How to best increase squats

[Jman_898]

somehow ive managed to do 3 sets of 7-8 reps going from 50- 80kg progressively and then a 4th set with 40kg 20 reps.... i think it nearly kills me by the end of it but fark is it good... i just need more than 1 day recovery between workouts tho.... sorry ptc but ive decided to split your beginners program so that i get a little more rest lol... def gotta come down for a session at your camp tho mate!

 

[Grippy]

Sounds like you need to go a bit heavier on the 20 repper mate, do it first and you should see your life flashing before you and sucking in more air than a jumbo at take off

 

[haz]

somehow ive managed to do 3 sets of 7-8 reps going from 50- 80kg progressively and then a 4th set with 40kg 20 reps.... i think it nearly kills me by the end of it but fark is it good... i just need more than 1 day recovery between workouts tho.... sorry ptc but ive decided to split your beginners program so that i get a little more rest lol... def gotta come down for a session at your camp tho mate!

do one or the other, doing both seems to be too much for you to recover from. do what shrek did, one workout do 20 and the next do 3x7-8. or just do one for 6 weeks then change to the other.

 

[NPR]

Dont split the program. Its designed the way it is for a reason. If 3 times a week is too much drop it to 2 times until you can manage 3.

 

[PTC]

somehow ive managed to do 3 sets of 7-8 reps going from 50- 80kg progressively and then a 4th set with 40kg 20 reps.... i think it nearly kills me by the end of it but fark is it good... i just need more than 1 day recovery between workouts tho.... sorry ptc but ive decided to split your beginners program so that i get a little more rest lol... def gotta come down for a session at your camp tho mate!

Dont apologize, its no longer my program, just train hard

 

[Jman_898]

i think i will try shreks idea of doing one type one workout and then doing the other the next time. it was a little much to recover from as i wasnt having a problem with ptc's beginner program untill i decided to throw some 20 rep breathing squats in there i got a little carried away i think... still getting used to this sort of thing since i was a long distance runner before i hit the gym so bulking up for me and heavy lifts are a whole new thing to experiment with lol i have to learn how to push my boundaries in a different direction now, rather than ignoring lactic acid, now i need to focus on explosiveness. deffinately alot of positive input from all you guys here, thanks heaps

 

[Shrek]

The problem for me is trying to get my breath back around the last 5 reps. Standing there with 100kg when you gasping for breath does not help so the natural inclination is to pump the last few out quickly because so as to not fail. I'm usually between 3 to 3 1/2 mins.

 

[dr00]

my set of 120kg last weekend took 2:06 from unracking to racking. i can usually stick to three breaths for the first 10 or 12, then its usually around four breaths for a few, then the last 4 or 5 are 6-8 breaths. and a lot of grunting.

 

[Shrek]

I'm the opposite, my breaths get shorter, probably due also to my lack of cardio fitness.

 

[-LJ-]

How much should you attempt to do. My 1rm is probably around 105kg, I did 60kg for 20 reps and was near failure at the end.

 

[Shrek]

I haven't attempted a 1RM for a long time, but if you did 60kg try 62.5 or 65 next time. If succesful then increase if not keep the same weight until you get 20 reps.

 

[TheReductionist]

I did 20 rep squats today for the second time (first time where it was actually bloody hard) and I'm quite the same as you Shrek, after the first 12 I found it alot harder to make myself take the 3 deep breaths between each rep and I would put it down to cardiovascular fitness. I started to get a really fatigued cramping feeling in my lower back and my legs were shaking uncontrolably when i got to my 17th rep, after i racked the weight, my legs gave in and collapsed, mind you this was only 70kg, wasn't sure how much i should have been doing but going to go for 75kg next time.

 

[dr00]

I did 20 rep squats today for the second time (first time where it was actually bloody hard) and I'm quite the same as you Shrek, after the first 12 I found it alot harder to make myself take the 3 deep breaths between each rep and I would put it down to cardiovascular fitness. I started to get a really fatigued cramping feeling in my lower back and my legs were shaking uncontrolably when i got to my 17th rep, after i racked the weight, my legs gave in and collapsed, mind you this was only 70kg, wasn't sure how much i should have been doing but going to go for 75kg next time.

that all sounds about right. ive done them quite a lot so maybe i can rest a bit with the weight on my shoulders due to better core strength. they really smash your lower back so that feeling in there is normal, i dont get it so much anymore during the set but i still get doms in my lower back after them. i did 20 reps without deadlifting at all for months and then did an easy 170kg deadlift which was probably 30kg more than my previous 1rm so they must do something for your lower back strength...

 

[TheReductionist]

that all sounds about right. ive done them quite a lot so maybe i can rest a bit with the weight on my shoulders due to better core strength. they really smash your lower back so that feeling in there is normal, i dont get it so much anymore during the set but i still get doms in my lower back after them. i did 20 reps without deadlifting at all for months and then did an easy 170kg deadlift which was probably 30kg more than my previous 1rm so they must do something for your lower back strength...

I did deadlifts aswell but really struggled to pull the bar off the floor with any decent form as my lower back would just give in. I lowered the weight to half of what i usually pull and was still struggling with that..... It's bad enough that i can only deadlift 85kg for 5 but can squat 110kg for 5 reps.

 

[Goosey]

The act of squatting is more important than how much one can.