10 week 20 rep squat workout

[BigKrabbe]

So I've decided to do my first log on this workout. Today was my first day, and let me say one thing: IT KICKED MY ASS!!!!

Warm-Up: 10 Min on bike

Squats: 135x20 (warm up) 135x20 (warm up), 185x20 ( I felt like I was gonna pass out afterwards, totally destroyed me)

Pull-Overs: 30x20 - This was very easy, but I wanted to see how it felt because of previous shoulder problems.

Dead Lifts: 275x20 - This was pretty hard, the squats definitely taxed me pretty hard

Bench Press: 115x10 (warm up), 205x10, 205x10 - by the time I got to bench I was so freaking tired!!! I can usually rep out 255x10, but I have recently changed from elbows out to elbows in which I'm still getting used to.

Seated T-Bar Rows: 80x15, 100x15, 130x15

Shoulder Press: 35x12, 55x12, 55x12

- I also threw in some straight bar curls and got 125x5x5x5
- Also did some Tricep rope extensions and calf raises

Overall, This workout kicked my ass....I am looking forward to very high test levels from this :thumbsup::bb:

 

[SilentBob187]

Good job man, I've been doing 20 rep squats for about 2 weeks now and they're killer.

 

[BigKrabbe]

Thanks man, How much are you moving up the poundage a week on your squat?

 

[SilentBob187]

3/28: Squats: 95x20, 115x20, 135x15, 135x10
4/6: Squats: 95x20, 135x20, 155x15, 185x15, 205x10, 135x15
super-setted with
One Legged Calf Raises*: 75x10, 75x10, 90x10, 90x10, 60x10, 60x10
*2x per listed set (6 sets per leg)

I'm getting up there, but will take some time. I'm hitting them again Wednesday so we'll see how hard I can push myself. I won't super set them with anything so that I can gauge my progress.

 

[BigKrabbe]

For sure, I think that this workout will drastically make squat strength go up..I have never squatted 3x in a week, I'm pretty pumped about it.....on another note...I just stood up and my quads and hammies both cramped!!!! 20 rep squats beat the piss out of me!!!!

 

[nightshift]

You guys are going to love the results of this program. Make sure you are taking in plenty of calories because you will burn them up in the gym. Have you come close to blacking out or puking yet?

 

[SilentBob187]

You guys are going to love the results of this program. Make sure you are taking in plenty of calories because you will burn them up in the gym. Have you come close to blacking out or puking yet?

Not yesterday, but today I did begin to feel light headed at work. After-effects of the lift yesterday perhaps? I think I'd go home embarassed if I were to actually blackout or puke at the gym.

 

[Frank Reynolds]

Good luck on the log.. I love 20 rep squats. Been doing them for a year or so now. Just did them today actually..lol

Did you have to pause at all and take a few breathes before continuing to the full 20?

 

[BigKrabbe]

I didn't throw up or puke, but can easily see how I may once I start challenging myself more.

 

[BigKrabbe]

AND YES, I had to pause at rep 15....There is definitely a strong mental game to this workout!

 

[BigKrabbe]

My legs are tremendously sore...I think I'm gonna go walk on the beach for a while and get some blood flowing.....what days if any are you guys doing cardio doing this workout?

 

[silverSurfer]

I started 20 rep squats recently and they are killer. However I don't have the beach next to me haha

I want the beach too!

 

[The Batman]

As someone who has done this workout a few times....it's gonna be damn hard to impossible to stay on the program for 10 weeks.

By week 5-6 my cns has been absolutely fried. Especially if you push yourself on the deads. It is an amazing workout though that I advise people to run at least once a year.

My personal record is 225x20 and it damn near killed me.

 

[BigKrabbe]

So today went well, I added weights to all of the lifts this week so thats a plus. My legs were still a bit sore so I was worried about lifting at first but I think after a week my legs will get used to squatting/deading 3x a week. Another thing about this workout is I get so tired from doing the squats and deads, I'm so tired for all my other lifts!

Squat: 190x20 (felt pretty easy though!)

Deadlift:285x15

Pull-overs: 40x20

Bench: 145x10, 210x10, 210x10

Seated Row: 85x15, 120x15, 140x15

Shoulder Press: 55x12x12x12

Threw in some straight bar curls and got 130x5 and then by 4

I am pretty pumped about this workout, I think that your right batman that would be extremely taxing on the CNS after so long...We'll see I'll run it for maybe 6-8 instead of 10

 

[BigKrabbe]

I visited home to Ia this weekend (thurs-today) and was still pretty sore from M, W so F I just did some odds n ends at the gym back home. My diet was **** this weekend, lots of fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and I rarely drink but this weekend indulged quite a bit lol. I am lifting in a little bit here, and will post how it went afterwords.

 

[BigKrabbe]

Todays lift was f**king awesome!! I decided to really push past my limits today on the squats and deads. After I got done doing the squats and deads I felt pretty sick for about 10 minutes, but was fine after that.

Todays Lift:

Squats: 200x20

Deadlifts: 315x15 I was super pumped about this!!! I couldn't lock out the last rep though.

Pull-overs: 50x20

Bench: 135x10, 210x10, 210x10

Seated Rows: 100x15, 120x15, 160x10

Shoulder Press: 60x12, 60x12, 50x12

Lifts seem to be going up, I am really looking forward to the next couple weeks of this program!

 

[BigKrabbe]

Well today sucked. I was sick, but decided to give it a go anyway.


Squats: 205x20 - This was the only exercise that I moved up on, I felt terrible on everything else.

Deadlifts: 320x11 I was pretty pissed about this I could have gotten a few more but I wouldn't have been able to lock em out.

Bench: 135x15, 155x15, 185x15 Felt very weak on this today

Pull-overs: 55x16

Seated Rows: 120x15, 160x12, 140x15

Shoulder Press: Didn't even do felt like **** by this time.


- Overall a shitty day, squat still went up though so thats one positive thing. I think if I wasn't sick I would have been up on everything. I am also changing from 3x10 on bench to 3x15, and am also considering cutting out pull-overs but will see.

 

[nightshift]

You are going to have good and bad days on this routine. I think the mental aspect of it is tougher than the physical part. Keeping focused is critical. For me, plowing thru the crappy w/o was my way of getting to the next good one. Good luck.

 

[BigKrabbe]

Thanks for the encouragement bro. I decided to miss todays workout (well yesterday Fridays) because I am still sick. Starting to feel better, but want to let me body heal up by Monday so I can HIT IT HARD next week.:head:

 

[BigKrabbe]

Finally feeling better! Going to the gym in about an hour!!!

 

[BigKrabbe]

Wow...well that workout pretty much sucked....

Still being kinda sick, after doing the squats and deads I felt like I was going to throw up the rest of the time I was there, it was no good. Here were my lifts:

Squats: 205x20

Deads: 315x15

Bench: 135x10, 185x10, 185x10

Seated Rows: 130x15, 140x15, 130x15

Pull-overs: 35x20, 50x20, 35x20

I left out shoulder press and all the extras I usually do like calves and a few sets of arms....I am tempted to stop doing this workout after this week, but think I am gonna try to stick it out for another 2 weeks.....

 

[avgBdybldr]

keep it going man. i'm subbed. thinking about this for myself.

 

[nightshift]

Don't stop now man.The farther you get into this, the more focused you will need to be. Lapses in concentration and fatigue can be overpowering, but it is to your credit to push thru. The sense of accomplishment you get after this routine is really a rush. Plus you are going to be bigger and stronger and more motivated when you finish this routine. Keep that in mind and you will succeed.

 

[BigKrabbe]

Thanks for the encouragement all, nightshift your completely right I'm totally sticking with it for another 3 maybe 4 weeks...time to man up and take my focus and effort on this workout to the next level!

 

[shyguy1]

You bet not quit!!!

Bigkrabbe you got to stick with it. I can't be the only one around here suffering

But seriously, you know maybe your cns is hit hard and that's what keeping you sick.
Also If you're doing the squats and deads with the intensity you should. Then the extra sets of arms and calves are taking you over. I think you should deload for a week get your cals way up and get as much rest as possible, you shouldn't lose too much progress and extend your program a week for the one you missed.

-Shy

 

[BigKrabbe]

Lol your right shyguy...I like making my self suffer way too much to stop:twisted: I definitely think my cns being taxed is why it took me so long to get better, but I am feeling 100% today and will be hitting the gym in a bit...will update later.

 

[BigKrabbe]

Ok so theres definitely a fuking problem, hopefully someone can give me some insight on it please!! The last two times I have done this workout after the squats I have gotten a horrible headache, HORRIBLE HEADACHE...It is really affecting everything after I do the squats because I have a pounding headache and don't want to lift. Here are the supplements I am taking, maybe something I am taking is giving me a headache?

I'm taking:
Fish Oil 10 grams/day
DiArginine Malate 10 grams/day
Citrulline Malate 3 grams PWO
Creatine Monohydrate 5 grams PWO
BCAA's 15-20 grams/day
Taurine 5 grams/day
Bulk Super Cissus RX 1200mg/day
Protein

Here are my lifts for today, I finished the lift even though I had a terrible headache.

Squats: 215x20 Up again but not enjoyin the headaches

Deadlifts: I didn't do them today, they definitely would have made me throw up

Bench: 135x10, 185x10, 195x10

Seated Rows: 130x15x15x15

Pull-overs: 50x20

Shoulder Press (did the machine today instead of db's)
70x12, 80x12, 90x12

I hope someone can PLEASE give me some insight into why I am getting such terrible headaches/nausea after I do squats. Any advice/suggestions are much appreciated!

 

[nightshift]

How is your breathing during the squat session? Have you checked your blood pressure? The intensity of this w/o can literally cause you to become sick. Do the headaches occur during the squats or after? Proper inhalation and exhalation during the squats may help alleviate this problem.

 

[shyguy1]

Nightshift hit on the head. First things I see would be blood pressure and then breathing.
I hope that you're not holding your breath, this is neccessary for max lifts to keep inter-abdom pressure, but in this case you should be panting through out the sets to really get that oxygen in your system. Otherwise your blood has no oxygen to transport.

 

[BigKrabbe]

Thanks for replies, yeah I'm thinking its my blood pressure. I am always sure to breathe on all lifts, and think that this may be after effects of my M1T cycle because I may have prematurely stopped taking hawthorne berries.

 

[BigKrabbe]

Well BP checks out fine 130/70, and I think I may have a sinus infection which could easily be the culprit. Today I am going to do the rest of my workout first, and then do squats and deads last. I know the point of this workout is to do squats first, but if I get a terrible headache from doing them again and have to workout the rest of the time with a splitting headache I'm gonna kill small cute animals....will update later...

 

[BigKrabbe]

So today I did everything else first, and squats last. It worked out well, and I also figured out why I have been getting such bad headaches when I lift. It's because my traps are so tight, the insertion where it attaches to my neck/bottom of head is so tight it is giving me a headache. I started to get a headache but rolled out my traps and stretched em' out a little bit and it subsided! Here were my lifts for today:

Squat: 225x20

Dead: 320x15

Bench: 135x10, 200x10, 205x10

Seated Rows: 140x15x15x15

Pull-overs: 35x20, 55x20

Shoulder Press w/ DB's: 45x12, 50x12, 55x12

 

[shyguy1]

Now that you see that your traps caused your headaches will you go back to doing squats first?

 

[BigKrabbe]

Now that you see that your traps caused your headaches will you go back to doing squats first?

I definitely will...I'm gonna try to move it up 10 lbs the next 3 workouts verus 5 lbs. The further I get into this the more I realize that so much of it is mental, you can push through your limits!

 

[BigKrabbe]

Missed my Fu*king workout today ...gonna do it tommorow.

 

[BigKrabbe]

Today went well, I have decided that today was my last time doing it however. My rotators simply cannot take benching 3x a week, and I can definitely tell my CNS is very taxed. I think that this would be a awesome workout to do while on cycle, and may do it when I do my next cycle. Here were my lifts for today:

Squats: 235x20

Deads: 325x15

Bench: 135x10, 205x10, 215x10

Shoulder Press: 50x12, 60x12, 65x8

Seated Rows: 150x15x15x13

didn't do the pull-overs, I need to be careful with my shoulders. Overall I like this workout a lot, but it is very hard on ones body.

 

[travis0712]

I know it has been awhile since someone posted in this log - but I have to ask - besides endurance and cardiovascular, can a person gain size from doing this 20 rep workout?

 

[LSU Gladiator]

The best my legs ever grew was around the time that I took up higher rep squats. I think my 1RM went from around 365 - 515. I think I was working at around 16 rep sets.

There is some research that says greater training volume in the legs yields better results (compared to the rest of the body).

I'm thinking about trying this kind of thing again someday! :twisted:

 

[The Batman]

The best my legs ever grew was around the time that I took up higher rep squats. I think my 1RM went from around 365 - 515. I think I was working at around 16 rep sets.

There is some research that says greater training volume in the legs yields better results (compared to the rest of the body).

I'm thinking about trying this kind of thing again someday! :twisted:

I had the same results, best leg power I ever had was on a 20rep squat routine. It felt like I was walking around on car jacks. If you want big strong legs, the best way to do it is to train them several times a week with moderate to high volume.

I'm probably going to be running a 20 rep squat rountine in September. It's going to be brutal, but I love it.