20 REP SQUAT ROUTINE
There are many GOOD opinions about 20 rep squat routine – some say
that combined with good nutrition it is the fastest way to gain pounds of
muscle, that it is even possible to gain 30 pounds of muscle in just a matter
of 6 weeks, some say it is better than steroids. And some people are less
positive towards it.
But most of the people agree with one thing - 20 rep squat routine is very
very tough. It is definitely one of the HARDEST workouts you will ever do.
HOW TO DO IT
Take your 10 rep maximum weight (the weight that you can do 10 reps with)
and INSTEAD OF DOING 10 REPS YOU HAVE TO DO 20 REPS. That is right – you have
to do 20 reps with the weight that you would normally do only 10 reps.
While doing 20 rep squats you will need to take DEEP BREATHS between the
reps. For example you will do 6 reps, take a few breaths, do 4 more reps, take
a few deep breaths, do 3 reps, take a few deep breaths, etc...And do it till
you complete the whole set of 20 reps.
It is like
rest pause training, but the main difference between 20 rep squat and rest
pause training - the barbell has to be on your shoulders all the time while you
are doing those 20 reps, you are NOT ALLOWED to rack it.
After you do 20 reps of squat IMMEDIATELY take a light dumbbell and do one
set of 15-20 reps of dumbbell pullovers.You can also add 2 sets of pressing and
2 sets of rowing for a full workout.
WORKOUT EXAMPLE
Squats 1 x 20
Pullovers 1 x 20
Bench Press 2 x 7
One Arm DB Rows 2 x 7
Pullovers 1 x 20
Bench Press 2 x 7
One Arm DB Rows 2 x 7
And THAT IS IT.
This workout should not take you longer than 20-30 minutes, but believe me it
will be really hard. Although, after finishing 20 reps of squat you will be
really happy and JOYFUL that this both mentally and physically exhausting set
has finally ended :)
You
should do this routine 3 times a week for 4-6 weeks. EVERY WORKOUT you have
to increase your squat weight by 5 lbs. That means, if on Monday you did 20 x
200 lbs, on Wednesday you will have to do 20 x 205 lbs.
And if you
feel that 3 times a week is too much for you, then you can SWITCH to 2 times a
week.
MY RESULTS WITH THIS WORKOUT ROUTINE
I MYSELF TRIED
this routine a few years ago. And here is what I can say about my
experience:
My body weight was 150 lbs at the time and I started the program with 20 reps of
190 lb squats. I did this program for only about 3 weeks. And after those
“about 3 weeks” I did 20 reps with 225 lbs.
At first glance
it seems that this program was really working for me. I managed to increase
weight each and every workout for three weeks straight.So why I did this
program for only three weeks?
You see,
after I did 20 x 225 lbs, the next workout I decided to do a set of squats with
250 lbs to see how my strength has improved. I loaded 250 lbs barbell, put it
on my shoulders, did a set of squats and decided – this is the end of my 20 rep
squat experience. Why? The main purpose of my training was strength. I trained
for MAXIMUM STRENGTH. And after those 3 weeks, when I did a set of squats with
250 lbs – I was disappointed. The weight DID NOT FELT EASIER AT ALL compared to
what it felt like 3 weeks before– I kid you not!
Of course my
20 REP MAXIMUM STRENGTH HAS INCREASED but my maximum strength - not. Well,
actually I can‘t say that my maximum strength hasn't increased at all...it has
increased, but only by about 5-8 lbs after three weeks – these results I can
get with just about any other training program. So I decided to end 20 rep
squat routine.
Muscle gain
- I was not eating lot of calories during that period and muscle gain was not
my main purpose. I simply was eating clean (but amount of calories consumed was
pretty low by body building standards) and hoping to increase my strength. So I
can't tell you if it is really good for building muscle.
If you really
want to see what results you can get from 20 rep squats – just TRY IT FOR
YOURSELF. There is no better way. I myself was not very happy with the
results, although there are a lot of very good testimonials about this program
and, who knows - maybe you will achieve outstanding results with it.
