Reply With QuoteSorry, but this is necessary: The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe
Especially the part about diet.
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Is it possible to just be extremely intolerant of squat volume?
Title is the question. Don't know what more details I should include, but for the past few months I've been doing one of the 4 day texas method programs. I have had to fuck around with my squat volume day A LOT. I've had to both increase the offset by quite a bit AND chop off two sets of volume. Even then, I still walk around almost all week sore and achey, specifically in what feels like tendons. Even getting up from a folding chair requires me to use a hand to assist, or otherwise feels like a terrible strain on the quad tendons. For example on how bad this phenomenon is, I just finished "running it out" last week, with a 380 squat single. Wasn't bad. I might've been able to go even heavier, there wasn't much grind to it. But I've made the mistake of going for broke with my squats before, and it does not ever end well. Since I had it setup so my intensity squat was earlier in the week, and I was going to change programming up after hitting the big(at least for me) single, I decided to make my normal volume squat workout a nice light day, 225x5x2. This would hopefully leave me fresh for the coming week of new programming. Instead, it seems to have made my issues worse. As I train more and more, it feels like my squats need to be treated more like my deadlifts, as they seem to have more ability to fuck me up than the deadlift does.
TMPHBITEU
Sorry, but this is necessary: The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe
Especially the part about diet.
✓ Member
In addition to Rip's question, which is pretty critical, I'm curious what your volume vs intensity programming has looked like for the last few weeks. Have you reset your volume day loads at all over the course of this run?
Also, how are you programming your deadlift?
Member
Have you tried using dynamic effort sets for your VD? I never could tolerate the VD on the 4-day TM for squats and just did the intensity set, but DE work hasn't been a problem. PP:ST is pretty clear that the VD is meant to be the driver of progress (for at least phases 1 to 3), but I got to 500x5 on the ID alone so, for at least squats, I didn't find it necessary (and, actually, counter productive).
Member
Guess you always have to ask if they tried unplugging it and plugging it back in again right off the bat.Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
This bit in particular...
...I have followed when things started to seem to slow down, and it has led me to a bodyweight of roughly 300 pounds. Probably more than that right now once I get a few meals in me across the day. In the past when I have gotten this heavy I freaked out and cut weight, but I am tired of the setbacks those create and want to just hit an actual goal number on a lift before I consider another one of those. I guess I could switch away from fat free to whole milk? I consume a lot of milk. But I also worry my body isn't going to make the best use of that kind of a surplus. It already feels like I don't gain as much weight on the bar as I'd like for each new pound on my body.And the way to ensure that you are eating enough is to just eat more than you are now, especially if your progress seems to be slowing.
I've been resetting my volume squat loads based on a video Paul Horn did on the texas method, where you reset to a new volume offset every time you drop down the intensity reps. As the intensity reps get fewer per set, the offset gets larger. At first I was trying to work with 4x5 for my volume days with a normal offset, but I found I needed a little more of an offset as time went on. Even that was leading to shit building up in my legs though, so finally I tried going down to 3x5. At that point, it seemed to work out and it facilitated improvement on my intensity work I was happy with, along with alleviating the aches and pains slowly over a course of weeks.
Deadlift I've farted around with trying to see if I can manage more volume on, since the lift doesn't leave me feeling beat the hell up like squats do. But I think that's mostly because the back tends to not report very loudly when it is being overworked, you just kind of find out the hard way. That's been my experience, anyway. I've settled into doing one deadlift set for intensity, and then the "volume" workout being power snatches. Not a huge deviation from the textbook example. Racking cleans for me is very awkward, since I need to grip the bar the same width as I do for a bench press to keep it from going into my neck. I've been finding snatches just go up a lot smoother even though I can't do them as heavy.
Member
You made about 2000 posts and you still don't know to include age, height and weight? :-)
TMPHBITEU
Have you tried the 4-day split program? And yes, age/height/weight, since we don't have it memorized.
Member
37/6'2"/298.8 (as of last monday morning weigh-in)
I've been doing one of the 4 day splits, once I got done with it on all my lifts I was going to try something not based on the texas method loading pattern, maybe a one lift a day setup to see how much I like different assistance exercises. I was just shocked that even after what was essentially giving myself a bit of a break my knees feel like crap. I am starting to wonder if I'm getting sick with something now though. My fiancee started getting weird aches all over this week, and as of yesterday I'm starting to manifest them too. No other symptoms yet though, and no fever. But the problem of my legs feeling beat up from my workouts has been pretty chronic even before now. I had just chalked it up to maybe volume day/intensity day loading every week just not being good for me in particular on the squat until now.
TMPHBITEU
We need to see a squat video.
✓ Member
Ok, I found your training log. It looks like you've been doing 3x5 at about a 75% offset versus your intensity day?
This may seem counterintuitive to you but I suspect your volume work is not providing adequate stress to drive adaptation, and continuing to push the intensity up is getting you beat up. (This is not original with me, it's almost a direct quote from Nick D'Agostino to me when I was having similar problems, except in my case it was due to lack of frequency due to illness and shitty schedule).
I can see 3x5 volume working but probably at about 100lbs more on the bar.
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