WOD: 5 rounds for Time: 50 squats, 400m run
My Time: 22:25
Here's a program these next 3 weeks I'll be using to improve my squat. I have been stuck at 245lbs backsquat.
Written by Matt Erdman
Russian Squat Program
This program was designed for the purpose of increasing the maximum weight lifted in the back squat. The author of the program is unknown, but it seems to have originated in Russia. A lifter should not be attempting to increase their maximum in other lifts while executing this program. This is one reason that the program is not appropriate for a beginner lifter, as the training focus is not correct. It seems quite reasonable that the program can be used to improve the front squat also (not simultaneously). The notation is the percentage of the current 1RM followed by the number of repetitions followed by the number of sets. 80%x2x6 means the workout is 80%1RM for 2 reps and a total of 6 sets. In the original plan it calls for 70%x2, and 75%x2 as the warm-ups for each workout. Warm-ups should be done in whatever manner the lifter feels is necessary to prepare for the work sets.
| Volume Phase | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
| Week 1 | 80%x2x6 | 80%x3x6 | 80%x2x6 |
| Week 2 | 80%x4x6 | 80%x2x6 | 80%x5x6 |
| Week 3 | 80%x2x6 | 80%x6x6 | 80%x2x6 |
| Intensity Phase | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
| Week 1 | 85%x5x5 | 80%x2x6 | 90%x4x4 |
| Week 2 | 80%x2x6 | 95%x3x3 | 80%x2x6 |
| Week 3 | 100%x2x2 | 80%x2x6 | 105%x1 |
| Intensity Phase | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
| Week 1 | 215lbs 5x5 | 210lbs 2x6 | 225lbs 4x4 |
| Week 2 | 210lbs 2x6 | 235lbs 3x3 | 210lbs 2x6 |
| Week 3 | 245lbs 2x2 | 210lbs 2x6 | 255lbs |
The Above Chart With Weights is My Program:
The last workout calls for 105%1RM. This is just an indicator that you should attempt a new maximum. It is typical to increase 5-10kg (10-20lbs) after completing this program. It may be helpful to skip the workout before the 105% day, or simply do one set with 80%.
Some lifters feel the training volume is too difficult to complete the program. This can be due to a number of factors. Some lifters do not know their current maximum, so they over-estimate. Others will attempt to make greater gains by intentionally using a higher maximum than they are capable of doing. As the program progresses, the weights will simply become to heavy to complete all repetitions. Also, if someone is not adjusted to squatting three days per week, they may wear themselves out in the first weeks. Finally, it is not uncommon for someone to write a program that has a high volume and/or frequency of other lifts. Such as heavy classical lifts 5-6 days per week. Another culprit is heavy or frequent dead-lifts and presses.
More Coach's Cue:
Wake Your Butt Up – Part One
Written by Mark Riebel
Most of us are aware of our rear ends — the two cheeks we walk around with filling out our jeans and giving us a comfortable area on which to sit every day at work. But the attractive factor and a mobile seat are far from what your butt is actually for. Your glutes (the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus) don’t exist just to shake on the dance floor, they are prime movers of your hips and legs, and often a lot of athletes in our gym just plain don’t know how to use them to their advantage. In this post I want to focus on your glute max, the big powerhouse that makes up most of the mass in your backside.
Your gluteus maximus is primarily an extender of the hip, a key piece of any clean, squat, jump or any other movement where you move from a flexed-hip position to a more open one. But here’s the deal, while all of these movements require the glutes to really work, due to years of movement without proper recruitment of the those muscles, you can end up over-using some of your other muscles which severely limits your progress. Think relying on your spinal erectors for a deadlift or heavily on your quads for a squat—your glute max is one of the strongest muscles in your body, so you’re doing yourself a disservice to not use both of them properly. If you or any of your training partners have that little “butt shimmy” when they come up on a squat, poor glute recruitment could be to blame. But fear not! After a few sessions of some simple exercises, you can help your glutes to remember just what they are there to do. These exercises are also easily increased in difficulty if you’re looking for a bit more of a challenge.
Your coaches will typically give you some glute activation exercises during warm-ups on days involving hip extension movements, but there’s a few that I recommend doing on a more regular basis, particularly if you think you may be suffering from “gluteal amnesia,” and especially in warm-ups on those days when you’ll need them in the workout.
Hip Bridges
We’ve done these weighted before, but for just patterning and learning how to get the hip extension down, go with un-weighted. Lay on your back with your feet on the floor and knees bent at about 90 degrees. (See photo above.) Keeping your weight on your shoulders and feet, squeeze your glutes together to bridge up and extend your hip fully. (See photo below.) Hold for about a second and then relax. Do three sets of ten to twenty reps on these. This entry-level version isn’t to build strength, but to remind your glutes what they do for a living.
Fire Hydrants
Get on your hands and knees with a neutral spine.
Keeping the knee and hip flexed, raise your right knee out to the side of you, avoiding excessive twisting of the spine and pelvis to increase the range of motion.
From this position, fully extend the right leg behind you, raising it higher than the level of your back, and really feeling the squeeze in your glute.
Do three sets of ten to twenty on each leg in a slow and controlled manner.
Again, doing these on a regular basis will give the best benefit of retraining your glutes to do what they’re supposed to. Next time, I’ll discuss some simple modifications to make these exercises more challenging to help further develop hip extension strength.
Wake Your Butt Up – Part Two
Written by Mark Riebel
Last time we talked about the importance of proper glute max function, and went over some simple exercise to get those muscles firing correctly when you need them to. If you’ve performed those movements regularly for a few weeks, you should really start to feel a difference in your lifts. Of course, you should see an uptick in performance, but what I noticed more of was actually feeling my glutes contract when it used to just be my spinal erectors that tired out on a deadlift or my legs on squats. Now that you’re comfortable with the movements and are getting some proper patterning, let’s go over a few more difficult variations to also work on strength in those areas.
Advanced Hip Bridges
Changing up this movement is as simple as adding a bench and/or a box. Use the same set up as your regular hip bridges, but put your upper back on a bench to perform the movement as described in part one of this post. Still need some more? Put your feet on another bench so that both feet and shoulders are elevated. Again, squeeze the glutes together to bridge up into the air. Elevating your body will increase the range of motion to give you a bit more stimulus. Shoot for three sets of ten to twenty reps here.
Adding a barbell across your hips is always a good weighting option, but I prefer using a single leg variation before you make the step up to resistance. You want to develop the proper muscle function first before you jump straight to the weights, and training unilaterally identifies and addresses weaknesses much better than training with both legs at once. To perform a single leg version of this, take your same setup, elevated or not, and extend one leg, keeping it in line with your body. (See photo above.) Squeeze the glute of the leg that is bent to bridge your body up just as in the two-legged version.
If you’re feeling the strain more in the hamstring and low back, rather than extending one leg hug it instead up to your chest and perform the movement as before. This will decrease your range quite a bit, but will isolate the stress to your glute. If you’re having difficulty with one side over the other, perform a few extra sets on the weaker side for the next week or two, and the imbalance should start to right itself.
Another great exercise
Single-leg deadlifts are also a great way to hammer your glutes (which most Invictus members are familiar with). If you’re not, take a standard DL setup, beginning with just an empty bar in your hands. A dumbbell or kettlebell is acceptable if you’d like to go lighter, but hold it in the hand opposite to the leg you are currently working on. Starting from the top of the movement, arch your back and perform a deadlift, but as you bring the bar down to your shins, keep one leg off the ground, lifting it straight behind you for balance. Keeping the leg on the ground as straight as possible emphasizes hip extension and really improves balance. With a strength-building emphasis, go for three sets of five with each leg and add weight upon completion.
If you’d really like to delve into the realm of glute training, check out the work of T-Nation contributor Bret Contreras. He wrote a 675 page manual on the topic, so as you can see, we’re barely scratching the surface here. Whether you decide to go very in depth with a book on the topic or just mix in a few of the movements discussed here, you’ll greatly improve your glute function which will in turn lead to some seriously improved performance.
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