Chances are, many of you have heard of the 20-rep squat program at some point. It's an old-fashioned approach to gaining size that was common a few decades ago when men were men and drugs weren't available. You do a set of 20 reps of the squat plus a few other exercises.
With each consecutive workout, add 5-10 pounds to your squat weight. It has been touted as one of the most effective programs ever devised for building muscle mass and strength in a short period of time, and with good reason; It works out!
High rep squats do wonders for building muscle mass and strength, not just for the legs but for the entire body. The program is ridiculously easy to follow, brutally difficult to execute, and extremely productive. It is so productive, in fact, that I have never heard of anyone doing a version of this program correctly and not gaining size and strength.
Whenever I have a client that wants to make it big in the shortest amount of time possible, this is where we start. I'm going to outline a 6 week program that has given massive muscle to everyone who has ever followed it. It's time to stop living in Tiny Town. This is your ticket to Hugeville.
Get your mind right
Before discussing the actual program, you need to understand the psychology of the 20-rep squat. You can't just go to the gym, put some plates on the bar, start squatting and hope for the best. This program is about focus and mental toughness as well as physical exercise - probably more.
You have to be mentally prepared, otherwise you won't make it. Pain and fear will be with you, tempting you to stop, telling you to give up. Your body will be screaming for you to listen to her, and the little voice in your head will beg you to stop. Tell them to shut up. You have to grow something!
Squatting a heavy weight for 20 reps won't feel natural for your body. It will hurt. You will feel dizzy and light-headed. You will probably want to throw up. Continue. Your body may choose to shut down completely, leaving you at the bottom of a squat without being able to rise. Obviously safety comes first.
DO NOT attempt a 20-rep squat without a power rack or safety pins. Being stuck under a heavy barbell at the bottom of a squat and not having room while you gasp is not a good scenario.
The training program
Let's jump right in. The heart and soul of this program is the barbell squat performed for 20 reps. Please note that I didn't say the "Smith machine squat" or any other machine squat. There are tons of tricky machines out there that promise to deliver a "safer" squat.
You're reasonably safe as long as you're in a power cage or have sturdy safety pins for your squat rack. In addition, your technique will always be your greatest security. Before I edit this section, it's important to remember if this is an Olympic squat or a powerlifting squat; The techniques will be completely different.
I tend to prefer a more powerlifting based approach to squat technique because it suits my body type. If you're unsure of your technique, find an experienced powerlifter (preferably one who has competed) and ask them to teach you proper form.
The correct form includes the following:
- A straight (not to be confused with) back. Hold the bar fairly tight and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Slightly press the bar up, as if doing a neck press. Do this before you ever lift the bar off the pins. This serves a dual purpose: it creates a "shelf" directly under the traps for the bar to rest on, and tension in the shoulders and upper back stimulates the upper body while remaining stiff and secure.
- Feet should point slightly outward for most people and knees should cross over toes. Never let your knees buckle. If they do, you will die.
- Your gaze should be forward or slightly upward. Looking down rounds your back and compromises your structure. This increases the risk of injury. Your body tends to follow your head. Rolling a bar over the back of your head in the middle of a squat set isn't a productive workout.
- Keep the stomach engaged and the anus contracted, especially in the bottom position. It sounds weird, I know, but there are horror stories all over the Iron community about people neglecting this important point.
Load the bar, step under it, tense it and lift it off the pins. Step back, take a deep breath and begin. Squat all the way down, at least until parallel. Come back up, take a few deep breaths, and squat down again. The further you get into the set, the more problematic breathing becomes.
In fact, old-timers sometimes called them "breathing squats." By the time you get to those last few agonizing reps, you'll be breathing more than squatting. One of the reasons this program stimulates so much growth is that the muscles of the upper body are constantly working to support the weight and fill the lungs with air. Take deep breaths as often as needed between reps.
You must be fully focused throughout the set. Before you even get under the bar, convince yourself that youwill notstop. The only reason to stop short of 20 reps is to go into the hole and not be physically able to get back up.
Eventually it will happen; You get into the bottom position and your legs just stop working. That's okay; Next time, just load the bar with the same weight and grab it again.
The duration of the cycle is six weeks. This is a good amount of time to build size and strength without falling into overtraining and burnout. Longer than six weeks usually lead to falling returns. The standard protocol to start with is to train three times a week on non-consecutive days.
For example, the classic schedule Monday, Wednesday, Friday works perfectly. If you are not recovering well, you can exercise twice a week. When I first tried this routine, I did well with MWF. A few months later, after doing a couple of 20-rep cycles, I only had great training results on Tuesday and Friday. By this point I had learned to focus better and was using fairly heavy weights so the extra rest was more justified and much appreciated for me.
I've heard a lot of different ideas about weight selection and I think it's good to start with the end in mind, especially for a beginner in this program. Most people can reasonably expect to flex their 5 rep maximum (5RM) by the 6 week mark for 20.
To determine your starting weight, take your current 5RM and subtract 5 pounds for each planned workout. So if your current 5RM is 315lbs and you plan to train 3 times a week for 6 weeks (18 workouts) you should start with 225lbs because 18 workouts x 5lbs per workout = 90lbs. Subtract 90 from 315 and you get 225. Simple.
After your squats, do a light set of sweaters for about 20-25 reps. I recommend using a 25 pound plate and doing it over a bench, but you can use a dumbbell if you want. Think of this as a recovery aid rather than exercise. Stay at the same light weight for the duration of the cycle.
Other exercises will be added based on your recovery ability. You should include at least one push motion and one pull motion, but you can add more if you feel you can adequately recover from the extra volume. listen to your body; If it gets too much, you can always drop a sentence or two later.
Probenroutine
1
Barbell Squats
1 set, 20 reps
+ 7 more exercises
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Personally, I'm not a fan of single-joint movements like curls and calf raises, even though they appear in most "classic" 20-rep squat programs.
I believe you will get enough stimulation from the compound exercises listed. If your ego just can't do without a set or two of curls, add them at the end.
For those who tend to have bad recoveries, here's an abbreviated program that has worked for everyone I've ever used it with:
Short sample routine
1
Barbell Squats
1 set, 20 reps
+ 5 more exercises
BodyFit
$6.99/month- 2.500+Individual training sessions created by experts
- 3.500+exercise videos
- Detailed training instructions
- Training tips step by step
- Training at the gym or at home
- Access to training plans
- Access to the Bodyfit app
- Shop discounts
Already have a Bodybuilding.com account with BodyFit?Register
What comes with BodyFit?
- Lehrvideos
Don't risk wrong training! Avoid injuries and keep your form in check with in-depth instructional videos.
- How-to-Images
Check out our huge library of workout photos and see exactly how each exercise should be performed before you try it.
- Step by step instructions
Quickly read through our step-by-step guides to ensure you get every workout right the first time, every time.
Note that the squats are first here. This is to get the most painful part out of the way early on. Rest as long as needed between sets. You can replace rows with pull-ups and dips with bench presses. Stay away from the pulldown machine and pec-dec; Imagine you are in a time when nothing like this existed! If you decide to do dips or pull-ups, add weight once you're strong enough.
After six weeks, switch to something else. The classic 5x5 routine is a good choice, as is a more conventional bodybuilding routine. Wait at least six weeks before giving the 20-rep squat another round.
Diet Considerations
To grow big, you have to eat big. Meat, cheese, fruits and vegetables are fine. Even if you intentionally eat a lot of calories, don't fill up on pizza and brownies. You need quality in your calories as well as quantity.
The nutritional "secret weapon" of this program is milk. It was a big part of the original 20-rep routines years ago—so big a part it was sometimes called the "squat and milk routine." It worked then and it works the same way now.
Half a gallon of whole milk was considered the bare minimum for anyone wanting to go huge, and a gallon a day was the standard. Whole, lean, 2%... the choice is yours. You can also add your favoritesProtein PulverorMRPto your milk for a boost or for more flavor.
Here's an example of a typical day's meal for that program back then:
This is just a suggestion. Adjust your food intake to suit your personal tastes, but make sure you eat plenty and often. Also, drink plenty of water throughout the day.
To make the old-school approach a little more modern, add a fewEFFNutritional supplements to ensure you are consuming enough healthy fat.
This is a good program for chargingCreatineto. Be sure not to eat a few hours before a workout to minimize vomiting in the gym. Most gym owners frown on such things.
When you leave the gym
On days when you are not in the gym, you should do some active rest, e.g. B. Walking or swimming as this will help reduce muscle soreness. Daily stretching and a massage every 1-2 weeks also help with recovery.
Strenuous activities such as intense cardio or tough sports should be avoided as you want all available resources to go towards building muscle. Get plenty of sleep: 8-9 hours a night and take naps whenever you can.
The 20-rep squat program is nothing new, but unlike so many other programs, it has stood the test of time. I would be remiss if I told Dr. Randall Strossen would not thankwww.ironmind.comfor writing the book about it.
If you follow the guidelines I've laid out for you, you can realistically expect to gain 10 to 15 pounds in the next six weeks, although many people will gain even more. Be sure to save up for new clothes because you will need them by the end of the program.