Dude, where'd my strength go?

[Stevo]

Trained consistently using the SS novice program for the better part of last year, but nothing except taxes from Jan until last. Hit the weight room & walked out with my muscles trembling & rubbery & thought, "WTF!?" I lost 100 lbs off the squat & 50 lbs off the bench. At 38, the system detrains that freaking fast? The technique was OK, but the strength seemed to disappear.

Second, I thought the "stretch reflex" seemed kinda like cheating when doing it last year but did it b/c, well the program says so, but decided today to not use it & when squatting, hit the bottom, stopped, then drove up & same w/ the bench...I brought the bar to rest on my chest then drove it off. This seemed much more brutal & would seem to be a better indicator of actual strength.

[Mark Rippetoe]

It's not surprising that having sat squarely on your ass for 4 months would cause a profound de-training. The issue is how fast it will come back, and the answer is, way faster than it took to build it the first time. Of course, your decision to change the form you used for the squat and the bench may have had something to do with this too.