[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by MikeM

I think there's three things that are really working for me making my squat get a lot better pretty quickly.

1. JB's plan. I really like the way his periodization thing is working for me. You sort of sneak up on heavier weights so that all of a sudden you're 10 or 20 pounds ahead of where you were and even those aren't brutally heavy anymore.

2. Confidence and mentality. If a guy squatting a grand tells me I can do more weight kind of matter of factly like he's discussing the weather, I start to think it myself and then it happens just like he said it would.
Also, I began to realize squat days are gonna hurt no matter what, so might as well squeeze out a few extra reps whenever possible. It's pretty much the same beating the next day after 5 reps as it is for 3, so why not go for the 5?
I always sort of dreaded squat day, and I still do a bit, but now I also feel like I am more agressive going after them, rather than letting them get the better of me.

3. LOW BAR. I'm telling you, moving the bar an inch down my back makes a world of difference. Before when it got heavy, I swear I felt like I was squatting with my face on the ground. Standing up with those were just hammering away at me physically and beating me down mentally. Now, my chest is up, so even if I grind, it's not so physically abusive, esp. on my low back.

Anyway, thanks very much for the support, fellas! I'm on a good run at the moment, hope it continues!

No lifting today! Snowed here messed up my whole day, so when kids got home, I said eff it and went out sledding with them! Had a great time.

I'll just combine bench aux and rack pulls tomorrow. It worked great last time, I'm sure it will this time too. I'm feeling good about my deadlifts lately, so hopefully I rip some big ones off the rack tomorrow!!

Good thoughts Mike. Your log is always full of win sauce.