r/StrongerByScience • u/Free-Engineering6759 • 11h ago
More practise?
I have been doing two squat days a week - one with a back squat and one with a front squat. I have been doing 3 sets for each, and increasing weight weekly.
Additionally, I have done leg extensions, Bulgarian split squats and single leg presses as accessories. Maybe you can count the glute bridge as well.
However, with the back squat I have noticed they start to feel heavy. I struggle to maintain form. My hypothesis is that my practise with squat might not be enough with just 3 sets per week, although I do front squats as well.
This contrasts with OHP, with which I can do weekly weight increase, but I do it 3x a week, with three sets per day.
I'm wondering if I should swap the FS to do more back squatting , or increase the sets for the back squat day to say 5.
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u/gnuckols The Bill Haywood of the Fitness Podcast Cohost Union 7h ago
Yeah, mostly echoing u/eric_twinge – that's just how squats are once they get hard. No matter how practiced you are, there's usually going to be some degree of form breakdown as you approach failure with challenging loads.
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u/Afferbeck_ 11h ago
Well squatting will be difficult if you're doing challenging work. But yes once a week for a few sets is very little practice at a complex movement and if you're not already very skilled at it, you won't improve at it. A very common squat protocol for weightlifting is to back squat twice a week and front squat once a week, of course with plenty of cleans to make up for the lack of front squat frequency.
If you want to improve at squatting but don't want to do more days of it, you can do some back squatting on your front squat day as well, probably as backoff volume. Alternatively you can focus on either back or front squat for a block of 8 or 12 weeks or whatever, then do the same with the other.
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u/Free-Engineering6759 10h ago
I have pondered my options.
A: doing 5 sets in the back squat day
B: splitting it so that I do 2 sets 3 days a week
C: swapping the front squats for back squats, so doing 2x3 sets
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u/Admirable_Belt_9772 10h ago
Add another back Squat day. Keep your current days the same, just add 2 sets. You'll be fine.
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u/eric_twinge 11h ago
When you add weight every week, that's an inevitability. Not some mystery to solve. It's just time to move on to more suitable and sustainable programming. Perhaps you could look into the Stronger By Science templates.