DocJ
New member
How I increased my squat without squatting:
Huh? How’s this possible? Don’t kill the messenger here bros, I’ll just report what I did and you can go from there. A few months ago I was at a PL meet supporting a friend of mine who’s 67 and still totals around 1,000lbs @ 165lbs. There was a lifter there who had some knee problems leading up to the meet. Apparently, it was difficult for him to go deep into the hole with decent poundages. His solution seemed odd at the time...good mornings. He uses sumo style with his DL so training that lift was not really a problem but here’s how he increased his squat before the meet without doing top poundages until the last couple weeks after his knee was recovered. Each “squat” workout consisted of:
Squat: (every workout) 3x15reps – very light poundages essentially concentrating on keeping his form in good shape.
Good Mornings: Workout 1 – 7x3reps, Workout 2 – 5x5reps, Workout 3 – 3x12reps
This got me thinking, could I use this concept to improve my squat with knees that aren’t injured? Here’s what I did using a bit of tweaking:
I did a two day split training EOD: Day 1 – Chest, Arms, Good Mornings; Day 2 – Back, Shoulders, Lunges (bear with me)
Warmup (every workout): Leg extensions – 2x15reps, Leg curls – 2x15reps, Squat 3x15reps (maintaining form).
Good Mornings: Workout 1 – 6x3reps, Workout 2 – 5x5reps, Workout 3 – 4x10reps*
*I would use alternating sets of lowering my torso almost 90 degrees and a shorter range with more weight around 45 degrees (to engage more glutes).
Lunges: Workout 1 – (BB) 5x5reps, Workout 2 – (DB) 4x10reps**
**I would use alternating sets of lunging straight forward and lunging out to the side around 45 degrees to each side (to engage more adductors).
I know what many of you are thinking: “Lunges? I might as well wear a dress to the gym.” Trust me, if you haven’t done heavy lunges going deep especially from side to side you’re in for some serious pain.
Let’s face it though, the bulk of the benefit is coming from the good mornings, a truly great but often forgotten exercise.
My squat went from: 505x3 to 520x3 @220lbs in 4 weeks and I didn’t even do any heavy squat workouts before I attempted a PB (probably not a smart move in hindsight). This is a great improvement for me since I’m clean, have been throwing around the iron for almost 16 years now and my squat had really stalled over the last couple years.
Huh? How’s this possible? Don’t kill the messenger here bros, I’ll just report what I did and you can go from there. A few months ago I was at a PL meet supporting a friend of mine who’s 67 and still totals around 1,000lbs @ 165lbs. There was a lifter there who had some knee problems leading up to the meet. Apparently, it was difficult for him to go deep into the hole with decent poundages. His solution seemed odd at the time...good mornings. He uses sumo style with his DL so training that lift was not really a problem but here’s how he increased his squat before the meet without doing top poundages until the last couple weeks after his knee was recovered. Each “squat” workout consisted of:
Squat: (every workout) 3x15reps – very light poundages essentially concentrating on keeping his form in good shape.
Good Mornings: Workout 1 – 7x3reps, Workout 2 – 5x5reps, Workout 3 – 3x12reps
This got me thinking, could I use this concept to improve my squat with knees that aren’t injured? Here’s what I did using a bit of tweaking:
I did a two day split training EOD: Day 1 – Chest, Arms, Good Mornings; Day 2 – Back, Shoulders, Lunges (bear with me)
Warmup (every workout): Leg extensions – 2x15reps, Leg curls – 2x15reps, Squat 3x15reps (maintaining form).
Good Mornings: Workout 1 – 6x3reps, Workout 2 – 5x5reps, Workout 3 – 4x10reps*
*I would use alternating sets of lowering my torso almost 90 degrees and a shorter range with more weight around 45 degrees (to engage more glutes).
Lunges: Workout 1 – (BB) 5x5reps, Workout 2 – (DB) 4x10reps**
**I would use alternating sets of lunging straight forward and lunging out to the side around 45 degrees to each side (to engage more adductors).
I know what many of you are thinking: “Lunges? I might as well wear a dress to the gym.” Trust me, if you haven’t done heavy lunges going deep especially from side to side you’re in for some serious pain.
Let’s face it though, the bulk of the benefit is coming from the good mornings, a truly great but often forgotten exercise.
My squat went from: 505x3 to 520x3 @220lbs in 4 weeks and I didn’t even do any heavy squat workouts before I attempted a PB (probably not a smart move in hindsight). This is a great improvement for me since I’m clean, have been throwing around the iron for almost 16 years now and my squat had really stalled over the last couple years.
