# Squatting Every Day



## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

It's quite possible that I'm crazy, but I'm going to give the squatting every day routine a go.

I've been intrigued by the idea since I read Matt Perryman's book last year, then recently I saw articles by Bret Contreras (https://www.t-nation.com/training/max-out-on-squats-every-day) & Cory Gregory (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/cory-gregory-squat-every-day.html). I've also been looking at the high-frequency routines that some of the Golden-age guys followed.

I've been following a PPL split for the past 18 months or so, hitting each bodypart twice a week (once power, once volume). It's been very effective, but I'm starting to get bored & looking to try something else.

What I've come up with is a 6 day a week routine that starts with squats, then workout A will be chest / back, and workout B will be shoulders / arms.

Obviously I'm not going to dive straight into it. I'm going to start with 3 sets at around half of my usual training poundages, and add a kilo or two each workout so I can spend a couple of months acclimatising my joints & muscles before I get back to my current maxes.

Should be interesting...


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

It will be interesting to see how you get on - good luck with it  .


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

Good luck. Will keep an eye on this.


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## Fluke82 (Sep 10, 2015)

Easily done with clever programming. Good luck mate


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

We're off for a short holiday next weekend (spending Halloween in Bran Castle in Transylvania - like you do), so I'll be starting this when I get back on 2nd Nov


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## Gary29 (Aug 21, 2011)

f**k that, twice a week is enough of a battering for me, good luck with it though, rest and nutrition will be absolute key (no s**t sherlock) to keeping this up.


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## Fluke82 (Sep 10, 2015)

Gary29 said:


> f**k that, twice a week is enough of a battering for me, good luck with it though, rest and nutrition will be absolute key (no s**t sherlock) to keeping this up.


and a nice healthy dose of druugs :thumb:


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## Gary29 (Aug 21, 2011)

Drogon said:


> and a nice healthy dose of druugs  :thumb:


Yeah that might help! Not sure of the OP's protocol so was speaking from a natty point of view.


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

Gary29 said:


> Yeah that might help! Not sure of the OP's protocol so was speaking from a natty point of view.


Not natty - I B&C (I'm 48 and my balls took early retirement). Just finishing a blast. I'll drop down to my cruise dose for the next 8-9 weeks then go back on after Xmas, which will be just as the weights are starting to get to challenging levels.

Nutrition is just fine. I've been in the game many years & have settled into a diet that works for me.

Getting enough sleep is always the challenge for me


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## Gary29 (Aug 21, 2011)

Good luck, I don't think I could cope squatting every day, but I bet your strength will rocket if you can stick with it.


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## Kazza61 (Jun 14, 2008)

Not the look you are going for I'm sure but I watched a documentary on Sumo Wrestlers and their approach to getting big is thousands of body-weight squats a day combined with near non-stop eating. Their view was that squatting created the metabolic state needed for weight gain (although in their case that includes a lot of fat too).

I reckon with the right diet, high rep (sets of 20+) squatting every day for two to three months could bring about some great gains if you have the stomach for it. I think most would get fed up of it pretty quickly and you'd need to be very careful that you didn't put yourself in to an over-trained state.


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## Frandeman (Mar 24, 2014)

fu**ing hate squatting


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## swole troll (Apr 15, 2015)

i had a mate who ran Bulgarian light to great success as a natural (if programmed correctly and with proper fatigue management there's no reason a natural or someone on low dose gear cant make great gains on high frequency squatting programs)

@Major Eyeswater you're probably already aware of this but ill put the info in here just in case others wish to give it a go

the main factor behind high frequency squatting is central nervous system fatigue which isnt an issue provided you listen to your body:

* how do your joints feel?

* how are you performing in the gym and work?

* do you feel well rested upon waking?

and that you do *NOT* get all hyped up pre squat, this is a training max not a true 1RM, you calmly get under the bar and squat the weight with no death metal or fast drum and bass pumping in your ears, no super charged pre workout kicking in, no mental hype up to get adrenalin rushing, just a calm and well executed training max

some good reads on the topic firstly is one that major eyeswater mentioned

Squat every day by Matt Perryman - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Squat-Every-Day-Matt-Perryman-ebook/dp/B00CE5BCFG (i'm sure you could find a free PDF online somewhere)

Greg Nuckols also put out a great manual on Bulgarian light - http://www.strengtheory.com/the-bulgarian-method/ (sign up and he sends you the manual by email, all free of charge)

and this T-nation's article loosely covers the basics - https://www.t-nation.com/training/maxing-on-squats-and-deadlifts-every-day

Powerlifting to win's article on The Bulgarian Method - http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/the-bulgarian-method-for-powerlifting/

notice i've refereed to this method as Bulgarian light, this is because the true Bulgarian method created by Ivan Abadjiev consists of squatting to a training max 3 times per day, 6-7 days per week

it was designed for the Bulgarian Olympic weightlifting team and was tailored to athletes that had no outside stresses, their lives solely revolved around training and recovery, 99% of normal people with a family and or job cannot commit to this style of training, its also worth noting that the Bulgarian weightlifting team were heavily enhanced

so the method for those who lift as a hobbie rather than a career is Bulgarian light

again i cant hammer this home enough, this is a TRAINING MAX, if you go in and get so hyped you want to deck someone, youre doing it wrong, fatigue management is key in high frequency squatting programs


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

heres a routine i did ...

DAY 1 - BACK SQUAT , CG CHINS , BOR , RDL

DAY 2 - FRONT SQUAT , BB BENCH , FLOOR PRESS , DIPS , CALFS

DAY 3 - BACK SQUATS , DEADLIFT , GHR , BICEPS

DAY 4 - FRONT SQUAT , INCLINE DB BENCH , DB OHP SEATED , CALFS

DAY 5 - BACK SQUATS , WG CHINS , YATES ROW ,GHR

DAY 6 - FRONT SQUAT, BB OHP, INCLINE DB BENCH ,PRESSDOWN,CALFS

MAIN SET FOLLOWED BY 50% OF THE LAST SET X 30 REPS NO STOPPING OR LOCKING OUT .

ALL SETS ARE 8X3 UNLESS MARKED WITH * WHICH MEANS 2X30 TUT REPS OR ** WHICH MEANS 3X15 .

FOLLOW THIS FOR 12 WEEKS - 13TH WEEK IS A DELOAD WITH ALLLIFTS BEING 50% OF WEEK12 LIFTS THEN WEEK 14 START THE RUSSIAN PEAKING ROUTINE


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

What i do is work up to a 2 or 3 rep max for 2 or 3 sets going by how i feel that day so its a 3 rep max for how strong i feel that day not my all time max .


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

swole troll said:


> again i cant hammer this home enough, this is a TRAINING MAX, if you go in and get so hyped you want to deck someone, youre doing it wrong, fatigue management is key in high frequency squatting programs


Thanks for the additional info Matey

The 'not psyching up' is going to be a bit of a head-fcuk for me. I'm used to really getting into the zone. Hopefully starting light & going up in small increments daily will help me get used to this


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## swole troll (Apr 15, 2015)

Major Eyeswater said:


> Thanks for the additional info Matey
> 
> The 'not psyching up' is going to be a bit of a head-fcuk for me. I'm used to really getting into the zone. Hopefully starting light & going up in small increments daily will help me get used to this


it's usually the biggest stepping stone for most

You'll get use to it, taking the head phones out is a good start and if your gym blasts heavy metal, aggresive rap etc then put the headphones in and listen to something chilled

If youre bulking then you can get away with the odd grinder for your training max toward the end of the week but they should be few and far between and when they do occur im not talking about bloodshot glazed eyes and beetroot red face, only a small amount of sticking is acceptable and really should be a goal to avoid it at all costs


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## FelonE1 (Dec 23, 2013)

Frandeman said:


> fu**ing hate squatting


I love it I'm just shite at it


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## toxyuk (Sep 8, 2015)

go for it tom platts ))))


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## Frandeman (Mar 24, 2014)

FelonE said:


> I love it I'm just shite at it


It drains me ...cant no do anything afterwards... And my arse gets too big lol



FelonE said:


> I love it I'm just shite at it


It drains me ...cant no do anything afterwards... And my arse gets too big lol


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## toxyuk (Sep 8, 2015)




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## Frandeman (Mar 24, 2014)




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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

swole troll said:


> it's usually the biggest stepping stone for most
> 
> You'll get use to it, taking the head phones out is a good start and if your gym blasts heavy metal, aggresive rap etc then put the headphones in and listen to something chilled
> 
> If youre bulking then you can get away with the odd grinder for your training max toward the end of the week but they should be few and far between and when they do occur im not talking about bloodshot glazed eyes and beetroot red face, only a small amount of sticking is acceptable and really should be a goal to avoid it at all costs


I'm assuming you've had a go at this particular form of insanity


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## BorntoLift (Nov 1, 2014)

good idea for a natty guy? or someone on PCT to get test increase?


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## nitrogen (Oct 25, 2007)

Frandeman said:


>


Would ban him from the gym!


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## swole troll (Apr 15, 2015)

Major Eyeswater said:


> I'm assuming you've had a go at this particular form of insanity


i actually havnt but have come very close to

like i said ive got a friend / training buddy who swears by it and hes homing in on a 225kg squat any day now

i lined it all up to run the program and got advice from my mate and did loads of research but then decided not to run it yet as i can still make progress on less aggressive routines like 531 and madcows (if im in a caloric surplus)

Smolov and Bulgarian light are the aces up my sleeve for when i need some shock training to get the numbers going again


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## nitrogen (Oct 25, 2007)

MRSTRONG said:


> YATES ROW ,GHR


What are these please ?


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## Cookie (Sep 14, 2009)

Works a treat if you listen to how you are feeling each day and not think that you need to hit a certain amount of weight, reps, sets in each session. Some days I just did 2 sets and walked away others it was 10 sets and felt fine and wanted to do more.

The first 2 weeks are the hardest.


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## swole troll (Apr 15, 2015)

nitrogen said:


> What are these please ?


Yates row is a very high row, almost like a split between a shrug and a row

Dorian Yates was the one who brought about their popularity hence the name 'Yates' row although you could argue that all the bros have been doing them for years but calling them barbell rows that are too heavy for them to move in the conventional way

GHR - Glute Ham Raise

its bench specifically designed to hook your ankles under and rest your knees on a pad whilst slowly lowering your weight forward creating a LOT of hamstring and glute stimulation

arguable the best hamstring builder and certainly one of the best deadlift accessory lifts

Yates Row:

(the guy in the video isnt using heavy enough weight to demonstrate the body english that often comes into a Yates row)






GHR:


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## nitrogen (Oct 25, 2007)

swole troll said:


> Yates row is a very high row, almost like a split between a shrug and a row
> Dorian Yates was the one who brought about their popularity hence the name 'Yates' row although you could argue that all the bros have been doing them for years but calling them barbell rows that are too heavy for them to move in the conventional way
> 
> GHR - Glute Ham Raise
> ...


Doouhdoh. Ive done these. Hate abbreviations

Thanks


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

Update

I've now been on this for 3 weeks. I'm squatting 6 days a week, and the rest of my body I'm alternating Chest/Back and Shoulders/Arms, so they get hit three times a week each with 6-8 sets a go.

Because of my age and the fact that I'm off-cycle (cruising), I've decided to start light and add a kilo or two every day to build up my recovery ability. At the end of my last cycle I was up to 5 reps on squats with 170kg. I decided to start at half this - 85kg, for 3 sets of 10 and keep adding weight slowly. I've applied a similar protocol to Bench & Seated Press (start at about half my top training weight for 3 sets of 10 & keep working up.

After 3 weeks, I'm pleasantly surprised. I normally drop a couple of kilos when I come down from a blast to a cruise, with a noticeable loss of muscle fullness, but this time I've kept at 95kg with no change in the way I look. My legs look bigger.

I've deliberately kept everything constant. My cruise is 200 of Test pw, same as last time. Diet similar - I've dropped to around 4,200-4,400 per day, which is what I normally do when I come off cycle.

I'm sore, but not as sore as I thought. My legs feel tight & my back aches a bit, and the first warm-up squat of every workout usually feels like someone has hit me in the legs with mallets, but it eases up as I get through my warmups.

So far so good. Haven't died yet - but I'm still only at 70% of my top 5-rep weight for the main 3 lifts, but that's for 3x10 with minimal rest. Maybe that will change as the weights get heavier.


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Kazza61 said:


> Not the look you are going for I'm sure but I watched a documentary on Sumo Wrestlers and their approach to getting big is thousands of body-weight squats a day combined with near non-stop eating. Their view was that squatting created the metabolic state needed for weight gain (although in their case that includes a lot of fat too).
> 
> I reckon with the right diet, high rep (sets of 20+) squatting every day for two to three months could bring about some great gains if you have the stomach for it. I think most would get fed up of it pretty quickly and you'd need to be very careful that you didn't put yourself in to an over-trained state.


There's a lot of evidence to suggest that doing more endurance based (high rep or lots of time under tension) every day increases nuclei in the muscle, and the more nuclei the muscle contains the faster it will grow. So someone that used to cycle to fatigue very often will probably find that their legs grow fast if they were to start training heavy squats. When I was younger and before I knew anything at all I used to dumbbell curl 10kg every day and I got up to 40-odd reps on them, and do 50-60 reps doing dips on my desk with my feet on the floor, lol - no mass at all to speak of obviously, but when I actually did some reading a few years later and started lifting heavy, my arms grew several inches withing a couple of months. I know newb gains are always impressive, but if I'd had the same level of gains everywhere else as I did on my arms, the two month transformation would have been pretty shocking tbh.


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Major Eyeswater said:


> Update
> 
> I've now been on this for 3 weeks. I'm squatting 6 days a week, and the rest of my body I'm alternating Chest/Back and Shoulders/Arms, so they get hit three times a week each with 6-8 sets a go.
> 
> ...


Going well mate  My pulling strength is good but I've always been so s**t at pullups, thinking of trying pullups every day during my next cruise and seeing what happens, hopefully helps my back width.


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## Gary29 (Aug 21, 2011)

Good work mate, I fu**ing hate that first couple of warm up sets when you still have a bit of DOMS left over from the previous squatting session, even on 5x5 with a day off in between it's horrible.


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## 19072 (Aug 11, 2010)

I'd LOVE to give this a go. I love squatting.

What are you sessions like, sets/reps/weight etc?

I would love to incorporate this into a hypertropy based programme.


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