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Madd Hatter
New member
Good lord, this was one of the harder training days. I changed up my 5x5 this week, and my leg day now is:
5x5 Box squats
2x10 Leg Press
2x10 SLDL
5 Static Squats
2x10 Leg Press Calf Raises
For my "box" I chose a regular flat bench, it was the only thing even in the range. When I sat on it I LOOKED parallel, but didn't feel quite like I was, maybe I go below parallel normally, I dunno. When I did them it was with 20lbs less than my normal max, I "settled in" on the bench, then came off, and boy do you feel it in the hams/glutes, holy crap. So I can't be doing them too far off from right. If my only goal is mass, do I need to be worried about the height of my "box"?
After my pleasant surprise with those, I crossed off the "hamstring" in "Hamstring Leg Press", and did what may be my only direct quad work it felt like. Then on to SLDLs, no big probs there.
Now I was warned that Static Squats can make you lose it, so I had the bucket next to me. Didn't need it, though I got close, and I was wobbling and trembling so bad people passing by were staring. This is definitely a test on your MENTAL toughness, which sadly today I was unprepared for. I used 60lbs less than my 5rep max, and still couldn't hit 50 seconds (maybe had 40 my first one, all downhill from there). I went about a quarter down, did 5 of em with 1.5 minute rests for lack of a better idea how to go about it.
By the time I did my wuss calf raises and some stupid cable crunches my shirt was soaked thru..... everywhere. Never sweat more than that. During the workout I felt like I could be doing better, but not bad for the first week of new exercises. If you have never tried variations on your squat, you're doing yourself a disservice.
5x5 Box squats
2x10 Leg Press
2x10 SLDL
5 Static Squats
2x10 Leg Press Calf Raises
For my "box" I chose a regular flat bench, it was the only thing even in the range. When I sat on it I LOOKED parallel, but didn't feel quite like I was, maybe I go below parallel normally, I dunno. When I did them it was with 20lbs less than my normal max, I "settled in" on the bench, then came off, and boy do you feel it in the hams/glutes, holy crap. So I can't be doing them too far off from right. If my only goal is mass, do I need to be worried about the height of my "box"?
After my pleasant surprise with those, I crossed off the "hamstring" in "Hamstring Leg Press", and did what may be my only direct quad work it felt like. Then on to SLDLs, no big probs there.
Now I was warned that Static Squats can make you lose it, so I had the bucket next to me. Didn't need it, though I got close, and I was wobbling and trembling so bad people passing by were staring. This is definitely a test on your MENTAL toughness, which sadly today I was unprepared for. I used 60lbs less than my 5rep max, and still couldn't hit 50 seconds (maybe had 40 my first one, all downhill from there). I went about a quarter down, did 5 of em with 1.5 minute rests for lack of a better idea how to go about it.
By the time I did my wuss calf raises and some stupid cable crunches my shirt was soaked thru..... everywhere. Never sweat more than that. During the workout I felt like I could be doing better, but not bad for the first week of new exercises. If you have never tried variations on your squat, you're doing yourself a disservice.
