Squats

[Doc Holliday]

What amount of weight and sets do you think is good to stay in general mountain hunting shape, from a legs perspective?

I am 41 yrs old, weigh 200# and am 5'11". Last year in preparation for my first sheep hunt I regularly did 2 sets of 135# (one plate on each side), and then did a last set of 185#, and did fine on my sheep hunt, but could have been stronger. Now I am doing sets of #185 to start out. Is this OK or should I be going for 2 plates on either side?

 

[*zap*]

So, what I do is squat ass to grass....sumo style. Behind the neck, drive elbows back, chest up, back straight and drop as far as possible slow, 1-2 second pause at bottom, drive up and focus on driving elbows back so my back stays straight and I drive off my heels.
IMO(for what it is worth)weight does not matter as much as form and depth of the squat. I do one set with a 35# plate clutched against my chest to warm up-8 reps-and the 6 sets of behind the neck squats 3-6 rep range.
Deep will really work you and you do not need as much weight....deep will he healthier for your knees and really is good for hips/abductors which we use when packing and stepping over stuff in the woods.

The majority of people I see squatting do not even get their hamstrings parallel to the ground no less go deep.

 

[justinspicher]

I’m a fan of different squats.
Goblet squats with a kettlebell
Front squats
Single leg squats

I usually try to squat about three times a week, with one day being a heavy day doing either 5x5 or 3x3, depending on my mood.

strength is good, but for sheep hunting I feel muscular endurance is more important. Higher reps with lower weight will do a guy a lot of good.

 

[OXN939]

What amount of weight and sets do you think is good to stay in general mountain hunting shape, from a legs perspective?

I am 41 yrs old, weigh 200# and am 5'11". Last year in preparation for my first sheep hunt I regularly did 2 sets of 135# (one plate on each side), and then did a last set of 185#, and did fine on my sheep hunt, but could have been stronger. Now I am doing sets of #185 to start out. Is this OK or should I be going for 2 plates on either side?

As mentioned above, a specific number of plates on the bar is a bit of a misleading way to look at it. Remember that strength is relative, so for some guys (say, a 115 pound mountain climber) a 225 lb single rep max would be a ton of weight.

You never want to exceed what you can do with close to perfect form. Squats are second only to deadlifts in terms of lifts that people injure themselves trying to complete using too much weight. Feel free to peruse the highlights some time to see what not to do.

It sounds like you have a good idea for your capabilities, so starting to work up wouldn't be a bad goal. Do your warmup set, then step up to the 185 you mention. If you can do 6-8 perfect reps of that weight, add another ten pounds. Stop adding weight as soon as you feel your technique start to deteriorate- while squatting, a few telltale signs of this are feeling your center of gravity shifting to the balls of your feet rather than your heels, or experiencing a tendency to lean forward on your way up. I'd also suggest working in a little more volume- I generally do seven or eight weighted sets on a leg day, building up to a max working weight and then two cool down sets after that. Don't jump into that right away, but adding a few more than three sets will prepare you much better for an event requiring extended muscular endurance such as a sheep hunt.

Hope this helps!

 

[Poser]

There is no magic weight number.
What matters are the following:

Form
Effective range of motion
Volume
Intensity


In order to get stronger, you increase the stress over time. Your body adapts to stress and then requires more stress to further drive adaption. There is a lot of data to support heavy work sets of 5 as being the ideal rep scheme for increasing absolute strength as it contains just the right blend of volume and intensity - a lot of stress and a little bit of hypertrophy.

 

[GLB]

For squats and deadlifts I work with light weight and higher reps but usually do my workouts in a circuit. Example would be 70lbs dumbbell deadlifts for reps straight into a farmer’s walk and then move to a sandbag lift of some sort and repeat.
Lighter weight keeps me from hurting myself and at 57 years old I don’t recover as easy from injury. This works very well for me and keeps me going in the mountains.

 

[LongWayAround]

The most overlooked piece of gym equipment is the trap bar. Setup like a squat and strength of a deadlift while being much easier on the knees.

I've most often considered my bodyweight to be a minimum for working sets and it typically is too light. Start at two 45lb plates. Add two. Add two more. I feel like 225lb is appropriate for medium to high reps weighing about 185lb.

 

[amassi]

Squat endurance programs are fun.
I like to do a 20 rep backsquat cycle with accessory single leg work.
Leg endurance much more important than a heavy single.
Run repeats mixed with front, overhead or backsquats
Did this wednesday
5 rounds
30 calorie assault bike
15 backsquats 135#


Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[*zap*]

 

[mtwarden]

^ some good tips in the video

definitely get your form down with light weights before progressing upward

I use the Wendler program to increase strength in my squats (bench/deadlifts/overhead press as well)- it's built on starting light, good form and slow progression; it also builds in a recovery (light) week (week 4) each go round.

I've been adding a 5th week, this is a high volume week for me- I use 70% of my 1 rep max and do sets of 10/9/8/7/...../1- it really

I think it's important to vary both the weight and reps, but at the same time if you want to increase strength you're going to have to do some lower rep stuff (5 reps and lower)

 

[amassi]

^ some good tips in the video

definitely get your form down with light weights before progressing upward

I use the Wendler program to increase strength in my squats (bench/deadlifts/overhead press as well)- it's built on starting light, good form and slow progression; it also builds in a recovery (light) week (week 4) each go round.

I've been adding a 5th week, this is a high volume week for me- I use 70% of my 1 rep max and do sets of 10/9/8/7/...../1- it really

I think it's important to vary both the weight and reps, but at the same time if you want to increase strength you're going to have to do some lower rep stuff (5 reps and lower)

The nice thing with 531 is there is about 6-7 variations to use to keep from getting bored.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[mtwarden]

The nice thing with 531 is there is about 6-7 variations to use to keep from getting bored.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

yup

it's a little bit of a misnomer w/ 5/3/1 as that's only one week (typically week 3), people think you do that every week; the first week is 5/5/5+, 2nd 3/3/3+ and then 5/3/1+ on the 3rd week- I've been adding a set of 10 (@70% 1RM) on weeks 2&3 at the end

lots and lots of variations, but it always stresses form over weight, slow progression and recovery- if it works for a old guy, would certainly work for a young guy

 

[bwhntMT]

Squat endurance programs are fun.
I like to do a 20 rep backsquat cycle with accessory single leg work.
Leg endurance much more important than a heavy single.
Run repeats mixed with front, overhead or backsquats
Did this wednesday
5 rounds
30 calorie assault bike
15 backsquats 135#


Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

I have found good success with the 20 rep endurance lifts as well. I am not looking to go up in my max squat, I just want to climb mountains and pack out what I hunt. I do 200 or 220 as a 20 rep set a few times each week as an accessory to my workout and it works for me. Also do the 20 rep thing on the leg press and leg extension.

 

[Okhotnik]

There is no magic weight number.
What matters are the following:

Form
Effective range of motion
Volume
Intensity


In order to get stronger, you increase the stress over time. Your body adapts to stress and then requires more stress to further drive adaption. There is a lot of data to support heavy work sets of 5 as being the ideal rep scheme for increasing absolute strength as it contains just the right blend of volume and intensity - a lot of stress and a little bit of hypertrophy.

Yep. 5 sets of 5 reps. Great foundation to develop overall strength

 

[LostArra]

Buy these two books:

Amazon.com

The Barbell Prescription by Jonathan Sullivan

 

[Fatcamp]

All things being equal 315#>135#.

So long as form, flexibility, and warm-up are adequate stronger is always better. That's a huge ask for most people.

 

[Coach Chris]

I can't recommend these books enough

The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40: Jonathon M Sullivan, Andy Baker, Nassim Nicholas Taleb: 9780982522776: Amazon.com: Books

The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40 [Jonathon M Sullivan, Andy Baker, Nassim Nicholas Taleb] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40</b> directly addresses the most pervasive problem faced by...

www.amazon.com

ALL GAIN, NO PAIN: The Over-40 Man's Comeback Guide to Rebuild Your Body After Pain, Injury, or Physical Therapy - Kindle edition by Bill Hartman, Zac Cupples. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

ALL GAIN, NO PAIN: The Over-40 Man's Comeback Guide to Rebuild Your Body After Pain, Injury, or Physical Therapy - Kindle edition by Bill Hartman, Zac Cupples. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting...

www.amazon.com

 

[zerodarkthirty]

I agree with 5 sets 5 reps. but no issues mixing it up sometimes. be careful with form. i used to compete and got up to a 500lb squat a few years ago, but tweaked by back and now im super careful even when warming up with the bar

 

[Teaman1]

I thought the high rep stuff would help me for elk hunting, but I find myself not really progressing like I do with lower rep ranges. As long as you are getting stronger, shouldn’t you be better with the lighter stuff than you were before you started lifting?

 

[mtwarden]

you'll get stronger with lower reps/higher reps; but to "get good" w/ higher rep/lower weight- you need to do some higher rep/lower weight stuff

as in most things, balance is what you should be striving for

get stronger w/ lower rep/higher weight, but also sprinkle in some high rep stuff; if done correctly both should be equally challenging and both should help