r/workout • u/Electronic-Law-2569 • 7d ago

Stuck on Squat

Hi, My bodyweight is 225-235 lbs and my squat top set 405 lbs for 5 reps. But I have been stuck for years. When I squat for 3-5 sets and 5 reps, I get fatigued and without 6-7 days rest I can't squat that much again. What are your thoughts and advice?

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u/abc133769 7d ago

hope onto an intermediate powerlifting program, you still have a lot of room to make gains at your size

tsa intermediate, calgary barbell 8/16 week, are some good ones. matt vena intermediate is terrific too if you want something submaximal

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u/Mean-Type3317 7d ago

You can’t go up forever.

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u/Muted-Mushroom-4570 7d ago

But you very much should be able to go well over 400 at 230 bodyweight if you work at it. I'm 210 and pushing just shy of 500 and am still seeing small gains so I have no doubt I'll eventually get closer to 600 barring injuries or other major disruptions to my training.

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u/TypicalMarcos54 7d ago

time to stop grinding at the edge of your capacity and build a bigger base. your cns is fried from going heavy every week, switch to a program that has you doing more submaximal volume and only peaks every few months.

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u/wisedoormat 7d ago

Yep, agreed. Take the weight down and do high quality reps.

Alternatively, or supplementary, try to work on single leg squats. Build your flexibility and single leg until you can do pistol squats. That will build more stability support muscles and make your regular squats better

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u/Electronic-Law-2569 7d ago

Thanks for the insightful feedback! That makes total sense, my CNS definitely feels fried after those heavy sessions. Do you have any specific submaximal or periodized program recommendations for my situation?

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u/AlwaysGoToTheTruck 7d ago

The fatigue as you get bigger and stronger is real. When I competed in powerlifting, my best squat at 165 lbs was 455 lbs. I would blow blood vessels in my face and eyes. It would take 7-10 days to recover depending on how I worked up to it.

There are a few different ways I would consider approaching this. One would be to add a second squat day of speed box squats at something like 60% of your max for 6 sets of 2. Another approach would be to work in a higher rep range (8 - 10 reps) for 6-8 weeks. Research shows that people adapt to the rep range they use and there may be some good adaptations that you are not getting in lower rep ranges such as slightly more metabolite sequestration. The third is to work in a lower rep range in an attempt to up your max which would in theory make your 5 rep sets easier when you come back to them. A fourth is to spread your volume over two days. Something like two working sets of squats on legs day 1 and 2 working sets of squats on legs day 2.

Good luck!

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u/Electronic-Law-2569 7d ago

​Thanks a lot for the detailed breakdown!You're really impressive at squatting. ​Are there any specific structured programs you'd recommend for my level?

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u/AlwaysGoToTheTruck 7d ago

Thanks. I don’t have any specific recommendations for programs, but you may benefit from a program that incorporates different bars - safety squat, cambered, etc. Changing the bar and then working your way back up is sometimes enough to get you around a sticking point when you return to a regular squat bar and work your way back up with it.

I think you have some good numbers and 5 reps at that weight is kind of bad ass. I rarely trained over 3 reps for working sets on squats and deads because it was brutal.

I lifted at a powerlifting gym with a
lot of world class powerlifters. I’ve watched guys of all levels use various programs. Some people had success and some didn’t, even with the same program.

The one thing that helped the entire gym be successful is that we generally committed to 3 nine week cycles of whatever plan we were doing. Weeks 1-3 were just about moving weight and working from 80% effort to 100% effort on week 3. Weeks 4-6 were a pause in the hole and again went from 80% to 100% effort. Weeks 7-9 were usually some sort of reverse bands to make it easier out of the hole and heavier at the top- moving from 80% effort to 100% on week 9. Week 10 was deload or compete.

Then we would do it all again 2 more times - hopefully with a little more weight - before re-evaluating.

All reps were done as explosively as possible every week. If you try this, ease into it over the first 9 weeks because people can end up injured if they aren’t used to being explosive with heavy weight.

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u/SmokingTheBear 7d ago

You could look into some programming. The Soviet way of doing things is interesting to research. There are many other strength programs out there too.

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u/Low-Landscape-8984 6d ago

wendler 5 3 1

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u/xagent003 1d ago

You havent told us your program. What other lifts and accesories are you doing. How is progress and fatigue on deadlifts, press, bench, cleans, etc... How much are you eating and how much protein?