Which Gym Belt? Yes another one of these.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I am training 3 days per week only and have more than double my squat... I think thats pretty fair progress, so how is that wasting time?

My programs have majority of the time had squat and other implements.

Day 1 would be squats and carries with accessory work like curls, Side raises etc.

Day 2 would be deadlifts, latpulldowns, bentover rows (or rows, or any other version of it for adaption), (all posterior chain)

Day 3 would be Log press, barbell overhead, tricep work etc for the upper body part with the breaks in between.

This way all the muscles are being utilized in a way that works (cant do squats every day) while giving others a chance to recover. Maybe If I spent 4-5 days a week things could have progressed even more but for 3 days a week... you gotta plan it the best way you can?

So yeah I was doing squats once per week more or less as I was doing deadlifts once per week and upper body (like log and overhead) once per week and ive more than doubled what I started with and some stuff even close to tripled in 'under 2 years' (like the carries). If thats still a waste of time and I could be deadlifting 400+ and squatting 300+ in 2 years training those muscles once per week... id love to know the magic formula to that (that doesn't include steroids).

Sounds like you're doing fine. Have fun with your program.

[Jason Donaldson]

So yeah I was doing squats once per week more or less as I was doing deadlifts once per week and upper body (like log and overhead) once per week and ive more than doubled what I started with and some stuff even close to tripled in 'under 2 years' (like the carries). If thats still a waste of time and I could be deadlifting 400+ and squatting 300+ in 2 years training those muscles once per week... id love to know the magic formula to that (that doesn't include steroids).

You could be hitting those lift numbers in under a year by training three days a week, no steroids or magic required, on the Novice Linear Progression - all of it, i.e. the lifts executed and programmed as given plus eating and recovering as given.

If you're happy getting less than that in twice as long, then hey, that's fine, man. If you're enjoying what you're doing, have at it, and go in peace. It's better than being sedentary. We're just telling you that you're leaving a whole heap of a lot on the platform, and you could be stronger, with both general and particular benefits to yourself and your strongman pursuits.

For your original belt question, around here, we use belts to get stronger using the main barbell lifts, and our recommendations are tailored accordingly. You'll need strongmen to tell you what belt(s) to use for practicing and executing strongman events.

[RandomIndividual]

Thanks...

So is there any feedback relating to the original question?

[RandomIndividual]

You could be hitting those lift numbers in under a year by training three days a week, no steroids or magic required, on the Novice Linear Progression - all of it, i.e. the lifts executed and programmed as given plus eating and recovering as given.

If you're happy getting less than that in twice as long, then hey, that's fine, man. If you're enjoying what you're doing, have at it, and go in peace. It's better than being sedentary. We're just telling you that you're leaving a whole heap of a lot on the platform, and you could be stronger, with both general and particular benefits to yourself and your strongman pursuits.

For your original belt question, around here, we use belts to get stronger using the main barbell lifts, and our recommendations are tailored accordingly. You'll need strongmen to tell you what belt(s) to use for practicing and executing strongman events.

Ok...

So how does one explain away that dynamic strength is not the same thing as static strength?

2: I looked at the starting strength program - I don't see how thats much different (other than no accessories) to what I have been doing. I do squats, I do deadlifts, I do bench, I do overhead with a bar, I just also do all the accessories and carries to build endurance and all the other stuff that you won't get from just static lifting.

It isn't like Im lifting stones, sandbags, logs, yokes and not doing any bar work. The bar work was what I was doing for the first 6 months before I even touched strongman stuff. The strongman stuff came later when I developed a base of strength capable to start dealing with those other implements, but even now, My programs heavily focused on bar work with the additional strongman stuff. And my working sets have varied based on my progression, recovery and capability... IE: Deadlifts were 1x3, 3x3 etc for X amount of time hitting very heavy loads to which every week I was adding 5kg until it started feeling like it was getting too much then dropped back to 2.5kg increase every week until it got to a point where I was just stuck, then the program was modified for more volume ie: 4x5 (but 20% lower weight, from which you increase 2.5kg every week as its successful)... so its basically 2 steps forward 1 step back 2 steps forward approach building in 1: Strength, 2: volume.

Strongman isn't about max effort at 1 lift but what can you do all day long. And I know, as I have seen, powerlifters trying to do strongman stuff are dead before it even starts because of the lack of endurance/stamina needed. So yeah "strength" is needed, but the body is a lot more complex and does a lot more stuff than just maximal load for 1 rep.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Ok...

So how does one explain away that dynamic strength is not the same thing as static strength?

Define these terms. And what did you say your squat was?

[RandomIndividual]

Define these terms. And what did you say your squat was?

I may have gotten mixed up. Static strength is not moving anything like a plank as the word suggests. I meant more like getting statically stronger, stronger in the sense of in 1 position as opposed to something like a sandbag lift and carry or yoke carry or anything that actually requires a whole lot of movement in various ways as opposed to up-down-up (not moving with weight). I spoke to a strongman coach and they told me that yes I could be 'stronger' if I just focused on the powerlifting aspect, but strongman is a very different sport that requires a lot of dynamic movement and so they can't be treated the same way as strongman is not about peak strength as it is base strength and why we do a lot of volume work not just 1-3 rep work. 1 strongman comp requires a ton of events to be performed in a single day and uses a ton of energy and they are performed every month-2, so having a body that is able to just 'keep on going' as opposed to prepping for 2-3 PL comps a year is very different and requires a different sort of training to build that capacity.

Squat was a set of 6 under a safety bar which is meant to be more difficult than a barbell back squat (in terms of load) at 90-95kg (200-210 lbs) and the higher end of that would be taking in an extra 2-3 breaths at the top by rep 3-4). For a single, barbell squat, I assume It would be about 110kg (maybe slightly more given the 6 reps?)

[Mark Rippetoe]

I may have gotten mixed up. Static strength is not moving anything like a plank as the word suggests. I meant more like getting statically stronger, stronger in the sense of in 1 position as opposed to something like a sandbag lift and carry or yoke carry or anything that actually requires a whole lot of movement in various ways as opposed to up-down-up (not moving with weight). I spoke to a strongman coach and they told me that yes I could be 'stronger' if I just focused on the powerlifting aspect, but strongman is a very different sport that requires a lot of dynamic movement and so they can't be treated the same way as strongman is not about peak strength as it is base strength and why we do a lot of volume work not just 1-3 rep work. 1 strongman comp requires a ton of events to be performed in a single day and uses a ton of energy and they are performed every month-2, so having a body that is able to just 'keep on going' as opposed to prepping for 2-3 PL comps a year is very different and requires a different sort of training to build that capacity.

What would be the difference in "dynamic" vs "static" strength between a man who can squat 675x5 vs 275x5? You still didn't say what your squat was.

[RandomIndividual]

What would be the difference in "dynamic" vs "static" strength between a man who can squat 675x5 vs 275x5? You still didn't say what your squat was.

Well in your example both are doing 5 reps. What I was referring to is someone doing 300 x 1 and someone else able to do 225-250 5x5 which the one doing 300x1 couldn't do that much volume at the same weight the other can who may not have as much of a max weight before being gassed.

And I thought I mentioned the squat to the best of my ability "Squat was a set of 6 under a safety bar which is meant to be more difficult than a barbell back squat (in terms of load) at 90-95kg (200-210 lbs) and the higher end of that would be taking in an extra 2-3 breaths at the top by rep 3-4). For a single, barbell squat, I assume It would be about 110kg (maybe slightly more given the 6 reps?)"

[Maybach]

The different categories of movement you have described are of (debatable) utility only to human curiosity, in describing roughly what "sorts" of activity the movements are. They are not categories which the body recognizes.

The body does two things: produce force, and fuel force production. There is no physical activity that is not constrained by these two things. There are not special "dynamic muscles" that are used in strongman but not the squat.

You are making the classic error of confusing the way the mind adapts (say, to the task of dealing with an unstable weight versus a stable weight) to the way the body adapts. The body is less adaptable than the mind: it has very few directions it can go.

[Mark Rippetoe]

And I thought I mentioned the squat to the best of my ability "Squat was a set of 6 under a safety bar which is meant to be more difficult than a barbell back squat (in terms of load) at 90-95kg (200-210 lbs) and the higher end of that would be taking in an extra 2-3 breaths at the top by rep 3-4). For a single, barbell squat, I assume It would be about 110kg (maybe slightly more given the 6 reps?)"

You will not understand the point until your squat is over 405. How do you plan to get it there?