0 to 500?

[Straight30weight]

My advice will probably clash with everything you will hear and or read but I'll lay it out anyway for a good brother like yourself.

You don't have to learn to squat; you're born with it. Watch a young child get up and down; no one teaches them how to do it. That said, let's start there with listening to your body and some kinesiology.

Forget about putting weight on a bar or even a bar for that matter. Stand with your feet apart, now drop down. Move your feet in and out, toes in and out. Found that comfortable position that you see a child squatting down as the play with a toy. Once you have that at the bottom, stand up and keep your feet in the position you just had. Go up and down a few times and make some minor adjustments until it feels right. Now you have your stance.

Right about now some PLer has puked his protein mass gainer 3000 through his nose but stay with me. This is the most productive way for your body to move; do anything else and you're fighting your body's basic mechanical movements. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't deviate from this because once you add weight to your back, some things change slightly such as leverage and forces applied differently to indualvidual muscle groups. Other factors could change if and when you add equipment.

Lastly I keep in mind that for every action, there needs to be an equal and opposite reaction with the body to keep the weight somewhat centered. An example starts before you even start the movement. The weight is on the back of your body, therefore you need to lean forward to stabilize the weight. The hips break first (backward) and then the knees and ankles (forward). I Will be the first to admit, I get out over my toes and the weight goes onto the balls of my feet more than most PLers are use to seeing. This does work for me though, maynot for you.

Ultimately you need to find what works for you S30 and hold true to it. The weight will come in time.

Excellent info snake. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

 

[Straight30weight]

Fk the 0-500 at the moment and go, squat with pain to squating with minimal- no pain. Like Snake mentioned, you’re gunna have to play with angles that are comfortable ie foot positioning and bar placement.

Maybe you’d be better suited low bar as you use a lot more hips as opposed to knee. Maybe start off with just goblet squats to build some joint integrity. Learn proper box squat technique etc. Ultimately you’re gunna have to play around and see what’s most comfortable/least painful and slowly try to build that up like you said.

side note atg squats aren’t necessarily necessary either, so don’t chase depth. You’re a taller guy so if you can get to parallel that’s a win.

Definitely prefer low bar. I'm much more comfortable that way although it does hurt my wrists.

 

[SFGiants]

Utilize some knee wraps to assist your knees until you develop enough muscle strength to squat without them (likely with 50-75lbs less weight)

I would do the opposite, develop stabilizing strength 1st.

He needs to build stability 1st, he is only at 135lb.

Once he can walkout and smash 315 for 3 reps consistently then think about wraps.

Wraps can also cause him to buckle and cave in his knees without stability.

This stuff takes time with no shortcuts.

He will have to do a lot more accessory work just to get the stability. An example, Yes-No's with bands would help since he don't have access to a machine.

Box will help a lot especially starting at a high position, possibly real high.

 

[snake]

Excellent info snake. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

You're welcome, it's what I do. Brothers helping brothers.

 

[snake]

I would do the opposite, develop stabilizing strength 1st.

He needs to build stability 1st, he is only at 135lb.

Once he can walkout and smash 315 for 3 reps consistently then think about wraps.

Wraps can also cause him to buckle and cave in his knees without stability.

This stuff takes time with no shortcuts.

I was trying not to overwhelm the man with a lengthy post so I just made a quick reference to equipment.

Since SFG opened up the topic, I'll dive in. I'm on board with SFG saying to hold off for now on the knee wraps. He's absolutely right about how they can alter your form as I alluded to in my previous post. In general, if you're squatting below 50% of your max, no wraps regardless of the number of reps. Over 50%, start wrapping. Only exclusion to that rule is if you're competing raw classic.

Without going on about it, I'll give ya a good example of how the equipment can change the movement. I have more than once seen some big boy who was squatting over 500 put a Z-suit on, load up 500 and without ever training with the suit on, attempt a single. Hips fly up and they fold like a lawn chair. Maybe someone should have listen to the old man in the corner of the gym who whispered, "That's not a good idea"

 

[Straight30weight]

I dont think wraps are a good idea for me,at least not at this point. I own a pair from when I used to squat but my knee has a real problem with going full lock. And im afraid the wraps will make it at least want to. Sleeves probably will become a thing at some point but for the time being there won't be any real weight on my back. I plan to start this evening, ill work it in with my back workout since my knees get hammered during deadlifts anyway. They'll be all warmed up lol.

 

[BrotherIron]

I dont think wraps are a good idea for me,at least not at this point. I own a pair from when I used to squat but my knee has a real problem with going full lock. And im afraid the wraps will make it at least want to. Sleeves probably will become a thing at some point but for the time being there won't be any real weight on my back. I plan to start this evening, ill work it in with my back workout since my knees get hammered during deadlifts anyway. They'll be all warmed up lol.

You don't want to wrap your knees all the time. That can cause issues in and of itself. Sleeves... YES, wraps... NO.

Your knee locks up? That's a bucket tear of your meniscus. You're better off with a full than the partial you have now if your knee is in fact locking up.

 

[DieYoungStrong]

Stay away from wraps. You don't need them, and it's a false sense of security anyways.

Sleeves are ok.

 

[Straight30weight]

You don't want to wrap your knees all the time. That can cause issues in and of itself. Sleeves... YES, wraps... NO.

Your knee locks up? That's a bucket tear of your meniscus. You're better off with a full than the partial you have now if your knee is in fact locking up.

My knee does lock up. Not so much lately, but it does. I need a replacement at some point but they have been hesitant because of my age.

I'm not following what you mean by full/partial?

 

[JackDMegalomaniac]

My knee does lock up. Not so much lately, but it does. I need a replacement at some point but they have been hesitant because of my age.

I'm not following what you mean by full/partial?

I think the lock up is from inflammation and swelling. I used to get them and it'd feel like bone grinding. If I was walking Id nearly fall on my face.

Mine got better though after adding some muscle amd giving it time to tighten up

 

[Mind2muscle]

Here's a nice little vid on box squatting by Max Wenning. He knows his shit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACQizQOvLb8

Form on the squat and box squat is something I struggle with too. Thanks for posting this vid! Wish I had a SS bar.

 

[BrotherIron]

My knee does lock up. Not so much lately, but it does. I need a replacement at some point but they have been hesitant because of my age.

I'm not following what you mean by full/partial?

I am being a but presumptuous in my assumption but I'd wager it's a tear. A full tear rather than a partial tear is what I was talking when I said full/ partial. If it is in fact a bucket tear of the meniscus (a common tear that causes what you are talking about) then you would be better off having it rupture completely than stay partially torn if you're not going to have it fixed.

 

[Straight30weight]

I am being a but presumptuous in my assumption but I'd wager it's a tear. A full tear rather than a partial tear is what I was talking when I said full/ partial. If it is in fact a bucket tear of the meniscus (a common tear that causes what you are talking about) then you would be better off having it rupture completely than stay partially torn if you're not going to have it fixed.

I've had it repaired 3 times. First injury was in 09. Theres very little left to repair. I think my last surgery was 3 or 4 years ago. I need another but im over it. They never make it better.

 

[Straight30weight]

Little update. Took DYS advice and did 5x5. Warmed up with the bar (a lot) then went 65, 95, and finished at 135. All of them went just fine with minimal pain. Lots of popping and cracking but not a ton of pain. I took each rep slow and paid a lot of attention to how I was doing it. I'm now sure there's more in there than just the 135 but I'm easing into it. It felt pretty ok....

 

[BrotherIron]

Even with light weights, wearing a sleeve isn't a bad idea. You'll get a little compression and support to the joint without restricting your ROM.

 

[Mind2muscle]

Even with light weights, wearing a sleeve isn't a bad idea. You'll get a little compression and support to the joint without restricting your ROM.

Agreed. I’m no heavy squatter but the compression definitely helps support my chicken legs!