Squats lagging compared to other lifts

[Josh]

Hey Everyone,

I am having the hardest time getting my squats up to where they should be. I'll give you all the most recent stats so you can see:

Standing Shoulder Press: 8 reps at 95
Flat Barbell Bench Press: 8 reps at 160
Dead Lift: 3 sets of 5 reps each at 275
Power Clean: 3 sets of 5 reps each at 135
Squat: 3 sets of 5 reps each at... 155

I weigh 150 lb (at 5'7"), and have been training for just over a year. I squatted 180 for 5 reps (2 sets) months ago, but then I just kept failing so much that I had to keep dropping the weight. Now I can't seem to get back up. I feel like my squat should be 185 or 205 by now given how I'm doing on the other lifts. I am only doing squats once a week, and also do some other leg work on that day. Usually stuff like SLDL, ham-curls on the machine, calf raises. On the squats, I find if I go super deep, I'm more able to use my glutes to get back up. If I only go just to parallel or a tiny bit below, it's way harder to get up (feels like it's all in my quads.) The probably with going so deep is my lower back starts to round a bit once I get past parallel by a few inches.

Any ideas on what might be holding me back?

Thanks,
Josh

[Adonis13]

not sure what ur trying to accomplish but if ur strength is not going up then u should be eating more and trying to break through your plateau with possibly lowering the reps and adding more weight as long as your form doesnt suffer too much by the 3rd or 4th rep.

[waderow]

probably diet related.

what do you eat?

[vlad]

What is your form like? I find that alot of people do not squat as much as they can because their form is out to lunch. Once I fixed my form my squats went way up. A lot of people do them differently so this is how I do them:

1. Position the bar below your traps and hold it with your rear delts
2. Do not bend your knees before you start moving your pelvis back.
3. Move your pelvis back and down and just pivot at your knees making sure your knees do not go past your toes. You should be able to wiggle your toes as you are squatting.
4. Figure out what depth works for you. Everyone is different.
5. I place a bench behind me and sit on it as I squat and then push up from there.

This is what work of me. Also doing squats this way relives the pressure from my knees. I have a cracked bone in my right knee and I can still squat.

[warlock]

There are many things that can be influencing,
Is your form perfect?
Are you eating well?
are you resting well?
for how long have you been doing the same program?
what is your split?

And the worst: Is you leg ****ed up?

I can jump almost 30 inches push 4 plates for 10/15 reps ona leg press and I can squat to save my life because one of the bones on my foot is out and some muscles are shut down while others are overworked, whenever I fix it I am sure I'll be able to push 2X body weight ass to grass

[Josh]

I follow Rippetoe's form based on the SS book and DVD. I've had a couple partners watch me while squatting to critique and they say it's good.

I've been squatting once a week (3 sets) for almost 4 months. Before that, I was doing it 3 times a week (was following the Starting Strength program.)

Current split is Chest/Back/Shoulders/Arms/Legs/OFF/OFF or sometimes Chest/Back/OFF/Shoulders+Arms/Legs/OFF/OFF.

"Is your leg ****ed up?" - My left knee was having a minor click on the inside over the last few weeks (usually during Dead Lifts,) but it was totally gone today even though I was doing deads.

I think you guys are probably right about it being related to diet & rest. I haven't been eating or sleeping enough. I could give all sorts of excuses, but I have to own up to it and say I haven't been feeling as motivated or dedicated lately. Maybe it took this post to really realize that.

[O-Train]

You need to increase your flexibility. Start stretching your hamstrings at home away from the gym 3x/wk. Improve your technique, posting a video will help. Start doing barbell good mornings. The problem is probably also related to your diet and rest/recovery but I guarantee you are having issues with technique and flexibility.

[JacktheThriller]

try training legs less like 3 times every 2 weeks and increase in small increments starting from 80% of your 1rm

[CanadianIron]

Train harder.... if those are your lifts after 1 year, you are doing something very wrong as far as training. You should be able to improve on all of those lifts very easily, even with a normal persons diet.

See "Everyone should be able to bench 300" thread....

My guess is your intensity just isnt there.... if you arent in heeps of pain, struggling not to pass out, you arent going to make good gains... I watch guys hit the squat rack week after week with 185-225lbs and they get under the bar and squat while they're watching the tv's etc... they dont even break a sweat... IMO quats should be one of the most physically demanding exercises you do, if they arent uncomfortable you arent doing them right... i went from squatting 135 > 225 within about a month of doing squats... getting over 200 is extremely easy if you know how to train.

[Redz]

I squated 230lbs the first time I ever tried it when I was 14. Defintely an issue with diet and training. Try a pre-workout supp to get jacked up for heavy lifts, some good music helps too.

[Josh]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

[hommes]

DEADLIFTS. incorporate them in. calories up. hit squats hard.

[_Ragnar_]

Well at the risk of telling you its all in your head, I know that I had a serious mental obstacle with squats. You just need to keep pushing yourself, it will come. Try not to be too critical with yourself.

Hommes: your avi is going to give me nightmares.

[hommes]

Well at the risk of telling you its all in your head, I know that I had a serious mental obstacle with squats. You just need to keep pushing yourself, it will come. Try not to be too critical with yourself.

Hommes: your avi is going to give me nightmares.

sorry bro i know it freaks me out as well.

[_Ragnar_]

no worries lol