Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Squat To A Million - Day 77

Tonight, I had about an hour to train and this is what I managed to put in at the squat racks:

SQ: bar x 20 x 2sets
SQ (w. 1 set of chains): bar x 10 x 2sets
SQ (w. 2 sets of chains): bar x 10 x 2sets, 135lbs x 5, 205lbs x 5*, 225lbs x 5*, 245lbs x 5*
SQ (w. 1 set of chains): 205lbs x 10 x 2sets*, 155lbs x 10 x 10sets (last 4 sets low bar), 135lbs x 10 x 2sets, 135lbs x 12 x 2sets, 135lbs x 20*
*= w. low bar position

I had to end it a little early to take my son to a lesson but, honestly, I didn't want to do more. Today, the garage was hot and humid - after an hour of squatting, I was drenched. I left the racks not knowing how much volume I had put in, and knowing that I might have to return to the racks later to finish. I didn't have to worry; volume for the session ended up being 41,570lbs (figuring 20lbs per set of 40lb chains).

Without fuss or fanfare, and after exactly 11 weeks: 1,005,573 pounds down - all done.

A bit anticlimactic really - I had hopes of ending this run with sets well above 300lbs, but it was not to be. While everything above 200lbs felt good and reasonably fast, my body has gotten used to higher reps and lower intensities - right now, anything much over 225lbs just feels heavy. That's acceptable for the time being - I went into this million pounds not having barbell squatted consistently for two years, and I know that following some rest, a few weeks of heavy will bring things around quickly. For the time being however, I'm looking forward to a little rest and recovery, and maybe some KB work.

Thank you everyone for your support and for joining me on this million pound journey. It's been educational and I'll be reflecting on it from time to time over the coming weeks. Fundraising will continue, so please contribute if you can here or at The American Red Cross

12 comments:

Hanley Tucks said...

Well done, phenomenal effort.

Matt said...

Well done Boris!

Pete Bush said...

The aggregate poundage is less awe-inspiring than the everyday movement: that was a lot of squatting. It is hard for me to get my two sessions in a week, sometimes.

A great effort for a great cause.

Markus said...

Congrats Boris! Really well done!

Boris said...

Thank you everyone! It was an interesting exercise in consistency. If I could do it over, of course there are some things I would do differently, but I'm happy that it went reasonably well. I'll try to write more about it soon.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! What a tremendous accomplishment!

Boris said...

Thank you Shawn.

Anonymous said...

I want add my congratulations, Boris. A great accomplishment both physically, and in fund raising for the Japan disaster.

Andy

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the tremendous achievement! And thanks for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us. I enjoy both the blog and the youtube vids.

Kristoffer Lindequist, Denmark.

Boris said...

Thank you Kristoffer!

jaimemario said...

Hello,
I have an issue with squatting where my flexibility is lacking to an embarrassing extent. it might seem irrelevant to this post but i don't know how else to contact you. here is a video of me doing movements demonstrating my poor squat flexibility. at first i squat as low as i can with keeping my heels on the floor and spine extended, then i continue to go lower and my form is destroyed ( heels lift, back rounds)
Second rep i do the same but from an anterior view
Third rep i try and do the stretch in starting strength where you squat and shove knees out with elbows, my back rounds and heels lift.
fourth, i try and grab my toes and squat like the guy in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1jC1sWTUFc&NR=1
what specifically should i do to fix this? I mean exercises, sets reps duration frequency etc. I've never found a clear answer to this.

PS did it in boxers/ very short shorts so you can see the joints better, haha.

Boris said...

Jaime,
I think I just replied to you on the CF forums. Check there and get back to me.