i HAAAAAATE squatting

FluffyDogsRule

hey, ladies! some of you are my friends on here, so have already heard me complaining about not enjoying lifting lately.

well, i deadlifted today and LOVED it, so i realized that it's actually squats that i hate. i dread them. they make me grumpy the night before and for several hours after...don't even ask about DURING. they make me so *****y.

if it helps, M and F i do squats, lunges, and rows. ..these are the days i despise. W i do deadlifts, ohp, and floor press (or pushups).

i'm thinking of switching to 3x5 for squats simply for mental health purposes. what do you think? i have not deloaded, so i know i'm not supposed to switch yet. but the thought of 3x5 sounds so glorious.

another option would be dropping the lunges, since i know part of why i hate squats is b/c i know it's not over when they are finished, i still have lovely lunges after.

any advice is appreciated! you can also say "suck it up...those lifts are building you a great booty".

FluffyDogsRule

oh, and thanks in advance!!

lwoodroff

Try 3x5 or a progressive load like some of the girls do so only 1x5 at heaviest weight?

bumblebums

Do you have any insight into what exactly you dislike about squats? I mean, all lifts are somewhat unpleasant... They are supposed to be hard.

You could play with squat variations--try high bar, low bar, front squats, split squats, sumo squats, and those overhead Olympic snatch things. Just figuring out what type of squat you don't hate would take a few weeks.

DaniH826

Go for the 3x5. I got burned out on squatting a while back and took a break from it. I can't even count the hundreds upon hundreds of squats I've done since the beginning of the year. Well no, I probably could count them because I track all my workouts, but ... why Nothankyou. So if you get burned out ... take a break, or scale back. Better to do some squatting than none at all. And like bumblebums said, try some variations (although if I remember correctly, you don't have a squat rack so you've been doing stuff like split squats and whatnot all along, right?).

bumblebums

Oh, and yeah, I can't remember the last time I trained the squat in five sets across. I would die. I do three sets at my working weight and a couple of warm-ups, progressively loaded. You can only keep up the 5x5 pace for so long while adding weight to the bar on a regular basis.

kirabob

There is no reason to not switch to 3x5. Maybe you could do that on Monday, then on Fridays do 3 sets, but increase each one by 10 pounds up to your working weight? Squats +lunges is pretty killer - no wonder you are dreading it!

FluffyDogsRule

yes, dani, that's right...i did front squats, then hack, now back to front. maybe i'll look into other variations. and doing 5x5 one day and 3x5 another is a great idea! i'll definitely start with that.

i'm not exactly sure what i hate about them...maybe it is just that it's HARD, especially knowing the squats are coming. but just hearing from you that it really is hard makes me feel more motivated to work through...it's not just me being a baby.

thanks!

FluffyDogsRule

And they make me really hot!!!!!!!!

DaniH826

And they make me really hot!!!!!!!!

We can be babies from time to time! It's fine!

Just be flexible, cause there's nothing wrong with adapting a program to your personal needs. If your body is telling you to squat 3x5, then that's what you do. It's better to adjust some things rather than end up hating your workout. Being challenged is one thing; feeling hatred and dread is another. If squatting is stressing you out to the point that you dread your workouts, then swap some things around, or you'll just end up quitting in disgust, and nobody wants that.

hsnider29

I'm not really a fan of squatting while I'm doing it. I keep being a chicken and deloading. I will get up to 120 pounds and then think it's too hard and deload to 95 lbs. I've done this 3 or 4 times since January.

I have no advice but I can commiserate with you.

cats847

Squats are uncomfortable, they're draining, they're hard. But that's why they're great!!

"There is never an absolute answer to everything, except of course that you have to do your squats." - Mark Rippetoe :bigsmile:

FluffyDogsRule

Squats are uncomfortable, they're draining, they're hard. But that's why they're great!!

"There is never an absolute answer to everything, except of course that you have to do your squats." - Mark Rippetoe :bigsmile:

I am so taping that quote to my wall!!!!!! Thank you!! Haha!

Amazing1985RSD

Usually when I have bad days at the gym, it's because of consuming a low number of calories or not getting enough rest.

DaniH826

Squats are uncomfortable, they're draining, they're hard. But that's why they're great!!

"There is never an absolute answer to everything, except of course that you have to do your squats." - Mark Rippetoe :bigsmile:

Squats are Rippetoe's solution for everything from hangnails to cancer ...

neandermagnon

Squats are uncomfortable, they're draining, they're hard. But that's why they're great!!

"There is never an absolute answer to everything, except of course that you have to do your squats." - Mark Rippetoe :bigsmile:

I love that quote.

I sometimes get a mental block before doing a set of squats.... but love them afterwards lol. The main reason is I'm using 2 bedside tables as a squat rack, so have to squat down to get under the bar, then squat back up again with it on my shoulders to get to the start position. I realised the mental block was about this more than the actual set of squats. But in the long term it'll make me stronger lol

FluffyDogsRule

Success!! I did my squats without dread this morning! I did progressive load, which really just turned into 2 warmup sets and 3 working sets, but I ended higher than ever before!). And I repeated Rippletoe's quote over and over in my head.

Here's hoping I can keep up this attitude.

Thank you!

cats847

Success!! I did my squats without dread this morning! I did progressive load, which really just turned into 2 warmup sets and 3 working sets, but I ended higher than ever before!). And I repeated Rippletoe's quote over and over in my head.

Here's hoping I can keep up this attitude.

Thank you!

Ha! That's awesome!! Very glad to hear that :happy: