Can anyone out there please tell me how to do 20 rep squats? What exactly do I do? Do I do 20 singles racking the weight everytime or do I leave it on my back for the entire time as i take the three deep breaths? When on the program do I do other exercises and what type?
They’re tough, aren’t they?! I do them like regular squats, keeping the bar on my back and pausing only for enough air to keep from passing out. Once I started doing more than 8-10 reps in sets, I really had to back off the weight to survive 15-20 reps. They become far more aerobic for me. After a 20 rep set, my heart rate is soaring to 160-170 and I’m really sucking wind. Makes me really want an oxygen bottle! Being somewhat older (39) doesn’t help, but aerobic conditioning does.
To do 20 Rep squats, chose a weight that you can do 10 reps with ( just short of failure). When you can no longer perform consecutive reps (around 10 or 11) you pause at the top of each rep and take a few (3-4) large breaths. You then do another rep. Repeat until you hit 20. Keep a bucket close by. You may need it. Note: numb arms and lightheadedness are expected.
You do other exercises but I don’t have the book right in front of me so I have to do this from memory. Seems you just do pullovers, bench press, curls and some others. They are just 3 x 10. The author of the program really gets into doing pullovers right afterward.
Weren’t those pullovers supposed to “expand the rib cage” which I doubt can happen. I guess I should just do a few compund exercises at 3x10 or maybe just 3x8. I was also thinking about doing deadlifts but as twenty(maybe just 12 or 15) singles with 3 breaths between each putting the bar on the groung each time between breaths. Wouldn’t that recruit alot of muscle fibers while also leading to exhaustion? It would at least be a change of pace.
Yeah, the pullovers and the other exercise (can’t remember the name) are suppose to be expanding the rib cage. BUT this is why he stresses the deep breathing as well. You just as well try them and then if you feel that it doesn’t do any good just drop them. Personally after I get done with my 20 reps I don’t feel like doing anything else at all.
When talking about deadlifting you mean on a different day don’t you? I have never heard of anyone doing it that way, but don’t take this as offense but deadlifting for 20 reps sounds like an easy way to get out of squatting for 20 reps.
Use the weight you use for 10 reps & do 20. The basic routine is 20 rep squats followed by a set of 10 pullovers with a light weight. The other exercises you could do are bench press, standing or seated OH press, rows or chins, curls, stiff-legged deadlifts. In Super Squats it says to do the routine 3x a week, adding 5lbs each time.