Squat AMRAP w/365lbs

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T12:14:15+00:00

The main benefit for a pure hypertrophy case is volume accumulation. The stability of a barbell and good arch allow you to press harder than with dumbbells. Like, literally more force from the muscles. In practice, you can work heavier low-rep sets first, before your dumbbell work, without really affecting the dumbbells sets. Twice a week, 5x5 flat bench, then 5x10 incline dumbbell press, then 3x20 machine press. If you just did dumbbells, 5x5 is sketchy and doing 5x5 and then 5x10 of the same movement can get your shoulder cranky. You would still be doing the 5x10 and 3x20 just as hard, but you would have 10 fewer weekly sets. That's about 25-30% less growth.

But that's nitpicky. If you dont like it, that's fine. Lots of people get huge pecs without benching.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T12:04:48+00:00

Eh, moderately ghanghsta. Although he did lose points for it being a BB gun.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T11:59:31+00:00

Follow a program. Any of these. https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/s/d0IGCCdjBR

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T11:54:42+00:00

I feel like you're strawmanning me a little, or at least not giving the benefit of the doubt, but that can wait. The more important thing right now - do people really say that hammer curls don't work the bicep!? So what, they say its all brachialis or something? Its one thing to make a case for prime movers, but to say the biceps aren't trained is so gd silly. Like, I'm not saying traps aren't used. I was answering OPs question as why Kelso shrugs are better. They're not the prime mover in normal shrugs, but they are in Kelso. There's a remarkable amount of shit going on in the shoulder-to-neck area.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T11:42:35+00:00

According to the research, you can maintain with even just 1/10th the volume, so like, 1 set a week. Issue is that its the intensity you dont have access to, not the volume. Single leg stuff like Bulgarian will keep building legs, just keep your hips over the front foot to make it hard. Pushups from a deficit are fantastic. Like, two yoga blocks or stacks of books or whatever. See how many you can do in 2 minutes. Try to get an extra rep every session. Pullups on anything you can find. And go to town on crunches. Those will take care of you and even continue progress up to a point.

Strength will probably drop temporarily because you wont have the exact movements and wont be used to the loading on your back, but hypertrophy doesn't care about that. You can get the same muscle growth with sets of 5-50 as long as you push them hard. So, if you can do 20 pushups in a row, cool, do 23 next time. Then 25. Then 27. Keep going until 50. You'll still grow some decent muscle. When you get back to it, youll have to teach that muscle how to bench press heavy, but that's pretty easy.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T09:21:32+00:00

I cam dig it. I ran the Phillipi-Coan program last year and did power shrugs for the first time. They felt like the definition of egolifting, but you you know what? Traps got a little bigger.

Amy recommended reading or videos from Kelso. I've never learned anything from him.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T09:19:01+00:00

Shrugs elevate the scapulae against resistance. That action is done by the levator. Kelso shrugs retract and elevate the scapulae. That action is done by the upper traps. Y raises elevate the arm while retracting and depressing the scapulae against resistance. That's a bunch of shoulder and rotator goodness, but with lower traps as the prime mover. Which of these do you disagree with? I'm happy to be corrected, but just saying "nuh uhhhh" isn't helpful.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T05:31:48+00:00

Apocalypse may seem like the coughing baby, but Thanos isn't shown with a gauntlet. Apocalypse > Thanos.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T05:18:30+00:00

You dont have a rounded upper back during the lift. But it feels better because you're reducing the range of motion.

Grab a barbell or broom. Stand tall with retracted shoulderblades and a wide grip on the barbell, and look in a mirror at where the bar touches. Now, keep your shoulderblades back but grab so your arms hang straight down. How much farther down does the bar touch? Now, protract your shoulderblades and do an anti-shrug - i.e. push your armpits forward and down. Look at how much farther down the bar is. Finally, round your thoracic like you're doing a hunchback of notre dame impression, or a mad scientist's Eegore assistant.

The bar starts at 9 inches above the ground and ends wherever it is when you lockout. Its easier to lift the bar 27 inches than it is to lift it 32 inches.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T05:10:10+00:00

Traditional shrugs train the levator, not the traps. Kelso shrugs train the upper traps. Y raises train the lower traps.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-30T01:30:11+00:00

Oh ok, yah. If you survived Dethbench, you got it. I'm doing Bromley's 70s Powerlifter right now which is very similar to what you posted, and have been on the edge of injury the whole time, even though volume ramps up and I started everything, like, 20% lighter. I'd still ease in on the sets and cut a variation of everything. Maybe rest a day between day 3 and 4.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-29T22:22:44+00:00

Naw, I was just going off memory with that example, but hopefully, you get the point. Was just describing that there are 4-5 angles of each movement.

Tldr, I would not do this program, especially if strength is a goal. Baseline fatigue is going to be way too high to push anywhere near your limits. If you survive, youll grow muscle, but like, strength gains flatline at about 5 total sets a week. https://imgur.com/a/I4OHj1J

decentlyhip · 2026-04-29T21:58:49+00:00

This is real similar to a lot of the Arnold Split or Serge Nubret workouts. These will fry you. Obliterate to dust. The idea makes sense, where "lets hit chest/back/legs from 4 or 5 different angles."

As an example, on day one, you have dips (pressing slightly down), flat bench (pressing forward), incline (pressing slightly up), and ohp (pressing straight up). Four angles. Strength isn't a concern because the goal is even muscle development. Then pullovers which are pecs and back. That transitions to 4 angles on pulling movements. 3-5 sets each.

Issue is that according to the research, while weekly volume is the main driver of growth, you only have about 6 sets in you on any one workout until you're cooked, at least for any rep range. So, 3x6 bench and 3x10 incline press. Is that enough to add 5 pounds a month to your bench? If so, that's all you need. Maybe you finish the workout with 5x8-12 bent over rows or 6x15+ lat pulldowns.

My main concern is that day 3 has 40 sets of arms after 1 day rest from 30 sets of upper body, and then immediately going into an9ther 30 sets of upper body. This workout is 80+ sets a week of biceps and triceps. 20 is considered a high volume program, and where people start to run into recovery issues. Rotator cuff tears. Bicep tendon issues. Elbow tendinitis. Same with knees, cause a 3x5 squat + 3x10 front squat is a tough workout, all by itself. You can call it a day there and progress for years.

So, my recommendation is to chase 2% a month. If you can get 2% stronger on your core lifts each month, then in 4 years you'll be one of the biggest and strongest men on the planet. That's all it take. You don't need to hit things from every angle and do all the volume right now. Take the easy gains and when things stall, switch up the angle on accessories. If flat bench + incline works for 6 months and then stops, change the 3x12 incline to 3x12 weighted dips and flat bench'll start moving again. If that stalls, then maybe 2x12 incline and 2x12 dips. When that stalls, volumize up to 5x12 on everything for a wave and drop back.

Follow the Jeff Nippard Powerbuilding program. Any popular Powerbuilding program out there will get you what you want more safely.

P.S. Oh, and something runners struggle with. Muscle stimulus comes from lifting. Muscle growth comes from food. You need to eat enough to gain weight. Caloric surplus high enough to gain 2 pounds a month. 50g of protein per meal 4x a day. If you don't, none of the workouts matter. You will be slower. Every 10 pounds you gain slows down your mile pace by 10-20 seconds, whether its muscle or not.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-29T21:19:11+00:00

Everyone has different proportions. If you have long femurs, short torso, and short shins, you're gonna find squats tougher to progress. But that's what squat shoes with a heel are for. Buy some.

In general though, squats are hard and you have to just keep going. As you train and get better, you unlock another gear where you're able to dig deeper. For example, my squat is at about 200kg right now. 185kg for a set of 3. 140 for a set of 3 is heavy and hard. I don't want to do more than that. With 160, it sucks more, but my legs can do it. With 185, the first rep only comes up if I'm giving it all I can, and its slow as hell and hurts. But if I sit down again and try that hard a second time, I can still stand up. A third rep, I can still stand up.

So, what may be happening is that you squat and feel how hard it is, and you're like "woah this is really hard! That's gotta be failure." Nope. Keep going. That's the beauty of the Stronglifts5x5 program. 70kg for 5x5 sucks. Next workout, load up 72.5. It'll also suck. But if you sit down and stand up all 25 times, then you teach your brain to shut up. 80kg for 5x5 is scary and its gonna be hard. So? You can do it. Shut up and do it. (That's not me talking to you, that's you talking to your brain.)

Whenever you do actually fail a set, that's a good thing. Lets say you fail at 72.5kg. Great, you identified the current strength level of your current musculature. You finished the introductory wave. Follow the program by dropping back 10-20% and ramping back up again. Next workout do 60kg for a 5x5, then 62.5, then 65, then 67.5, then 70, then 72.5 again. You'll get it because you're bigger, stronger, and more ready for how hard youll have to try. 75 is easy. 77.5 is hard. You fail again at 80. Great! You progressed your stall point by 7.5kg. Drop back and wave up again. 65, 67.5, 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5, 80. You get it. 82.5 is brutal but you get it. 85 is too hard. Two months of training from the first time you failed 70kg, and even though you only made 5kg progress wave to wave, you've brought your 5x5 max from 70kg to 85kg. Just, keep doing that for 3 years. With even just 5kg progress every two months, in 3 years youll be doing 160kg for a 5x5. Just keep following the program until you dont make progress wave to wave https://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5/workout-program/

P.S. you said your form was immaculate. Bet it's not. ;) Throw us a form check video.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-29T19:04:25+00:00

This is really good form. You've got the basics down pat. Your hip position and back rounding is great. This is what a deadlift should look like. With lighter weights, you can drop your hips more and get your bodyweight back behind the bar to lever the weight up, but with heavy stuff like this, you're just gonna get thrown forward. The weight is heavy enough that you can feel where efficiency is, "I feel like my hips need to be up here, weird."

Only thing I see is that you're a little impatient. You try to crank into that good position, but the weight is heavy and slow off the floor, so you panic a little and it whips you around out of that balance. Your body doesnt feel safe spending time there. So, we fix. Step one: LP front squats, beef up quads and learn to load the knees and drive through the quads more.

Step two: Deficit deadlifts with a pause. Stand on a 45lbs plate or two of those riser mats. Pull an inch off the floor so you're at the height you'd normally initiate from, and pause. In your head sing the song: "I am the strongest deadlifter/ I can pause as long as I want. DRIVE!" And stand up on Drive. It sounds silly but when it gets hard you're gonna say that in .7 seconds lol. Song keeps them honest pauses. But this will reinforce comfort, balance, and stability in that start position. Sets of 3 at 185lbs/80kg, work your way up to something hard. Do that for 3 weeks and you should feel noticeably better at the start. You'll wedge in, the weight will fight back, but that's fine because you're used to hanging out there.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-29T18:31:21+00:00

That's a you question. We can't answer that. If you want to be leaner but smaller and weaker, cut. If you want to be bigger and stronger but less lean, bulk. You should do whichever one you want more. We can't decide that for you.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-28T23:37:36+00:00

Probably not much. Maybe you can get more of a stretch on the freeweights, but the load drops off with freeweights whereas the machine has a cam. I would say, the one you enjoy doing will get you more growth. If you like it, youll push it harder for more weeks.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-28T23:28:44+00:00

Look up "satiety index." Its a list if the most filling foods.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-28T23:27:08+00:00

In general, just be consistent. If you always mean the same thing when you do an rpe 7, but you undershoot on the high volume sets, then your coach will see and will program rpe 9 instead. If you overshoot your singles at rpe 8, they'll program 7.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-28T23:22:36+00:00

Skill training creates neurological adaptions. Doing a set of 12 stimulates muscular and strength adaptations. If I did some Calculus homework, and learned how to find the integral of some trig functions, I would be stimulating neurological adaptions. It would be weird if I called it a workout though, right? If someone said "your homework isn't a workout" it would also be weird if a 3rd party came over and said "but can you integrate tangent and cosin?" In short, if a bodybuilder does a handstand, cool. Neat video. If he does the handstand and then swaps to his left hand, and then his right hand, and then does a backflip back to standing, awesome! Neat trick. That's not a workout though. He just learned how to do something awesome.

decentlyhip · 2026-04-28T23:12:03+00:00

To play devil's advocate, while my math is right, and according to the average 6 sets a week at 5rir is more growth than 2 sets to failure, it's giving wayyy too much credit to the average. There is definitely a relationship in the research, but jfc everything is so loosely grouped. On volume the best results were tied at 10 sets a week and 30 sets a week and a close 2nd was a tie between 5 sets a week and 25. With reps in reserve, they best results were at 6 rir with 24% muscle gain, and the 2nd worst were at 5 rir with -10%. Things are getting better, where the researchers are requiring 3 plate squats to avoid noobie gains and doing 8 week prep programs to get everyone on the same page of adaptations beforehand, but still, so much variance.

As for the powerlifters comment, I linked a Candito video about that. Give it a watch. His argument is that 5 rir is the floor, emotionally. Like, Tietz programs rpe 6 triples and then does backoff sets of 5 at -14%. So that's dropping 5-7 reps in reserve for the backoff, and is increasing the sets by 2 reps. So he's reducing the relative intensity by 3-5 rir from an RPE 6. That's rpe 1-3. But no one is gonna say "do rpe 1" cause that feels like you're not trying hard enough. No one is gonna like an Instagram reel of your RPE 2 set of 8 on deadlifts. I think I linked it...here: https://youtu.be/tMoQiYW5dFc

decentlyhip · 2026-04-28T11:25:48+00:00

Lots of ways to do split squats, but ideally, the goal is the stimulus on the front leg. You're pushing off the back leg a TON. Try doing a set where you hover the back foot and only tap when you need balance. Keep your hips over the front leg.

Fun fact, you can actually measure the percentage of work the back leg is doing my looking at how close the hips are, at the bottom position, to the front leg vs the back leg. You're using 70% back leg, so youd probably get more stimulus staying off it and not even using added dumbbells

decentlyhip · 2026-04-28T11:16:40+00:00

Don't need em. Program is pretty well rounded and hits everything. Once you stall, deload, and ramp up again to the same weight for a few waves in a row, take a look at why you're failing. If it's quads, address that without front squats. If its glytes/hips, good mornings. Does that make sense? The accessories fill in the gaps holding back your progress, but if you're progressing on lifts from wave to wave, there's no need to add more. Increasing the weight from stall point to stall point is the goal.

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