Mental Strength

Squats are regularly referred to as the "King of Exercises" as pretty much every muscle in the body is involved in some manner - including facial muscles as you grimace!

What's sometimes missed in this description, is not only do they induce physical strengthening, but can also improve mental resilience - having that weight bear down on your back feels much more intimidating than when it's in your hands. But, regularly putting yourself into a somewhat uncomfortable position, and emerging successful from it can toughen the mind as well as the body. And, this can extend into daily life - that multithreaded dangling pointer crash that you haven't been able to track down, well, could be worse - you could have squats today!

A positive mindset is key. Treat the weight with respect, but don't let it intimidate or seed doubt. Have confidence in your training to date and trust yourself that you have this.

The Squat and the Deadlift have a similar range of motion. The hips are a little higher in the Deadlift, but unlike the Deadlift the Squat has a "bounce" to aid standing up, so you'd think a similar weight could be moved by both. The big difference is the position of the barbell, and the simple fact that the weight is more keenly felt on your back, can mean a significant difference in the weight that you move.

Video shows a side-by-side of a set of Squats and Deadlifts both with 142.5kg (22.4st), with twice as many reps for the Deadlift in around the same duration, which is pretty striking but it's in line with the general 5/4/3 ratio for Deadlift/Squat/Bench (my current ratio is 5/4.2/2.7).