true that on the knee wraps.. i think at some point when i eventually start to approach 405s.. i would consider the use of a belt and knee wraps.. u have to take care of ur body well with form like that.. hence individual research is so important.. u can't expect to come to a forum and emerge full of knowledge.. it is a lifelong learning process..  and there are some things, especially details that only u can understand and remember after doing ur own reading.. not by just reading and hearing on other ppls testimonial that this exercise A is good and exercise B is not good, there are always 2 sides of the coin..

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Added on July 17, 2007, 3:05 pmlet have a discussion here eldan.. from a BB POV, do u do half squats free weight? and if u do, do u go max weight?

cuz IMO, if u're going max weight on half squats or at least parellel, i think u'd end up screwing ur knees EVEN MORE!!

but i think there are a tonne of other ways to train ur legs other then squat.. and something tells me u don't half squat..

there should be a sign in the Gym that says Please check in ur EGO and..or No EGO pass this point...there is a reason why i never post up how heavy i carry..cause weights its not important..BB is about symmetry and shape and size...not how strong u are..u wanna compare how strong u are..go join iron man or worlds strongest man contest or something...but like i said..everyone have different training styles...1 way doesnt suit everyone..

dude.. read our previous posts.. we are discussing about weight used and joints that we are afraid of injuring in the long run.. and when did i ever say that not squatting ATG is not hardcore? and i do not condone above parellel.. anything below parellel is absolutely fine.. u quoted my post saying that i DO THINK that there are plenty other ways to train ur legs-_-.. plus, my emphasis was on strength gain on the squat.. we were not talking about leg development..

yala.. u and your sarcasm..

i think u are having too much fun flaming ppl here.. stick to only one pls..

i think its impossible to keep on adding weights..at the begining u can do it..but not later on...alot of things comes into play when ur lifting heavy...joints, muscle tear, safety, bones....and also form...no point saying u can bench so and so when ur not doing it properly or at least doing it right...

hope this conversation is read and learn by the people here i guess its not our loss...

woo!!
i'mma be like this!

yeah.. that's what i thought too when i first started the SF 5x5.. i was like.. "whoa.. damn complicated.." but right now after a year and half on the SF, i've learned more about my body, recovery rates, and i feel i finally milked all my newbie gains after 2years of lifting..

so when i went back to read up on the DF, it wasn't so hard to understand actually.. in fact.. it's pretty easy to follow.. as it has 3 parts.. namely, loading phase, deload and intensity phase.. i didn't understand the difference in rep ranges and frequency of workouts initially.. but after training for an amount of time and taking breaks in between, i understood why..

so continue to eat and lift and u will get a pretty good idea how ur body works and how these programmes work too..

Ya know, i read an article about a bodybuilder who went for a cut, but didn't know that cutting will make u lose strength, he didn't. He kept getting stronger and more ripped.

I believe in exactly that, you can get the both of both worlds. It's your body, you control how it works, its your mind.
I've never felt that I MUST have that amount of calories in a day just to make sure I can handle the training. I just needed to eat prior to that, to be able to train well.

I dono,maybe that's just me.

MMMMMmm......okay~
I'm aiming for that in December. I'll try anyway.

yeah. u know the big short guy, who is fukking strong? the guy with the spec. he can DB bench at 135 IIRC. he was beside me looking at me doing DL swt. others uhm yeah. there was 2 guy on the incline bench and flat bench sitting resting and look at me, i saw them in the mirror. weird huh. no ppl DLs there

My timing clashes, wei.. Besides, the weights you guys lift freaks me out..

@darklight79.. the DF 5x5 will commence come this september.. in the mean time i have to find the true max of my big 3.. mainly my bench.. cuz was doing alot of negative works for my shoulders and incline DB bench.. any thoughts on this? have u done periodization on this b4? or have u done something similiar?

@pizza.. dude.. just a quick question.. when was the last time u deloaded? u're in PR territory now right? for how long? and how long have u been on volume(if u are) i'm getting the feeling from ur description that u are starting to overreach.. so start to plan and take advantage of it.. if this is what's happening that is..

hope dark can comment and contribute to this..

lol.. i AM fukking with the programme.. albeit i know what i'm doing.. but u can't really switch the big 3.. which is y i set the DF so far in september.. cuz at the rate i'm going, don't know how long i can last on 5lbs a week.. squats are really getting hard at 275.. i need a spotter behind me just to feel safe, even then my body shakes like a tremor on my way up.. i really do not wish to start using a belt till i hit at least 3 plates.. on deads i'm already starting to use the belt on and off for my top set with straps..

i'd like to progress further all natural and hopefully without much help from equipments..

i'm definitely not an advanced lifter.. but according to the progression rate of the DF, i could slap on 25lbs of PR by 9-10 weeks.. which is almost equivalant to the SF.. but i feel that i don't get enough work done(i've been on the SF principle for around a year and half).. maybe i need more volume.. which is why i am considering the DF..

what would be ur criteria if u really wanted to step into the DF?

i totally understand what u're trying to say.. haha!

i think i was unclear of my goals from the beginning.. i want to concentrate on the BIG 3 and get stronger on it.. i really want to bring up my numbers on these.. and i did consider about using the DF or not based on the progression rate.. perhaps i'll look into something else.. westside i feel is still far away from me as i'm not lifting anything above 400s..

any recommendations?

as of now this is what i do when i get in the gym..

day 1
squats 5x5-ramped till top set(PR day)
incline DB-negative works 4x8............... i've started to work on my bench again this week.. 5x5-ramped
rows 5x5-ramped
cable lat pulldowns
decline weighted situps with 25,35lbs plate

day 2
light squats/overhead squats/front squats/leg presses.. depends on how i feel..
military 5x5-ramped
deads 5x5-ramped(PR day)
cable lat pulldowns(depends on feel)
decline weighted situps with 25,35lbs plate

day 3
GHR/hammy work i.e. RDL/speed squats or check form(lighter weight)
incline DB-negative works 4x8............... or some pushing variant
power cleans
hypers
curls
lying tri extensions
decline weighted situps with 25,35lbs plate (if i feel like it)

what do u think?

oh.. the negatives.. something i tried out to strengthen the negative part of the bench.. like take 4-5 seconds to lower the DB and shoot up/get spotter to lift it up.. and repeat.. basically to get used to the descending part of the lift.. and get stronger on that part to handle more weight..

i read a explanation about this before. our strength is limited by our mind (CNS) which control how many % of muscle fiber recruitment. it is due to inhibition signal by our brain to prevent injury. if we can lift a weight, our brain will reduce the inhibition signal.
so by training, we can improve CNS efficiency.

in ur example, although the guy was cutting, he still has the muscle memory for the weight.
based on this, i find that power movement is effective to 'cheat' the brain for heavier weight to increase the inhibition signal threshold

u got that right.. mind over matter!

i was agreeing to pizza's post which T+1 quoted.. stop jumping on me..

*proceeds to front squat Darklight79*

   

yeah yeah u win u win..