High Rep Squats

JReinhal

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Ive been doing low rep squats (3x5, 5x5) for many years now. Ive upped my 1RM from a measly 135 to an acceptable 405. With that said, I hurt my lower back and am experimenting with high rep/low weight squats. What Ive noticed is how dreadful I am with high reps. I could not finish 3x20 with 30 second rest intervals at 95lbs!
My first question is what would cause me to be so terrible with high rep squats? I thought lifting relatively heavy would somewhat transfer over.
Second, would my weakness with high rep squats be partially responsible for my life long skinny legs? I have not been able to put any size on my legs through the transition from 135 to 405 over the years.
Thank you.
 
Blindstack

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Ive been doing low rep squats (3x5, 5x5) for many years now. Ive upped my 1RM from a measly 135 to an acceptable 405. With that said, I hurt my lower back and am experimenting with high rep/low weight squats. What Ive noticed is how dreadful I am with high reps. I could not finish 3x20 with 30 second rest intervals at 95lbs!
My first question is what would cause me to be so terrible with high rep squats? I thought lifting relatively heavy would somewhat transfer over.
Second, would my weakness with high rep squats be partially responsible for my life long skinny legs? I have not been able to put any size on my legs through the transition from 135 to 405 over the years.
Thank you.
How fast are you doing the reps? The higher sets, the higher chance you are creating an aerobic type workout. This would be a different stimulus than low rep sets that only use intramuscular glycogen stores
 

JReinhal

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How fast are you doing the reps? The higher sets, the higher chance you are creating an aerobic type workout. This would be a different stimulus than low rep sets that only use intramuscular glycogen stores
I should have included that information. I tend to power through these high reps a bit faster than when I would do lower reps. Im thinking the 30 sec recovery time between sets may lean it more towards aerobic as you're suggesting.
 

3parks

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I like to do every other leg day 225 for a 100 reps in as little time as possible to start my workout. Form is crisp... Speaking of that's on the agenda for tomorrow.
 

guss

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the last time I tryed squatting 100 Reps I used 185 and only got 84 Reps
 
Blindstack

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No gangs for me
Definition of gang. A group of three or more people together for a common purpose. Welcome to the Anabolic Minds gang. Time to jump you in. ?
 
tyga tyga

tyga tyga

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Blood in blood out
 

PaulBlack

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My first question is what would cause me to be so terrible with high rep squats? I thought lifting relatively heavy would somewhat transfer over.
Well, you can get some carryover, but higher rep squatting say has a good bit to deal with stamina levels and some aerobic action as well, which you do not get as much of, doing shorter duration sets with heavier weights. Along with your rep to singles ratios can get lower or higher depending on protocols.
It is like when PL'ers transition to WSM work. Even though some of the pwlifters are quite strong, they lack some of the fitness to be able to do lighter work like carrying or dragging for distances etc.
Bottom line is that, you get good at what you practice most.



Second, would my weakness with high rep squats be partially responsible for my life long skinny legs? I have not been able to put any size on my legs through the transition from 135 to 405 over the years.
First off, some guys just have a better ability to build larger mass, no matter what their protocols are.
Second, it is true that reps and or volume (like BBers use, puts more mass on people instead of strength. Lots of strength athletes are stronger, yet less massive than their BBer counterparts.
Lastly, eating enough also has a direct correlation to mass.
 

Devonkev

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Low rep work is mostly accommodated by neural adaptions, high rep work will test our metabolite systems so its no wonder you find one hard if you haven't been training in that particular way. It's about specificity. Yeah, they may be some carry over but probably not a huge amount at all.
 

btothefman

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Check out The Rocks leg routine, or German Volume Training, I've never grown so quick as I have with the The Rocks leg program which is seriously high reps that leaves you nearly spewing your guts up.
 

kisaj

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Balance is key. High rep and low rep don't carry over if you train one consistently and not the other. High reps will build nice size, but you'll be disappointed when you try to go back and lift what you were on lower reps. Look at cyclists that have nice quads and see what they can actually lift if training in the gym, as an example.
 

ericos_bob

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You can increase your max substantially either with high rep squats or low rep but the former will come with the benefit of greater hypertrophy and endurance. Not so much a benefit when trying to fit into a lighter weight class for powerlifting though. Tom Platz was king of high rep squat training. He still managed 525 for 23 reps and not too far short of 800lbs for a max.
 

guss

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I get it Bro. Personally I try to mix it up. But I will check out the rocks routine.
 
R1balla

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When I do "high rep" type workouts, I do really do high rep...lol let me explain.

I love super setting on leg day. I start out with my normal squats of 5-10 reps for a few sets then I get things going. Front squats then super set with leg press or some other leg exercise. This works great for me. I have a bad back and can't really squat too heavy so I have to find a way to get extra growth! I love this method. I also like doing GVT.
 

ericos_bob

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I can imagine it'd work great for gains. It seems the biggest limiting factor in squats for many when doing high reps is they're just plain difficult. Nothing knocks the wind out of you as fast as high rep squats with little rest between sets. I've met a lot of guys in the gym that won't train high reps on squats because they're too hard.
 
R1balla

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I can imagine it'd work great for gains. It seems the biggest limiting factor in squats for many when doing high reps is they're just plain difficult. Nothing knocks the wind out of you as fast as high rep squats with little rest between sets. I've met a lot of guys in the gym that won't train high reps on squats because they're too hard.
I see better results when I go for higher reps or super setting than I do when I go heavy/low rep. Not saying I don't do low rep, but more often than not, it's higher rep squats. Legs need to be stimulated more imo.
 

kisaj

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As I. I found that R/P training has the absolute biggest impact on my leg development due to the dual benefit of heavy weight (80-85% 1RM) and higher rep range >20.

I've been known to jump on my bike and run some uphill HIIT sprints to get my quads exploding.
 

Devonkev

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There is no magic rep number for hypertrophy. All the recent papers show volume to be the main driver for growth. So if your volume gets higher by manipulating any part of "reps x weight x sets" you will most likely grow. High rep squats work because the associated fatigue is low due to the lighter weight so you stay under well under your MRV and you also get a fairly good metabolite stimulation.
 
R1balla

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Speaking of legs, I did GVT squats this morning and 5 hours later I'm already feeling sore. Might need a wheelchair tomorrow
 

ericos_bob

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Problem I have with high rep squats at 85+ of my max is CNS fatigue. I burn out very quickly. The end result has always been stalled progress.
 

PaulBlack

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Agree with Devonkev, as I think it is more in the said volume, than specific set/rep numbers. Also eating (or drinking milk/Randy Strossen) was a big deal with high rep squat.

Problem I have with high rep squats at 85+ of my max is CNS fatigue. I burn out very quickly. The end result has always been stalled progress.
Have you ever tried over a couple months to build up something like...

wk 1 70% 2-3x10
wk2 75% 2-3x10
3 70% 2x15
4 75% 2x15
5 80% 2x10
6 80% 2x12
7 80% 1x15...

and over time build the intensity along with reducing sets while raising reps?
This article too, was a pretty good plan and made years ago...
The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban: Breathing Squats – From 70lbs. to 400 x 20
 
R1balla

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So I've been doing a push/pull routine the past two weeks (I never do these by the way) but I have somewhat tailored it to my goals. Here is what I'm doing

Day 1- chest/shoulders/triceps/ squats

Day 2 - back/biceps/hamstrings/calves

Day 3- same as day 1 but different exercises /rep ranges

Day 4- same as day 2 but different exercises/rep ranges

For my squats, I alternate between GVT and window maker squats (think DC training for this)

For hamstrings I'm doing straight leg deadlifts 12/10/8/8

For calves I'm doing either really heavy with low rep with 5 sets, GVT or DC style.

So far I am really enjoying it. I am only going to stay on this for about 8 weeks then go back to having full leg days with various movements.
 

ericos_bob

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Agree with Devonkev, as I think it is more in the said volume, than specific set/rep numbers. Also eating (or drinking milk/Randy Strossen) was a big deal with high rep squat.



Have you ever tried over a couple months to build up something like...

wk 1 70% 2-3x10
wk2 75% 2-3x10
3 70% 2x15
4 75% 2x15
5 80% 2x10
6 80% 2x12
7 80% 1x15...

and over time build the intensity along with reducing sets while raising reps?
This article too, was a pretty good plan and made years ago...
The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban: Breathing Squats – From 70lbs. to 400 x 20
Thanks for a great read. Good to know I'm not the only one taking one step back at times on the road to squat progression. I'd find the same thing with 20 rep squats. I built up to 300lbsx20 with breathing squats quite fast and then suffered the same problems of burn out and essentially starting over again with loads of no more than 70% of my 1rm and often less. It seems it can take years of ups and downs in strength before reaching your goals in this venture.
 

kisaj

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I don't know of anyone in 20+ years of training that hasn't had to step back several times to see improvement in squats- or any compound lifts for that matter. It's part of the process.
 
Dustin07

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Ive been doing low rep squats (3x5, 5x5) for many years now. Ive upped my 1RM from a measly 135 to an acceptable 405. With that said, I hurt my lower back and am experimenting with high rep/low weight squats. What Ive noticed is how dreadful I am with high reps. I could not finish 3x20 with 30 second rest intervals at 95lbs!
My first question is what would cause me to be so terrible with high rep squats? I thought lifting relatively heavy would somewhat transfer over.
Second, would my weakness with high rep squats be partially responsible for my life long skinny legs? I have not been able to put any size on my legs through the transition from 135 to 405 over the years.
Thank you.
you're just not conditioned for it. something like that comes fast if you can truly squat 405 then 95 x 20 x 3 is probably achievable on your second or third attempt.
 
R1balla

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Did GVT for squats today. Was gonna do cardio after but decided that GVT was my cardio lol had a super high heart rate after my fourth set lol
 

ericos_bob

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haha I feel your pain. Doing the same at the moment. Never done any cardio that got the lungs bursting like ATG squats on GVT. Too afraid to measure my heart rate after lol.
 

PaulBlack

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Another approach to these (especially for people more built to pull than squat) is if one has access to a trap bar especially, one can do high rep pulling. And you can make it tougher/ROM deeper, by standing on blocks as well. I had a quote in an old HG mag about using the Tbar to slowly edge up your squat reps and poundages and was able to get to #500 for 15-20 with Tbar, while only hitting around #350x20 squatting. I am just not built for the squat.
 

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