Squats are killing me...

[iron_worker]

The highest volume squat I've done is 3x8 and that just about killed me. lol

IronWorker

[_Wolf_]

Me too^^^ 3x8 with 225. I died.

[RileyMartin]

Most reps I go to parallel, some I go lower.

With that weight I don't think I can come up fast. Certainly not for 10 reps.

I warm up by doing 135lbs. for about 6 reps, then 185lbs. for 1 rep, then 225 for 1 rep and then I rest 2 minutes and start my actual sets.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by RileyMartin

Most reps I go to parallel, some I go lower.

With that weight I don't think I can come up fast. Certainly not for 10 reps.

I warm up by doing 135lbs. for about 6 reps, then 185lbs. for 1 rep, then 225 for 1 rep and then I rest 2 minutes and start my actual sets.

That's not a very good warm-up imo. It should look something like this:

45x5x2
65x3x2
95x3
135x3
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x1

[_Wolf_]

Well, several things which you should consider here.

Firstly, depth. You said that on some reps you go to parallel and on others you go lower. Well, IMO you should be trying to go below parallel. Most of the time when people say they are hitting parallel they are mistaken. Parallel does not mean thighs parallel to the floor. Parallel means your hip joint is in line with your knee joint and THAT is parallel to the floor. I am attaching a picture for you to better understand. Given this criteria, it would be better for you to use a box to gauge depth. This does not mean squat onto a box. It means that you must go and touch the box with your butt and then come back up.

Next, tempo. You said that you cannot come up fast for 10 reps. That is normal. But, I think what everyone wants to know is that are you forcefully doing them at a slow pace? If you are, then why? If you aren't then its normal to struggle while coming up. The purpose is to have controlled reps: not forcefully slow reps.

Lastly, your warm-ups need some looking at. Do you do any hip mobility work? If not, then its time you start. I'll post a few suggestions hip mobility work later...Back to warm-ups: when you say you do 135, 185, 225 do you mean to say that you warm-up continuously without taking any break? If so, then you are approaching this wrong. You need to do one warm-up sets, rest 1-2 minutes, do the other, repeat, etc. During your workout, with such high rep squats, rest between sets for atleast 3 minutes. Keep a timer. If you really feel that you can rest shorter then go for it. But if you try and keep a 3 minute level, then you'll be better off on the safe side.

Here are some Hip Mobility links:

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

I'll post the picture now...

[MONSTAFACE]

everybody here gave good advice. i normally always did 5 sets of 10 with squats. the only thing that ever stopped me was if i got an exertional headache, but that was more something i could have prevented. all in all the advice i can give you from my own experience is to lower the weight. moving heavy weight is good but sometimes just because you can do something doesnt mean you are ready to do it. lower the weight by like 30 to 50 pounds and work your way up. get your body used to doing that many reps. and it should be easier.


like some people on here say , they are used to doing sets of 5 so even though they are lifting heavy weights. its a complete different ball game doing sets of ten with lower weights. and vice versa. get your body used to it. drop the weight get used to doing that many reps. make sure you are breathing correctly and you have the right form. im pretty sure you see all the info people have posted on form for you

[RileyMartin]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and taking the time to help.

With my warm up I'll do the set of 135bls. and wait about one minute, then 185lbs. and wait about one minute, then 225bls. and wait three minutes before doing my first real set.

That's not a very good warm-up imo. It should look something like this:

45x5x2
65x3x2
95x3
135x3
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x1

Is that all just warmup? I lift after I get home from work and have a hard time with my energy level. I'm eating more oatmal between meals and Dr. Praeger veggie burgers with meals for energy but still relly lacking in the energy department. That might be too much warm up for me but I see I'm doing way too little and need to increase what I do to warmup.

I see by your explanation that I misunderstood what 'parallel to the floor' meant. I think I need to lower the weight and squat a little deeper. Using a box sounds like a good idea since it's hard to tell how deep I actually squat. I'm looking into buying a power rack and if the bars can be set at the right height I could also try using them to know if I've squatted deep enough.

With my tempo I'm not forcefully going slow. I'm squatting down at a comfortable pace and comming back up at a comfortable pace as well. It's just slow. The weight is heavy for me so I really can't come up any faster. I've read and heard some people 'explode' up from their squat and try to come up fast but I would have to lower the weight even more in order to do that. Do most people train going up and down slow or is it better to go lighter and try to squat back up fast?

Thanks for the links to the videos, I'll add those to my stretching routine. I stretch after I lift instead of before. I stopped stretching before my workout because I read in an exercising article on MSN that said stretching before a workout could limit your strength and actually make you more prone to injury. Do you agree with this or do you feel stretching should be done just prior to lifting?

I was resting two minutes inbetween sets but just recently started to rest for three minutes to try and keep the reps consistant.

[Pitysister]

you can do dynamic stretches and mobility stuff before working out...just save the static stretches for after...

[RileyMartin]

Could you give me some examples of dynamic stretches for the back and legs? Thanks.

[Pitysister]

if you search on t-nation....for mike boyle's mobility drills..or even google it...he has some good ones in there...plus the videos that wolf posted...especially the middle one.