New personal bests tonight on the one-hand and two-hand deadlift on the Plateau Buster handle: 310# with the right hand (failed at 300# with the left); and 520# two-handed, first attempt after successful 500# lift.
I did 5 sets x10 of 300# swings to warm up.
Have you any thoughts on the 5×5 that seems to be the dominant theme in workouts these days? They all seem to emphasize squats which I don’t like which probably means I should be doing them all the time.
I have done more traditional stuff and found myself not getting all that far.
Apparently I need to get a squat cage, though my gym has one (though the monthly price is now $62 and there is no cheaper option). That’s a lot of money to be pissing away.
I have the outline for such a program, cranky, but I’m not that terribly regimented these days — particularly with the new baby so near. I do what I can each day and take a day or two off (except for a few minor daily things, like sledge rotations and weighted walks, if the weather is nice). On days that I lift I generally do about 2-4 hours worth, with no really hurry in between exercises.
Squats will definitely create great strength gains, but like you, I don’t do them much, mostly because I don’t have a cage. I have a Zercher bar for modified squats, so maybe I’ll start using that more (right now I use it for finger lifts). I might also look into a little squat machine if I can find one used at a decent price on Craigslist.
I use my Bulgarian bag for squats and good mornings — but it’s more a tone and condition thing than a strength gain thing on with the bag. Still, the dead lifts and swings are excellent for strength gains, so I’m not sure I’m missing out on too much, except maybe thicker legs. My lower half doesn’t match my upper half in terms of muscle size — again, I think mostly because I work the tendons and such in my legs more than I do work on gaining mass.
I appreciate the entrepreneur, but I think that if “your” selling a product for $150, you should perhaps check the grammar in “you’re” product descriptions… :)
Well done on the lifts.
Thanks for the reply. I’m going to give the 5×5 with squats every workout a go and see how far I can get. I might snag a squat rack for home if I can keep up with it.