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Metal Militia Squat Training
By: Sebastian Burns
So you think Metal Militia Training is all about the bench press. Well
what most people do not realize is that the principals for gaining
strength while using supportive power lifting gear is all pretty much
the same. Also these principals are pretty simple to understand. You
will always have support in the bottom of the lift when wearing a bench
shirt or a squat suit. So it is more logical to train the areas of the
lifts that are not supported to gain max benefit from the use of
supportive gear. Unfortunately this logic is often lost on most lifters.
While it is important to train all areas and aspects of the lift, it is
also most important to recognize and train the areas that will produce
the biggest and best results to your powerlifting total and when you are
talking about lifting in gear this means getting stronger at the mid to
top end of the movement and learning to use your gear. We have discussed
many times in my articles the importance of getting stronger and
increasing the volume and workload to the top end of the Bench Press.
Those who have heeded these words are enjoying a new level of benching
never thought possible. It only seems logical to apply the same
technique to training the squat.
After you think about it for awhile you will see that it becomes even
more logical to get strong at the top given the extra support you get
from Briefs, Knee Wraps and a Canvas or Denim squat suit. You now have
twice as much support squatting as in the bench press. With Knee wraps
you now gain the extra spring and help out of the bottom and through the
middle and to the top of the movement.
Lets Break down the aspects of training the lift first we have the top
of the lift we have already decided that this is a very important factor
in our training routine. This is by no means the only factor in the lift
but rather just a vital piece to a bigger puzzle. The other factor in
this puzzle is learning to squat with a squat suit on. Some people train
hard and then try to add this in at the last minute .This never works.
What some people don’t understand is that this is the movement you will
actually be doing on the day of the contest. Logic dictates that this is
also an area that should be given the utmost attention. Far to many
lifters are using other exercises to improve their main lifts instead of
the main lifts with full ROMs . In this day and age of big support there
is a whole new aspect to the lifts themselves learning and improving
Technique and the ability to control bone breaking support has become the
name of the game. This is what power lifting has become today you either
get onboard or get left behind. This is what has always intrigued me
about power lifting it is not only about how strong you are but how
smart you are and how efficiently you spend your training time and
learning gear and body angles.
It is important to recognize where you need your work. Just like in
bench training it is important to access what Skill level you are at in
your full gear so you can build a routine around that. If you have never
squatted in a suit before or have trouble with bending over to far or
balance trouble in your suit stance or not being able to get decent
depth. You will need to direct your full attention to these problems
early on in your training cycle. There is no sense doing a bunch of
elaborate exercises if you do not have your form down to a tee first. So
if you are in that category Increase your volume of fully suited up
squats. take the time to learn new body angles to help you reach a
competition depth. Instead of just piling more weight on saying I just
need more weight to get there. This is never a good idea because you
never practice in the full groove of the movement. While it is easier to
reach a depth with more weight it should be perfected at Sub maximal
weights to ensure you will be able to reach depth with your squat
opener. This is the most important lift of the meet and it sets the
stage for the rest of the meet. I like to feel confident that I can hit
depth with any weight during a meet .This will keep nervous energy to a
minimum and put your mind at ease when getting ready for a meet. One
less thing to worry about come meet day.
Lets move on to a few workouts I will list 2 workouts that focous on the
top and midrange of the squat along with suit lifting.
SQUAT WORKOUT #1
High Box (18” to 20” Depending on Body Shape)
8 to 10 Sets 3 Reps
Work up to a 3 RM
Mid Box(1 ½ to 2 inches lower than High Box)
6 to 8 Sets 3 Reps
Work Up to a 1 to 3 RM
Early in the cycle Do a lower box on this day also right at or slightly
below parallel
Squat Suit on
Start with a lighter weight and work up to a training max or a double.
It is important to learn balance with your suit on so do sets of 2 or 3
reps on the way up. Be sure to have someone calling your depth and
experiment with foot placement and foot angle to get depth. You will
need someone who will call you true depth. So you can get a feel for
your technique changes. Remember with power lifting we are always trying
to shorten the range of motion on all exercises. So you are trying to
move the bar in the shortest distance trying to get a depth call so just
like in benching it is important to keep your position through out the
entire lift. Even the smallest deviation in form could have devastating
effects on your lift. Some of the things that should always be worked on
is staying as straight as possible when squatting down. This should also
be practiced on box squats .Often I see people bending forward or
letting their knees go forward. If you watch someone squat from the side
as soon as they start to bend at the waist their hips stop going down.
This means you are bringing the bar lower and you are not getting any
closer to hitting depth. You also must learn to push into the support of
the suit if you slack on this at all during the lift you will bend
forward or let your knees slip forward avoiding the support. this is
also very important to practice in your full gear with wraps so you
learn how to manipulate the support of wraps and tight suit and belt. I
personally believe this to be the most important aspect of training the
squat and any other lift that involves supportive equipment. A large
percent of your training Time must be spent learning how to use your
supportive gear. Getting stronger at the upper end of the movement is
the key to using this support to the maximum degree. Therefore the lift
becomes a balance between these two factors.
This workout Can be done every other week
Workout #2
Low Box Squat With Bands
Start with one band the first week and work up to a max triple adding
plates. The next week add another set of bands and repeat the 3 rm if
you do this every 2 weeks you should be strong enough to reach your
previous bar weight.
Squat Suit
Work up to a heavy 2 or 3 RM
You will be extra tired from using the bands and it will not be possible
to hit a heavy single so here is a chance to get some work in while you
are tired. This kind of work can really build some strength that will be
useful on meet day.
To add more volume on this day you could do some sort of good morning or
stiff leg deadlift for sets of 5 to 10 reps.
I am confident that if you apply some of these principals into your
squat training you will see great results in your meet squats. In
closing I would like to touch on the importance of getting as many full
squat reps as possible in your Suit. Just as in bench pressing the full
movement in full gear is a movement in itself and needs to be practiced.
If you are always a little high or unable to get legal depth you will
always be disappointed at the meet when you must hit full depth.
Remember it is better and much less stressful knowing you can make depth
on your opener. It is always best to be relaxed and confident on meet
day. Please check out WWW.UNDERGROUNDSTRENGTH.COM for DVDs of our
workouts. Also Visit WWW.METALMILITIA.NET for more articles and Training
Videos. I would like to thank all those who have e mailed and
called me with positive feedback. Feel free to e mail me with any
questions. Metalmilitiabench@yahoo.com
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