20 rep squats

[Clint Magnum]

There used to be a quarterly publication out back in the early 1990's called THE HARDGAINER.
This was my bible when I was 16yrs old but the boxing coach at the time frowned on it as it destroyed you & you were so sore on your days off. You only did two workouts a week and they were full body workouts based on the 20 rep squat principle with deadlifts and dubmbell rows, all compound exercises.
It not so much the bulking that impressed me but the overall strength you have in all walks of life and any sport. Youre body is a powerhouse.
And by 20 rep squats it doesn't mean light weights. You find your 80% max and 20 rep it. Seriously, you'll be pausing & grasping for breath 5-10 seconds between reps after 12reps and it crushes your whole core but its single handedly the most effective workout I ever did. I'm now 40yrs old so have to watch the knees but if you combine that with Tabata you'll be amazed.

[Counter-puncher]

There used to be a quarterly publication out back in the early 1990's called THE HARDGAINER.
This was my bible when I was 16yrs old but the boxing coach at the time frowned on it as it destroyed you & you were so sore on your days off. You only did two workouts a week and they were full body workouts based on the 20 rep squat principle with deadlifts and dubmbell rows, all compound exercises.
It not so much the bulking that impressed me but the overall strength you have in all walks of life and any sport. Youre body is a powerhouse.
And by 20 rep squats it doesn't mean light weights. You find your 80% max and 20 rep it. Seriously, you'll be pausing & grasping for breath 5-10 seconds between reps after 12reps and it crushes your whole core but its single handedly the most effective workout I ever did. I'm now 40yrs old so have to watch the knees but if you combine that with Tabata you'll be amazed.

yup thats where i got the 20 rep cycle from, totally agree on its effects

[black panther]

Do you guys all do "ass to grass" back squats? Or a variation?

[Counter-puncher]

Do you guys all do "ass to grass" back squats? Or a variation?

personally, ass to parallel with the ground or just below, but no lower....

[black panther]

Do you guys all do "ass to grass" back squats? Or a variation?

personally, ass to parallel with the ground or just below, but no lower....

A couple of years back I managed to get upto 120kg doing backsquats (4-6 reps) doing 90 degrees. But since then I've seen some strength coaches swear by doing it "ass-to-grass" and no evidence supporting the commonly held view that it damages your knees going past 90 degrees. Coming back from a long term illness, I stepped back into the gym 6 weeks ago. I was/am weak as eff anyway now so I dropped it right down to 40kg and started doing ass to grass. I'm upto 60kg now and definitely feel my strength improving a lot doing this way; though sometimes I sh*t myself at the bottom on the last set when I'm fatigued!

Any reason you don't go below 90?

[Counter-puncher]

I've had lower back problems for 20 years, pretty much. my training over the last 18 months has actually made the problem much, much better, but it still gives me niggles and occasional moments. at the very bottom of an ass-to-the-floor squat (other than with very light weights) would be one of those moments. I *think* that the below-parallel position just gives the lower back too much of an opportunity to fold in on itself on an effort rep, for me to be comfortable below 90 degrees or so.

not sure about potential impact to knees, though, sorry. usual caveat applies i guess, slow steady incremental increases in weight

[black panther]

Yeah machoman09 (I think) wrote me a brilliant work out plan which I'm sticking to to strengthen my lower back.

It appears he's no longer a member of the forum thoug.h :(

[AngryGoon38]

20 reps squats and gallons of milk. When it's time to bulk, there's really only one way to go!!

Only managing about half a gallon a day at the moment!

I'd be crapping my brains out all day long if i had so much as one quarter a gallon of milk.

[Srebmun]

Yeah machoman09 (I think) wrote me a brilliant work out plan which I'm sticking to to strengthen my lower back.

It appears he's no longer a member of the forum thoug.h :(

Do you mind posting it up?

[black panther]

Yeah machoman09 (I think) wrote me a brilliant work out plan which I'm sticking to to strengthen my lower back.

It appears he's no longer a member of the forum thoug.h :(

Do you mind posting it up?

Squat Day
General warm-up and stretching, foam rolling etc...you can do this stuff throughout the day also
Specific warm-up – start with an >>empty bar<< and get into the groove of your main exercise, increase weight gradually until you are close to your working weight.
Main Ex – Box squats 5 x 5 (the weight should enable you to do the first set of 5 fairly comfortably with impeccable form, you will then continue with the same weight for the remaining 4 sets). Work through the sets but if your form starts to break down, terminate the set but don't reduce the weight, so Week 1 may look like e.g. 3 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 2. That's fine. When you do all 5 sets for 5 reps, increase the weight by 5kg. It doesn't sound much but over time it adds up to a lot.

Assistance work – do all this stuff for 2-4 sets of 8-20. It doesn't really matter. All you're doing is working the muscle and getting blood where you need it. Use progressive overload, though i.e. try to do more reps and/or add weight and/or decrease rest time each week.
Weighted lunges
Good mornings
Standing weighted Ab pull-down
Roll-outs

Bench Day
General warm-up (see above)
Specific warm-up (see above)
Main Ex - Bench or bench variant e.g. inclines 5 x 5 (see above – only difference on bench increase by 2.5kg rather than 5kg – again this doesn't sound like much but it adds up over time)
Assistance work (see above)
Barbell press (standing)
Dips
Chins
Dumbbell rows

Deadlift Day
General warm-up (see above)
Specific warm-up (see above)
Main Ex – Deadlifts or deadlift variant e.g. Romanian deadlifts, good mornings 5 x 5 (see above – like box squats, increase weight by 5kg when 5 x 5 is achieved)
Assistance work (see above)
Pull-throughs
Some form of back extension
Shrugs
Barbell curls

Do some form of conditioning each week – two to three sessions if you have time. Hill sprints or hard work on the treadmill are always a good option. So is the rower, bags etc...