a bull in a china shop. I think the bull won...