What happened is 1. I added a lot of muscle and 2. I had almost 8 years straight of body building before the switch. I went from a body weight of 151 when I began lifting to 243 at the peak of my off season body building career. This amount of muscle obviously contributes to some mobility and flexibility issues. Add to this that I squat like an Olympic lifter - meaning my knees have a lot of forward movement in my decent (which makes my squat look very low - hamstring to the calves, but in powerlifting standards my hip crease was higher than my knee) - when I began powerlifting I had to learn to push my knees out more and sit a little bit further back compared to my normal squat to correct this. I still squat more like an Olympic lifter but these changes helped me hit depth according to powerlifting…the irony is that when I didn’t hit depth, I actually squatted lower than how I squat now, just different part of the body lol.
I don’t think the loss of mobility helped me at all - as I was never very flexible to begin with (it has been an ongoing issue - even as an Olympic lifter). To be quite honest over the years I got pretty lazy with self mobility and stretching and relied more and more on therapists which wasn’t likely the smartest move. Plus powerlifting training has a lot less variety than body building training which also hasn’t helped my mobility and depth.
Anywhere from 3-6 days per week (3-12 sessions) depending on where I am in my training and competition season and what the goals are…this changes constantly through the year.
Here’s a paused squat I did recently.My squatting looks exactly the same.How does that look?Any weak muscle groups I should focus more on?
Weight is 313 pounds if that matters (Skip at 0.30)
And here’s a 330 high bar squat from today (skip to 0.20)
They you very much for your input. I read around and did find a similar conclusion. As to the one you have given me. I will be using a more higher frequency program that squats about 3 days a week (ph3) and will see how that goes for me.
Amit -
How would you structure squatting weekly for a beginner (Squatting under 225lbs)?
Makes perfect sense. I have a tendency to ask hard questions haha, but that is what makes it interesting for me when reading replies. Thanks very much
Totally agree. I think one reason people do this is to make sure their balance/tension etc. stays on point in a max but if you need to do that then you have to question if you’ve really solidified your technique at all in the first place. Bad reps or bad days happen so that is the exception.
The other reason I can think of is fear, which you absolutely can’t have control you if you want to squat big weights.
You mentioned that you were squatting 5-6 days a week earlier in your career, what are your thoughts about high frequency vs. low frequency squatting? Of course someone who needs a lot of work on their technique would benefit from more frequent practice, but if you have decent technique and just need to get stronger do you see an advantage to squatting more than twice a week? In my case, my technique is decent up to maximal attempts, mostly I just want to get stronger.
Been having some problems with my knees coming in me under heavy weight. Usually low bar with narrow to shoulder width stance
Hi Amit,
Would you mind sharing how you structure your squat training throughout a typical offseason week or cycle (How frequently you squat, reps/sets, % if you use them, etc…) and how that fits into your overall training plan? Thanks!
Amit -
Can you get a big front squat by just front squatting?
Is back squat even necessary (for a non power lifter)?
If you could only front squat, what accessories would you use to balance out leg development?
Thanks!
This is a good question - here is what I’ve found over the years (individualized for me, but I have seen some crossover for sure with other high level lifters - Stan Efferding and the Lillibridges are probably the best example). This will vary lifter to lifter but it seems that the more overall weight you put on the bar, it impacts the nervous system to a higher degree…and the heavier the weight, the more difficult the recovery which means less frequency is possible. This is perhaps one reason why high level female lifters can get away with a bit more frequency than men - they just use overall a lesser number in weight. There are no studies on this that I know of, but it seems to be consistent from my observations.
Here’s what I’ve observed - for men 300 or less you can squat with whatever frequency you want - we even squatted this twice per day sometimes in Olympic training.
In the 400s a little more attention to recovery is required, but there still doesn’t seem to be much issue squatting these weights near daily.
For a well trained individual with proper technique it seems that these weights don’t have a huge toll on the nervous system.
In the 500s you can still squat daily but 4-5 days per week is probably smarter.
In the 600s it got much more difficult for me and daily was literally not an option. I could handle twice per week but my recovery suffered and it began to impact other aspects of training.
Mid 600 i went down to 1 time per week or even every 10 days.
700 and over takes 10 days up to 2 weeks to really recover well. These days this is what my programming looks like. This doesn’t mean I don’t squat at all in between - sometimes light (400 or less normally) yoke bar or other variation, sometimes nothing - completely determined by my recovery.
Are you able to post a video of this - it will be way easier for me to give you feedback…this can be for so many reasons.
This is honestly quite hard for me to answer…my last two seasons were both riddled with injuries and all of my training had to be manipulated. In general - because my main focus is squatting, the rest of my training does revolve around it. I believe that even in an off season, when you work competition lifts you should keep them in the 1-3 range, as it’s a very different firing pattern for your nervous system…then get your volume from other accessories where you can do 5-8 reps. I usually don’t count sets, I count reps…a minimum in a competition movement would be 12 reps if I’m going over 90%, or 24 if I’m floating between 80-90% . In the main accessory movement I will try to get minimum the same number of reps as my main movement but it often ends up closer to double. The rest of the workout I normally lean toward hypertrophy style 8-15 reps per set depending on the exercise.
This is the same for the deadlift and bench days, and if I’m healthy in a real off season I will also add 2 full body building days that don’t include competition movements.
Yes you can, but I would definitely back squat as well for overall leg development (this will help your front squat also)…if you choose to only front squat, I would do every accessory possible to work on your posterior chain (deadlift being my first choice in every variation, reverse hyper, glute/ham raise, ham curls, etc…leg extension also for quad work but not a priority)
If I interpret your answer correctly you don’t use the recommendations of the priplen chart ? (For example you said 90% weights around 12 reps instead of the “optimal” 4. Do you design your training more with a shock approach where you train as hard as you can and then back of? For instance 4weeks very hard and much volume even with higher intensitys and then a “deload”?
What do you think about Zercher Squats ?
Which squat variation do you think increases your overall strenght the most ?
Thanks Amit. Seeing as I’m squatting in the mid 400’s and I could squat just about every day, how would you go about fitting deadlifts into the program? On days with no squatting, after lighter/lower volume squatting, or just push everything? I’m assuming you’re not a fan of daily deadlifting, because I don’t know of anyone that is.
Do you mean that you just train the comp lifts for sets of 1-3 regardless of intensity or that you always train them at 80%+?
Another one if I may: how important do you think squatting without wraps is if you compete using wraps? Instinctively I feel that my wrapless squat is more important, and I only add wraps for heavier sets about eight weeks out from a meet.
Sorry I may not have been clear - I meant 12 reps total. (example 3 sets of 4 reps)
Priplen chart is a good tool and reference point but shouldn’t be the only thing that guides you.
I don’t do Zercher squats personally - I don’t see major benefit.
I think probably high bar Olympic squat if I had to choose one for increasing overall strength.