I'm terrified of squats

[Stork]

Topic says it all. I'm doing powercleans + front squats in this program and the weight scares the hell out of me. The pressure to not fail every time is huge. Not only that but after two sets of squats I'm shaking and totally lacking energy. I finished my five sets (5, 5, 5, 3, 5) and now I have a headache and just want to collapse. I still have a set of deadlifts, five overhead presses and three pull ups to do but I'm so exhausted.

I'm definately hydrated, and I had a huge bowl of oats + whey about an hour before workout.

What should I do? What the hell am I doing wrong??

[Faraz]

What weights are you doing on front squats??

[Stork]

What weights are you doing on front squats??

Not even my bodyweight, about 10kg shy. Last three workouts was 5x5x65kg (failed), 5x5x65kg, 5x5x67.5kg (failed).

I managed 4/5 sets of overhead presses but I was so damn wasted I cut the workout short, didn't do any pull ups or deadlifts.

[Faraz]

I'm doing about the same on squats about 75kg which is about 10 shy of body weight, I did the same workout and was absolutely smashed at the end.
I was shaking and puffing after the squats too....... its a sign of a good workout for me!! After the deadlifts I had to sit down do a few minutes.

How active are you the rest of the day/week? are eating/sleeping enough?

As for the pressure of failing, I wouldn't worry, just keep at it and the progress will come.

[Stork]

I'm doing about the same on squats about 75kg which is about 10 shy of body weight, I did the same workout and was absolutely smashed at the end.
I was shaking and puffing after the squats too....... its a sign of a good workout for me!! After the deadlifts I had to sit down do a few minutes.

How active are you the rest of the day/week? are eating/sleeping enough?

As for the pressure of failing, I wouldn't worry, just keep at it and the progress will come.

Most of my time is spent sitting at the computer but I do head down to the gym for cardio (400kcal's worth, about 30 minutes) at least 2-3 times a week as well as weight training strictly every other day and occasional jogs/bike rides/walks.

My diet is good, I get plenty of protein and I rarely go hungry.

I think I don't sleep very well before a weight training session because I'm partly excited that I get to work out but mostly scared shitless that I have to work out. This progressive stuff is very hard to me, I hate failure and to me not making a set is a failure I think it's a psychological thing I need to get over but I don't know how!

[luco]

Don't know how helpful this is, but I've got the same problem and I can't imagine we're the only ones here. Squats are just scary.. For me I just have to amp myself up a bit before every set of squats. Make sure you get plenty of rest between sets as well. For most exercises I take about 2-3 mins rest, but for squats I take whatever I can get, usually 4-5 mins. Good luck getting over this, mental barriers suck just as much as lifting plateaus.

[mjh]

Cleans before squats can take a lot out of you, and a lot of it is mental, I think. I found the clean to be a dramatic and stressful movement (also fun, and effective, yes). But squatting after heavy cleans can be tough, especially when you're meeting the limits of your clean and/or squat.

I think the only real solution is to find a rack. It can be annoying to be told to use a rack when you're only cleaning and front squatting because you don't have one, but it's a pretty black and white issue. Rack = back squat = more progress.

[Rob_M.]

Cleans before squats can take a lot out of you, and a lot of it is mental, I think.

I agree. I've been cleaning the bar onto my shoulders since I started the SL5x5 (and also recently when doing Rippetoe's 3x5,) and when I got to around 55KG it was actually quite stressful. I mean, a 5x5 or 3x5 set of cleans at that weight is obviously a lift in itself-squatting immediately afterwards is both physically and mentally tough.

[paul]

try having some more simple sugars, like orange juice

[bigwhat62]

squats are suppose to be hard but scary? come on man, just lift it 3 times a week. make it a lift you enjoy and slaughter it every session. any reason you arent doing back squats?

[Lathiel]

and i'd personally limit your cardio. You might just be doing too much and you're mentally and physically handicapping yourself before your next session.

[Stork]

Don't know how helpful this is, but I've got the same problem and I can't imagine we're the only ones here. Squats are just scary.. For me I just have to amp myself up a bit before every set of squats. Make sure you get plenty of rest between sets as well. For most exercises I take about 2-3 mins rest, but for squats I take whatever I can get, usually 4-5 mins. Good luck getting over this, mental barriers suck just as much as lifting plateaus.

Alright, I'll try getting more rest between sets.

try having some more simple sugars, like orange juice

And I'll try that, thanks.

[guni]

I've dreaded squats sometimes. I think it's a good thing. It means you are aware you're gonna be pushing yourself hard. That mental aspect of squatting, which no other exercise seems to have for me, is what makes it fun in my opinion. It's a bit masochistic but you gotta embrace it, look at the bar and say, "Fuck u! I'm gonna skull fuck this PR today!"
Does it mean I will get the PR every time? No. But at least it won't be because I failed mentally.

[monkeyboy]

"You should fear nothing but your workout - if you don't fear it, its not hard enough".

[ih8stairs]

One thing I would add is that I was always terrified of squats until I actually failed on them, and couldn't come back up. Once I let the bar down onto the pins, squats become much less scary. And, I found, much easier.