The All Squat Workout

Cry all you want about it and feel free to post on message boards how I’m over-training and how I will end up frying my CNS faster than an American T.V. plugged into a Philippines electrical outlet. But I’m a huge fan of banging away at squats for a whole session. No three and out token squats for me on squat day. That’s some really unsatisfying shit in my opinion; I’m gonna camp out and get after it for an hour or two straight. And when I’m done, I just walk out.

This type of training is nothing new. Big strong guys were unapologetically doing this shit 40 years ago; back when I was running around the house shitting in diapers. Hell, Paula Anderson was hitting golf balls and squatting for 4 hours a day over a decade before I was born and that guy definitely knew a thing or two about getting strong.

There is one caveat here though. You need to squat frequently to get away with this shit. So on your other gym days, it's a good idea to throw in a few sets to keep your body used to it. On those days, I just squat for my general warm up and move on. If you never get sore, that’s fine. But for me, the all squat workout will fuck up my whole week if I’m not already squatting frequently.

My squat was shit for a long time. I’m not saying that my squat technique anywhere near perfect now and I’m sure that a good coach could probably put 10% on my squat in one hour. But I will say that at this point in my life, my squat is automatic and consistent. I attribute this to a shit fuck ton of reps. There is no magic here. The more you do something, the better you’ll get at it, period.

My programming is pretty strange right now because I’m in the year of the “bulk”. So, although I’m trying to get stronger in general, the real focus is adding 20 pounds to my frame. So reps, reps, reps, eat, eat, eat is my current mind set. I got a wild hair up my ass a couple of months ago, that I’d work on hitting a 240x50 squat. This is Dan John’s fault by the way, because of something he wrote about a BWX50 challenge. 240 is not my current BW, but that’s the goal, so I’m using that number. I figure that it’ll get easier as my BW increases, so I’m starting there. Here’s how I have shit programmed now.

1. Hit a heavy double or triple for the day (not a max, but pretty hard, pausing some warm up sets)

2. (240xmax reps) trying to beat last week’s reps

3. Cut reps in half and do straight sets of 240 till I’m “done”

4. Hit some front squats if I feel “done” but not really “done”

5. Resume eating

There are a bazillion ways to go about this, but I guarantee that if you’ve never laser focused on your squats like this before, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with your body’s response. Plus it’s kinda cool to roll in and just get down with the squat for a solid hour or two. People will think you’re crazy and the hacks in the gym will start referring to you as “squat guy” behind you back after a while, but fuck them. You know what’s up!

Staying Lean Year Round: Don’t Be That Guy!

I was sitting around at a corner sari-sari store shooting the shit and drinking a few beers with a friend a couple of days ago and he said something that sparked a brain storming session. Unlike me, he’s a friendly guy and actually talks to people in the gym. He said some dudes in the gym were bagging on him because he’s not currently sporting a six pack. Now this is a pretty big dude and although he’s a little smooth at the moment, he still has vascular arms and obvious muscle separation just walking around in a t-shirt. So what’s the problem?

Lattimer was probably a big eater off season

I experienced a similar thing a while back when a guy commented on my work ethic and said one day I’ll be as big as him. I was confused by this comment and thought the guy was delusional, since I probably outweigh him by 50-60 pounds.  What’s the definition of big? There is a bit of a language barrier, but what I think he meant was, a low body fat cut up look. So in his mind, being a 170 pound twink with a six pack, trumps actually being big and strong.

Not big, not strong...all twink.

This is so common. An average guy in my gym is probably 130-150 pounds and a “big” dude is say in the 170-180 range. The common denominator is that most of them are circa 10% body fat lean and although they train diligently, they don’t make any noticeable changes from year to year. They want to get freakishly big and strong, but their obsession with perpetual leanness is holding them back. They will never achieve the “look” they are chasing, because they want to have it 24/7. I’ll let you in on a little secret…those freakishly huge and lean guys in the magazines only look that way a handful of times per year.

The truly sad part is that many of these guys are on steroids. I don’t have any personal experience with steroids, but I can confidently say that they are wasting their money on that shit. If you’re not eating big it’s a waste in my opinion. It’s like pumping NO into a car with an empty gas tank and expecting it to perform. Fucking stupid!

So back to my friend, our ultimate goals are different, but the process to meet our goals is basically the same.  He works on strength to facilitate mass and I put on mass to get stronger. Here’s the conclusion that we both came to; if you don’t compete, to make the best progress, you should still train like a competitor for your given sport.

Think about it, a bodybuilder might do 2 shows per year and maybe just one that they consider to be the big show. How is that guy going to structure his training? He’s going to bulk up and then lean out for the show and see what’s going on. Then he will assess his weaknesses and work on being better for the next show. He will repeat this process over and over and continue to get better and better. Powerlifting is no different except that you’re peaking for strength instead of maximal size/leanness.

This is nothing new…it’s just good old fashioned periodization. So for the guy trying to get that bodybuilding look, I think peaking 2x per year is a decent way to go. I’d try to schedule these peaks around significant events like vacations and such to add a sense of urgency.  So it would look something like this:

6-8 weeks (Strength) get stronger on the heavy compound movements and eat big

6-8 weeks (Mass) coast on the big weights, increase the hypertrophy work and continue eating big

6-8 weeks (Cutting) increased cardio and tighten up the diet to peak

2-3 weeks (Awesomeness) coast, rest, and bask in your awesomeness

So you’ll only spend 10% of your time basking in your awesomeness and that kind of sucks. The truth however, is that you will at least be legitimately strong and awesome. And unlike your gym comrades, you’ll build yourself up to actual man size.

"Chow down"

 

Squat: Elbow, Wrist and Forearm Pain

Elbow, wrist and forearm pain are pretty common for guys that squat heavy and often. When the weight started getting heavy, I was dealing with chronic pain on a regular basis. Everything I tried failed: grip variations, bar placement variations, hand spacing variations, etc. In the end, it was a major injury that ended up fixing it for good.

I tore my rotator cuff and bicep a while back and when I reentered the gym I spent 6 months doing nothing but squats an rehab work. For about the first month I was so fucked up that I literally had to use my right hand to place my left hand on the bar. What I discovered is that squatting with the injury totally fixed my elbow pain issue. Why? Because I couldn't squeeze and push on the bar. Hell, I couldn't even move my arm.

I ended up with a wider grip, but the real fix was my arm's relationship with the bar. I wasn't squeezing the bar, I wasn't pushing the bar, I was just holding the bar and letting it ride on my back. This is so simple and looking back, I feel kind of silly not figuring it out sooner. The reason I had pain (for years) was because I was squeezing the bar and inadvertently pushing up on it. So a heavy squat was not just a heavy squat...it was a heavy squat with a heavy static press (and) a lot of that weight was getting transferred down through my arms instead of my back where it belongs.

I'm sitting around 15 months post injury and my squat has improved about 50 pounds (pain free) in that time. I know that may sound like shit for some of you guys, but gains come slower and slower as your strength increases. You stronger guys will know what I mean.

Here's my advice. First, lower your training max a little and build back up. I think this is important when you are trying to make form changes because if you are operating too heavy, you're just going to end up doing whatever it takes to get shit done. What you are trying to do, is make a specific habit change and you're going to screw it up if you're in the gym bursting blood vessels in your eyes. Don't be a knucklehead, just drop the weight a little and work on developing the habit.

Shit happens when you lift heavy...but don't be in this mode when you're trying to sort things out.

Second, quit squeezing the shit out of the bar. I'm not saying that you need to limp wrist it or anything, but quit squeezing it like you're trying to open a jar of mayonnaise. Take a firm and manly grip, but stop there and quit trying to choke the life out of the bar. The harder you squeeze, the more you will end up pushing up on the bar without even realizing it.

Last, just let the bar ride on your back. You already have control and pushing up on it isn't doing jack shit to help you move that weight. Keep everything tight and let your legs and hips move the weight.

Here's the deal. If you're squatting heavy, it will hurt and it should hurt...that's just the game. It's okay for shit to get sore and “hurt”, but if you are feeling PAIN, something is wrong and you need to fix it. And I know from experience that this shit works.

"Give it a shot...what do you have to lose but some aggravating pain?"