# 20 rep squat routine



## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Has anybody ever tried one of the 20 rep squat routines that are knocking about?

It involves 1x20 reps squat, 3 times a week for 6 weeks. 18 workouts in all, you start out with your 5RM and you take 18 x 5lbs from it (lets say 2.5kg for english money sake) so 45kg from your 5RM start out with that x 20 and adding 2.5kg to the bar every workout so your 20 rep max ends up as what your 5RM was. Its from the days of old but thought it looks interesting and brutal.

Thoughts?? Experiences???


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

No?...... lol

maybe i should of put a thread up whinging about my mrs or the fact i cant get any pussy, or 21 bicep curls or something, might of got a response then lol :lol:


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

LOL. I've done a few routines that involve 20 and 30 rep sets of squats. Not a pre set routine, just stuff I've come up with myself. You get good leg growth from them I feel, but only if you do them for short cycles rather than for months on end. The strength aspect is rarely an issue imo, it's much, much more of a mental challenge to get them done.


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## C.Hill (Nov 21, 2010)

Just squat for 20 reps? Lol

Done it a few times ages ago and it bloody hurt! 90kg was the max I could handle! Like Ming says its a mental thing after 14ish reps.


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

C.Hill said:


> Just squat for 20 reps? Lol
> 
> Done it a few times ages ago and it bloody hurt! 90kg was the max I could handle! Like Ming says its a mental thing after 14ish reps.


3 times a week though lol


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

ive done 2 lots of 50 rep no bar squats which fcuked me lol


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

Fatstuff said:


> 3 times a week though lol


Sounds too much for me and I love squatting. It's like that bloody German Volume craziness, I don't think I could face the gym knowing I had 2 million reps to do each session and that the first 1.8 million were just to get me to the business reps lol...


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

I hate squatting but im constantly looking at a way to improve it as its a serious ballache for me and its sh1t


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

Fatstuff said:


> I hate squatting but im constantly looking at a way to improve it as its a serious ballache for me and its sh1t


I did a routine a few months back where at the end of each leg session I did a set of squats for as many reps as possible. I think I got to something like 140kg for 30 or thereabouts but started getting humongous headaches. I stopped out of concern for my blood pressure lol, but my legs were certainly growing from doing them.


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## C.Hill (Nov 21, 2010)

Fatstuff said:


> I hate squatting but im constantly looking at a way to improve it as its a serious ballache for me and its sh1t


Adding more reps won't make you enjoy it more lol


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

C.Hill said:


> Adding more reps won't make you enjoy it more lol


I am not planning on enjoying it any more, but if i can get it up a bit i may prefer doing it as the effort will be worth the poundages and gains lol - at the moment struggling with 120 for a few reps is really not cutting it for me 

Anyway i wont be doing anything intense like this until i start eating again lol


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## arnoldisnumerou (Jan 7, 2009)

I tried it last year, really found it to work - got up to 100kg for 20 if I remember correctly. Can't remember the exact programme but i'm sure i downloaded it from a website and it also provided a training tracker. i'll try find a link


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

Fatstuff said:


> I am not planning on enjoying it any more, but if i can get it up a bit i may prefer doing it as the effort will be worth the poundages and gains lol - at the moment struggling with 120 for a few reps is really not cutting it for me
> 
> Anyway i wont be doing anything intense like this until i start eating again lol


At the moment I'm squatting twice a week. One session is triples to get my strength and poundages back up. For the second session, rather than go for high rep squats, I pre exhaust with sets of 20 rep leg press then squat for sets of 6-10 reps. I feel this has the same effect as high rep squatting without the feeling that my head is about to explode


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## arnoldisnumerou (Jan 7, 2009)

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/brewster24.htm

I used the bottom programme. Pdf logsheets available for download at bottom of page


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

arnoldisnumerou said:


> http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/brewster24.htm
> 
> I used the bottom programme. Pdf logsheets available for download at bottom of page


Thats cool ill have a read of that, ta


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## Big_Idiot (Feb 14, 2012)

I didn't do the official 20 rep squat routine but one of my routines i did 20 rep squats.

Absolute killer, its hard not to pass out!


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## big steve (May 8, 2011)

sounds interesting, wouldnt fancy squatting 3 times per week though!


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## Ken Hutchinson (May 29, 2009)

I did something like this about 10 years ago, i did a full body work out, starting with squats, i did 2 warm up sets of 10 with 60kg, then the 3rd set was for 20 reps, with the same weight 60kg, then everytime you do it 2/3 times a week, you add the smallest weight you can to the bar, and on the 3rd set you must get 20 reps no mater what, i think i got to 92.5 kg and for some reason i can't remember just stopped doing it, it still pi$$es me off today that i did not carry on to 100kg, i think i saw some $hit routine in a mag and just changed to that, then jumped about using different routine, but thinking about it, i improved all my lifts as well doing this, i might go back to it, and this time get to 100kg


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## anabolik (Aug 19, 2010)

Well worth trying for a few weeks imo. I don't do 20 rep sets of squats very often at all but when I do it's like a religious experience...by the end of the set you'll feel reborn lol

My max is 120kg for 20


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2012)

Think Im going to start 5x5 squats on leg day. Then later on in the week, say end of shoulders do a set of 20. Mainly because my squat is [email protected] so thats why the 5x5,but I've heard good things about the 20 reppers for growth


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

I think if i do it i will definitely start quite low as i can imagine the intensity gets pretty high towards the ends, it may get my body used to squatting too lol


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## Alvin (May 4, 2008)

I've never done a routine as such, but I try and do 20 rep squats at the end of each month they defo hit the legs hard.

Was working up 140kg for 20s but pulled my groin 3 weeks ago


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## Moonbeam (Jul 20, 2011)

sounds brutal but I bet it's a good personal challange


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## Countryboy (May 26, 2012)

Sounds similar to me n my mates routine we did.

we were on 5x5 got to 80kg and at this point we were running out of time. so we droped back down to 60kg which wasnt hurting our backs etc(both lower back issues) and went to 10x3 on them slowly upping it again till we got to 80kg, based on how i started training of going till it got easy and move up. this helped with out back issues and got us to 100-120kg!


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Had a little blast today on an empty stomach, only 55kg but it was a taster effort lol. Got to 12ish and had a rest pause and breathe to bang out next 4, then another rest pause to finish them.

I reckon with a bit more weight on the bar and some food inside, it would become quite a fun and brutal challenge lol

Was enough to make me sit down and get my breath back though lol


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## 36-26 (Jun 30, 2009)

I'm gonna start my new leg session with 5x5 squats and then do the rest of the leg session and finish with 20 rep squats. Looking forward to it


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## K-Rod (Sep 10, 2012)

Gonna give this a shot tomorrow. Let you know how it goes if I can make it back to my laptop :lol:


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Do it lol


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## Matt 1 (May 8, 2010)

Fatstuff said:


> Has anybody ever tried one of the 20 rep squat routines that are knocking about?
> 
> It involves 1x20 reps squat, 3 times a week for 6 weeks. 18 workouts in all, you start out with your 5RM and you take 18 x 5lbs from it (lets say 2.5kg for english money sake) so 45kg from your 5RM start out with that x 20 and adding 2.5kg to the bar every workout so your 20 rep max ends up as what your 5RM was. Its from the days of old but thought it looks interesting and brutal.
> 
> Thoughts?? Experiences???


doing it atm as ive broken my hand lol.. i love it, legs looking better already, its HARD though!


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2012)

Gonna be some funny walks going round tomorrow. Have fun with those stairs :lol:


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## Matt 1 (May 8, 2010)

Jd123 said:


> Gonna be some funny walks going round tomorrow. Have fun with those stairs :lol:


doms isnt actually bad at all after the first week of it, recovery goes through the roof!


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2012)

Matt 1 said:


> doms isnt actually bad at all after the first week of it, recovery goes through the roof!


I think it was actually worse for me not the day aftter but the day after that


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## constantbulk (Dec 27, 2010)

will be trying this 20 reps on my next leg day after doing 5 x 5, prob do half the weight and use rest pause if ive got enough in me to carry on


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

constantbulk said:


> will be trying this 20 reps on my next leg day after doing 5 x 5, prob do half the weight and use rest pause if ive got enough in me to carry on


After 5x5? Lol good luck with that haha


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## constantbulk (Dec 27, 2010)

At the minute I'm only squatting 90 5 x 5 and gradually working up week by week still long way to go


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## MURPHYZ (Oct 1, 2011)

Try German volume training , 10 sets of 10, I start tomorrow


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Breeny said:


> Try German volume training , 10 sets of 10, I start tomorrow


No thank you lol


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## MURPHYZ (Oct 1, 2011)

Fatstuff said:


> No thank you lol


Damn you, I was hoping for someone to share in my pain


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## luther1 (Jul 31, 2011)

Tom platz used to do 60kg squats for 10 minutes


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## Matt 1 (May 8, 2010)

constantbulk said:


> will be trying this 20 reps on my next leg day after doing 5 x 5, prob do half the weight and use rest pause if ive got enough in me to carry on


thats not the right way to do it mate

you take your 10 rep max, and do 20 reps, through breather reps

breather reps: basically a rest pause, but you keep the weight on your back, and just take 5-10deep breathes then perform more reps

you will not be able to do this if you do any legs before it!


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Breeny said:


> Damn you, I was hoping for someone to share in my pain


After 10x10 of anything I would just want to go home


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

luther1 said:


> Tom platz used to do 60kg squats for 10 minutes


He had sh1t legs though :rolleye:


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## anabolik (Aug 19, 2010)

Matt 1 said:


> thats not the right way to do it mate
> 
> you take your 10 rep max, and do 20 reps, through breather reps
> 
> ...


Exactly.

If you can do the full 20 reps without any rest then the weight is too light. You should aim to get the first 8-10 in one go, then maybe 4 or 5 etc. so you end up doing like 3-5 mini sets within one giant 20 rep set.


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## constantbulk (Dec 27, 2010)

That sounds like a better way lol


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## Matt 1 (May 8, 2010)

constantbulk said:


> That sounds like a better way lol


yeah man!

by the end of it you are meant to be able to do your oringinal 5rep max for 20reps straight lol!


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## K-Rod (Sep 10, 2012)

Just finished my set today and it felt pretty good, got a nice burn out if it! I've been out of training for a year so I've probably estimated my 10 rep max too low, knocked out 70K without any rests. I'll up it by 10K next set instead of the 2.5 and see how that goes. Still got nice jelly legs afterwards though :bounce:


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

K-Rod said:


> Just finished my set today and it felt pretty good, got a nice burn out if it! I've been out of training for a year so I've probably estimated my 10 rep max too low, knocked out 70K without any rests. I'll up it by 10K next set instead of the 2.5 and see how that goes. Still got nice jelly legs afterwards though :bounce:


Its definitely a gasser lol, we should start a ukm 20 rep squat challenge lol


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

I will be incorporating a German volume training to my legs sessions. So today 10x10 let press, 10x10 squats and etc


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Ahal84 said:


> I will be incorporating a German volume training to my legs sessions. So today 10x10 let press, 10x10 squats and etc


GVT for legs is a frightening concept lol


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Fatstuff said:


> GVT for legs is a frightening concept lol


Will report back today or tomorrow


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## anabolik (Aug 19, 2010)

Ahal84 said:


> I will be incorporating a German volume training to my legs sessions. So today 10x10 let press, 10x10 squats and etc


Are you insane?? 

Even the GVT routine doesn't call for 100 reps of squats and leg press! Do one or the other but to attempt both is foolish lol


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## loganator (Mar 19, 2011)

anabolik said:


> Are you insane??
> 
> Even the GVT routine doesn't call for 100 reps of squats and leg press! Do one or the other but to attempt both is foolish lol


Got to agree with you there ,sometimes for a change of routine I do 10 x 10 with 140 kg ass to grass but deffo wouldnt feel the need to do 10 x 10 leg press after that ......tbh if you can do both then you are not using enough weight or you are not squatting and leg pressing deep enough


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Even 10 x 10 of squats would kill me tbh lol


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Update did 10x10 leg press with half of the weight that I can do. Then 10x10 squat only with 50kg weight, as I was afed after leg presses. Then attempted lunges only managed 3x10.  brutal


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## defdaz (Nov 11, 2007)

I used to squat 220kg for 20+ reps. Those were the days.  Maybe I should stop reminiscing and pull my finger out? :lol:


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

defdaz said:


> I used to squat 220kg for 20+ reps. Those were the days.  Maybe I should stop reminiscing and pull my finger out? :lol:


U animal lol, that would be a vid worth watching!!


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Ahal84 said:


> Update did 10x10 leg press with half of the weight that I can do. Then 10x10 squat only with 50kg weight, as I was afed after leg presses. Then attempted lunges only managed 3x10.  brutal


Magic lol


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## defdaz (Nov 11, 2007)

Fatstuff said:


> U animal lol, that would be a vid worth watching!!


lol! Would be a video worth performing in too!


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## K-Rod (Sep 10, 2012)

Did my 2nd set last night, added 10K as my first set was a bit light. Was a lot harder, got to 13 then had to take a few breaths to finish. At this rate I doubt I'll last 1 week let alone 6 :turned:


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## K-Rod (Sep 10, 2012)

That's week 1 done! Stuck another 2.5k on today and managed to get to 18 reps before stopping then completed 20 with a few deep breaths. Looking forward to week 2 (I think).


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## ash23 (May 25, 2012)

Add Title


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## Bulking2k10 (Sep 15, 2010)

oh man, memories...

when i did the 20 rep squat routine for a month back in 2010...boy did i gain

GOMAD workout routine

gallon of milk a day along with 1 heavy ass set of 20 rep squats with 3 of your weekly workout, and you will gain all kinds of muscle mate.....all KINDDZ


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## BigTrev (Mar 16, 2008)

doing that 3 times week your best doing without pussy it will tire you out just


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## PowerOutput (Oct 3, 2012)

Will try this out plus some gvt. Good thread


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

PowerOutput said:


> Will try this out plus some gvt. Good thread


Not together i hope? lol


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## PowerOutput (Oct 3, 2012)

Fatstuff said:


> Not together i hope? lol


I be lucky to get through one :blush:

Been thinking about weights to start on don't wan't to go too low waste a workout?


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## Bulking2k10 (Sep 15, 2010)

BigTrev said:


> doing that 3 times week your best doing without pussy it will tire you out just


i didn't quite get that 'pussy', you calling me a pussy?

have you ever tried it 3X a week? you need determination like a m***f*** and will power! i managed it for my bulk in 2010, and it paid off big time


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## Dezw (May 13, 2009)

I've never found any use in high rep squatting, seems to do nothing for me.

If i stick to 5 or 6 and really get the weight on, that hammers my legs well.


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