Heavy deads and squats

[fr33r1d3]

How important is heavy deads and squats for gaining maximum mass?

Some people say that you grow best from squats in the 20-reps interval, and some say go heavy with 3-5 reps.

I love doing very heavy (3-5 reps) on deads, but having some problems on heavy squats. (Working on that one).

 

[tkav1980]

heres my thoughts, i dont know if im right but.... the idea when your working out is to trigger a growth response from the muscle. ideally you want to do just enough to trigger this response without going so far as to not be able to re train the muscle in a few days. so im thinking 2 things will help accomplish this, heavy weights and low volume. so i do feel its important to make sure deads and squats are always done as heavy as possible. along with any other lift you do.

 

[witefall]

I deadlift heavy for singles every Monday.

I squat on Fridays doing 6 sets of 8 reps with progressive weight increases.

I've just found this works best for me to improve strength and mass.

 

[MattyFSU]

Ask anyone on this board and many will tend to agree with me that you CAN'T grow in size or strength without doing heavy squats and dead lifts. low reps, high weights enough time between each set for rest all equal growth!!!

im no pro by no means but this proto has worked for me. from 165 12 years ago to 250 now and heavy deads and squats for sure helped me along the way!!!

 

[btech]

put it this way - the growth that comes with squats and deadlifts comes MUCH quicker than the growth from other exercises like pullups, presses etc.

that may or may not (actually, i believe it does) have something to do with the fact that, compared to other lifts, it is VERY easy to get stronger in these lifts each time you perform them without having to deal with the same plateaus you experience in other lifts.

the deadlift works more muscles than any other lift, and these two lifts together train the biggest muscles in your body; quads, lats, glutes, "core", posterior chain......

you mention 20 rep squats. these are golden. they teach you mental fortitude in addition to blowing up your thighs. when squatting, why not do a heavy set (5-10 reps) followed by the 20 rep set? these two sets would be after warming up, of course.

alternate your floor deadlifts with rack deadlifts. for me, this has been a faster way to get stronger on floor deadlifts.

enough celebrating the big two, get to it!

 

[hellraiser27]

put it this way - the growth that comes with squats and deadlifts comes MUCH quicker than the growth from other exercises like pullups, presses etc.

that may or may not (actually, i believe it does) have something to do with the fact that, compared to other lifts, it is VERY easy to get stronger in these lifts each time you perform them without having to deal with the same plateaus you experience in other lifts.

the deadlift works more muscles than any other lift, and these two lifts together train the biggest muscles in your body; quads, lats, glutes, "core", posterior chain......

you mention 20 rep squats. these are golden. they teach you mental fortitude in addition to blowing up your thighs. when squatting, why not do a heavy set (5-10 reps) followed by the 20 rep set? these two sets would be after warming up, of course.

alternate your floor deadlifts with rack deadlifts. for me, this has been a faster way to get stronger on floor deadlifts.

enough celebrating the big two, get to it!

I like this answer. 20 rep squats are awesome! I do mix it up. But I always end with 3 sets of 20.
If I only do 4-5 reps for squats I feel like I'm ripping myself off.
Alternate floor and rack is what I do also. I have doubled the strength in my legs by doing this type of training. And my legs look freaky! I am a small guy with these big freaky legs.

 

[Turbomaster]

My typical Monday after work workout : I'm a believer in squats and deadlifts too !! Heavy as possible , I don't know why it triggers growth so much , but it does .

Squats : 135 x 20
135 x 20
225x12
225x15
315x8
315x10
405x5
405x5
425x5
425x5
Lying leg curls 150 x 10 5 sets
lege xtensions:200x10 5 sets

 

[emeric delczeg]

I like this answer. 20 rep squats are awesome! I do mix it up. But I always end with 3 sets of 20.
If I only do 4-5 reps for squats I feel like I'm ripping myself off.
Alternate floor and rack is what I do also. I have doubled the strength in my legs by doing this type of training. And my legs look freaky! I am a small guy with these big freaky legs.

Try to do your squats this way www.youtube.com/wach?V=XfLiNvQUXS4 and tipe in emeric delczeg

 

[Phidias]

you CAN'T grow in size or strength without doing heavy squats and dead lifts.

Of course you can!

I never deadlift and my back is my best bodypart.

put it this way - the growth that comes with squats and deadlifts comes MUCH quicker than the growth from other exercises like pullups, presses etc.......

In reality, the truth is if your genetics say so, you'll grow a massive upper body doing push-ups and pull-ups only. And riding a bicycle might probably be enough for your legs...

 

[Anabolic_Beast]

SQUATS and DEADLIFTS are the KING of mass builders. Do both of them all in the 20 rep range.
Also, a very good and underrated exercise that works better for upper body strength than the benchpress are clean and jerks. Pick up the barbell, press it overhead, drop it back to the ground and repeat. Try doing that 20 reps.
I only work out twice in 8 days, and I incorporate squats, deadlifts, and clean and jerks. They beat all of that fancy shit you see people doing in the gym nowadays.
Keep it old school.

 

[VanR__]

20 rep anything including legs are brutal. I do legs the day before a rest day.

 

[buselmo]

Ever since i quit doing heavy squats and deads, my waist got smaller and it looked tighter, gave me a better taper from the shoulders to the waist, and made my back look less "blocky". I really don't care if i'm ripping myself off of mass gains by not doing them. i'd rather be a bit smaller with better symmetry and look bigger than to actually be bigger but have my waist and lower back at "shoulder width"

and yes, you can grow without heavy squats. machine squats are the fucking best! since i've switched, my knees feel a hell of a lot better, and my legs haven't gotten any smaller (i'm in a caloric deficit, so i can't tell if it'll make them grow... but from how my quads feel the next day, i bet they would if i was in a caloric surplus).

As for back thickness, try switching to a hammer strength rowing machine instead of deads.

 

[Copenhagen]

low reps, high weights enough time between each set for rest all equal growth!!!

I'm going to have to disagree with this. What part of taking long rests between sets or low reps induces hypertrophy? Especially for squats I prefer to work in 10-20+ rep range.

 

[aussiebulldog]

emeric , any way to do your negative squat without training partners?

 

[Retriever]

Try to do your squats this way www.youtube.com/wach?V=XfLiNvQUXS4 and tipe in emeric delczeg

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfLiNvQUXS4

 

[emeric delczeg]

emeric , any way to do your negative squat without training partners?

Unfortunatly no, you need 2 partners only on leg and chest days, on the other body part you need only one partner.

 

[emeric delczeg]

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfLiNvQUXS4

Thank you, one professionalmuscle member was here for 2 week to learn the system and he posted the training on youtube, I am not familiar whith posting on youtube.

 

[Pekkerwood]

I'm going to have to disagree with this. What part of taking long rests between sets or low reps induces hypertrophy? Especially for squats I prefer to work in 10-20+ rep range.

Copenhagen, this is not a direct answer as it regards to inducing hypertrophy however...

The studies that Polquinn published, if memory serves, seemed to indicate that resting 90 seconds plus between sets allowed a strenght recovery of up to 90% or so compared to lesser percentages with shorter rest periods. This is also what I observed personally. The longer rest periods seemed to allow me to lift heavier weights therefore I was doing more "work". I have always used this technique to add strength, I'm was never really focusing on mass, just hoping it would follow! (never said I was the brightest) I have always thought if I wanted to do aerobics I would go to a class and if I wanted to lift I would lift..

He did write about stressing "types" of fibers differently etc. I also took from this, or was it a "joe weider principle" LOL that change works. I am a big believer of disrupting that mind/body connection that makes it behave so efficiently. It benefits many other sports to go with this flow, but seems to work best in bodybuilding for me when I disrupted it.

IN the same book, Polquinn accurately predicted my one rep max from some of my higher rep lifts. I guess I fell within his standard deviation of "normal" when testing his powerlifters. I think this was also about the time I started doing negatives to break through "plateaus". I apologize in advance for what may be a sketchy memory of the exact numbers from the study but it was over 15 years ago I believe.