it requires a bit more effort to maintain that leg drive with the latter, but it feels like it’s much more effective than the former when i can get it firing properly.

still experimenting. unfortunately, due to some life circumstances, wasn’t able to finish days 3 and 4 of week 4.

while the leg drive feels strong, it’s almost as if the positioning makes it so that i still struggle to keep myself on top of my traps with said leg drive.

conversely, as shown on this backoff set, tucking my feet underneath me more allows that leg drive to keep me on top of my traps [95 kg x 6]

[W4 D2] solid paused double for this top set. still experimenting with foot placement for optimizing leg drive. [110 kg x 2 2-ct pause]

i found that having my legs further out from underneath my body helps me feel my quads driving a lot more, however…

this is my first time squatting 400+ and pulling 460+ lbs ever since i pulled my back last year. ecstatic doesn’t even begin to describe how i feel about it. we’re back baby

buuuuuut it was more than made up for with a SMASHING deadlift PR! last block i couldn’t even pull 210 kg for 1, so a +15 kg double at this speed was awesome. last time i pulled this weight was for a single, and it was UGLY [225 kg x 2]

bench was unfortunate sadly. goal was 127 - 135 kg for 1, but this 125 kg set was meant to be my last warm up and moved horribly, so it ended there. [125 kg x 1]

few slight adjustments/cues that REALLY helped today click:
1. keep arms completely locked/straight at the top before starting the rep (prevents over-retracting shoulder blades)
2. drop the elbows to the floor
3. push up and BACK

[W3D4] tertiary bench saved me today, this was the best bench i’ve had in a long while. let my shoulders retract ever so slightly to help myself stay on top of driving my upper traps into the bench [105 kg x 1 3-ct pause]

deads were a bit better, but still felt worse than my primary deads on day 1 [170 kg x 3 paused]

[W3D3] strange lift week with my primary feeling great but secondaries feeling terrible, hoping it’s just fatigue. my right hip was once again NOT happy with my squat, and a minor headache made it difficult to get a solid brace [137.5 kg x 3

[W3 D2] fell behind on lift posts but another abysmal secondary bench day. really just didn’t move right or feel good at all [105 kg x 2 2-ct pause]

deads are still progressing very nicely. setup feeling locked in and strong [200 kg x 2]

bench moved so much better than i was expecting. really trying to focus on driving my neck into the bench by really flattening my neck + tucking my chin has been working wonders [120 kg x 1]

[W2 D4] solid bench. really need to focus on staying up on top of my traps, driving them into the bench, instead of driving my shoulder blades into the bench. my shoulder feels SO much better with the former. [100 kg x 1 3-ct pause]

once again this is pretty light weight though, being <300 lbs, so i’d have to see how things hold up once heavier weight is loaded