Hey guys.
You all probably now the program squats and milk. In Germany, this is kind of forgotten. Through my google research, I found out that some people had great success with S’n’M.
So, because I didn’t get any results on german forums, I would like to hear your opinion on that program and even more, your experiences with it.
greets from berlin
Well people use squats for their simplicity in building muscle and releasing growth hormones.
People use milk because it is calorie dense and contains healthy proteins.
There are better strategies as far as mass gain goes, but for a novice or beginner this program is perfect. Most beginners over-complicate things and get confused. A basic 3-day full-body squat routine, with a gallon of milk a day is pretty simple.
I, personally, don’t like to mix fats and sugars and would go with non-fat/non-lactose(easier digestion) milk. I also don’t have the metabolism of a 16 year old boy. If you have trouble putting on muscle, and are already lean, then you can stick to whatever milk you prefer.
If you are referring to R. Strossen 's “Super Squat” program, I would say that there’s room for improvement (assuming physical transformation being your goal).
Hey, I’m all for simplicity in training and diet, but this program could benefit from variety in both exercise selection and diet.
Even Dieter thinks this program is too minimalistic…
Not trying to be an A-hole but if you use the seach feature, and type in “20 rep squats”, there’s a whole bunch of stuff there.
I myself love the squats and milk theme.
It’s fun to believe there’s some “magic” in the S&M formula but the fact is that it gets you squatting and consuming lots of calories which seems to escape many trainees’ minds these days.
Thank you for your replys so far. I should have written which exact program i’m referring to.
+a gallon milk a day
by John McCallum (1968)
Could the program be better? Yes. But so could everything. Will it put mass on you? Yes. With effort and consistency in the program and enough calories to grow you will grow. Do it.
You may gain just fine on that program, you may not. In any case, 20-rep squats are probably the most overrated training protocol ever. The 20 rep squat madness started in the 1930s with a man named JC Hise. He gained 29 lbs in a month doing 20 rep squats and drinking milk. His only other exercise was the press behind neck.
You can read the initial writeup about him (from the 1930s) here:
It starts talking about him near the end of the first page. (None of the photographs in the article are him, in case you don’t read the captions.)
Now here’s what you’ll notice if you read carefully… It talks about how his measurements changed… chest increased, arms… but WAIT. Waist, from 36 to 41 in a MONTH. He gained 29 lbs of almost all fat and they acted like it was a great accomplishment and people should emulate what he did. And from that beginning 20 rep squats became popular.
The article also talks about how he did “reducing exercises” (ie, abdominal work, under the belief that these exercises would keep fat off his belly), but stopped because he believed they were decreasing his height.
The simple fact is that when the 20-rep squat + milk protocol was created, it was still fairly early days in the iron game, and people were enthusiastic but ignorant. If I were you, I would look elsewhere for a good routine.
Mike, most people arent going to gain close to 29 lbs in a month, let alone the 6 weeks most people do the program for.
I put on 14 lbs in 6 weeks and my legs blew up. My squat strength also shot up. My mental toughness also went through the roof.
If your legs are lacking, or you just want to put some size on and dont mind some fat gain, go for it. If you do it right, you’ll be pleased.
Thanks for your comments. They helped me a lot. Of couse, I dont want to gain 25 pounds fat. But for the limited time I want to follow this routine it is unlikely that this will happen.
I cant even imagine how to put on so much fat during 4 weeks, and I’m an endomorph person.
Greeta