I’m at Week 6, i.e., the start of the 2nd block in Hypertrophy I. I did low bar back squats w/ the belt for the first block, and I was wondering: would it be okay for me to run low bar back squats w/ the belt again for the second block? I ask because the other options are either unenjoyable or not possible due to equipment unavailability. Thanks.
It’s fine if you want to, though I’d favor more exercise variety if I were calling the shots. You sure high bar or SSB isn’t viable for you?
High bar is very unenjoyable for me, and my gym doesn’t have an SSB bar, however, front squats might be viable. A question about the front squat’s depth though: is the depth the same as the low-bar back squat, i.e., hip crease at parallel or just below the top of the patella, or does the front squat need to be deeper than that?
Also, for the incline dumbbell flyes, what degree should that incline be? It doesn’t indicate whether low- or hi-incline, and it’s a new movement for me. Thanks!
The depth on both is about the same, e.g. below parallel, with preferences and individual efficiency dictating “optimal depth” in my opinion.
May I ask, why don’t you like high bar and how often have you trained it? I typically prefer that for most over front squats, but people can ultimately do what they want to do.
The incline angle is a subject of debate as far as how much it really matters. I’m of the opinion it doesn’t matter much, save for specific applications to BP or OHP. I’d favor ~30 degrees here
I don’t enjoy the barbell placement in the high bar squat. That’s about the only reason. Thanks for the depth guidance on the front squat! It was pretty much impossible not to lean forward coming out of the hole when I went ATG, but now that I know parallel is fine for front squats, I know I’ll be able to maintain that perfectly upright torso.
Last couple of questions:
- Since all of the movements I’m doing for the 2nd block are completely new to me, I’m having to find where weights should be relative to programmed RPE, and of course there are sets that I do that I think would be RPE 7/8/9, etc., but end up shooting over or under. Is it okay for me to repeat Week 1 to dial in the weights after burning this week trying to find the numbers, or would you prefer I just move on to Week 2?
- What angle do you want us to be doing the high incline bench at? 45 degrees? 60 degrees?
How long have you tried HBBS to get used to it? Not to press on this too much, but I think it’s a reasonable ask for someone interesting in strength training to be able to do both.
I don’t think you need to repeat week 1 to get better at predicting your weights in the future. Instead, the purpose of week 1 was to get you in the right ballpark. Now that you know where you are (roughly), you can use your warm up sets to fine tune the weight selecting for the day.
I don’t think there is a best angle per se, but ~ 60 degrees is what I would be using.
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