third coast.. said:
Those with 350+ squats, how long did it take you to get there? I get to about 260 1RM and then have to go to sea or whatnot where there is wither only a Smith machine or too much motion to do squats so I hqve to reset almost every 4 or so months. It kills me but I'm inching towards 300 1RM, and would LOVE to get there sooner than later.
I actually had horrible form right out of HS (most coaches aren't good at teaching proper form - just preach MORE weight) and ended up with pretty bad Patellar Tendinitis in both knees. It was not fun but it enabled me to completely reconstruct my squat form and start from scratch (no squats/legs for about a month).
What I learned during that rebuild period, which lasted probably a year, was that proper form was the most important part of squats. I'd argue that squat stance works varies from person to person but a wider stand and toes pointed slightly out really helped me get deep and drive the weight with my heels.
So back to you... I know your training may not be consistent due to work, but what else are you focusing for legs? Squats take a lot of strength in your core, glutes, hamstrings and back. There are a ton of supplemental exercises that help your squat (in my experience):
Elevated Split Squats - working up to weighted with Dumbbells or Kettlebells (really targets the "tear drop")
Hyper extensions - lower back strength
Single leg body weight box squats - incredible for building stabilizer muscles in legs and strengthen your knees
Goblet Squats - yeah a lot of chicks do them but they're good and almost impossible to screw up your form
Several other ones that aren't coming to mind right now...
What are your splits for squats right now? Are you warming up and then working to a comfortable set of 5x5, 3x8, 5-3-1? I often find that squats tend to feel worse with less weight but slowly start get better as a certain amount of weight requires more focus and attention to form and each rep. A lot of people don't feel comfortable and never break into the weight they can actually comfortably squat.
Additionally, heavy squats require a ton of energy. I burn a ton of calories on my squat days and it takes a lot of muscle to push 350lbs or more. Most people I know that struggle to get to a reasonable goal with squats have issues with form but are also in a caloric deficit. They're not refueling sufficiently and their muscles aren't able to repair/rebuild post workouts. The day off and day after squats are usually my highest intake days and sometimes double the calories as the other days.
If you have a smith machine, try to incorporate hack squats too. Smith machine squats tend to disengage a lot of the hamstrings so I would supplement them when that's your only option. You can also do smith machine RDLs but don't lockout at the top and keep tension on your hamstrings the entire rep.
Last thing I'll add is rest. 3-5 mins in between working sets is an absolute must for squats. I'll toy around every once in a while 60-90 second rest but it's about 65-70% and it absolutely kills me. I see a lot of people waiting 1-2 mins between sets on squats and it's never someone pushing a ton of weight. Take your time - don't get cold - between working sets.
TLDR:
Make sure you're supplementing your legs with other exercises
Make sure you're eating enough
Make sure you're resting enough between sets
I'm not any sort of expert but I've been doing this for about 17 years. I know a lot about how not to lift and also a lot about what works for ME.
Good luck!
(Typed on phone so excuse the typos)
