


The 20 Rep Squat Program FULL BODY WorkoutĬhoose any of the upper body pushes – press, bench press, push up, dip and any of the upper body pulls – pull up variations, row variations, shrugs, cleans (quick lifts for advanced lifters only). Alternate each set of squats with a set of pullovers. Just do a few reps and in contrast when you reduce the weight your body will think the 20 rep set is lightweight. Important that you don’t fatigue yourself with these heavy sets so that it negatively impacts your work set. Your first 2 or 3 sets of squats will work ABOVE your 20+ rep to failure set. However, you might get better results with the following: As long as you do at least once a week, you will grow. Most people will want to do more than 2 sets to failure, but that is the program minimum. Ken Leistner squatting 407lbs x 23 at age 52 and 160lbs bodyweight (circa 1986). Still image taken from the highly controversial video of Dr. Start the program over with 20lbs less than you finished your first cycle with. If you get, say ,17 reps, the weight remains the same until you can do 20+.ĭo this for 6-10 weeks, and then deload for a week or two. The 20 Rep Squat Program MINIMUMĭo this once or twice a week and add 10bs each week until you can no longer do 20+ reps. It takes YEARS to get seriously strong.Īnd that’s ok. Some people start a new program every two months essentially quitting when the going gets tough. Just don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re working hard with the “beginners gains” that you get every time you start a new program. A unique mix of excitement and anxiety breathing squats will take its toll on you. You’ll know it when you start having dreams (both day and night) about your next squat set. It’s tough to push through much more than 6-8 weeks at a time the mental fatigue is considerable.

I find that the 20 rep squat program is best done in short cycles around the year.

By the time you do you’ll be squatting 300-400lbs for 20. It’s going to take you a while to discover just how much potential you have here. After every set, ask yourself, “Could I have done more if my life depended on it?” If you answer yes, then it wasn’t your best effort. The whole idea is your best absolute effort. You can stand there and “rest”.įight through the discomfort, it’ll take some true intestinal fortitude. The fatigue throughout your entire body will make you think it’s unbearable. Stand there, with the bar resting on your back, doing 1 rep at a time, until muscular or technical failure squat until you can’t come back up, or until you can’t maintain good form.Ĭhances are, you will quit mentally before your body does. Once you have your 10 rep max, do it for 20+.Įvery rep north of 10 becomes a single. That is, 10 consecutive reps that can be done without excessive rest (3 or more breaths in between reps is what I consider “excessive”) It might take a couple weeks to get a true 10RM. Not easy, but simple.įirst, figure out what your 10 rep max is in the back squat. And though each person has their own variation of this time tested and battle proven system, the basic program is pretty simple.
#DINOSAUR DEADLIFT PROGRAM HOW TO#
Randall Strossen published an entire book devoted to the subject, SUPER SQUATS: How to Gain 30lbs of Muscle in 6 Weeks. From Peary Rader, founder of Iron Man magazine in 1936, to more modern authors like Brooks Kubik in his classic Dinosaur Training. If you do it right, it will build an indomitable will, because it takes such to do it…Ī lot has been written about 20 rep squats over the years. It’s responsible for huge gains in muscular size, strength and a lesser talked about quality, mental strength. The 20 Rep Squat program is well known as one of the best mass building programs in all of weight training. America contest at 19, was built on a high rep, high intensity squats. Casey Viator, youngest man to win an AAU Mr.
