This past Sunday was a squat day at Apollon, and the lift for the day was a yolk bar box squat with 5 sets of chain. It's no secret that I hate this damn bar, which is exactly why I continue to use it. It just hits my weaknesses on a level that a straight bar does not.
Since losing weight over the last couple of months, my gear has been really loose on me, which has been fine since I wasn't training for anything. Now that I've picked out a meet in September, it's time to get serious and get back into some damn gear.
I dug up an old Jack suit that has always been too small. Now however, it fits like a glove. Since I'm squatting in the Metal Canvas suit now (which does still fit) I will cut the straps on the jack and turn it into a brief.
Here's how it went:
Worked up to 335 raw, then put the suit bottom on with 385. I had no idea what my pr is and didn't feel like searching for it, so I just worked up until it got hard.
Wound up making it to 545, with about 200lbs of chain. This HAS to be a pr because there was a time not too long ago where this weight would have been in pr range without the chain.
I think using the loose gear for the last year has actually brought my geared strength up quite a bit, because it's allowed me to keep the feedback loop similar while still forcing my muscles to work harder to make my lifts. I think that with some more time to climate to heavier weights on my back, I'll be nearing, possibly surpassing my 220 prs very soon!
Stuck to the basics for assistance with reverse hypers and abs. I don't do a ton of assistance when using stiff gear because I'm already pretty shot after the main movement, and I certainly was today. Now that I have a meet in sight, I'll gradually be ramping up the assistance volume and doing more work on off days.
By "more", I mean "any". Just being honest.