Thoughts on my routine?

[icelandic]

Please bear in mind these are just opinions from nearly 8 years of hitting the iron...

If you are hitting dips hard (extra weight & low reps) for several sets your triceps should have the hell beaten out of them. Alot of people swear this movement is great for chest, but I feel it hits primarily anterior delts and tris. If I did 3 sets fo dips with 60 or 65 pounds around my waist for 5 reps, there would be NO WAY i'd could even think about doing close grip bench.

Also your milage my vary here too. I know many people who would have a tough time pulling 48 hours after a good squat session. I can do it though, and If you keep making progress with poundage progression then by all means keep doing it. If your progression stalls try fliping them around so that yor doing one on friday and the other on monday.

Good thing you're eating like a hog, becuase you have to with serious low rep training. Good way to boost calories even more, a big glass of 2% milk at EVERY meal.

Anyways good luck and I do like your routine. This is the way people should train for mass and strength, too many people forget the relation betweeen the two....

 

[icelandic]

about box squats...

I forgot to add this...
I think box squats suck because for most people they are limply a way boosting ones ego. They encourage people to do more weight than they should and the act of lifting one's feet off the ground with 4 or 5 hundred pounds on your back is probably not a great feeling from your spine's perspective. If you can squat big weights without a needing a box under you, your legs will be MUCH more developed. Use a full range of motion, down until top of thigh is parallel with the floor, pause for a moment, then rise WITHOUT MOMENTUM. Trust me, it sucks very much with a lot of weight on your back and the bar starts quivering.

 

[jeremys]

thats the point of squatting with boxes though, to stop momentum and release the hip flexors to strengthen the bottom portion of the squat, most people's sticking point

 

[icelandic]

I feel they are a crutch and result in a strength imbalance over the long run. If you need a box to squat correctly your using too much weight.

 

[jeremys]

tell that to the 800+ squatters at westside. boxes are almost all they use for squatting

 

[icelandic]

OK fine, but when you can squat 600 without a box then worry about boxes, OK. Anyone who cannot squat at least 400+ for 5 or 6 reps should not worry about doing 'assistance' exercises, focus on the basics until you get insanly strong. I'm not trying to start an argument here, but I see way too many dipshits who can't even squat 315 try to be heroes with box squat nonsense, I just feel they are useless unless you are alreay extremely strong, that will exclude a lot of people who do them already. How does that sound?

 

[icelandic]

Also look at some of the strongest lifters who ever lived,.. guys like Doug Hepburn and Paul Anderson. These guys squatted 700 to 800 pounds for doubles and triples. Anderson squatted 1000+ before hatfield ever even seen a gym. These guys were some of the most genetically gifted weightlifters to ever walk the face of this planet, and their routines were extremely simple compared to some of the shit you see nowadays.

 

[jeremys]

i totally agree with you. i've seen many people attempt squatting on boxes but they dont do it right and dont really do much for them. but when a person understands how it works and what good form is, then they reap the benefits of doing it.

 

[icelandic]

I'm glad we reached an understanding. How about this? Box squats are an advanced technique, wait until you are an advanced lifter in terms of strength berore using them. Sound alright to you?

 

[zackdarnell]

Wow, looks like I missed a good little conversation.

Also your milage my vary here too. I know many people who would have a tough time pulling 48 hours after a good squat session. I can do it though, and If you keep making progress with poundage progression then by all means keep doing it. If your progression stalls try fliping them around so that yor doing one on friday and the other on monday.

Surprisingly enough, my deadlifts have been increasing. It seems to work better for me to pull after squatting than to squat after pulling. Not really sure why. Also, it should be noted that I am not always sticking with the days of the week that i listed. Sometimes, if i feel like i need a 2 day break instead of just one day, I will take it. If I feel like I only need one day when I have 2 scheduled, I just move things up a day. I go by how I feel.

Anyways good luck and I do like your routine. This is the way people should train for mass and strength, too many people forget the relation betweeen the two....

I'm glad you like it. I got it from a friend on another forum. I will post my results in about 2 weeks.

I think box squats suck because for most people they are limply a way boosting ones ego. They encourage people to do more weight than they should and the act of lifting one's feet off the ground with 4 or 5 hundred pounds on your back is probably not a great feeling from your spine's perspective. If you can squat big weights without a needing a box under you, your legs will be MUCH more developed. Use a full range of motion, down until top of thigh is parallel with the floor, pause for a moment, then rise WITHOUT MOMENTUM. Trust me, it sucks very much with a lot of weight on your back and the bar starts quivering.

Don't forget, I do regular squats, too. And I go very deep on those. The box squats are below parallel, too. Also, on the box squats I am using approx. 50-60% of my 1rm. That wont be a problem on my back. I dont lift my feet off the ground either. I go down to the box, relax my hip flexors, then go back up. Also, I am doing these to work on my speed out of the bottom portion of the squat.