December 02, 2024
Gratitude Edition
On Starting Strength
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Globo Gyms vs. Training Gyms –
Rip discusses the gym business, covering differences between commercial, sales-oriented Globo Gyms and productive, training-oriented gyms in terms of culture, equipment, and objectives. -
Starting Strength Seminars: Only for Coaches? by Mark Rippetoe –
I’m concerned that some of you might be under the impression that the Starting Strength Seminar is only for people who want to coach this method. Nothing could be further from the truth… -
The Role of the Feet in the Bench Press –
Rip explains the importance of the correct use of the feet to set and hold the position of the chest for a strong bench press. -
Olympic Lifting and Your Linear Progression by Phil Meggers –
You’re working through your linear progression, and you’re making steady progress on the squat, press, bench, and deadlift, but you’ve also developed an itch to do some weightlifting… -
Power Bellies by Carl Raghavan –
My mind’s telling me no, but my body is telling me yeah! You want it, you know you do, but you’re too scared to admit it. A glorious power belly… - Weekend Archives:
The Reset: Why and How by Rori Alter –
If you’re reading this article you’ve likely already embarked on a strength training journey. If you aren’t using barbells, you should be because progressively training the basic barbell exercises… - Weekend Archives:
Strength Training: What It Is – And What It Is Not by Mark Rippetoe –
I recently became interested in whether StartingStrength.com is the biggest strength training website on the internet, so I Googled “strength training websites”…
In the Trenches
Senthil digs deep to set a deadlift PR single of 315 lb at Starting Strength Boston. [photo courtesy of Stephen Babbitt]
Stephen, 69, pulls 330 pounds for a lifetime PR. Stephen drives an hour and 45 minutes every Saturday from Lexington, KY to train with the team at Starting Strength Cincinnati. [photo courtesy of Luke Schroeder]
Forget matching Christmas pajamas, folks – step up your game this year with matching lifting outfits. Dad Rich squats his work sets early on Monday morning and then does some spotting as son Jeremiah gets to benching. These two will be competing on different 4-person teams at this year’s Testify Barbell Blizzard event on December 14, and on top of that, they’ll be competing against Jeremiah’s daughter, Addi, as well! [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]
Get Involved
Best of the Week
Input on progressing Front Squat & Squat one time per week frequency
JamesFazz
I have just completed a training block and was hoping to discuss the design of my next training block with the learned lifters here.
Stats:
Bodyweight:82kg (180 pounds)
Squat 1RM: 160kg (350 pounds)
Front Squat 1RM: 136kg (300 pounds)
Last training block I trained 4×6 Back Squats on Saturday with some single leg hypertrophy work after. I added 2.5kg each week for eight weeks (having re-implemented back squats after a long layoff), ending up at 4 sets of six at 120kg (265 pounds). On Tuesday I completed Front Squats with traditional periodization, so starting at higher reps and working down to low reps over eight weeks, finishing up with some heavy singles plus 3 sets of 2 reps at 120kg (265 pounds).
For testing, I completed 128kg, 134kg and failed 140kg. I probably should have attempted 138kg but I digress. My goal for the next training block is to hit the 140kg Front Squat PR.
I previously completed two successful training blocks where I instead Front Squat on both Saturday and Tuesday but have now re-added Back Squats and I think that while this may have hurt me in the short-term last block, it should help in the long run as it will allow me to move heavier loads.
I have two observations regarding why last block perhaps did not go so well – insufficient exposure to very heavy singles in the Front Squat, which is a more technical lift and so benefits from repeated exposure and I probably needed to push up my Back Squat numbers higher before attempting a Front Squat 1RM again.
With all this in mind, I would propose starting with the following:
Session 1 – Back Squats: 5 x 5. Aim to add load every week and get to 125-130kg.
Session 2 – Front Squats: 1 heavy single (practice) then 5 x 3. Aim to add load every week. Threes work better than fives in my experience with Front Squats.
I would look to run this for about six to eight weeks then start to taper at which time I would switch the Front Squats to 5-8 heavy singles for practice while retaining the Back Squat volume.
I’ll pre-empt people asking about training only two days – due to life circumstances, I’m stuck with only two hard sessions a week for the foreseeable future unfortunately.
INPUT
– would you suggest any modifications to the proposed training protocol?
– would you suggest adding any supplementary or hypertrophy movements?
Thanks in advance, I appreciate any and all input and love the opportunity to learn. Please feel welcome to ask any questions and I will of course answer.
Mark Rippetoe
Are you an Olympic lifter?
JamesFazz
Strictly speaking I’m just a recreational lifter, I don’t compete in weightlifting or powerlifting. I do clean & jerk on occasion and my background was wrestling, hence the front squat specialisation.
Maybach
The front squat has kind of a high skill floor, but it doesn’t have a particularly high skill ceiling. Your front squat is currently 85% of your back squat. You are probably not going to get much better than this. Focusing on your back squat will not hurt your front squat in any way that isn’t recoverable in a few weeks at the most. Get your squat to 405x5x3 and a 300 pound front squat becomes *light weight*. Seriously! This is how it works every time! I am telling you this from the other side.
Mark Rippetoe
The Front Squat has very little application in general strength training, although it is necessary to train for Olympic lifters. And the squat directly carries over to the front squat, while the converse is not true. Without fucking up your knees.
Best of the Forum
Leg drive on the bench press
Hoppa
any of yous know how to do it? everytime i push with my heels i slide backwards.
Corrie
Try to push more into the bench. Don’t push with your neck down but try to use the force to kind of push down instead of straight back. Are you arching? That should help too.
Also maybe change your shirt or find a bench that isn’t so slippery, could be something stupid like that.
hamburgerfan
I try to push my feet forward into the ground like a leg extension. If I push too much from my heels, my hamstring starts to cramp up.
Melody
Make sure your shirt is cotton, chalk your bench, and learn to arch. For me as my bench gets heavier my leg drive gets better out of necessity.
MikeC1
Yes, the weight of the bar pushes your upper back into the bench. Adding the ‘leg drive’ just helps to further wedge your upper back into the bench. More weight on the bar means your upper back gets planted more solidly.
The arch is important. There shouldn’t be any contact with the bench between where your butt and upper back are in contact.
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