I am a 17 year old athlete, almost 6´1 and 157 pounds. High jumped 6ft off no training in 2006, started year 2007 doing distance cycling for three months, then switched back to track again. Trained for 3 months, my bw went from 143lb to 154, yet externally I am the same skinny kid as you can see in the picture. At the beginning july got a non track related injury which left me out for 4 months.
I am training now since january uneventful and also started lifting in january (no previous experience ).
My “problem” is the ratio between my deep squats and my power cleans. I am able to clean 1rm at 176lb (5rm at 154lb), while deep squatting 3x176lb is a complete nightmare, and front squatting 3x154lb the same. Since I am a total beginner I am doing a progressive overload on both lifts so that the ratio remains the same. My bench press 1rm is at 150lb now.
I have pretty long legs and arms and am fairly skinny but have really wide shoulders. It annoys me that my squat sucks so much, yet I am cleaning almost the same (1rm ratio perhaps at 1.1). I bet that if I could do full cleans properly I would be moving the same weights as in full squats.
On the other hand I have some interesting results on the track. I am running fairly consistent 30m at 4.2h from the blocks in trainers and recently ran 40m at 5.00 (deinterlaced video) on grass from reaction, 1:33 for the 600. I have also have some jumping abilities (14.7m l-l-l-l-r five bound test from standing, long jumped 5.9m from a 6 step (6 contacts) approach).
What does this mean? Should I focuse only in my squat (which sucks completely)?
I think step number 1 would should be understanding what your actually training for. Perhaps compete in some actual events when possible rather than trying to base stuff off of random workout numbers.
Judging from your numbers I would imagine it is a technical problem with your lifts.
I am actually training for a 200/400 / lj / tj combo. In the country where I live (argentina) it´s possible to be successful in all of them at a national level.
I certainly don´t know if it´s a problem with the technique. I am squatting ass to the ground, it´s completely hip dominated and the form is pretty solid. If I had bad form in the cleans it would be counterproductive, not as in the squat, where I could be “cheating”.
Based on some of the numbers you’ve mentioned, your strength seems to be in your jumping ability, even though you are relatively weak compared to adults. Your strength will improve a lot in a couple years if you’re lifting regularly, so don’t worry about the discrepancy between lifts at this stage…
any chance of posting some video, perhaps on youtube?
I’d be happy to take a look at your technique,but it’s extremely difficult to comment without seeing it!
While I haven’t much of a leg to stand on in track compared to the others on this site, I feel very confident in my ability to critique lifting technique…
Dont stress it to much, your a beginer. Things will shape up as you progress. Just stick to your program and the results will follow. Do you have a coach?
Yes, I do have a coach. The problem is that he was a marathoner and doesn´t have a clue about weightlifting, yet he manages to get some pretty good results with us but some decent lifting will help a lot. That´s why I am asking here for help.
I will try to increase my protein intake. If it´s useful, I am steadily gaining about 2.5 pounds every four weeks just through running. I will also follow your advise and wait for the results.
Meanwhile, should I try to increase the repetition numbers per set in the squat? (currently doing 4x3)
If your goal is more mass you’ll need more volume than 4x3. A classic 3x10 program would help to add some mass and once that’s in place shift to something more strength focused.
I just want to increase my overall strength but I don´t know if bulking up would be beneficial. I am doing twice a week 3x3 clean, 4x3 squat and 4x3 bench all at 80%, increasing the weight 5 pounds every week.
