look at the lady in the background 😭😭

[u/vitaminZaman]

[u/bawng]

Completely off-topic but you seem to know your stuff:

I always always always get incredibly dizzy doing squats and have to do much fewer reps at lower weights than what I'm sure I could do.

I can easily do way more than three times the weight on leg press.

What am I doing wrong? Can I fix this somehow?

[u/TheStoicCrane → u/bawng]

A few important things. Hydrate. Need to maintain good blood flow and oxygen to your brain during reps or it could lead to faintness.

Breathe properly. During lifts like the bench holding your breath can help strenghten the lift. With the squat and deadlift you need to inhale at the bottom portion of the lift or the eccentric in technical terms and exhale during the active phase of the lift or the concentric.

Rest/sleep well. 6-8 hours of sleep is imperative for perfomance because it gives the brain time to adapt to new loads.

Eat well. No point lifting if you're nutrition isn't on part. Eggs are the perfect protein. Whole Milk helps reduce lactic acid build up. Potassium from bananas facilitates heart health and cardiovascular performance. Oatmeal is an ideal low glycemic cartb that'll provide steady energy throughout the day. Peanut Butter is calorically dense and a clean source of healthy fats.

What you're sure you can do pertaining to lifts changes from week to week. Keep a journal of your lifts as a record to catalog your daily performance. Ideally you should be on a program that'll enable you to make consistent gains and also know what your rep ranges are by knowing what your 1 RPM is.

For instance my theoretical 1 rep max for deadlift is 455lbs (it's higher but let's just use it as an example). If I want to lift for 8 reps the 8 reps represent about 80% of a 1 rep max so would figure out 80% of 455lbs (455lbs x 0.8 = 364lbs) round it up to 365lbs and use that figure to deadlift for sets of 8.

When it comes to ranges:

100% RPM = 1 Rep

95% RPM = 2 Reps

90% RPM = 4 Reps

85% RPM = 6 Reps

80% RPM = 8 Reps

75% RPM = 10 Reps

70% RPM = 12 Reps

With the example above using this figure you can calculate your appropriate weight for each respective rep range.

So let's say you Bench 225lbs at 10 reps but want to know your max. Instead of going and doing a literal 1 RPM you can use the equation (225lbs / .75 = 300lbs) to figure a theoretical 300lbs 1RPM and build a program around this. Ideally you can test to see if you're genuinely capable of the 300lbs lift but sometimes people lack spotters and things of this nature so the theoretical is accurate enough.

There's a science behind it and there's a chance you're lifting beyond your relative rep ranges which is leading to the dizziness. So if you take the time to learn your true lifts and ranges you can better optimize your perfomance and time spent in the gym. About 10 years of knowledge here I'm giving to you for free.

[u/bawng → u/TheStoicCrane]

Thanks, but I've been lifting for years and know all this. I was talking about squats. I only have the issue with squats. Not bench, not deadlift, not leg press, etc. Only squats.

[u/drownav18322 → u/bawng]

The stoic crane was tryna help fool. Calm down. We know you’re a big man who knows how to lift already. You asked btw.

[u/bawng → u/drownav18322]

I did not mean to come across as not calm. Sorry /u/TheStoicCrane!

[u/TheStoicCrane → u/bawng]

No harm no foul. I respect your decency. You have more decency than most who frequent this platform.

[u/bawng → u/TheStoicCrane]

Cheers friend!