16 Week Squat Program
Celedonio Miranda
When it comes to squatting the old internet guard would have had you believe that you could only train it heavy once a week maybe at a push twice a week but the second session would have to be done light or using something like the dynamic method. I think it is clear to anyone who reads the blogs, books on training or who even follows the training of weightlifters or powerlifters who compete in the IPF or unequipped you will see that there is more than one way to skin a cat.
In the spring of 2010 I returned to the United States after living in Scotland for a few months. My travel schedule had been crazy: 12 countries in less than 14 weeks, which included a particularly insane span of 6 countries in 12 days.
My first day back in Ohio, I called Mark Cannella, the head coach at Columbus Weightlifting. (Mark is a good friend now and was an Olympic Weightlifting coach at the 2012 Olympics in London.) We set up a time for me to come in the next day.
Regardless of what my true max was on that first day, we can safely say that I increased my squat by at least 100 pounds in 16 weeks that followed. With the proper combination of training, diet, and recovery, I think you can achieve similar growth.
When I went to the gym for those 16 weeks, I did squats every workout. (I was lifting 3 days per week.) Squats were also the first exercise that I during each workout. I wanted to make sure that I was working on my most important goal when my energy and concentration were at their best.
As I already mentioned, I was never missing workouts, I was getting great sleep, I was eating everything I could find, and I was living a low stress lifestyle. There were too many other great things going on at once for me to say whether or not the supplements made any difference.
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James Clear writes about habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. The book has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 60 languages.
Breathing squats - a set of squats where you perform as many reps as you can comfortably, and then pause at the top of each subsequent rep by taking a couple deep breaths in order to re-energize your system. In this manner you should be able to double the number of reps you are capable of in each set, but the sets will also take 2-3 times as long too, so be prepared.
Before you start this program you should record your current PR stats. You might want to record a 1, 3, 5, 10, or 20 rep max. You might also want to measure the circumference of your legs to see if they grow an inch or so. Whatever interests you.
If you follow these guidelines carefully, you could add 90-100 pounds to your 20-rep max squat in just over two months. Trust me when I say you will be improving all aspects of your conditioning by trying this working for just 2 months. Be prepared for a bit of initial Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) as this will shred your muscle fibers.
The Smolov Senior is a 13 week squat program that has become very widely used among the local CrossFit community in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (and I assume everywhere else as well, because I see posts about it all the time). The athletes using it tell me that it is brutal but shows guaranteed results.
This is also a 3-4 day a week squat program depending on the phase you are in. The program is broken down into 5 different phases; phase in, base phase, switching phase, intense phase, and taper. This will allow the body to have time to adjust to the additional volume and tonnage being placed on it. (The Hatch Program follows a similar adjustment period, although not specifically labeled).
For CrossFit athletes, it looks like it could work as a great addition to the workouts you already do in your gym, but for a competitive CrossFit athlete or Olympic Weightlifter, I would suggest consulting with your coach before trying this (or any additional squat program really), as it will take a toll on your other lifts while making the adjustment. What I find really interesting is that it gives you both percentages and poundage to use while moving through these weeks. For example, week 4 day 2 calls for 5 x 7 @ 75% + 20lbs from week 3. A 20lbs increase can be fairly significant depending on your squat max, so I would say that any improvement week to week as a positive. This will give you the ability to work with what your body has that day rather than feeling tied into a certain percentage.
Westside is a conjugate program uses a variety of different exercises and rep ranges including maximum, dynamic, and repetition effort (another way to explain high volume or hypertrophy). His maximum efforts are described as sets or 8-12 with lower reps of 1-3 and percentages ranging from 90-100% of 1 rep maximum. Dynamic efforts are sets of 9-12 with reps of 1-3 at percentages ranging from 40-60% of 1RM or 25-30% with additional accommodating resistances including resistance anchored bands or chains. The article explains that following both maximum and dynamic efforts, Simmons will use repetition efforts of 2-4 sets of 6-10 repetitions and every fourth weeks Repetition efforts are used for restoration (unloading weeks). In addition to varying loads and exercises, Simmons will also use a variety of different stances and depths to train his athletes. They use examples of narrow, wide and ultra wide stances, and depths ranging from deep, parallel, racks, boards and elevations.
Westside alternates between maximum strength and dynamic days and also lower body and upper body. The sample program shows Monday as a maximal lower body day, Wednesday a maximum effort upper body, Friday a dynamic lower body day and Saturday a dynamic upper body day. They suggest that maximum effort days be performed 72 hours after a dynamic effort day and give examples of progressions used on those days while working into your maximal effort for that given day. The Westside Program is designed for experienced powerlifters and it is suggested that you build your foundation before attempting to perform these workouts. It is similar to the Hatch Squat Program that I know so well as it is designed to allow the athlete the ability to compete with very little notice in as little time as it takes the athlete to taper.
Sam Poeth won her first USAW National title in 2005 at the Junior National Championships. She has 4 University National Titles (2010-2012, 2014) and is the 2013 USAW National Champion. She also owns the title of 2011 and 2012 American Open Champion, is a 4x University World Team Member, and competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials. Sam has a Masters Degree in Exercise Science from the University of South Alabama. She currently resides in Tuscaloosa, AL and is a coach for Alabama Weightlifting. You can follow her on Instagram @sam_poeth and on Twitter @sampoeth.
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If you are someone who has struggled to add weight to your barbell Back Squat, this squat program for strength will allow you to add no less than 10 pounds to your squat max. Ideally it will add 30 pounds in 6 weeks. If you need a squat program for strength, this one will allow you to bust through that plateau.
1. Squat Rack: Make sure you place the bar lower than needed. If you try to un-rack or rack a heavy weight, you will have trouble with your sets. You want to be as efficient with your setup as possible. Then, of course, the safety bar height. If you do not have the safety bars at an adequate height, failing with a heavy weight might injure you.
2. Barbell Collars: You know, the things that keep the weights on the bar? Use them! Too many people neglect to use those safety devices. Having the collars on the bar also allows you to focus on the lift.
For A1, B1, and C1, pick a 1 rep max to start your six weeks. Do not change it. Take your one rep max times the percentage to derive the weight to use for the prescribed sets and reps. If you find the program becomes too tough, scale back your one rep max and adjust accordingly.
Below is another excerpt from my upcoming book, Preparing For Battle. This section provides you with the best front squat program for strength and stability that I have ever used. It is also very transferable to the snatch and especially the clean & jerk. It literally transformed my adopted son, Eze from a chump to a contender is nine weeks. Enjoy!
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