Mosin's Log of Inestimably Shitty Progress: Rebuilding the Squat

[Mosin Warrior]

Stats
Age: 22
Height: 6'
Weight: 200

PR Lifts:
Squat: 345x1, 315x3
Deadlift: 445x1
Bench: 225x1
Press: 140x5

I have been reading the boards for a bit and decided I should get an account so I can post and start a training log to keep me accountable.

I am currently working on rebuilding my squat form after some video analysis showed it was severely fucked up. In the process I decided I want to squat high bar as a change of pace.

This weeks workouts:

Tuesday:
Squat:
135x5
185x5
225x2
255x1
275x1 @8
255x1
225x1 (paused)
225x2
185x3

3ct Pause Squat:
155x3
155x3
155x3

Deadlift:
315x2
365x1
395xF (sonofabitch)
365x1
335x3
335x3
335x3
335x2

Thursday:
Bench:
175x1/2/3
175x1/2/3
175x1/2/3

PBN:
45x10
65x10
75x10
80x6

Kroc Rows:
85x24

DB Tricep Extensions:
65x10
65x10
65x10

Curls:
70x6
70x6
70x6
70x6

Notes: I am currently training 2x a week as it is golf season and my main focus is on improving my golf game. I will pick up the lifting considerably come October when the weather becomes unfavorable for golf and my focus will be upping my numbers.

[Mosin Warrior]

Squat:
135x5
185x3
225x2
245x1
275x1 (not as good as last week, all the singles were a bit forward)
245x1
185x3

Pause Squat:
155x3
155x3
155x3

Deadlift:
315x2
365x1 @8
395x1 @8.5
365x1x6 @8

Back Extensions:
x8
x8
x8
x8

Notes: Weird session. The squats never felt right from the beginning and the single at 275 was much harder than last week. My issue is that my bar path tends to be a bit forward or mid-foot....which completely fucks the mechanics of the lift out of the hole. I had been getting much better at having the bar track over mid-foot before today's session. Anyway, I'm going to quit screwing around with singles and get back to hitting a top set of 5 with clean technique, some back off sets to rebuild my form. I'm sure once I really hammer the form back down that I will be able to rocket past my old PR's and finally get the 4 plate squat.

Deadlifts were awesome today. As I was warming up I remembered that I pull best when I get the bar tight to my shins then arch my lower back hard before pulling. I focused on this and all of the singles were like butter. I'm pleased to have discovered this, because for a long time I was cuing "chest up" when I would set my arch and it invariably led to the bar getting forward once it broke the floor. I had much more than 395 in me today, but I wanted to not go crazy as I plan to keep adding weight to the top single for weeks to come.

[Mosin Warrior]

Bench:
180x1/2/3
180x1/2/3 @8.5
180x1/2/3 @9

Pause Bench:
135x4
135x4

PBN:
45x10
65x10
65x10

Kroc Rows:
85x26
85x5 (strict form on these)
85x5
85x5

DB Extensions:
65x10
65x10
65x10

Curls:
70x6
70x6
70x6
70x6

Notes: Bench felt good today. My last warm up at 165 was slow, but all of the ladders had good pop. The Kroc Rows were fucking murderous, but they help build my back and really help my deadlift once I break the floor, so I will continue to keep pushing them.

[Tom Narvaez]

Your ass drifts back coming out of the hole. Keep your chest up. It seems like you're trying to use low bar mechanics with a high bar squat. It's okay to let your knees come forward more with a high bar squat.

[Mosin Warrior]

Your ass drifts back coming out of the hole. Keep your chest up. It seems like you're trying to use low bar mechanics with a high bar squat. It's okay to let your knees come forward more with a high bar squat.

Thanks for the input, Tom. I have always struggled with GM'ing the fuck out of everything I squat, and I am trying to fundamentally rebuild my movement pattern before making a run back into PR territory. I think I have made decent progress in my quest considering how awful my for was when I started, but I obviously still have some work to do. It's frustrating to struggle to squat warm up weights with solid technique. I think another month or two of really hammer my form and I will be able to start piling the plates back on.

[Tom Narvaez]

Kinda sounds like you're struggling against yourself, tbh. While this isn't SS, I'd recommend playing with a few different stances and finding something feels a bit more natural. I did lots of really weird things to find my stances for various lifts.

[Mosin Warrior]

Kinda sounds like you're struggling against yourself, tbh. While this isn't SS, I'd recommend playing with a few different stances and finding something feels a bit more natural. I did lots of really weird things to find my stances for various lifts.

I am struggling against myself a bit, but I think a lot of it is the fact that I have squatted incorrectly for so long that completely re-learning the movement simply takes time. I may try widening my stance a bit but other than that the way I am squatting now feels much more natural than when I was squatting with the bar lower on my back

[Mosin Warrior]

Squat:
135x5
165x5 (bar was flying off my traps at the top)
195x4 (fourth rep was ugly, racked it)
195x4 (much better, but 5 would have been ugly...damnit)
225x2
255x1 (form felt solid, I stayed in my knees better)
275x1 (felt a bit of GM, but the video shows it was not as bad as it felt)
225x2

Pause Squat:
155x3
155x3
135x3 (thinking of putting pause squats first so I can work form out of the hole before doing regular squats)

Deadlift:
315x3
370x1 @8.5
405xF (grip fail at the knee, wish I could use chalk)
370x1 @8.5
370x1 @8.5
370x1 @9 (start position was too high before arching and pulling)
370x1 @8.5
370x1 @8.5


45 Degree Extensions:
x8 (emphasis on relaxing and then arching hard)
x8
x8
x8

Farmers Walk:
75x2 trips
85x2 up and down trips

Notes: Not a bad session today. The squat continues to irritate me. On the heavier singles, I can lower into the hole fine, but at transition I have trouble staying in my knees long enough on the drive up. I am thinking of pause squatting first so I can focus on the drive out of the hole before doing the regular movement.

Deadlift was a bit frustrating. 405 just flew off the floor, but because I can't chalk up at my gym it started slipping out of my hand at the knee. I know I had quite a bit more in me if I had chalked up. I don't like straps for heavy pulls because I feel the alter my set up just enough to make everything a bit forward of the mid foot. Oh well, I will keep hitting the Kroc rows and I'll smash 405 without chalk.

[Mosin Warrior]

Bench:
185x1/2/3
185x1/2/2
185x1 (form was all over the place so I called it here)

Pause Bench:
135x3
145x3
145x3
145x3

Seated PBN:
45x10
65x10
75x10
80x8
75x8

BB Row:
95x10
95x10
115x10
115x10
115x10

DB Extensions:
65x10
65x10
65x10

Curls:
45x20
45x15
45x10

Notes: Bench was awful today. Oh well, I'll repeat the weight and go from there.

Didn't do Kroc Rows today because I tore my hands up pretty good yesterday deadlifting and doing farmers walks. I kept the BB rows very strict to hit the proper muscles. I'll do Kroc rows next week.

[Mosin Warrior]

I have the itch to do a meet, but I want to get this squat thing ironed out before making the commitment.

Details: I seriously want to compete because I think it will add loads of clarity to my lifting. Also, it doesn't hurt that the raw deadlift record for the 198's in the fed I would most likely compete in is something that I believe I can break pretty convincingly. The only issue is that I still have a lot of work to do with relearning the squat and I don't want to start pushing my squat before fully correcting my form problems. I know if I do a full meet before fully correcting my form, that my squat will be even harder to fix because I will be stronger and the poor motor pattern will just be further ingrained. All in all, I would like to get a meet under my belt anytime from February to May of 2013 which I think should give me time to fix my above mentioned problems.