Question for powerlifters

[Big_BK]

Hey guys. I have nationals for strongman july 26th. I have some goals i would like to hit before then and could use some advice as i really don't train with any powerlifters and just kind of do my own thing and it works. I would like to hit at least a 600-620 squat, 600lb deadlift. Right now my best squat is 565 with belt and knee wraps, feels great coming out of the rack not heavy at all since im used to heavy yoke weights somewhat. My sticking point is in the hole, once i hit a certain weight i either can squat it or crash it, no in between. What I'm doing now is a heavy week then a light week so heavy week would be 3-5 reps going up to a max usually. Light week would be 5-8 reps no maxing.

Now as for my deadlift i think this is where i need the most advice. My problem is breaking it off the floor, once its moving i can get it up no problem. I usually do a few sets of 3 then work up to a max when i try and pull a new PR, light week i just do reps working up to heavy weights each set. The only thing i can really think of for fixing my problem off the floor is pulling from a deficit.

Just looking for some powerlifters to give me some advice here on what to do. My PR's are usually in big jumps. Recently i jumped from a 520 squat to 565, deadlift was from 500 to 520 and i recently missed 550. Could this be a problem also?

 

[DaveTSI]

If your getting stuck in the hole on squats and cant break the floor on deads you most likely have a hip weakness and you could probably benefit from alot more work on your core also(if you dont already). If you cant stay tight in the hole you will not get anything, is staying tight/stable a problem at all for you?

do you deadlift conventional or sumo?

now im not bashing you, but i did see a video of you squatting and they didnt look very deep at all. be honest with your self, if they arent low enough, meaning below parallel or better, start squatting deep all the time. swallow your pride, lower the weight and dunk them, it will pay off enormously.

work on speed out of the hole with light weight with 6-8 sets of 2 on light days, id say start with 275 and go up each week like 10 lbs. if they arent very fast and explosive dont ramp up the weight.

if i was you i would do 2 squat days/wk(1 light, 1 heavy) and pull only every other week. maxing every week on deads is way to taxing on the cns. every other week when you deadlift work to a max triple or double then test yourself like once a month. and DO NOT max on deads when your getting close to the comp, 3 weeks out is ok, any closer and itll do more harm than good. incorporating box squats (14" or below, ideally 12") will help you hip strength and explosiveness tremendously.

one last note, only use your knee wraps and belt on very heavy or max attempts. unless of course you have knee problems, but stay away from the belt.

this is my shit right here bro, one training partner of mine put 50lbs on his deadlift after he came OFF a cycle with my advice, trust me you will get stronger.

good luck bro feel free to pm any questions

 

[Big_BK]

Cool shit bro, thanks for the reply. I was actually hoping you would reply, haha. Deads every other week are starting to sounds good, my back is def. getting over worked. Believe it or not my back gets pretty hard on squats for some reason. I'm already with you on the knee wraps, only use them on max attempts. As of recent i have been doing more work beltless and i think it is paying off. I usually start with a warmup of 225 for a few reps then each set i throw on another plate and avoid using my belt as long as i can then when i get to a point where i need it i i use my rehband support belt first which gives a very minimal amount of support and i really only use my belt when im doing a heavy max effort set. I deadlift regular, ive messed around with sumo before but it was no where near what i pull regular.

As for the core work. I just recently started doing it directly. I suck at yoke which is running with 600+lbs on your back and all the guys told me core work is the problem. So from what i gather, core work keep it up and start throwing in some box squats for hip strength. BTW for the depth i usually always have someone watching me letting me know how deep they were. If the video you saw was the 20 rep squat one thats not how i squat at all. Here is my most recent squat video which was a beltless PR of 455, almost for 2. http://youtube.com/watch?v=RG2NUJvmPOc

 

[DaveTSI]

Great then your on the right track, keep hitting your core hard. I usually do my core work twice a week on lower body days, any more is probably overkill. Glad to hear your using the equipment sparingly, belts are the enemy .

And from that video it is obvious you have a core weakness, you basically collapse and lose your arch under the weight on your second attempt. Without a doubt your core is the problem. Much better reps than the 315, you can get deeper though, just do it bro

as far as box squats you could do them on every light day for speed work (the 6-8 light sets for 2 i explained before), or do them on your heavy days. Most use them for speed work though.

 

[artificialaspirations]

Great then your on the right track, keep hitting your core hard. I usually do my core work twice a week on lower body days, any more is probably overkill. Glad to hear your using the equipment sparingly, belts are the enemy .

And from that video it is obvious you have a core weakness, you basically collapse and lose your arch under the weight on your second attempt. Without a doubt your core is the problem. Much better reps than the 315, you can get deeper though, just do it bro

as far as box squats you could do them on every light day for speed work (the 6-8 light sets for 2 i explained before), or do them on your heavy days. Most use them for speed work though.

Do you guys just reserve the belts for competition and maxouts?

 

[DaveTSI]

Do you guys just reserve the belts for competition and maxouts?

thats what i do, yes. during training, 85-90% of my max the belt usually goes on, unless im intentionally testing what i can get without it.

 

[roadwarrior]

thats what i do, yes. during training, 85-90% of my max the belt usually goes on, unless im intentionally testing what i can get without it.

Nothing to add but thanks to DaveTSI for some good solid usable advice.

S