The 20-Rep Squat Challenge

In the next month of Train With Me, we’ll be challenging ourselves with a version of the classic 20-Rep Squat routine.

The 20-rep squat routine, also known as “breathing squats” or “Super Squats” after Randall J. Strossen’s book of the same name, is a legendary training protocol originally promoted and made famous by early physical culture writers like Peary Rader, but likely utilised in some from by earlier lifters. It has been used by some of the most famous weightlifters and strongmen throughout history. It’s a brutal test of both physical and mental strength, but the potential rewards in terms of muscle mass, strength gains, and overall conditioning are undeniable.

The Basics

1. Choose a weight that you would normally squat for ten reps.
2. Squat it 20 times!
3. Perform 1-3 times per week
4. Add small amounts of weight (usually 2.5 kg or so) each workout

Why it works

Volume

Despite only doing a few true working sets per week, there is a deceptive volume of high-intensity work. Consider that not only are you doing around 2 sets of 20 per week, but that you are doing rest-pause style training within the set. So, in effect, the number of weekly sets would be closer to 6 or more.

While volume is king for hypertrophy, and is necessary to a lesser extent for strength, even very low volumes (as little as 1 set per week) are still effective for strength and muscle gains. In fact, while there is a linear trend for muscle mass increases associated with higher volumes, the clustering of studies with apparently lower-than-optimal suggests that there is little meaningful difference between lower and higher volumes, and there is also significant between individual variation in what will work best for both strength and hypertrophy based on one’s training preferences, lifestyle, available time etc. See for example, the greatest magnitude of effect and clustering in ~3-10 sets per week in this recent meta-regression by Pelland et al.

Marty Gallagher’s classic book The Purposeful Primitive gives some amazing examples of Iron greats in bodybuilding, weightlifting, and powerlifting, and their vastly different training regimens.

Improved work capacity

The moderately high volume but exceptionally high acute set volume-loading and intensity of the routine dramatically improve your work capacity for adding both load and repetitions to the squat, an exercise which has crossover benefits to the entire body’s musculature, not just isolated effects for, say, the quadriceps.

Mental fortitude

Let’s face it, completing a set of 20 reps with a challenging (and constantly increasing!) weight requires immense mental toughness, which can carry over to other aspects of training and life.

Famous Practitioners

Many legendary strength athletes have utilised 20-rep squat routines, including:

• Tom Platz: Known for his incredible leg development, Platz was a proponent of high-rep squats and used them to build his massive quads.
• Paul Anderson: One of the strongest men in history, Anderson reportedly used 20-rep squats to build his legendary strength.
• Reg Park: A three-time Mr. Universe and inspiration to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Park was an advocate for high-rep squats and included them in his training.
• Steve Angell: One of my friends, and a legend in All-Round Weightlifting, Steve had been known to apply 20-rep squats to provide a stimulus for leg and overall development.
• The program was also a favourite of iconic Iron Game writers like John McCallum and Peary Rader. Read Keys to Progress by John McCallum.

The Classic Program

There are many variations of the 20-rep Squat Program, but this is an example, like those used by the old-time lifters:

Barbell Press Behind the Neck	3 x 10
Barbell Bench Press	3 x 12
Barbell Bent Over Rows	2 x 15
Barbell Curl	2 x 10
Barbell Back Squat	1 x 20
Dumbbell Pullover	1 x 20
Romanian Deadlift	1 x 15
Dumbbell Pullover	1 x 20
DB Single Leg Calf Raises	3 x 20
Sit-ups	1 x 25

This routine was performed 2-3 times per week.

This routine, despite being abbreviated compared to many of the programs used at the time, is still quite time-intensive and would typically take around an hour to complete. Many people also struggle to increase load each workout doing this 3 times per week and so, I have modified the program in my @0-Rep Squat Challenge to increase the relative recovery time for squats and to abbreviate the plan into one that can be completed in under 30 mins.

Join me in the next month of Train With Me, where we will challenge ourselves to break PB after PB on the 20-Rep Squat Program!