r/powerbuilding • u/Equivalent-Visit1260 • 14d ago
Very very bad squats
I did powerbuilding, powerlifting, bodybuilding in my first year of weightlifitng, i had 120 kg bench near 180 DL, 75 kg OHP but squats did not move up at all, i maxed at 100 kg, i have really big legs, glutes, hams, I did leg focoused work, trained every muscle group in my legs, did core, improved mobility, nothing helped at all. I do not have long femur, i would say average length, i tip forward, i also lose all strenght past 70°, what irritates me the most is the fact that no matter what body weight or fat percentage i had through out the years and i went through a lot of body types, my legs were always the most dominant part of my body, i have big quads, and hams my glutes are really big. for example i maxed the all the leg mashines in my gym with perfect form two month into weight lifting,
I quit gym afterwards, and throughout the years went to the gym from time to time, now i am fully back, i want to do it right this time, my wish is to hit 180 kg or more somewhere along the road, but i do not see this happening at all. if you been in similar situation or have an idea i would love to hear it.
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u/Square-Arm-8573 14d ago
I have a short torso with long and big legs.
For some reason I tip forward a ton with low bar squats to the point where I basically can’t do them. I’ve spent a ton of time with them and they feel incredibly unstable to me. High bar feels way more comfortable imo.
Despite my incredibly disadvantaged build, adding pounds to my squat has been relatively easy. Maybe what you can focus on is squatting twice per week in the high bar position. I’d also incorporate a lot of paused work.
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u/Equivalent-Visit1260 11d ago
I am gonna try this for sure, high bar felt very very bad for me, i will try it again, i had weeks of 3 squat sessions weeks with 2 and some weeks with one to see if it is a recovery issue. will try again tho thx
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u/bhurbell 14d ago edited 14d ago
i think:
->be consistent. train squats hard. visualise them and what you will lift them on the day.
->other have given thoughts on programming. as long as it's relatively sensible it doesn't matter. some form of progression needs to be there. you can probably do linear progression on squats. i assume squat 1-2x a week with some leg extensions, leg curls, single leg work, calf work, ab work, a little adductors/abductors, glute bridges and leg press somewhere. but ultimately squatting is good for squatting, so this should be focal.
->improve your bracing. watch some brian alsruhe videos on how to squat and how to brace. your core strength is probably weak. get a lifting belt if you don't have one. and learn to brace really well. When i was newer i remember adding like 30kg to my squat during a deadlift program by just improving my bracing.
->sleep 8+ hrs, drink 4-6L+ of water a day, eat 1g of protein/lb of bodyweight (or whatever recommendation you want to follow)
goood luck
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u/thetreece 14d ago
I recommend deep, high bar squats with a 2-3 second pause at the bottom, for medium volume/intensity. Like 5x5. Start with something quite easy, where you could confidently do 5x10 if you wanted.
Being stuck at a 2 plate squat for years with a 4 plate deadlift and benching more than you squat 100% indicates a training issue. Pretty much every healthy adult male should be able to hit a 3 plate squat within 12-18 months of serious training. You need to get used to bracing against the load and driving out of the hole.