Finally broke the 400 lb. squat mark!

[VeganEssentials]

Actually, it was 405

My friend John called me today when he came into town, asking if I'd be up for squatting. Since it was time, I figured I'd meet him as he's usually a good inspiration, not to mention I've set all my best PRs in his presence as I'm always motivated to do my best. Well, my original plan for 5x2 @ 350 went down in flames as he kept telling me during warmups that I'm "stronger than that" and that 400 should be no problem for me. Not one to want to burst my own bubble, I said I'd go for at least 375 today and if I got there, I'd see what happened. So I did some progressive doubles up to 365, then as he said, "Why waste time and effort?" and loaded me to what I thought was 375. I stepped in, went down, and came up fairly easily, only to realize after racking the weight that John had actually put 385 on the bar! Now, I was almost content to stop at that, but why not give it my all? So, I said to load it to 400, and again, he says not to waste time and just throw another plate on for 405. It is intimidating since my previous best was 370, but after a bit of rest I went in, set up, dropped to rock bottom, and although I almost lost it halfway up I managed to squeeze it out for success! It was a fight to the end, but a good one, and any day you can slap 35 lbs. on to your old PR weight is a good one.

Oh yeah, there was some benching in there as well, but we won't bother with that

Ryan

[wannalift]

very well done, you never cease to amaze me
~david

[Frostfire]

Excellent! You are extraordinary!

[JP]

FANTASTIC!!!!

Way to go mate, your total is starting to sound very impressive! What is it now?

This will give me extra motivation for my quest to hit 400lbs (which feels like a long way off!)

It's funny how a training partner can make wonders, isn't it?

Upwards and onwards bro!

[Rochellita]

woah, Ryan. Well done!

[VeganEssentials]

Thanks to all for the congratulations - this was just one of those days when I was able to surprise the hell out of myself, and I had to let the good news out!

JP - my best total is now 1195 (Squat 405, DL 515, including my best bench max of 3 reps at 275 from last fall, closer to 1185 with today's benching performance) and I aim to break 1300 within a year's time. I figure that if I would actually learn to bench well I could get another 30-40 lbs. on that alone in a matter of months, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to dedicate to it yet. But, I'll be training with my friend more this summer and fall at least once each week or two for added motivation, so that should help me get there sooner. Once I get above 1300 I'll consider looking to do a raw PL meet, even though I'm sure I'll get slaughtered by at least 150+ lbs. by most at my weight since I'm not exactly a small guy in the lighter weight class. Still, it'll be fun! My friend John joined the PL team at the gym where he goes to school, and though they're adjusting his form quite a bit they say that they can get him to total at least 1400 by year's end at a weight of 190, which is quite impressive. I'm hoping that he'll impart this wisdom on down to me and it'll help get my lifts up, but I'm a stubborn old mule when it comes to form change so we'll see what happens. Nonetheless, a new barrier is broken, and I fully intend to add a chunk of weight on to that total by year's end.

If only we had the chance to lift together we'd give it quite a go - Courtney and I have been talking about heading to the UK next year to do some product research, and if so, we'll have to meet up at some point and show true vegan power at your gym!

Ryan

[Pete]

Great going Ryan! If you look in the dictonary under "vegan power" they'll have to put a picture of you

[Oak]

That's amazing Ryan, well done!

Your kind of strength is my target mark - so don't be getting too strong.

Do you think that the deadlifting has helped your squating? Depending on your deadlift technique, i bet it has?


Oak

[JP]

If only we had the chance to lift together we'd give it quite a go - Courtney and I have been talking about heading to the UK next year to do some product research, and if so, we'll have to meet up at some point and show true vegan power at your gym!

Anytime mate, there's a place for you to crash here in manchester. There's also some heavy sandbags at prennas just down the road

Damn, need to start to get my deadlifts in order...

[VeganEssentials]

Oak,

I'm sure that my deadlifting has helped my squatting. It definitely increased my lower back strength to new heights, and although my technique for deadlifting isn't as through-the-heels pushing as many do, it definitely has helped with coming out of the hole on a deep squat. That, and I'm sure that my body has just developed a better adaptation to being forced to move heavy weights through deadlifting, so once I put it to the test with squatting it was more accustom to it from past work and not quite as shocked. I was worried that I'd be deadlifting twice what I could squat one day, but this definitely restored my faith in my squat coming back up again!

JP,

When the time comes that we're going to be in your neck of the woods (most likely next spring) you can be sure I'll get in touch! It never hurts to have someone you know at the destination, and it is even better when they're vegan (and into lifting as well!) Now, get back on those deadlifts and break that 400 mark - I know you're good for it!

Ryan

[Mary]

Bloody hell! I just read this one, and it is a bit of an eye opener. I knew how strong you are, but I didn't realise you jumped such a weight recently!

I need to train properly again. I know men are always going to be stronger than women, but bleeding hell mate, my combined total is only 180! You are officially more than five times as strong as me. Eeek!

Well done!

[JP]

mary, he is strong, but not quite as strong as you think actually He is talking in pounds, and your total is in kg's.

It's very confusing sometimes in training logs etc when both pounds and kg's are used!

[J]

Good luck on the bench Ryan. I've found dumbell flyes helped my bench a bit. Maybe give that a try if you haven't already.

[VeganEssentials]

Emp,

My biggest problem is lack of concern for benching - I neglect it more than anything else (I train primarily as if my professing was to move furniture on a regular basis!) so chest work tends to fall by the wayside. My poor bench form has a lot to do with it - or, at least the way I've always done it. I don't arch to reduce distance the bar comes down so I make it as difficult as possible, and as I've also known for some time my shoulders naturally cock to different angles a bit, making it a bit more unusual. If I took a solid 8 weeks to work on it and correct my problems it'd probably improve by leaps and bounds, but I get lazy because I don't find a whole lot of fun in benching (probably because I see plenty of guys 70 lbs. less than I am doing the same weight I handle!)

I plan to start doing heavy dumbbell incline benching again soon, and that seemed to help when I did my best. I was only doing sets of 3-4 with 115 lb. dumbbells last year, but when I was prompted to switch to barbell for a day I knocked out 3 reps with 275, completely surprising myself. I think that like squatting, the only way to make it better is to work it, so there's no option left other than to swallow my pride and hit the bench. We'll see where this goes, and if I'm not too ill later this week I'll get my first DB bench workout in again after a long layoff!

Ryan

[sensless]

Hello Everyone.

I thought I should put my first post in here since I see my name (John) is mentioned in the initial post. Also, just to be correct, Ryan your previoius best squat was only 365 not 370. You increased your PR by 40 pounds, freak! Hopefully I can get you to try non-conventional deadlifting (sumo stance) to shorten the movement and increase your poundages, if so, you should be able to increase your deadlift about 50 pounds.

I'm pleased to see I have been guided to a board where I can shout my accomplishments in the gym, instead of having to call Ryan when he is traveling to tell him I bested him, yet again, and he has to pick up the pace.

Regards,

John Jr.