Get your squat on!

the rugged girl
Apr 7, 2015
3 min read

I love squats - and so should you!

Squats have made me a better athlete. Squats have made me stronger, leaner and more explosive. Squats made me more mentally tough and more resistant to injury. Not even mentioning building a steel booty ofcourse :)

Given all of those benefits, you may be wondering "How can I squat more?"

Well, I'm definietely not the strongest girl ever, but I've become much stronger with a consistent training. In a year I went from 50kg to 100kg, my dream at that time.

How I've done it?

No, I haven't been squatting every day. Simply because I didn't want to neglect my other lifts. While working on my squat power I still wanted to build a nice, proportional pysique.

What my workouts looked like?

To progress with my squat I used a simplified Smolov Jr protocol.

In original Smolov Jr routine you squat for 13 week from 3 to 7 days a week depending on the phase of cycle. The Smolov Jr is a 3 week routine/rep scheme (although many have stretched it out to 4 or even 6 weeks). It's less difficult than the similar base cycle of the full Smolov and is better suited to more lifts (e.g., it works well for bench). The routine is as follows:

Week 1 (SETSxREPSxWEIGHT) Mon - 6x6x70% Wed - 7x5x75% Fri - 8x4x80% Sat - 10x3x85% Week 2 Mon - 6x6x70%+5kg Wed - 7x5x75%+5kg Fri - 8x4x80%+5kg Sat - 10x3x85%+5kg Week 3 Mon - 6x6x70%+10kg Wed - 7x5x75%+10kg Fri - 8x4x80%+10kg Sat - 10x3x85%+10kg

The simplified protocol that I used is a 6 week rep scheme when we squat 2 days a week. It looks the same as above but we split the 4 squat sessions across 2 weeks, not one.

Week 1 (SETSxREPSxWEIGHT) 1 - 6x6x70% 2- 7x5x75%

Week 2 1 - 8x4x80% 2 - 10x3x85% Week 3 1 - 6x6x70%+5kg 2 - 7x5x75%+5kg

Week 4 1- 8x4x80%+5kg 2- 10x3x85%+5kg Week 5 1- 6x6x70%+10kg 2 - 7x5x75%+10kg

Week 6 1- 8x4x80%+10kg 2- 10x3x85%+10kg

I used this scheme twice during a year. Its not advised to use it more often as its pretty hard and u can overtrain ending up with worse results than before starting.

I also don't recommed it to anyone new to lifting without mastering the squat technique first.

Tips and tricks:

Get you max - Best is to start with 10% less than your true max, so you begin cycle with a weight you’re certain you can squat on any given day.
Plan ahead - Make sure u have 6 weeks to perform the program and fully commit to it.
Schedule - 2nd session at leat 2 days after first one to give your body a rest
Perform the plan- Nor 2 days at the gym are the same. Sometimes you may feel much weaker than on the other days and that is absolutely normal. Its important to no skip the sessions even if you feel like doing so. Always go and try and take as much time as u need to perform the full session. If u miss a rep, repeat it, but don't give up!
Stretch - one, stretching between workouts will speed up your recovery by flushing blood into your muscles. Two, stretching prevents injuries (think lower back). Three, it boosts strength. Stretch your hips daily.
Get a Training Partner - having someone behind your back when you’re squatting, yelling at you to get your reps on each set, especially when you’ve having a hard time, is an invaluable tool on any training regimen. Find one.

The first week of the cycle is probably the hardest. Especially the 7×5 day is rough. Expect your legs and lower back to be sore. By week 2 your body will be used to all the squatting and then it’s really a matter of mental fortitude. Besides all Eat well, sleep well, train and expect the gainzzz! :)