Category Archives: Training

Mariah’s First Meet – A Recap for New Competitors

Fitness, Training, Uncategorized

If you’re someone who has casually lifted for a couple of years and might want to try a powerlifting meet – take a gander. First off, find a coach you trust and have full transparency in goals and expectations. They will be your guide to success and right-hand man/woman through your journey. I wouldn’t have done it without Ryan McCumber as mine, and the support of everyone at UF. I had decided last min (11 weeks out to be exact) to sign up for the Iron City Open, which would be my first ever meet!

 

Going through, I thought I could handle it: I’ve squatted, benched, and deadlifted before, what could be so different from what I usually do? But in reality, the training was more intense than I’d thought it would be. I had to prioritize even more on eating, more recovery, and still keep up with my full-time job (which at that time it had become overwhelming). Before, if you missed a scheduled gym day it was not a huge deal, but when competing, every session is necessary. I understand the pressure of juggling your life with training. But let me tell you, it’s POSSIBLE!

 

  1. Meal prep ahead of time or weekends whenever you’re free: it will save time and keep your energy high! And check out our food blogs for yummy suggestions or our new partnership with Fit Fresh Kitchen Co.! I love Jodie’s meals.
  2. Make sure if you have questions on your program or how to recover stay connected with your coach. I’m still learning and I’m sure everyone else is too. Nothing is too insignificant to ask.
  3. Watch videos to educate yourself as well. I love watching meets and researching other techniques or even vlogs to hear others speak about their struggles or successes training for a meet.
  4. Don’t be so hard on yourself – it’s your first meet! I told myself not to put so much pressure on myself and that I would have fun with this one. Guess what? You’re human, you’re going to have bad days and good ones.

 

One of the things I would have done differently is given myself more weeks to train With just 11 weeks, it felt rushed and overwhelming. Additionally, at that time I was training outside of UF, so I didn’t have a lot of face to face time with my coach. That would have been extra helpful for the days I wanted to check my form or needed help with a certain exercise. That’s why recording yourself and taking videos are so so important! So, if you are in my situation in a gym apart from your coach (or are out of your normal gym for travel or any other reason) you can refer back to video and review with him/her.

 

So, the day finally comes! I was nervous but excited and a little confused about what to do. I sat in the training area with all the lifters and friends. My coach was there for any questions and to guide me throughout the day. I went in with a mindset of potential PRs but wanted to make sure that didn’t affect the fun aspect of the day. We all are aiming for goals, but I think the best thing about the day was that everyone is there to support everyone, even if you don’t know them. I’ve never been in such a great community. I would recommend to any new lifters or first-time competitors, just do it! We are all here for you!

 

Stay focused and Stay hungry my friends!

 

Recap:

Squat: 148.8lbs

Bench: 93.7lbs

Deadlift:203.9

Getting the Most Out of Your Training Program: Part II

Fitness, Life Health, Training, Uncategorized

by Lindsey Pogson

Part 2: Trust the Process

 

Welcome to part two in this series on getting as much out of your custom training program as you possibly can. If you didn’t read part one (on providing detailed feedback), head on over that way now. Done? Great.

 

Now that you and your coach are on the same page as far as how the weights are feeling and what work you’re actually doing, you’re ready for the next step. You need to decide to put your trust in that coach and actually follow along with the program as written.

 

When you started with your coach – whether it’s one of us at UF, another in-person coach, or an online coach – you almost certainly had a chat about what you wanted to achieve with the program. Those goals are the backbone of your program’s design. If you came into your goal-setting meeting with the objective of losing 10lbs over the next two months, your program will reflect that. If you went in with the goal of doing your first powerlifting meet, your program will be designed to prepare you to compete in that sport. If you wanted to run a sub-20 minute 5k, your program will be put together with the intent to get you there.

 

Seems obvious right? Your coach puts together a program to help you reach your specific goal. So with that in mind, it’s in your best interest to FOLLOW THE PROGRAM.

 

At the beginning of every program, this is easy. You’re excited, you’re learning some new things, you’re fresh, it feels good. A few weeks in, things start getting a little harder. Suddenly you’re doing a lot of single-leg accessory movements and you’re bad at them so you hate them with a passion. Your coach is programming 3 minutes of rest between sprints and you don’t feel like you really NEED it and think you’d be better off resting less. You asked for a 7 day per week 2-a-day program because you want to do MORE but your coach put you on 4 days per week and you think you’ll just throw in some extra classes here and there because you sleep plenty and recover just fine. Your coach programmed a heavy single at 205 but 225 isn’t THAT far off so that shouldn’t be a problem, right?

 

I get it. I’ve been there too. That attitude sucks and is not helping you actually reach your goals.

There are a few hard truths we all have to swallow when striving towards big things. The first and hardest is that we don’t know everything.

On some level we understand that, since we decided to go to a professional for help in the first place! But when things come up that we don’t like, we can sometimes start to question that professional.

 

“No one knows me like I know myself, and I KNOW that I can handle more work than this.”

 

And you may very well be right! But fortunately/unfortunately, reaching a goal isn’t an exercise in running yourself into the ground. There’s some strategy involved. And often that strategy involves doing things you don’t want to do – be that training more, training less, training movements you hate and are bad at, doing more cardio, doing NO cardio, etc.

 

You went to a pro, so trust that pro. But know that you can ALWAYS ask questions. And you should! If your coach can’t give you a thoughtful reason for what they programmed, they’re not doing their job.

Hard truth number two: to reach one goal, you need to put all the others on the backburner.

If you go into your goal-setting meeting and tell your coach that your primary objective is to lose 30lbs by the end of the year, expect your program to actually reflect that over everything else. That means strength gains are NOT the priority, and will NOT be the focus of that program. Your coach will likely want to maintain your strength but isn’t going to push you to test for new maxes.

 

Conversely, if you go in saying you want to hit a 1000lb total by the end of the year, you’d best expect to see verrrrrry little cardio on your programming sheet.

 

Changes like these can be uncomfortable. It sucks to not be able to “do it all.” But it’s really more accurate to say that you just can’t do it all RIGHT NOW. Take 4 months to prioritize weight loss, then take a break from your deficit and the hard supersets and spend 2 months really working on strength while eating to maintain. If you can do that instead of trying to half-ass everything, you’ll be ahead of the game.

Hard truth number three: you’ll be tempted to go off track. You get to choose what’s more important – instant gratification or actually achieving your long term goals.

I can guarantee one day you’ll be in the gym doing what you’re supposed to do and someone will suggest you throw it all by the wayside and max out that day. Sometimes that will be a training partner or someone else in class, but often it’s that little voice in the back of our head asking “Is this actually working? Am I actually stronger/faster, or am I just spinning my wheels?”

 

At that moment, you have a choice. You can go for instant gratification – test a new bench rep max, or finish your long slow run as fast as you possibly can. You’ll feel good in that moment, with proof that you CAN do that thing. But consider now that you just did something extremely taxing, that requires recovery. You did it at a point in your training cycle that didn’t ACTUALLY make much sense and may make the other things you need to do that day/week/month a little bit harder. You might have a competition coming up, an event where you really needed to be peaked and ready, but that max attempt threw your schedule off a little.

 

Were you really doing that for yourself and your goals? Or did your ego need a boost? That’s your call.

 

Ultimately, it’s your program. They’re your goals to achieve. Your coach is there to put together a guide to help you get there, using all of their knowledge and training. You can choose to trust that guide or continue doing what you’ve always done. Know that it’s a choice, and the choice is yours.

Curtis’ September Training Log

Fitness, Training, Uncategorized

Getting to this point in my training has been an interesting, journey. I am currently 6 weeks out from my first full powerlifting meet since the first annual Iron City Open in June of 2018. Since then, I have battled with a few injuries that have been just enough of a burden to keep me from being able to train consistently. For a quick recap: this past January I strained my glute at the beginning of a meet prep. In March, 3 weeks out from that same meet, I partially tore my hamstring and was unable to fully compete. After going through 8 weeks of recovery afterward, I got back into training consistently with the goal of getting back on the platform this November. Then, 2 months ago, I strained my IT band while squatting immediately after a long car ride back home to Maryland. I was frustrated, confused, and didn’t really know what direction to take. After getting some help and guidance from a few close friends, including my mentor Casey Williams, I have been able to fix and correct many of the underlying issues that were the cause of these injuries. I am currently feeling and moving better than I have in a very long time. This past week was a good week for me, both physically and mentally. It was my first week getting back into the competition lifts, and adding some decent weight to the bar. Here’s a breakdown of this past week of training.

 

Saturday: 

Competition squats: Worked up to 625×2.

Paused belt squat: 6 plates per side: 3×8

45 degree back extensions: 3×12 with red band

Alternating fatbell reverse lunges: 3×10 each leg with 30s

Weighted planks: 3×30 seconds with 45lbs. 

 

Monday:

Fat bar bench press: 3×3 @ 335lbs + 80lb chain

Flat bench dumbbell press: 2×20 with 115s

Tricep skull crushers: 4×12 @ 95lbs

Chest supported row: 4×10 @ 100lbs

Cable tricep extensions: 4×20 @ 80lbs

Band pull aparts: 4×25

 

Wednesday:

Competition deadlift: 2×3 @ 635 & 655

Barbell RDLs: 3×8 @ 315

Bent over barbell rows: 3×8 @ 275

GHR: 3×10

Weighted planks: 3×30 seconds with 45lbs.

 

Thursday:

Dynamic effort bench: 8×3 @ 175 + doubled red minis & 1 chain

Incline Dumbbell press: 4×10 with 100s

Standing single arm overhead fatbell press: 3×10 each arm @ 60lbs

Fatbell tricep extension: 4×20,15,12,10

Cable face pulls: 4×25 @ 70lbs

Seated fatbell shrugs: 3×15 paused with 50s

 

Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays consist of light stretching, mobility, and a few Physical Therapy exercises courtesy of my good friend Jared Caroff.

 

Although it’s been frustrating at times, I’ve enjoyed the ups and downs of getting to this point. I’ve learned a lot (both about my body, and myself as a person) and am looking forward to the road ahead. With every challenge comes a new opportunity to learn and to grow.

Curtis’ Health Maintenance Tips

Fitness, Life Health, Training, Uncategorized

When it comes to taking care of our bodies, most of us put a good amount of time and effort into making sure that we are checking off all of the boxes. We do our best to make sure that we exercise regularly, eat balanced meals, stay hydrated, and get adequate sleep, just to name a few. These are without a doubt necessary for living a healthy life. But what if I told you that there are other areas that you may be missing out on? Areas that most people will overlook until it’s too late, and then they become necessary in order to get back to their previous level of health. Let’s take a look at a few areas that can improve upon your health and keep you strong and active for years to come.

 

I will begin by mentioning that I have personally used all of the services which I am about to discuss, and I have found each of them to be beneficial in their own way. I am in no way stating that it is necessary to use these services in order to live a healthy life. I’m simply giving my personal opinion and insight on a few things that I have found to be beneficial towards my overall health and performance. 

Below are 5 professional services that I think every individual, regardless of age, level of fitness, or personal goals, could benefit from.

 

1) Massage Therapy: This is the most popular and well known out of the group. Massage Therapy is a type of treatment in which a professional manipulates the soft tissues of your body including muscle, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and skin, using varying degrees of pressure and movement. The benefits of massage therapy include: 

  • reduced muscle tension and pain
  • improved flexibility and range of motion
  • injury prevention
  • reduced recovery time from physical activity
  • improved connective tissue healing
  • increased sleep & relaxation. 

The most popular forms of massage therapy are:

  • Swedish massage: This is a gentle form of massage that uses long strokes, kneading, deep circular movements, vibration and tapping to help relax and energize you.
  • Deep tissue massage: This massage technique uses slower, more forceful strokes to target the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue, commonly to help with muscle damage from injuries.
  • Sports massage: This is similar to Swedish massage, but it’s geared toward people involved in sport activities to help prevent or treat injuries.
  • Trigger point massage: This massage focuses on areas of tight muscle fibers that can form in your muscles after injuries or overuse.

Here at UnionFitness, we are fortunate enough to have a great group of Massage Therapy professionals on hand who each specialize in their own unique approach while doing a great job of accommodating to each individual’s specific needs. Contact us today to set up your appointment and see the benefits for yourself.

 

2) Physical Therapy: Physical therapy is a branch of rehabilitative health that uses specially designed exercises and equipment to help patients regain or improve their physical abilities. Although this is often thought of as a method used primarily for those who are injured and/or elderly, there are many benefits for individuals who are young, healthy, and active. Those benefits include:

  • Assess & address movement deficits and musculoskeletal pathology
  • Prevent and/or address muscular imbalances
  • Decrease pain without use of medication
  • Improve balance and coordination
  • Help to identify other underlying health-related issues

I am very fortunate to have a good friend named Jared Caroff who is a great Physical therapist, as well as an employee here at Union Fitness. He has recently helped me to diagnose some issues I was having in my right hip and ankle for over 2 years and has helped me get back on the Powerlifting platform. You can find him covering the front desk in the mornings from 5am-7am. 

 

3) Chiropractics: This is a system of diagnosis and treatment based on the concept that the nervous system coordinates all of the body’s functions. Chiropractic includes manipulation and adjustment of body structures, such as the spinal column, so that pressure on nerves coming from the spinal cord may be relieved. The benefits of chiropractics may include:

  • reduced back and neck pain
  • improved mental clarity
  • reduced joint pain
  • improved organ function
  • surgery prevention

4) Acupuncture: Acupuncture is a complementary medical practice rooted in traditional Chinese medicine that entails stimulating certain points on the body by using a needle lightly penetrating the skin in order to alleviate pain or to help treat various health conditions. These needles are inserted into points along meridian lines. These lines represent the body’s organs, and they are based on ancient Chinese medicine that includes balance and restoring proper flow of energy throughout the body. The main benefits of acupuncture include:

  • Reduced Stress
  • Reduced Back Pain, Neck Tension and Relieve Joint Pain in the Hands and Arms.
  • Relief from Headaches.
  • Improved Immune System
  • Enhanced Mental Clarity and Increased Energy.
  • Relief from Digestive Conditions.
  • Allergy Relief.

5) Dry needling: Dry needling is a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular, and connective tissues for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments. This differs from acupuncture in the sense that the needles are inserted into trigger points or tender bands of muscle located within larger muscles. When the needles are inserted into the trigger points, they elicit a response that releases the trigger point, therefore restoring normal function. The benefits of dry needling include:

  • Relief from muscular pain and stiffness. 
  • Improve flexibility and increase range of motion.

Although this practice is not legalized for use by Physical Therapists in the state of Pennsylvania, I was fortunate enough to have access to it while living in Maryland. This was one of the most beneficial procedures that I have found for recovering from muscular injuries, along with increased mobility and range of motion. 

 

In short, be sure to take the time and do your research to see which of these services are right for you. We only get one shot at taking care of our bodies. Invest in it, and it will be good to you for years to come.

Cayt’s Training Log

Fitness, Training, Uncategorized

It’s that time of year again for a handful of us at Union Fitness, including myself.  That time being meet prep season and, specifically, the end of prep as we are (already!) 7 weeks out tomorrow.  During the training phases of my first few powerlifting meets, I didn’t have a whole lot going on aside from school, giving me the ability to truly devote my time to training and recovery.  That has not been the case this meet prep and it has truthfully been a challenge for me. However, I am confident that everyone reading this can relate to my current situation and not the few fortunate times I had in the past.

 

Training, in whatever way that means at the moment, has and always will be my way to stay sane and calm.  Finding what I enjoy, allowing that to change as life continues to change, and remembering why I do it are a few things that have helped me.

 

With that said, I have been training conjugate style for about a year now.  I have enjoyed it and felt the best training this way so I decided to continue training this style throughout the course of meet prep.  Louie Simmons, the founder and owner of Westside Barbell, developed the conjugate system.  Conjugate training incorporates three methods including the maximal effort method: “lifting a maximal load against a maximal resistance”, the dynamic effort method: “lifting a non-maximal load with the highest attainable speed”, and the repetition method: “lifting a non-maximal load repetitively”.   My most recent training split has been as follows:

 

Day 1: Max effort lower (heavy squat/deadlift variation and assistance work)

Day 2: Max effort upper (heavy bench variation and assistance work)

Day 3: Dynamic effort lower (speed squats and pulls using lower percentages of bar weight progressively increasing in the 50-70% range).

Day 4: Dynamic effort upper (speed bench also with lower percentages also progressively increasing in the 50-70% range).

 

Dynamic effort work has been extremely challenging for me – I move sloooow. Because of it being the hardest, it is also my favorite.  Feeling faster and more athletic is an exciting feeling and will continue to be a goal of mine moving forward.

 

My training split will remain the same leading into the meet with a few alterations to bars used, volume accumulated, and the use of accommodating resistance on dynamic days.

Lindsey’s September Training Log

Training, Uncategorized

I had a rough start this month. Case in point:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August ended with a really solid 14 miler. Felt great at the end, went into Sunday feeling great. By Monday, I started feeling pretty off. It was Labor Day and I was really looking forward to getting my bench workout and a quick run in on Sunday night, but when I woke up that morning, I was dragging. All motivation to train, or really to do ANYTHING, was gone. Normally this is a feeling I can push through, we all feel burnt out sometimes, but it was happening that day. I had a Labor Day party to attend with a bunch of people I really happen to enjoy, but even that took every ounce of my energy just to show up. Not a good sign.

 

This may be TMI for the guys, but it’s important for roughly half of the population – I was PMSing pretty hard Monday and Tuesday. My period started on Tuesday, then Wednesday the pain was so bad that I started puking and had to go home early (something I never allow myself to do). It took all of Thursday and Friday to feel like a functioning human being again. Did a bunch of prehab work and a 7-mile fun run Saturday just to get used to moving again.

 

I’ve had pretty serious issues around my menstrual cycle for the past 20 years, and only now am I finally on the path to getting some help. I had an ultrasound done on Thursday, where we learned that the extreme pain on Wednesday was due to a ruptured cyst. Thanks body!

 

I’m getting back to normal now and also coming to terms with the reality of my situation. I will likely need to program WITH my cycle, especially as I get closer to the meet/marathon. I’m reading Dr. Stacy Sims book, which is all about working with your body and your cycle, and all the ways in which women “aren’t just small men.” That means changes to how I train, when I train, and how, when, and what I eat. I’m still diving into this info, so expect to hear more from me the more I learn!

 

Training this week is a repeat of that last good week of August, but I did progress my runs since I’m feeling up to it. On the docket for Saturday: 15 miles, then heading right to my favorite recovery modality – the float tank. Wish me luck.

Alexa’s August Training Log

Training, Uncategorized

What is in my training program like as of late? Full body. Hypertrophy. Strength. Movement. I will be the first to tell you that full-body was a difficult transition for me. Just realizing that I am not going to fall apart from not isolating certain groups was a hurdle. And by “fall apart” I mean both physically and mentally. The flowing thoughts? Am I going to provide enough stimulus per session to grow? Is it going to be effective? Will I see results? I am not going to train a muscle group to pure exhaustion…what?

 

I would never advocate for a client to train to fatigue. Sure, in certain scenarios we want to push until we have very little left. We can’t sandbag EVERY lift. If we didn’t have those moments of training to a very close failure (difficult to actually do because mental fatigue sets in quicker than physical), but how do we know what it feels like to dig in those deep, jaw clenching, throw up moments? But those moments must be planned out strategically. We don’t want it to interfere with recovery, and most importantly training to our optimal potential, the following days to come. My training lately has been just enough to where I can come back the next day and give it my all. I feel great after each session because I hit every part of my body. Every muscle has moved in some capacity, blood moved through, stimulus was placed, and most importantly I feel strong mentally.

 

Here is one of my full body days:

A1. High Incline Press 3×6

A2. Ring Row Tricep Ext. 3×15

B1. Landmine Towel Rows 3×8

B2. Landmine Angled Reverse Lunge 3×12(per)

C1. Cable Lat Pulldowns 3×8

C2. Cable Triceps Pushdowns 3×10

D1. Belt Squats [w/o holding] 3×15

D2. Cossack Squats 3×10

Lindsey’s August Training Log

Training, Uncategorized

I’m finishing this month STRONG in my training.

 

My long runs have been getting progressively longer, and taking up a ton more time. I’ve been so grateful to some of our newer Cardio Lab instructors – Rachael, Steph, and Cayt – for stepping into our popular Saturday morning slot. Having that time means I get out a little earlier and don’t deal with as much of the August heat.

 

My long run focus recently has been SLOWING DOWN. I’ve consistently been doing them a little too fast, closer to my hopeful marathon race pace than they should be. This past Saturday, I did my first half-marathon distance of the year, and the goal was the have it be my slowest half-marathon ever. I managed it and combined with some of the physical therapy movements I’ve been implementing before runs, I came back with no joint pain! I spent the rest of the weekend recovering and started this week feeling excellent.

 

My strength training has been going smoothly too (I count my blessings daily). I’m running a Triphasic program right now for my squat and bench. Triphasic as I’m talking about it basically breaks down to a three-stage program (see?): a period of time working on the eccentric portion of a lift (like the descent of a squat), then a period of time working on the isometric portion (in the hole of a squat), and finally a period working on the concentric portion (the part where you go up as powerfully as you can).

 

Eccentrics beat you up pretty good, so I knew my running might take a hit during that phase, which was most of August. My upper body felt strong, but my legs did feel fatigued on my interval days. Again, this was planned for and expected, so no worries there.

 

This week I’m entering into the isometric phase, which is my FAVORITE. I love paused variations. It’s Tuesday, I just finished a looooot of paused squatting, and know that my legs are going to feel fresher for intervals tonight than they have in the past several weeks. I’m pumped.

 

Here’s a peek at that workout, and some footage for good measure!

 

1a. Paused Comp Style Squat, work up to 5×5 @ 205 (around 75% of my training max)

1b. Medball slam, 5×5

2a. Paused Front Squat, work up to a tough set of 5 (155)

2b. Seated Jumps, 3 reps after every set of front squats

3a. Fatbell Reverse Lunges, 3×8 per with 35s, front racked

3b. Banded Fatbell RDLs, 3×12 with 35s, orange band

4a. Stability Ball Hamstring Complex, 2×10 per variation

4b. Banded Monster Walk and Side Steps, 2 rounds each

5a. Slow Eccentric Step Downs, 2×8 per leg

5b. Ab Wheel Rollout, 2×10

 

Lindsey’s Training Log – Fixing My Squat

Training, Uncategorized

One of the biggest benefits of working at a strength-focused gym is the input your coworkers can give on your training. Casey caught me squatting a week ago and told me something I never thought I’d hear: my quads were the weak link in my squat and I need to focus on bringing them up. 

 

I’ve been “quad-dominant” my whole life, meaning I have a hard time using my glutes and posterior chain in most movements – instead, my quads “take over” the movement and do the majority of the work. I’ve spent most of the last two years working on activating and using my posterior chain in my lifting, so now I guess it’s time to change things up!

 

Because of running so much, I need to be careful about (re)incorporating quad-focused work. I squat and then do a hard interval run on Tuesdays. I need my legs to be as close to recovered as possible for my long run on Saturday. 

 

I started this a few days ago, and I’ll be honest, I’m still a little sore. I think I’ll be fine for a good run tomorrow though.

 

Movement Planned Achieved
1 Front Squat Work up to a heavy triple 195×3, 175x3x3
2 SSB Pause Squat, light 3×5 3×5 @ 155
3a SSB Bulg. Split Squat, light 3×8 3×8 @ just the bar
3b GHR 3×10 3×10
3c Band Monster Walk 3 trips 3 (long) trips
4a Single Leg Squat to Box 3×8 per 3×8 per, med. box
4b Single Leg RDL 3×8 per 3×8 per @ 35
4c Stability Ball Hamstring Complex 3×10 each 3×10 each
5a Hanging Leg Raises 3×15 3×15
5b Side Plank Dips 3×10 per 3×10 per
LATER
6 Interval Run 1 mile warm-up easy

3 x 1200m @ 7:13 pace

 ✅

Alison’s Squat Experiment

Training

Training Log: July

 

My.body.is.wrecked. 

 

It’s the good kind of wrecked but wrecked nonetheless. I just finished up a 4 week cycle of a mix of heavy/volume training weeks on the main lifts and some high volume super sets of bodybuilding, with some light or band work circuits.  It got the job done, considering the job currently is to feel good and hopefully (slowly) build some muscle and change body composition. Considering how beat up I’m feeling, I am going to finish this cycle off with a deload/recovery/cardio week.  

 

I did a little something different with my back squats this cycle, which was kinda fun/terrible.  It’s a good mix up to a traditional volume rep scheme, so try it out if you’re ever feeling bored or stuck in your training:

 

Week 1 Week2 Week 3 Week4
Sqwwaat Find 12 rep max  5×2@ heavy 2 reps at 12 rep max, rest :10, do 3 reps rest :10, do 5 reps rest :10, do 10 reps, repeat 1x in reverse order  5×1@ heavy

 

First, find your 12 rep max back squat.  This ended up being roughly around 70% of my 1 rep max.  I did 3-4 sets before I called it but realistically I probably had around 5 maaaaybe 10lbs left in the tank.  Week 3 ends up being 40 reps at your 12 rep max weight, broken up into two sets.  Warm up to your 12 rep max weight and perform 2 reps/rest :10, 3 reps/rest :10, 5 reps/rest :10, and finish the set with 10 reps.  Rest as long as needed (I think I rested around 5 minutes to feel fully recovered) then repeat in the opposite order.  Perform 10 reps/rest :10, 5 reps/rest :10, 3 reps/rest :10 and finish the set with 2 reps.  Volume at moderate weight is my wheelhouse so this felt not-so-terrible, but my posterior chain the following days would not agree with that statement. 

 

It was also nice mixing in some heavy days as I haven’t spent much time lately squatting anything heavy.  My heavy days, as opposed to my volume days, felt terrible. I was, to put it simply, scared. The bar felt so SO heavy and I was worried I would just crumble under the weight of it or worse, get injured.  It was a humbling reminder that lifting is not just about strength but also confidence and experience.