All,
I have now been training consistently for right around 8 months, and most of my goals have progressed rather well. Since January, I have ran the Bridge 1.0 twice and am midway through Strength 1, and have added about 230 pounds to my total (930—>1160). During the last 5 months, I have also lost around 30 pounds of BW (reduction in waist of 38.5 → 33.75). However, during this entire cycle, my squat has not had a net increase. Here is the breakdown of my lifts:
Bridge Round 1:
Squat: 330 to 365 (+35)
Bench: 220 to 265 (+45)
Deadlift: 390 to 465 (+75)
Bridge Round 2:
Squat: 365 to 380 (+15)
Bench: 265 to 280 (+15)
Deadlift: 465 to 495 (+30)
Strength 1 (through week 6):
Squat: 380 to 330 (-50)
Bench: 280 to 275 (-5)
Deadlift: 495 to 495 (0)
I realize that my bench and deadlift will more than likely have a net increase as the stress tapers off during the peak phase, however, my squat has been decreasing seemingly every week since ending the second round of the bridge. I was attempting to just ride it out because it seems like my e1rms always go down for a while when I start a new program, but my squat is not showing any signs that it will start trending up again. If it helps any, my biggest form issue is that my knee angle tends to open too soon out of the hole while my hip angle closes, causing me to deadlift the thing to lockout lol. I am doing the programs as written, but it is tough seeing what looks like 8 months of wasted progress on my squat. Any advice helps!
Cheers!
CB,
This might require some 1 on 1 type coaching to suss out, but some thoughts/questions:
- What numbers are you comparing here? 1RM, e1RM? Rep maxes?
- What were your numbers the last 3 weeks on Strength 1 compared to your first 3 weeks on Bridge round 2?
-Jordan
Jordan,
- These are comparisons of e1rms.
- For the Bridge round 2, weeks 1-3 were 365, 351, and 358 (respectively). For Strength I, my last three were 351, 335, 335 (351 being three weeks ago).
I lowered my weights a bit (10 pounds) at the beginning of strength 1 because the sets of five were proving too heavy for keeping my back angle managed. However, everything has been trending down with no better back angle and the weights steadily feeling heavier and heavier. I have tried being very honest with my RPE, but not so conservative that I have not tried for progress each week.
Hope this provides some clarity…
No, I mean what were the actual weights being used during those weeks, not the e1RMs.
There should be singles and volume work here and I’m not sure that I’d lower the weight just to maintain a specific back angle if that doesn’t jibe with your squat technique. If changing techniques however, I think it’s reasonable to lower the weight transiently.
-Jordan
Ahhh I see…
Bridge:
Week 1: 265x5@6, 275x5@7, 285x5@8
Week 2: 270x5@6, 280x5@7, 290x5@8, 280x5@8, 275x5@8
Week 3: 260x5@6, 275x5@7, 285x5@8, 285x5@8, 285x5@8
Strength 1 (again, from past to present):
Three Weeks ago: 335x1@9, 295x5@9, 275x5x2@8, 275x5x1@8.5
Two weeks ago: 335x1@10, 285x5@9, 270x5@9, 265x5@8.5, 265x5@9
Last week: 320x1@9, 285x5@9, 265x5x3@8
By changing technique, do you mean exchanging low bar for high bar? Is this a viable option for individuals whose primary issue in squatting is not being able to keep the back angle from closing?
CB,
Yea, this looks like you’re doing okay given the current programming. No real alarm bells, but I would recommend trying to make your singles @ 8 rather than overshooting them. You can still add weight to your top sets of 5 @ 9, but the singles are more there for practice at this point.
As far as changing technique, you mentioned you were trying to adjust your back angle and so this may be altering your performance for a short period of time. I am not sure you need to be adjusting your technique at all, but high bar doesn’t necessarily fix becoming too horizontal during low bar from my experience.