I do appreciate your checking, you're right, that's a direction I do not want to go in. First thing we talked about was my goals, which wasn't competition, but proper technique to be able to train more efficiently. I just knew I should be squatting higher than I do. The biggest change I felt was using my hips more. By the way, I did the 285 after I did 3x5x205. By comparison, my last squat set during this past week was 3x5x185. The 205 felt about the same as the 185 did.
I'm pretty sure they're SQUATS. He didn't widen my stance or make any major alterations. He got me leading with my hips before knees, which I thought I was doing, but wasn't. But the biggest thing was he got me past my sticking point, which is about a third of the way up. I tended to look down which put my upper body in a bad position. (A habit because of the mirrors at the gym I suppose) It really made a difference to look up, chest out, drive hips forward. It got me past the sticking point. He also suggested I try some pause squats with lighter weight as an accessory to see if it helps.
That gives me pause. Powerlifter? There are "powerlifting" squats desgned to give someone the biggest numbers and there are SQUATS. Which we talking here?
This is great timing. I just got home from learning how to squat!!!!! I found an area powerlifter and he invited me over to his garage for some squatting tips. I just squatted 285 about an hour ago, 20 pounds more than a few months ago!!! He tweaked my technique and gave me a lot of confidence. I'm so stoked right now. I'm going to write a program to focus on squats and see what happens.
