# Finally break the 600lb barrier in the squat. Video



## chicken_hawk

Most of you know, I took up powerlifting as the ripe young age of 40(2yrs ago)...pretty smart. Since then I have had the opportunity to train withh Gbb out at the Sweatte Shop, in Chi town with Ed Coan and compete in 3 meets. I am certainly no stand out in the pling world, but have reached some small goals and hope to break a few masters records. Anyway, my next milestone is a 1700 lb total. It is still a ways off but this 605 squat is a step in the right direction. 

I fumbled the walkout, but was able to recover and drive it up handily. And for those of you who still full squat in this world of overlaoded leg presses and high box squatters, I want you to know you are not alone.

Now if I can get this shoulder to heal up.

Hello!
chicken_hawk1 shared a video with you.


View Video, http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/c... Uploads/20150406_170330_zps982td1ii.mp4.html
Hawk


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## The Grim Repper

Linky no work.


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## Phoenixk2

Yeah, nothing there.


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## chicken_hawk

Fixed

Hawk


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## AnaSCI

Nice work!


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## lycan Venom

nice, thanks for sharing. inspired me to go do a leg workout lol.


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## txpipeliner88

Holy shit hawk that was amazing!! Bad ass lift!!!


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## Phoe2006

Fuckin awesome brother


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## chrisr116

I can't get the video to come up.  Probably my old ass computer.  But still, congratulations brother.


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## custom creation

Nice work brother! I'm 43 and I am a powerlifter also. Maybe I can drive 3 hours to Chi town and hit legs hard with you sometime. I'm just outside  Indy!

Bear


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## Sandpig

That was awesome.


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## d2r2ddd

strong !!! !


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## turbobusa

Niiceee! GTG on depth for sure! Next stop 700 my man .. Cool thx for vid..
T


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## skinnymark

NIce man...

When you go for 1 rep max.. How many warmups do you usually do, and how much weight is on the set before you "go for it"???


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## MattG

Hell yeah brother :headbang:


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## Lavey

Very strong lift Indeed !!


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## Lavey

Very strong lift Indeed !!


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## chicken_hawk

skinnymark said:


> NIce man...
> 
> When you go for 1 rep max.. How many warmups do you usually do, and how much weight is on the set before you "go for it"???



Well, I always use a Russian style approach and start with around 50% for 5 , 60% for 3, 70% x2, 80%×1, then 90,95 and 100% for 1. I always warm up this way since I was turned onto it by psyche and sheiko. I used to do old school and do 135x 10, 225x8 etc...what a waste of energy...I mean if your max curl is 120lbs do you(rhetorical you) warm up with 30lbs? So, why burn all that energy in compound moves.  I will warm up chest a bit more, usually doing 2 sets at 50%.

Hope that helps,
Hawk


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## chicken_hawk

turbobusa said:


> Niiceee! GTG on depth for sure! Next stop 700 my man .. Cool thx for vid..
> T



You know its on my mind.

Hawk


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## chicken_hawk

custom creation said:


> Nice work brother! I'm 43 and I am a powerlifter also. Maybe I can drive 3 hours to Chi town and hit legs hard with you sometime. I'm just outside  Indy!
> 
> Bear



That would be alright by me, but I am actually near Kansas City.  However,  I am actually going the Chicago Fit expo as a handler in May. I am also considering traveling to Cincinnati in December for an SPF meet as I have friends at the Sweatte Shop. 

Hawk


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## skinnymark

PL and BB seem really at odds to me...

I want to be strong and look good. With my body type I can never really be at the top at either...

Whenever I focus on strength, i feel like im taking time away from shaping the muscle..
when i set aside my ego and try to isolate, my big lifts go flat or even go down and I dont feel like Im progressing...

whatever I want both...Im shooting for closer to 400 on the squat tho..
youre a madman


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## custom creation

I travel a lot in the midwest. I will try to get with you at some point and we will get a hell of a workout in.

Bear


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## chicken_hawk

skinnymark said:


> PL and BB seem really at odds to me...
> 
> I want to be strong and look good. With my body type I can never really be at the top at either...
> 
> Whenever I focus on strength, i feel like im taking time away from shaping the muscle..
> when i set aside my ego and try to isolate, my big lifts go flat or even go down and I dont feel like Im progressing...
> 
> whatever I want both...Im shooting for closer to 400 on the squat tho..
> youre a madman



Having trained and competed in bbing for 10 years before transitioning to Pling I would agree they do appear to be at odds with each other. And to a degree they are. However,  using DUP or daily undulating periodization is the best fix and possibly the best way to train period.

In defense of program hoppers; DUP revisited • Strengtheory


Hawk


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## chicken_hawk

custom creation said:


> I travel a lot in the midwest. I will try to get with you at some point and we will get a hell of a workout in.
> 
> Bear



Set the time, cuz I have the place.  Any time! 

Hawk


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## psych

Great lift bro!

I will be at the expo plus bringing some guys that are doin booth work.

That makes me want to squat so bad right now lol


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## chicken_hawk

psych said:


> Great lift bro!
> 
> I will be at the expo plus bringing some guys that are doin booth work.
> 
> That makes me want to squat so bad right now lol



Very cool. Man I can't wait!

Figures the only way I would out squat you is for you to get injured...lol.

Hawk


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## squatster

I tried to watch the vidio and allI got was sound-nothing else
I need to see it man-  I am hoping to be able to squat again- love the feeling-  so much fun to jump in with big guys and rep out with the max. You must see it a lot-guys put on 405 and go half way down for 1 or 2 reps and think they are bad ass. We pit on 600 and 700 lbs and they don't know what to think. We had on 1100 for my budy- every one in the gym was sitting and watching- he got it for 1 before that he got 960 for 8 full deep reps- he is also 6' 4" and 280+
Was fun to watch and great to train with him- little tough- me short as hell and him tall


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## turbobusa

That is awesome! I've never seen anyone squat those numbers anywhere
in 35 yrs of hardcore iron pits . That is badass ! 
I can't wait to tell my buddy in this video to hanger up! He was thinking he would get the all time record raw squat at spf in august. shit his little squat in this video is only a 75 lbs higher for a single than your buds deep 960 x8! 
I would love to stick that 960x 8 in his face if you have some video.Y
What the heck federation did this guy lift in? man just when you think you have seen it all!  Post up the vids . this will be awesome![ame]https://youtu.be/84pgqx4XEUY[/ame]
Thanks for posting..!..   TURBOBUSA..........


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## The Grim Repper

Awesome CH!


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## squatster

Turbobusa - I sent you a pm
Wasn't sure if the guy would want me to post him up here
He was in the USAWA

Chicken halk- If I can get my ass back in and work around my injeries-I am coming over to squat with you- Is there a way you can post the movie again
That is awsome-hitting 600lbs  man-  wish you were around here- my body would love to work with you
They say the only difference between 600 and 800 is form tweeks and the group you are pushing with
What is the world record now?


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## squatster

Chicken halk I am glad you posted this- am doing squats. Now-starting today with the bar man
If you didn't start this thred I would be at the donut shack instead- one day at a time for this old fk


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## chicken_hawk

Pasted the link again Squatster. Sorry, for the delay but I was at a meet in Chicago and was away from the board. But, hey I am no Derek Kendall, but I will train with anyone who goes to depth. Half ass half squatters usually stay clear as my gym only has a few 500 + squatters...and just as few who take 405 to depth.  
Hawk




http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/c... Uploads/20150406_170330_zps982td1ii.mp4.html


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## squatster

It's so much easer to keep form and ballance going deep with heavy weights


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## turbobusa

squatster said:


> It's so much easer to keep form and ballance going deep with heavy weights



You are right on the money with that squatster!
large mover muscles activate at various points on decent and accent.
I noted you said you area bit older. Small tweaks can make a huge  difference. contrary to popular () belief 3/4 and half squats, staying above parallel are god way to fuck something up. Ok to takea short rep feel when breaking new ground. A 1000 lb carefully spottec walk out can really help some break say the 830 barrier for full as an example.
As a general rule though short reps are a recipe for imbalances .

Thx   T.


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## killswitch604

Awesome lift, bro!
Stealing your Russian approach, by the way.


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## killswitch604

skinnymark said:


> PL and BB seem really at odds to me...
> 
> I want to be strong and look good. With my body type I can never really be at the top at either...
> 
> Whenever I focus on strength, i feel like im taking time away from shaping the muscle..
> when i set aside my ego and try to isolate, my big lifts go flat or even go down and I dont feel like Im progressing...
> 
> whatever I want both...Im shooting for closer to 400 on the squat tho..
> youre a madman



It can definitely seem that way, but I'm convinced you need both if you want to be a truly developed bodybuilder. I like to work in 3 week powerlifting cycles, where I'll do two consecutive cycles, and then switch to a high volume style of training for a few weeks. Right now I'm powerlifting three days a week, with one high volume leg day, and have been throwing in a few high volume exercises after my main lifts are done on the other days. I put on a lot of size over the past year with this approach, because I've never focused so much on improving my strength.


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## chicken_hawk

killswitch604 said:


> It can definitely seem that way, but I'm convinced you need both if you want to be a truly developed bodybuilder. I like to work in 3 week powerlifting cycles, where I'll do two consecutive cycles, and then switch to a high volume style of training for a few weeks. Right now I'm powerlifting three days a week, with one high volume leg day, and have been throwing in a few high volume exercises after my main lifts are done on the other days. I put on a lot of size over the past year with this approach, because I've never focused so much on improving my strength.



There is some solid wisdom there. When I started Pling I did not want any more size, but in just a few years of nothing above 5 reps I have put on nearly 15 lbs. Don't underestimate the size of fast twitch fibers...just look at a sprinters quads...dam.

Hawk


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## cybrsage

You are a fucking BEAST!!!  Damn!


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## chrisr116

That was too easy for you, add some more weight.  Seriously, great job.  You made it look easy.


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## chicken_hawk

chrisr116 said:


> That was too easy for you, add some more weight.  Seriously, great job.  You made it look easy.



Thanks, it went up fast. I suspect I had another 30 to 40 in the tank if I can walk it out lol.

Hawk


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## K1

A lot of weight man...Good job!


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## squatster

Finnaly saw the video
That was cool man
BUT
How the hell you squat in those sneekers?
Do you have socks on?
You had that easy as hell- you could have done that for 6 or 8 easy
Looked like you were thinking about it a lot on the walk back
When we going to see that for reps man


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## squatster

Wish I knew about the Russian style when I was doing it- I used to go up 90 each set - it made a long day


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## chicken_hawk

squatster said:


> Finnaly saw the video
> That was cool man
> BUT
> How the hell you squat in those sneekers?
> Do you have socks on?
> You had that easy as hell- you could have done that for 6 or 8 easy
> Looked like you were thinking about it a lot on the walk back
> When we going to see that for reps man



Ha ha, a lot of guys who squat low bar use chucks. I love them as they don't wiggle and keep the weight back. And yeah, I have ankle socks on. And the thing about the Russian way is that you don't get under heavy weight a lot, so if you are going to do a max attmept you need to peak for a bit. To give you and idea. My last meat was in June of 2014...I hit 563 on my squat. From that point I never got heavier than 465 until a month before that attempt. I worked up to 535 one week, 565 the next, then 605...so, I was shakey with those heavy weights. If I peaked longer and did some walk outs I would be fine. 

I suspect 650 is right there , but I am focusing on getting my shoulder mobility back first. If you watch the vid, you will notice my elbow shaking. My ROM is so poor it hurts to do squats and twist my arm back. So once I get that back I will attack my bench and squat harder at top weights. But, for now I am rehabing and working on weakness.

Thanks, 
Hawk


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