Hi LuciusFox,
I'm glad you asked. I get asked all the time about my squatting numbers and I'm always happy to help a young fan.
One fateful summer, I got that free rack, a Sports Authority set, and started. I squatted 2 times a week for one heavy set of 20 reps. Now and then I'd add deads or benching, but most of the time, it was just squats. I pigged out at the same time- I had just quit teaching and had nothing to do but lift, eat, and play PS2.
By the end of the summer I had gained 30 pounds (most was muscle- i finally filled out) and I was regularly doing 300 pounds to parallel for 20-rep squats, just like the internet article I had read had described. (We've all read that one- and it works!) It was at this time I joined a gym and started to break weights over 300.
315... 335... 355... the weights went up as my reps begain to dip below 20. I always had a spotter or two, and usually finished without assistance. Soon I was using 405, with 2 spotters, every other weekend on Sunday, with knee wraps. I got up to 8 or so very sickening reps that first time, and nearly sharted. Rough day. But I continued on. It got easier as I hit the early 420 and 430s.
Hurricane Charley came shortly thereafter and destroyed my beloved SOS Gym in Pt Charlotte, FL. So, I joined a new gym in the fall. By this time, I was working a ton and attending FT classes. I started doing cardio- for the first time in 2 years- and couldn't run 1/8 mile without stopping. Shinsplints followed. But after a while, the cardio came easier for me.
Today I usually squat without a spotter and typically don't go over 315 for 10 slow safe reps. I don't use wraps, and I don't weigh 220 anymore. I'm at 191 today. My knees ache most days from the cardio, so I am careful about risking heavy leg work while dieting.
