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[Streetdawg]

Over the past yr I got obcessed to keep squatting more and more weight with the first goal being to hit 600 then it was 650 & then 700. I recently just hit 700 this week but along the way I had more learning to do and thought I would share some of what I learned.

Going back to some articles by dave tate from elite fitness-

Spread the floor when you descend - as in push your knees outward

Get your stance out wide. if you think its wide go even wider. You can become more flexible. you have to become a master technician as well.

The strength in the squat comes from the hips,low back, glutes, & hams. Quads dont come into play nearly as much as people tend to think. theres many a guy in our gym with bigger quads than mine, that leg press more, hack squat more. but dont squat much past 405. its the posterior chain....

Core strength is very critical- upper and lower abs and low back have to be worked in isolation ALOT. as well as side stability to work the obliques in isolation. all the weight transfers thru the core. if your core isnt strong it will limit you every time. I do 16 sets a week of core work alone.

Calves cant be overlooked. its one thing to walk on one leg for a moment with 300 extra pounds on your back. try it with 700. your calves have to tolerate alot just to take a step back in the power cage. They also assist in the lift as well.

Good mornings - most people hate this exercise with a passion. they dont have to be done to full parallel. they can be done a mulitude of ways. visit westside barbell or elite fitness. add them into your regimen. they pay off. ever have a good size weight on your back and feel like your are suddenly gonna fall forward with it? do your GM's

Carry the bar lower on your back. at first shifting the weight from high on the traps where they are thick and you can squeeze them together to form a shelf, to lower down across the shoulder blades wont feel too good. you dont have as much padding there to start with but you can move more weight by bringing it closer to the hips and more in line with them. it will cause you to tip forward more but overall you will still move more weight and still not create as much leverage against the lower back as you would if carrying the bar higher on the shoulders. it takes time to adapt to but well worth it. and you have to learn to keep a good arch so you keep the bar in line vertically with the hips. again this is where a good GM will help.

Push your abs and low back out tight while you descend. they play a huge part in the squat. this is often underestimated by most. making a tighter thicker midsection allows more weight transfer.

Work the $hit out of your hamstrings. they do a ton of the work in a big squat. I went from doing seated leg curls with 170x20 up to 265x24 over the past 6mos. it makes a big diff in the squat rack.

Always squat below parallel to work the muscles thru a full range of motion. anyone who says they have bad knees as an excuse to half squat does not realize they are making the knees even worse stopping half way. it puts way more sheer on the knee joint stopping part way. the hips take up the load when you drop down further and take it off the knees more. in other words dont be a wuss. do full squats!

my quest is anything but over. if I can hit 750 or even 800 in this next yr I will do it. and learn even more along the way from those stronger than me.

SD