Squat numbers dont match

[angie197167]

@saurabhtopno42 Cody is the man; I have been on some variation of his method for over two years. I'm 40 walk around between 205-210 and have seen steady progress on all three lifts during the duration using his stuff. Plus he's a super accessible guy and his base program is very adaptable and it can help you educate yourself in terms of managing your own programming. Just sayin'. If you are interested you should check out the sub dedicated to it. /r/gzcl

 

[discipleduchrist]

@saurabhtopno42 A few thoughts.

First, you say you're eating at or near maintenance but making gains on other lifts. That means that all caloric fuel is currently feeding the gains on your other lifts and there isn't enough left over to feed your legs/squats. So something's gotta give. You either have to eat more calories to have more fuel to include gains in your squats as well as the rest of your lifts, or you have to run a specialization routine that puts all the focus of gains specifically on squats while just maintaining the levels at your other lifts. Then once your squats have caught up, you can go back to trying to progress on all lifts simultaneously again. But with your current caloric intake and routine you clearly can't expect to progress on everything at the same time.

Second, you may be overtraining. You say you're working out up to 5 times a week, plus doing other sports up to 3 times a week. Especially once you get into your 30's and beyond, recovery becomes extremely important, particularly with exercises that heavily tax the central nervous system, such as squats.

My suggestion would be to try backing down to 3x a week with the workouts on non-consecutive days to give your body more rest and recovery time. You can still easily make gains from week to week on a 3x/wk schedule, which will allow you to hit your lifts with a fresher and more rested body and CNS.

Finally, based on your video you have a very good range of motion, going below parallel at the bottom. That's not a bad thing at all, however the greater the depth of the squat, the more difficult the reps are. So you are going to put up lower numbers than, say, someone who squats only to parallel before going back up, and I suspect if you did the same you'd instantly see a 15-20 pound increase in your squats. Not that you should do that, but it's something to be aware of.

 

[jtgabq]

@discipleduchrist

First, you say you're eating at or near maintenance but making gains on other lifts. That means that all caloric fuel is currently feeding the gains on your other lifts and there isn't enough left over to feed your legs/squats.

That's not how bodies work, man. A guy with a 315lb deadlift is not having trouble with his squats because he needs to eat more.

 

[discipleduchrist]

@jtgabq Actually it is how it works. A lot of people have body parts and therefore lifts that tend to lag behind others, where it is easier to make gains more than others. And it is also a fact that there is only so much fuel to go around in terms of both glycogen and muscle protein synthesis for a given number of calories.

And if gains are being made in other lifts due to continued progressive overload, that means that the calories are being used to grow those muscles moreso than the body parts that are lagging. So one solution is absolutely to increase calories, especially in OP's case where he's claimed he's eating at maintenance.

As I outlined, it's not the only possible issue to address, but it is absolutely one possibility.

 

[dawn16]

@discipleduchrist But he's saying all his other lifts continue to improve, meaning deadlifts are improving while squat is lagging. So which muscles do you think are growing/getting stronger for deadlifts but lagging for squats? This is far more likely to be a technique or programming issue than a not enough food issue.

 

[discipleduchrist]

@dawn16

So which muscles do you think are growing/getting stronger for deadlifts but lagging for squats?

Could be his quads and adductors that are lagging, since they are not engaged in deadlifts to nearly the degree that they are in squats. While there is obviously overlap between the two exercises for some muscle groups, such as glutes and hamstrings, if both exercises worked the exact same muscles to the exact same degree then there would be no need for anyone to do both exercises.

This is far more likely to be a technique or programming issue than a not enough food issue.

It's possible, but that's exactly why I outlined several potential reasons he could be lagging, of which not enough calories is just one. I also outlined technique and programming as possible issues as well. Only OP will be able to determine what the best solution or solutions for him are through actually trying them.

 

[dawn16]

@discipleduchrist That's really reaching though. Obviously they're not using all of the exact same muscles to the exact same degree, but they're using the same major muscle groups, and as long as programming is set up properly, it wouldn't make sense for his body to put all the resources into the posterior chain and leave the quads behind.

 

[discipleduchrist]

@dawn16 Why? It is well known that the quads for instance are a very important muscle group for squats but far less so for deadlifts.

The fact is, neither you nor I know the specifics of his anatomy. Different people have different origin and insertion points with respect to their skeletal muscle development, and therefore different strengths and weaknesses that can manifest and affect their lifts, positively or negatively. And nutrition is but one of several things that can help address that.

Again, the bottom line is that it is impossible for, you, I or anyone else to definitively diagnose what the problem is for OP without him actually trying different solutions. And that is why all options should be on the table for him to look at, and IMO to casually dismiss one of them simply because you or I might not personally believe it to be an issue would be wrong.

 

[dawn16]

@discipleduchrist I'm not saying it's not possible for his quads to be weak, and in fact that's quite likely. I'm saying it's extremely unlikely that his quads are weak from a lack of food.

 

[discipleduchrist]

@dawn16 Again, why? He said he's eating at maintenance, which means that right off the bat he's not giving his body enough fuel to reliably continue to progress, and whatever progression he might be experiencing while eating at maintenance is going to be capped.

And particularly if certain muscle groups are better developed or primed than others, they will be the first beneficiaries of any gains nutritionally, since they are naturally firing or working better than others.

It shouldn't at all be a controversial statement to tell someone who is eating at maintenance and not experiencing the type of gains or progression they would like on certain lifts to try eating more.

 

[dawn16]

@discipleduchrist

It shouldn't at all be a controversial statement to tell someone who is eating at maintenance and not experiencing the type of gains or progression they would like on certain lifts to try eating more.

It depends on the lift. If someone is progressing on deadlifts then it's really unlikely that they're not getting enough food.

 

[saurabhtopno42]

@jtgabq Im open to hearing a counter and what you're theory is and what I could do differently or what the issue is

 

[saurabhtopno42]

@discipleduchrist This was a really helpful post and got my mind thinking, so thank you.

The logic makes sense and most weeks its more like 3-4 times at the gym and 1-2 outdoor sports. Not Progressing my other lifts does not sound fun, but you're right. I need to make choices on my training

Here is my current hybrid ppl

Pull: deads 1x5, pullup 3-4x6-8, bentover row 4x8, facepull 3x12, bicep curl 3x12

Push: Bp 3x5, ohp 3x5, weighted dips 3x10, cable shoulder 3x12, tricep push 3x12, skull crusher 3x12

Legs: squat 3x5, leg press 4x8, calf raise 5x10, leg raise 4x10, planks 2x1:30

 

[discipleduchrist]

@saurabhtopno42 One other thing you could try doing in addition to dropping to a 3x per week schedule on the workouts is put your leg day first on Monday, that way your CNS is freshest from the weekend rest and recovery, as opposed to doing it after you've already done your pull and push days that week. Good luck!

 

[saurabhtopno42]

@discipleduchrist Ugh - monday squat days lol. Good point though