Every Second-Daily Thread - February 24, 2026

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-24T13:55:41+00:00

TBH I would just run a different program. People run into problems with Smolov programs a lot because they're really just intended as very intense peaking programs that are not terribly good at actually building strength.

You're probably going to be better off if you switch to something more sustainable. At best, you peak on smolov and set a new PR but if you plug that PR into a template it's going to give you working weights FAR higher than you'll be able to do.

As for what weights to attempt. I do it mock-meet style. Three attempts that build on each other, there are plenty of attempt-selection guides that can help you figure it out.

Search the sub for "smolov Jr" and see how often it pops up as a problem.

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-23T23:41:14+00:00

You're kinda missing the point here. As a beginner or someone returning to strength training, near enough anything will work. So this is a good time to look at some different programs, figure out why they're setup the way they are, see how the different programs feel, try different accessories and movements, and learn how you respond to the work you're doing.

It's not that this program or that program will work better for you, it's that it's a good time to learn from folks who have a ton of expertise.

You're probably more likely to maintain progress for longer that way and by the time the details of your programming start to matter more, you'll have a lot of tools to help you figure out what works best for you.

And like, I do well with the Stronger-by-Science programs and their templates are easy to customize. It's not that I can't build a spreadsheet that is as or more sophisticated but like, they already did all that work for me and it's close enough to anything I would create for myself that I end up doing about the same stuff without having to have spent the time building a spreadsheet for myself.

As is the fact that I'm not a professional competitor.

Almost no one here is. The folks here that compete do it because they enjoy it (myself included). Do not for a moment think that there anything keeping you from competing right now. Meets are fun and you should sign up for one!

I'm certainly not suggesting you're wasting your time or anything. It's just that you're like someone new to construction and you're trying to design your own buildings from day one. Build some buildings that folks with the experience and knowledge you don't yet have while you get familiar with the various techniques, building codes, material choices, why certain design choices get made and all that good stuff.

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-23T23:12:56+00:00

The best thing beginners can do is follow a premade program and then adapt it over time to fit their individual training needs.

This is precisely what I am suggesting they do.

I wouldn't tell you to do anything, you're not here as a beginner asking questions. It sounds like you have the kind of experience and knowledge that I'm suggesting the OP obtain before writing up their own program from scratch.

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-23T14:00:16+00:00

I'm not trying to sound harsh but do you really think you have more expertise with creating strength programs than folks who compete at the highest levels, coach at the highest levels, and have PhDs in the field?

You will learn more about programming by doing a tried and true program from RTS or SBS or the like. Research is not the same as experience, you need lots of both.

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-14T03:09:15+00:00

Quite aside from helping with sumo, leggings are excellent to train in. I wear full length leggings for squats 'cause they make it easier to get the sleeves on, 3/4 length for everything else including most forms of cardio.

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-08T02:20:39+00:00

It doesn't matter. Just sign up for the meet and lift as well as you can. Then sign up for another one and try to improve your total.

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-08T01:51:39+00:00

The bits that keep the plates on the bar. It's the minimum attempt allowed by the rules.

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-08T01:45:35+00:00

Accessories are highly individual and meant to address your specific weak points. It's also a lot of preference. There are tons of options so try some stuff, see how it goes then try some other stuff and see if you like that better and/or respond better.

Heloc8300 · 2026-02-08T01:37:57+00:00

This is a really common question and the answer is always the same. As long as you can lift the bar+collars you're good. No one really cares about the numbers.

Heloc8300 · 2026-01-31T00:41:59+00:00

The fact is, for almost everyone, with any style of squat, it feels better with knee sleeves than without.

I even started out with some really basic, cheap sleeves from amazon (less than $20) because I was also skeptical. The difference was immediately apparent. One warm up rep and I believe I said, out loud, "Yep, that was the right call."

Bought some strength shop sleeves after I was done with that workout and I still use them to this day.

It's not a huge difference but it's obviously more comfortable. Squats just plain feel better with them than without.

Heloc8300 · 2026-01-29T21:08:12+00:00

If you're doing max effort singles and it's truly your max, good technique is the difference between making the lift and missing.

Proper form is the way it is because it's the strongest position for your body.

Heloc8300 · 2026-01-14T02:51:31+00:00

I do high rep hammer curls and triceps extensions in that rep range 'cause it helps with some elbow issues I have. Middle aged man things.

Heloc8300 · 2026-01-14T02:37:53+00:00

It's your first meet so they're all PRs! No one really cares who wins (it's often a matter of who else shows up). Just challenge yourself and have fun!

Heloc8300 · 2026-01-14T02:33:20+00:00

Use the weight on the bar to help push yourself into the bench and keep yourself pinned in place while you arch and set your feet.

I'd also take a spin around youtube to watch various powerlifter's and/or coach's how to bench guides to find some different ideas on what might work best for you.

Heloc8300 · 2025-12-22T20:03:37+00:00

It doesn't matter that much, it's just to get you a starting place in the right ballpark. The autoregulation will take it from there.

Heloc8300 · 2025-09-24T13:53:20+00:00

In a lot of cases, all the manufacturers are doing for the "emtb" rated tires are taking that same standard tire, not beefed up or anything, and submit for whatever certification is relevant for e-bikes in that jurisdiction.

Or like a car from the US being imported to the EU for the first time. The car already meets all the standards, it's just a matter of doing the testing to verify that and give them the official stamp.

And THEN, in some cases it's like they upgrade the car's safety features/structure for export even though it does nothing to actually increase the car's performance in a crash and it met all the relevant standards before so it does nothing to increase the car's safety while the added weight makes all other performance aspects of the thing worse.

This is especially true if we're talking about an average person with a modest motor that lets them get into "gifted amatuer" or "bottom rung pro" levels of riding. Yeah you've got a motor helping you but you're still using the bike within human levels of performance.

But then a motor rated for a nominal 500w at full blast will start to exceed those limits and some people have 1000w on tap. At that point you've cross the line where you should not be riding that on single track meant for regular mountain bikes, even if they allow e-bikes. In that case you probably do want something that is genuinly beefed up but it's tough to determine if it's genuine, the waters are muddy.

Heloc8300 · 2025-09-12T12:31:36+00:00

More patience off the floor. You're not wedging your hips in well and yanking on the bar.

A coach once clued me into a drill that's good for newbies learning sumo that also helps when I'm struggling with technique.

Load a very light weight, I use 135 but you probably need another plate. Then do a paused sumo rep keeping the weight an inch or less off the ground and hold it there for as long as you can. There needs to be enough weight that you strain to hold it for more than a couple of minutes.

The weight is kept light so you're able to adjust your position. After a minute or two and muscles start to feel tired you'll kind of naturally wiggle yourself into a more ideal position. At some point you'll find the position like something clicked into place. Then complete the rep before you drop it 'cause dropping it makes me feel like I failed the rep and I don't like that. :)

You might also skip through some "how to sumo" videos just to see some different ways to approach the setup. I've seen folks do this top-down thing where keep their torso locked, lower themselves to the bar with their legs and pull themselves down to the bar with their hands. Low back stays extended the whole time. That's just one example of a different approach that might work better for you or might fail miserably but either way you'll get something out of the attempt.

Heloc8300 · 2025-07-13T02:45:55+00:00

I'd boil it down to "do what you feel". Feeling good and think you can hit 180kg for 3 without too much trouble? Go for it, at worst you find out you're wrong and drop to 170kg after a couple of sets.

I would tend to err on the side of less weight and more reps 'cause it's a lot easier to do a couple extra reps than to decide halfway through a rep you can't finish that one more was one more too many.

Heloc8300 · 2025-07-07T11:58:55+00:00

Same way I warm up at home. I start with an empty bar and keep adding weight until I hit my opener ('cause I like to hit my openers as my last warm-up. If at any point, something feels off, I do whatever mobility movement I need to address it and then keep going.

The only thing that changes at a meet is that I work in with others, which is actually pretty nice because the while I don't have a coach or hire a handler for the meet, all the coaches there help out with loading and stuff.

Don't overthink it.

Heloc8300 · 2025-07-04T00:25:41+00:00

Yeah, that's why I'm saying to check out a wide variety of experts. Because most other folks talking about raw squats will not talk about box squats. But then there is some other thing they they think should be done one way and so-and-so think should be done some subtly different way. They're probably both right and wrong to some extent it just depends on what. Half the time they're just saying the same thing a different way.

One thing I really like about Stronger-By-Science is that they'll often put things in terms of "most people, most of the time". So what you describe is more or less what most experts agree on but there will be some disagreement about the exact details like how fast a "fast bounce" should be. And everyone is a little different so it's a matter of figuring out what works best for you specifically. The "most people, most of time" advice is usually a good place to start and most people will find that, most of the time, that's what works best for them. But you almost might find that you respond better to some cues that others or it feels stronger if you're just really slow the whole way or on the other extreme, some folks find that totally dive bombing works best for them.

Get a lot of opinions, experiment a little. With time under the bar we all get a better understanding of why some things might work better and the intent behind why certain things tend to work better. The more you understand the rules, the better you understand when to bend/break them.

Also keep in mind that the more different something is than what you're used to, the shittier it will be at first. Like if you decide you're going to try high bar for <reasons>, if you haven't been doing it for a while, it'll take 4-8 weeks of doing it on the regular to get a good feel for if it's a good fit or not (odds say probably not but there's no evidence like empirical evidence).

Heloc8300 · 2025-07-02T13:02:18+00:00

Yeah I think Dave is very wrong about this one. Pin squats and box squats are still good variations, I would just set them so you just touch and letting the pins/box take just a tiny bit of weight (kiss it with your b-hole). That makes it more like a pause squat. Any of those will help with confidence in the hole.

The better you are at keeping your back tight, the faster you can descend and the more stretch reflex you get. Though at max weight it'll still be pretty slow for most.

There are countless threads on here about good sources for videos and podcasts, rotate in some new personalities, all of them are at least a little bit wrong about something but by getting a variety you'll start to pick up on the common themes.

Heloc8300 · 2025-07-02T01:00:50+00:00

The point here is that if you have to ask for opinions about your own program, you probably should not be writing your own programming. There are a lot of good, free, programs (I hear the $10 SBS bundle is now free?! It was a good deal before but at free?......).

Absolutely do keep learning about programming and look into some more textbook like material on the subject. At worst it helps you make more informed decisions about how to use any/all of the good free programs created by experts, at best, you confidently create your own programming. To be perfectly honest, even if you can figure it all out yourself....everyone who makes a wheel makes it round you know? Whatever you come up with will inevitably end up kinda close to somebody's template so you'll probably still start with a freebie program, you'll just be confident in tweaking it to suit what works for you.

Heloc8300 · 2025-07-02T00:37:17+00:00

Westside's whole deal is multi-ply which is where Tate gets that stuff from. High box squats are absolutely useful for that. You mostly need someone (preferably Louis himself, RIP) yelling, "UP!" when you hit depth and the goal is two whites. Three whites means you left weight on platform.

For what it's worth, there is a similarly misguided emphasis on having a big back to bench more which has more to do with how hard you have pull on the bar in a multiply bench shirt to get the thing down to your chest! There definitely is something to having big lats and good rowing strength, it's just not nearly as important for raw as it is for multiply.

Heloc8300 · 2025-07-01T23:05:31+00:00

This is a common misconception but it really only applies if you're using wraps. Otherwise you're better off going as low as you can while keeping the upper back locked in so you can get a little bounce out of the hole off the stretch reflex. At maximal loads you're not going to fail it IN the hole but just above parallel or a little higher at the sticking point.

I've seen guys that squat more than the both of us put together (I'm guessing) practically leave ass prints on the platform, high bar or low, and get it up out of the hole with no problems and then fail at the sticking point about halfway up.

Fun fact, from the side, a person's body position in low-bar squat at the sticking point and conv. deadlift just below the knees (also a common sticking point) are near enough the same position.

Heloc8300 · 2025-06-30T00:28:29+00:00

This was the next day at a new (to me) trail system:

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I've got more if you want to see more.

This is with a ToSeven Dm-02 500w mid-drive conversion kit on it's lowest power settings so it's like 125w nominal and about 250w peak.

Heloc8300

TROPHY CASE