I took off about four months of all power lifting and my deads and squats have gone downhill fast. I went from doing deadlifts with a max of 465 and a max squat of 315 (pussy I know but it's all I got) to significantly less in each (325 max in deads and 275 in squats). My lower back feels so weak doing them (esp today) and my legs are wobbling a bit feeling like they aren't helping much in the lift. Should I just lighten to weight and progress up slower so I don't f**k up my back?
For squats, should I take a wider stance to bring the lift back up? I feel like I can't come out of the hole and taking a wider stance is new to me so it feels unnatural at the bottom. An ideas on fixing that and bring up the weight?
Should I be doing good mornings, stiff deads to help aid in the lift?
Should I follow some of the routines here to blow it back up?
As far as squat stance, I personally use a slightly wider than shoulder width stance -- works well for me and feels very natural now that I have used it for about 5 years.
I'd lighten the weight and concentrate on form, SLOWLY building the weight back up. Sounds like you have some core strength/stability issues -- make sure you don't neglect ab training. I'd also do a few sets of hyperextensions (SLOW, no weight) as part of your ab workouts. I prefer those over good mornings, but some folks are the opposite (I have a friend that routinely does over 315 for reps on good mornings and has a phenomenally strong lower back).
If you have problems "getting out of the hole", you probably have some hamstring strength issues. Stiff legged deadlifts and ass-to-floor squats should help. Remember, on stiff-legged deads concentrate on your form and that mind/muscle connection -- you should feel 90% of the stress in your hamstrings and glutes.
My $0.02.
