# my squat is less than my bench press... what's going on



## lordgeorge

I squatted a shocking 50kg for 5x5 yesterday. I have been out of the gym for

a couple of months, and have been doing weighted jumping squats 3 days a week. My Bench press seems to have increased to about 75kg from 65kg for no reason I can think of I am 6'2, 18 195 ish lbs I'm on the madcow program now,

I just wanted to know what a decent squat would be for someone of my stats,

so I have something to work towards


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## benicillin

i wouldn't worry about what anyone else can do mate and just keep pushing yourself and increasing your lifts.

Is your form good? if you have poor form this can make your lift suffer


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## lordgeorge

Hi, well my form is alright, I have a problem in that my back is a lot more curved than it should be, and this causes me to hunch over when squatting. Been trying to sort that out but I reckon it's a psychological thing not wanting to put too much weight on so I don't risk damaging my back ?


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## Andy Dee

benicillin said:


> i wouldn't worry about what anyone else can do mate and just keep pushing yourself and increasing your lifts.
> 
> Is your form good? if you have poor form this can make your lift suffer


Agreed, just keep pushing yourself, keep things intense and you will grow.


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## Mark W H

I wouldn't worry too much about what weight everyone else says you should be doing, just concentrate on gradually increasing the weight you squat every week, your legs will grow and your weights increase. 2.5kg increases each week will soon add up


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## God

Where you're new to the gym your squat will shoot up and I wouldn't be surprised if you could up the weights 5kg every week for quite some time. Just make sure to eat plenty , lift heavy and get some rest. More training is not always better.

5kg increases may not sound much but if you consider in 2.5 months you could double the weight, it starts to sound a bit better. Good luck.


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## MarkFranco

Pretty weak squat, IMO you should be doing stronglifts 5x5 and not madcow.

Madcow is an intermediate workout due to the heavy, moderate, light day and the increase in weight is weekly instead of every session.

50kg squat is defo begineers weight.


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## 8103

At 50kg squat I would recommend starting strength


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## Guest

wouldnt worry, im guessing youve been benching more than youve squatted? itll sort itself out if you pull your finger out


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## Spieren

lordgeorge said:


> Hi, well my form is alright, I have a problem in that my back is a lot more curved than it should be, and this causes me to hunch over when squatting.


Sounds like your form is all wrong. Get someone who knows what their doing to have a look, or take a look at this Vid





 although you have to look closely to see the *convex* arch in his back the technique looks perfect..!

Get your form absolutely perfect before upping the weight.



lordgeorge said:


> I reckon it's a psychological thing not wanting to put too much weight on so I don't risk damaging my back ?


Use a Squat Rack if you can. and be sure to use the safety bars, they could give you more confidence..!

Hope this helps


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## lordgeorge

thanks for all the help everyone, I'm switching to the starting strength routine


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## aothai

If your back causes you to hunch, try the low bar squat routine. It helped me immensly!


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## CoffeeFiend

lordgeorge said:


> I squatted a shocking 50kg for 5x5 yesterday. I have been out of the gym for
> 
> a couple of months, and have been doing weighted jumping squats 3 days a week. My Bench press seems to have increased to about 75kg from 65kg for no reason I can think of I am 6'2, 18 195 ish lbs I'm on the madcow program now,
> 
> I just wanted to know what a decent squat would be for someone of my stats,
> 
> so I have something to work towards


I know someone with a very slight curvature of the spine and she had to wear a back brace for a few years (just at nights) to fix it, if youve been the same in the past dont stop using one mate, these things can get worse if you dont keep em in check. Anyways wish ya luck regardless


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## warren

Spieren said:


> Sounds like your form is all wrong. Get someone who knows what their doing to have a look, or take a look at this Vid
> 
> 
> 
> 
> although you have to look closely to see the *convex* arch in his back the technique looks perfect..!
> 
> Get your form absolutely perfect before upping the weight.
> 
> Use a Squat Rack if you can. and be sure to use the safety bars, they could give you more confidence..!
> 
> Hope this helps


this /\

i was squatting 130kg ( half reps ) for 3 like 3" rom, then got mike to give me few pointers when was in the gym and now, squatting 165kg a$$ as low as i can go, well below parrallel. sort form will help


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## Tom90

Ive been on starting strength for a few months but I'm the complete opposite, my squat is almost double my bench!

How frustrating


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## MarkFranco

Something thats really improved my form reccently is doing box squats, its given me a great feel "sitting back" correctly and then driving back up with my hips


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## Andrew Jacks

I learnt to squat in a cage, you need to get the correct arch of the back and W grip. Do not set the bar on your shoulders but more the top of your arched back with your arms locking it in place.


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## lordgeorge

I've been working really hard on a 5x5 routine and my squats gone up about 40kg already, So Im really pleased about that


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## Mark W H

my squat and bench are about the same, but then i've had lower back problems in the past which have restricted my squating


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