We've been getting a large influx of new members here. Most seem concerned with hypertrophy training w/ a weak strength base. So I'm posting an article I wrote in my spare time about my experiences. This is not specifically for any one person here, just something I've thought about as I was reading all my old journals

Enjoy!

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Just how important is squats and deadlifts you ask? VERY!

I had some pretty bad habits since joining the Marine Corps back in 1999. Most notably, I never really worked legs, and never deadlifted in favor of different rowing variations. I had two theories back then. One was that I didn’t want to work my legs since I was always running and hiking every day being in the infantry. Being a non commissioned officer, if I was to fall out of a hike, I didn’t think the excuse of doing squats the day before would fly lol. The second reason was what I’m sure 90% of trainees think in the back of their minds: Girls pay more attention to the guns than quads!

So what happens when you don’t focus very much on the squat and deadlift? Well, all my lifts hit a plateau. So did my weight gain. I’ve always had some good genetics, and weight gains for me would come in bunches. I’d have three pounds gained in one week, check the scales a few weeks after that and be five pounds heavier, which was always followed by a long dry spell before magically gaining again. Mind you, I’m talking about after I got back from Iraq weighing a very unnatural and undernourished 160 lbs, so the gains were almost entirely muscle.

Back then, it wasn’t unheard of to have my spotter pick up the heavy dumbbells and hand them to me to rest on my knees before a hardcore incline set. A lot of my lifts suffered because of my weak links. Most notably among my muscle groups was my back days. My lower chain couldn’t handle the weight my upper body could pull. Barbell rows, T-bar rows, ect. I’d have to continuously lower the weight in favor of dropping my upper body lower to the ground.

Almost two and a half years ago, I started doing Max-OT. I figured some low volume would be a good way to start really working my legs beyond doing some leg extensions and curls. I opted out of heavy machine usage such as the leg press as my main exercise because just like all machines, they have no carry-over. Whoever says they do probably has a bridge for sale. Back then, I could stack plate after plate on the leg press and rep out. Yet when I free squatted, I was struggling with 250! After a few weeks, I was “almost” parallel squatting with 275 lbs. Ugh.

Here is a piece of my journal I found back in 2005.

2005

March 2005

-Legs
1.Squats: 225 x 6, 275 x 6, 275 x 6
2.Front Leg Extensions: Used the stack for 3 sets of 6
3.Stiff Leg Deadlifts: 225 x 6, 275 x 6, 275 x 6

March 2005

-Chest/Abs
1.Flat Bench Press: 315 X 6, 335 X 5, 335 X 4
2.Incline Barbell: 275 X 5, 275 X 5, 275 X 5
3.Decline Barbell: 275 X 5, 275 X 5
4.Weighted Dips: 45 X 8

If you cannot see a major discrepancy between upper and lower, then you’re lost in the sauce.

That’s the point when I really started reading the forums. I came in thinking I was the bomb benching 365 x 1 staying 100% natural when many others were struggling with 315 lbs mid cycle! However, I had a dark secret: My squatting sucks and deadlifting was almost non existent. First time I tried deadlifting, I was able to get 315 x 8 if I remember correctly. So I wasn’t in terrible shape, but knew that if I TRULY wanted that barrel chest and 20 inch arms, I’d have to seriously address those deficiencies.

Where to go from here? Well, I started doing some heavy reading. One article I remember more than most was from Brawn called, “Squatting for Big Arms”. I thought it was bullshit until I really thought about the MESSAGE it was trying to convey:

Big full body lifts = Big full body growth response!

I came to the ultimate conclusion that I needed a program that was completely modeled around the squat and deadlift. I chose the 5 x 5 which was a three times a week, full body workout program. The programs themselves were modeled by Bill Starr. To me it just made sense to invest some serious time into squatting three times a week to bring it up. Of course NOW I’d never hang with that, but back then it was perfect.

So, I remained on Bill Starr’s 5 x 5. My first full run through was a big success. I still have my old journal for that as well. Here’s the totals:

Week Four: Max 5x5, 1x5

Olympic squats: 245 (5x5), 275 (5x5 pyramid)
Deadlifts: 345 (5x5)

Week Eight: Max 3x3, 1x3

Olympic squats: 290 (3x3), 315 (1x3 pyramid)
Deadlifts: 440 (1x3)

Upon completion of the program, I continued addressing my weak points with an upper/lower setup. After that, I went back to the dual factor 5x5 and ran back to back volume phases which saw my A2G squat go up to 315 x 6 butt sitting on calves. From then on, I was in the zone. I had developed such a liking for squats and deadlifts that I spent the next year conjugate training. Shortly thereafter I’ve found my way to working with ironaddict trying to continue increasing my lifts while cutting down the fat.

All of which brings me to today. I have seen an incredible amount of carry-over to all my lifts. All my plateaus were shattered. I increased my muscle mass substantially, my old favorite bench pressing went from 365 x 1 to 405 x 1 no problem. My ass to the grass squatting hit an all time high of 440 lbs, and just a few days ago I nailed 515 x 2 deadlifting raw (belted only). And remember me mentioning the “Squatting for Big Arms” article? Well, in my case I added another 1 ¾” to my arms bringing them a shade under 20”.

Now, if you ask yourself, “Well, doing 1-3 reps with a lot of weight won’t do anything for hypertrophy”, then you’re looking at this all wrong. Say you increase your squat from 300 x 3 to 350 x 3. I guarantee you’ll end up doing your 3 sets of 8-10 reps with a lot more weight than when you had the 300 for a 3 RM. Follow me? You’re taking those strength gains and applying them to hypertrophy work.

Why write this testimonial? The reason is because back then, I didn’t have access to something like this. The message is simple: Had I been set on the right path from the get-go, addressing the need to increase strength in squatting and deadlifting versus just the bench, I’d be where I am today FIVE YEARS AGO! I cannot imagine how much easier I’d have it now if I read these kinds of books back then and got started early on paying my dues!

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