For most people, they fail right where you are explainimg where you fail. To correct this you need to be able to speed through that point. For most, the bench starts to slow down about at the where you would start the floor press. Try it without any weight and id guess you would be at least near where you fail.

So the floor press, you start at your sticking point. The correct way is to ease into position (you don't want to slay your elbow down - think bounce - because you can dislocate you elbow). Pause a second to lose the stretch reflex. You still have to stay tight. You then work on exploding up. All about speed...

To address your range of motion concern, note that this is all about building a bigger bench. It is an auxilliary lift, not primary. Is it best for overall strength and muscle building... absolutely not. Can it help you with a bigger bench... yes. Make sense?

So this is a similar idea to the box squat?

Yes, but the box squat also teaches correct depth and form. The floor press - you won't get down to your chest. Our group followed the Westside thinking. We trained 100% box squat until is was time to start getting ready for a meet. Then we dropped the box.

Yes, that makes perfect sense.

Is this a similar idea to doing a pin press? But I'm guessing with a floor press, you're removing your legs from the equation and it's all upper body?

If I'm doing Madcow 5x5, is it too much volume to add this in as an accessory lift at the end?

That's interesting and makes me more confident in what I've been doing. I recently switched to only doing box squats in my program. I wanted to reduce the weight I was loading up and switch from low bar to high bar due to a grip/arm strain issue I've been dealing with for almost a year.

I am not moving a ton of weight now and wasn't at the time, but I made the switch to box squats when I noticed aches and pains in multiple places. Decided I really needed to focus on my form and backed off the weight and switched to box squats.

I probably did that for a couple of months. Once I switched back, my form and depth was much better and I haven't looked back.

Yes it is similar to pin presses. In my opinion the dumbell floor press is superior in that your dominant arm cannot compensate for the other. Plus, you end up using more stabilizer muscles which makes you stronger. Once again, does it really matter if you aren't competing. If you enjoy pin presses more, do them.

I know I sound like a broken record, but there is 0 point in using a straight bar for squatting, unless you are squatting in competition. Cambered bars, dulfalo bars, safety squat bars... all put your arms and shoulders at a better spot.

I bought my safety squat bar when I tore my left bicep and had surger (2012). I was able to continue to 1 arm squat. I bought my cambered bar when I was fortunate enought to lift with Donnie Thompson for a week at the Compound. They used it. I used it. I fell in love with it. I bought one before I left South Carolina.

I understand what you mean and likely a lot of truth.

I think even though most of us aren't actually competing at meets, we still competing with ourselves at those three main lifts. I do believe we all need to listen to our bodies and strive for ideal form and back off when needed. I switched from flat bench to decline 6 months ago because of how my shoulders were not liking flat bench. Been a great decision so far even though it obviously is not a "big 3" lift.

To Hoose's point...my gym had a SS bar collecting dust. BC of this thread, I went and picked it out.

Holy hell. This is my fav piece of equipment of all time now. Wow wow this makes squatting "fun". Really, as much fun as heavy squatting can be. Cheers for the suggestion!

Am I right to assume that the cambered bar works the same muscles as the straight bar squat, whereas the SS bar is more quad focused because of where the load is placed?

Good to hear. I've never tried a safety squat bar but plan to buy one. I've been dragging my feet on buying for a couple months now. Been hoping to find a FB marketplace steal but nothing so far. I'm gonna keep looking and doing box squats in the meantime.

They are the same. Bar and foot position determines where the load is distributed. I see a lot of people push up on the SS bar when the come up. That changes where the load goes.

I also have liked the SS bar the times I have used it. It was my go to when I was kind of resetting from a knee injury.

Only thing I do not like is how awkward it can be to carry and move in and out of the rack. I feel like I always put the handles facing the wrong direction too.

You guys know any good iOS apps that showcase various exercises with available equipment?

I don't know of an app, but IMO, exrx has the best directory of exercises encompassing various equipment options.

https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory

Hoosegow said:

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I don't know of an app, but IMO, exrx has the best directory of exercises encompassing various equipment options.

https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory

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Great site, thanks for the recommendation

How long is everyone resting between sets?

PascalsWager said:

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How long is everyone resting between sets?

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Depends on your goals and exercise type. There is some pretty good information out there in how your strength increases at rest intervals from 2-5 minutes on heavy compound lifts. I agree based on my own experience.

Bench (strength/weight):

90 seconds sets 1-2
2 minutes 2-3
3 minutes for working sets

Squats (strength/weight)

2-2.5 minutes until working sets
4-5 minutes on working sets

Any other heavy compound exercise I stay close to 2-3 minutes of rest.

Isolation exercises I try and keep around 90 seconds to 2 minutes.

Warm ups, rest as long as it takes me to load the weights. For my first 3 working sets, usually about a minute and a half to 2 minutes. For my last two heavy sets, usually around 3 minutes. Deadlifts, add a minute or two extra.

My favorite thing about the main power lifts are the tons of rest time in between sets.

I probably rest way too long though. I really need to crack down on that because my workouts are too long.

For compound lifts, anywhere from 4-6 minutes

Isolation stuff- it depends on what rep range I'm using. Lower rep range, I'll rest longer.

I have slowly started to play with rest-pause sets, and even myorep sets. Recovery is much longer between those, but the stimulus is amazing

To bring things to diet, I'm going to try something and be a guinea pig. The most successful strength to bf% I've ever had is doing IF (16/8) and I would break my fast post the noon workout. But, I can't lift at noon or after work (noon bc of work, and afternoon bc I'm itching to get home and spend time with my family), so I lift at 5 AM. The problem is it's hard to do IF where I eat after fkr 8 hours bc it means I don't eat with my family in the evening. So, for a few weeks I'm going to try eating nothing post workout and have my feeding window from 3-9 PM. I'll have a 50 g whey shake at 3 and then a snack when I get home and then dinner. I know it'll prevent me from getting super strong, but I'm having a hard time with bf% and want to try something new.

So my current maxes are:
395 squat
300 bench
470 dL (calculated)

TBH, if I could even just keep those numbers and get from my current 27% bf to sub 20%, I'll be very happy.

I'm also getting a blackstone grill delivered today, so cooking up meat is about to get easier and more fun!

I'll keep yall posted.

Good stuff!

I think one of the biggest issues for me has been trying to find the middle ground between "do everything perfect and ideal" and "hey dummy you have a family".

I'd love to lift 6 days a week but I know that isn't possible. So I have to find a way to make it work in 3 or 4.

Hope you get the results you're looking for!

So here's the thing with schedules and how I treat them

Eliminate your thinking of "weeks"

You find your routine and just do it. Don't fret if you build in one rest day and something comes up and you miss, just keep that consistency.

I used to train bjj 5 times a week before my first girl was born. After she was born I'd still train after work but realized quickly that I'd rather go home to my family straight after work than spend an other 2 hours away. Now all my training, both lifting and bjj is in the AM when they are asleep anyway.

I hear you buddy.

For sure. I think it's why I have enjoyed Stronglifts and Madcow. They're simple and effective.

Even if I get off for a couple of days, I just keep on the program and after a week or two I'm back on schedule for whatever three days I try to plan for.

So I've noticed a funny thing and don't quit understand the mechanism behind it. The last few days I'll lift early AM, not having eaten since 10 pm, and don't consume any calories until 4 pm (so 10 hours after I'm done lifting). I'll have no soreness or anything in my muscles until about 45 minutes after my first meal. I'll then feel some soreness in the muscles I lifted that AM. What do you think is happening here?

I know it's a lot more in depth/complex than this, but basically it's the first nutrients your body is getting to replenish and rebuild what was broken down/depleted in the workouts.

2girlsdad said:

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So I've noticed a funny thing and don't quit understand the mechanism behind it. The last few days I'll lift early AM, not having eaten since 10 pm, and don't consume any calories until 4 pm (so 10 hours after I'm done lifting). I'll have no soreness or anything in my muscles until about 45 minutes after my first meal. I'll then feel some soreness in the muscles I lifted that AM. What do you think is happening here?

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I guess the first question is, did you feel similar soreness after a meal when you ate right after a workout?

There could be a number of things going on here. First, soreness for me usually hits me 24 hours after training. While I do feel the immediate soreness right after a lift, it subsides within a few hours. SO if it were a morning session, I may not feel the DOMS until around noon or later the next day. But why we get sore is a complex issue that we still do not fully understand and a lot of what we "know" is theory. For instance, some soreness is connected to growth as part of that soreness is likely caused by metabolites that aide in musce growth and recovery. But not all of what causes soreness contributes to growth. And too much soreness can lead to fatigue issues, as the body needs to switch from repair that grows the muscle to just repair muscle tissue that's been severely damaged to a point that resources just aren't there for growth on top of that. Or the growth that does happen is proportionately smaller compared to the level of soreness. This again is theory but studies seems to implicate this. So it's ok to be a little sore. Even encouraged but by no mean imperative. But it is wise not to overreach so far that you are sore for a week and cannot continue training until recovered. When I was young and dumb, I chased soreness. Now I chase quality lifts and if I am sore, great! If not, do I see progression? Then even better.

My advice to you though, feed yourself after your lift. I am not sure why you wouldn't eat after a training session. Are you following someone or something suggesting you do this? B/c waiting hours after tearing your muscles down that much isn't optimal to muscle growth. Even if fasting. I'd eat after a session (even consider an inter-training meal like whey, high glycemic sugars and salt. Sipping on it if in a fasted state while lifting. Or just eat a banana and have a whey shake after training. When I fasted to help me lean out, I actually only fasted on non lifting days. I was already limiting muscle growth with my calorie deficit, so eating after training was important.

I have some questions for some of the experienced squatters, who may have also trained others before. I will preface this by saying I'm 46 and first started lifting when I was 13. I was a competitive powerlifter years ago, toping out around 580 squat and continued lifting heavy for years after (not so much heavy these days, but still squat regularly). My point is, I know good form, and I know what to look for, but I'm apparently terrible at explaining what to do or training others

My son has recently started going to the gym with me, at his request. He's 13 (14 in September), and around 5'10" - 5'11", although still on the thinner side. He wants to get into powerlifting in high school. Started with a basic 3 day split (Bench / Chest / Back; Squat / legs; Overhead Press / Shoulders / Bi's / Tri's). No deadlifts initially, I just want him to get use to doing basic stuff, build up some strength, and eventually move into more of a starting strength program for a bit (maybe after a few months, or 6 months, we'll see how things go).

Initially, squats have been a challenge. Just getting setup under the bar correctly has been difficult for him. He's mentioned discomfort in his left shoulder, but I think it's because he's concerned about the bar sliding down and he's pushing up against it. So he's still struggling to get set right to be able to comfortably stand up and squat down. I've thought about just ignoring barbell squats for now (maybe goblet?) and add in some leg presses to help with leg strength. Any thoughts on a good progression leading up to barbell squats or how to proceed? Or even better, suggestions or tips on how to better explain getting setup correctly, from hand and bar placement to back alignment to arching your back to pushing your knees out, etc? He wants to learn how to do them, but it's just been a bit of a struggle initially.

And just to be clear, this is all him wanting to do this. And I am by no means trying to rush him along, as I have told him numerous times, he needs to learn how to do the lifts correctly first and foremost. I guess I'm just discovering I may not be the best coach

I would imagine there's YouTube videos that could explain it in a much better way than anyone on here would be able to type out. I've watched some with Rippetoe explaining/demonstrating squat and deadlift form probably a dozen times.

Maybe try front squats to focus on the mechanics of the lift, and then introduce back squats once you're comfortable with his form on the lift? Then you're solely focusing on that one issue and not trying to teach him 5 things at once.

Yeah, I know. There's endless video's and articles, and I've found some really good stuff by Riptoe and others. Just hasn't clicked for him in the gym yet I guess. I was just mainly wondering if anyone had experience training someone from scratch and if they had any tips. Appreciate it though.

Yeah, kind of where I was going by something with Goblet squats or another variation. There's still form that translates to a back squat but without having to worry about the bar initially. Appreciate the response.