The last 3 weeks I’ve done the following on squat day. 180 reps in about 45-50 minutes. This is a bitch but is becoming less difficult the more I do it. I had done it couple of times before and then pulled a hammy sprinting and had to take some time off. This morning I managed to complete all sets without having to pause for a shit break or feel like I was really going to vomit. It’s getting easier which must be a good thing conditioning wise. BTW - I’m a 40 yr old IT worker. Thoughts?
Set 1 135 X 10
Set 2 185 x 10
Set 3 225 x 20
Set 4 225 x 20
Set 5 225 x 20
Set 6 225 x 20
Set 7 225 x 20
Set 8 225 x 20
Set 9 225 x 20
Set 10 225 x 20
The purpose is to get stronger, better conditioning, burn fat, etc. I’ve decreased the amount of time it takes to do this routine by 20 minutes since the first time I completed it and pushed my reps @ 275 well over 10 for the first time. My blood pressure is also down to a good level and that is something I have been fighting for a while. I thought sprints would fix the BP issue but that didn’t do it. I’ve been doing this routine for a little while now and what do you know - 15 point drop in BP. It’s not like this is the only squat routine I’m ever going to do. The idea is to get to the point where this isn’t so difficult (it was fucking hard to build up to) and then modify it and go from there. High rep squats will always be a part of what I do though. Give it a try.
the thing is your chasing a bunch of different things right now. When you lift, aim to be stronger or get bigger, then go out and do conditioning (running, complexes, etc). It will be more effective and you will get greater gains.Basically seperate strength training and conditioning into two different things.
Conditioning is two sided. You have oxygen supply and muscular demand. Without getting into the science of it, i would say work on the supply of oxygen by doing 1-2 hours of constant heart rate activity within the 130-150 bpm range. Hr rate monitors are reasonably priced and the most effective tool for conditioning. Omron has a model for 30 bucks.
For the muscular demand side of the equation, which i believe is what you are going for, you are trying to improve how efficient the muscles utilize oxygen. This helps in many sports that require significant muscular output for long periods, mma, wrestling, rugby, basketball, etc. Two of the best ways I have found to work this has been getting on a spin bike and turning the resistance up so that you are working at 25-30 rpm’s within a 155-165 hr rate range. If you dont have a spin bike, lunges are a great alternative within the same heart rate range. I use 20-25 lb dumbells in each hand for this. A weight vest is ideal. Step ups on a box about near waist height is a great way to do this training as well. Work both of those type of trainings and you will be able to perform optimally from a “cardio” perspective. I do sets of 20-30 minutes for this type of training, with 1-3 sets.
Depending on your sport different methods would be added into this to accomodate different aspects of the endurance spectrum. Most people, even atheletes have way to high a resting heart rate, which makes optimal performce in further rounds, plays, quarters etc difficult. Imagine you have to run a mile. You do the first lap in sub 60, but then further laps either your lungs or your legs hinder you from repeating that. You address the weak link (lungs or legs) then focus on improving that aspect of endurance.
Doing that many squats would be a hell of a load on your CNS. For your own sake i would say focus on a simple and effective powerlifting regimine and do the endurance methods I described on the off days or following lifting. The bike is great because it takes alot of the eccentric part out of the movement, which is usually responsible for your muscle soreness. When you are finished lifting, doing the muscular endurance training on a bike helps alot with your recovery as well.
8weeksout.com has much more detailed info than i have provided. Joel Jamison is agenius
fwiw, i used the above methods in tandem with starr’s 5x5 (intermediate and advanced) and put a ton of weight on my lifts but also improved conditioning simultaneously. They are not mutally exclusive.
@ Wilba as usual most people on here only see things from their own perspective.
That sounds like a friggin tough workout, and if you’re a 40 yr old IT worker, I imagine you’ve also got a family and other commitments to work around.
The workout sounds like vomit country to me, and if you’re getting better at it and faster and it’s hurting less, then I guess you’re progressing, right? If it’s also pushing some of your higher weight reps up, then you’re getting something out of it on that side too, as well as some hypertrophy, (unless you’re already pretty big but deconditioned).
In a perfect world there are probably better splits you could do to break strength / hypertrophy / conditioning up to get optimal results for all, but if it’s working for you and you’re progressing, then I wouldn’t bother looking for any other reason to do it.
Dont listen to all the haters. Your capillary density must be very high with this type of training. Also, the amount of lactic acid and hypoxia conditions in the large muscle groups of the legs is likely to cause major growth hormone release.
When Waterbury recommends 100 rep training, or Dan John suggests the tabata method, all the fan-boys are on their nuts hardcore.
[quote]Wilba wrote:
The last 3 weeks I’ve done the following on squat day. 180 reps in about 45-50 minutes. This is a bitch but is becoming less difficult the more I do it. I had done it couple of times before and then pulled a hammy sprinting and had to take some time off. This morning I managed to complete all sets without having to pause for a shit break or feel like I was really going to vomit. It’s getting easier which must be a good thing conditioning wise. BTW - I’m a 40 yr old IT worker. Thoughts?
Set 1 135 X 10
Set 2 185 x 10
Set 3 225 x 20
Set 4 225 x 20
Set 5 225 x 20
Set 6 225 x 20
Set 7 225 x 20
Set 8 225 x 20
Set 9 225 x 20
Set 10 225 x 20[/quote]
I decided to try some heavier weight this morning to see where I’m at. All the “naysayers” may have had an impact in my decision. I’m glad I did though. I hit several PRs and this is directly the result of training high reps at 225lbs. So obviously I am progressing on multiple fronts.
Set 1 - 135 X 10
Set 2 - 185 X 10
Set 3 - 225 X 20
Set 4 - 275 X 15 * PR
Set 5 - 315 X 9 * PR
Set 6 - 315 X 9
Set 7 - 315 X 8
Set 8 - 325 X 5 * PR
Set 9 - 335 X 3 * PR
Set 10 - 275 X 15
Sets 4 and 5 were rep PRs and sets 8 and 9 were more than I had ever squatted. My previous best was 315 X 1. I can also say that today’s workout was easy. It was joke compared to the 180 rep routine. Sure the individual reps were more difficult but overall I felt fresh when it was over. Almost like I didn’t get my squats in this week. That being said it does appear to be time to increase the weight I’m using. I think I’m going to go with 275 for sets 4 - 10 and try to work those all up to 20 rep sets. If I can get my 180 using 275 on the last 7 sets I imagine I’ll have made significantly more progress in strength/size/conditioning.
[quote]CrushKillDestroy wrote:
@ Wilba as usual most people on here only see things from their own perspective.
That sounds like a friggin tough workout, and if you’re a 40 yr old IT worker, I imagine you’ve also got a family and other commitments to work around.
The workout sounds like vomit country to me, and if you’re getting better at it and faster and it’s hurting less, then I guess you’re progressing, right? If it’s also pushing some of your higher weight reps up, then you’re getting something out of it on that side too, as well as some hypertrophy, (unless you’re already pretty big but deconditioned).
In a perfect world there are probably better splits you could do to break strength / hypertrophy / conditioning up to get optimal results for all, but if it’s working for you and you’re progressing, then I wouldn’t bother looking for any other reason to do it.
[/quote]
This is dead on. Thanks for posting a different perspective.
