Squatting 3 times per week?

[cryptasm]

if you do a 20 rep set all out to failure , real failure.. do you need to do a second one? I wouldn't think 3x per week would be too much.

I've done it that way.. still do sometimes, also did 3x5 3x per week and Im old too.

 

[tenny]

it may be useful In a situation where, this would be your
final attempt at some kind of growth...IF....you are not
genetically blessed in that area....you could essentially FORCE..
or try to force some growth to the area....

anyone will bad knees, hips, back....it would technically be
out of the question....so you older guys.....don't even think about it..

MAYBE, some hyper training 3 days a week....some massive supersets..
drop sets and giant sets....all machines...could be a VERY good
way (like I said) to kick start some growth...

 

[Designbuilt]

This is something to stimulate new growth, it's only been my second workout and I swear I gained some size, both quads look better and are definitely more pumped, plus I have a very good sore feeling... I will exercise common sense though and not be completely reckless and stupid, especially once I get into the heavier weights... But these lighter weights for now are really nothing, they're enough to get me sore and slowly accommodate my body and mind to the feeling of squatting more often, I will play it by ear and listen to my body...

possibly the smaller increments won't be too much for my joints to handle... I know that i'm not in my 20's anymore, if I was I wouldn't worry until I got up to near 4 plates, now I will start being more cautious when I approach three... possibly stay at that weight for a few workouts in a row... but I think the change is good, because if anything I was way undertraining legs and they are a larger muscle group that can handle a lot more work... Still i'm going to be my own guinea pig, hell that's really the only way to find out whether or not something works for YOU, because everyone responds differently...

 

[Jude2]

I think squatting everyday or a few times a week heavy is probably a good way to prematurely wear out hips knees and I don't really see a huge benefit unless you just did it like a few times a year tto just really shock your legs,

Recovery is how you grow, not training the muscle to death.

Agreed if you are looking for longevity in this and to maintain size. Look at Ronnie Coleman and his many surgeries lately. I have been training for 37 years straight and could never recover from that amout of squats.

 

[Designbuilt]

Agreed if you are looking for longevity in this and to maintain size. Look at Ronnie Coleman and his many surgeries lately. I have been training for 37 years straight and could never recover from that amout of squats.

Oh definitely not doing this long term, this is for new growth... I can definitely feel it taxing my system already and it's only been a few days, but I welcome that, I prefer to feel worn out and have sore muscles to feel nothing and as if I'm wasting my time...

 

[Smack]

I'll preface that I'm no monster and honestly see my legs as a weakness...

That being said I would argue keeping reps higher (~20) would be MUCH better than keeping them low (~5) assuming those 20 rep sets arent all RP style

 

[Designbuilt]

One week in of this training, my quads are up almost an inch! I had my rear wisdom tooth removed yesterday, today I look like marlon brando... The dentist told me not to lift at all for a week... But whatever, when i'm in beast mode, i'm in beast mode... I got 2 sets of 20 ATG W/, 135, 155, then pussed out of the third with 175... I had a little bit of blood in my mouth... Then I did some single leg presses like Tenny suggested in another thread, I should've taken more pics before, but this is one week in and I am pretty pleased, my legs are still a glaring weakness, but i'm going to keep this up see what happens... also my bodyweight was 200 even last Friday, it's 209ish today...

 

[gaijininjapan28]

fwiw, starting strength prescribes squatting 3x/wk, but the volume is low.

 

[Designbuilt]

fwiw, starting strength prescribes squatting 3x/wk, but the volume is low.

I'm doing Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 3 sets of 20... I warmup with some leg extensions and sitting leg curls... Light weight, but i'm going up 20lbs every workout, keeping strict form, going ATG keeping feet relatively close... I like the feeling of the constant pump and soreness, it's a nice soreness not the feeling of achiness and dry, knees and aching joints... I'm going to keep this up for a good month, i'm doing this in conjunction with a clean mass cycle... Eating only clean food like fish, greens and vegetables... plus shakes... Same as if I was dieting, but just more food... Doing this on caloric restriction is probably a bad idea...

 

[Cinder]

Why not normal squats twice a week and a machine squat high rep in the middle .That's what I was consider.

 

[mas1derful]

My girlfriend's legs weren't growing but getting super strong. Our coached has her squatting everyday. 4 sets high reps. Her legs are finally getting bigger and better separation.

 

[Designbuilt]

My girlfriend's legs weren't growing but getting super strong. Our coached has her squatting everyday. 4 sets high reps. Her legs are finally getting bigger and better separation.

Very good and I think it has a lot to do with the blood being in the quads constantly, I love the feeling of having them pump and sore all the time... Now is she doing an all out leg workout or just 4 sets? Does she constantly add weight, or is it pretty much the same weight every workout? I am going to stick to this and post results... Also I feel that the legs can recover faster, since they have such a large body part, well they make up half of our body...

I think that's what this board and really bodybuilding is all about to find ways to grow... As I think I stated before, I used to do heavy seated dumbbell presses, I think I got up to 120lb dumbells for 10 reps and nada, no shoulder growth at all, people always asked me if I trained them, I also had a big bench... I started adding and focusing on dumbbell side laterals and boom, a lot of growth in a hurry, now my delts are one of my best body parts...

 

[Designbuilt]

it may be useful In a situation where, this would be your
final attempt at some kind of growth...IF....you are not
genetically blessed in that area....you could essentially FORCE..
or try to force some growth to the area....

anyone will bad knees, hips, back....it would technically be
out of the question....so you older guys.....don't even think about it..

MAYBE, some hyper training 3 days a week....some massive supersets..
drop sets and giant sets....all machines...could be a VERY good
way (like I said) to kick start some growth...

Ha, I am older, well 43, I don't feel older though and whenever I am asked my age, my first instinct is to say 28, because that feels about right...

 

[freakshow88]

after my first competiton my prep coach had me doing squats 3x per week, well essentially squatting every third day. my body couldn't handle it and I'm not ashamed to say that. I was slamming perfect nutrition, humatrope, Humalog, 1g test and 600mg eq every week and I still coudlnt recover.

I am one of those who is not genetically gifted with legs so this was his attempt to force growth....they grew....but after 4 weeks I had patellar tendonitis, torn hip flexor and a heavily taxed CNS system.

only scenario I could see this have gone different for me is if I didn't have a real job and could sleep 14-16 hours a day. I'm not saying it cannot be done as there are people that can do this no problem, but I could not.

 

[freakshow88]

forgot to add I was doing one heavy day (4-6 reps) one moderate day (10-12 reps) and one volume day (20 plus reps to failure)

 

[TheDeceiver]

If you can squat 3x per week you obviously did not use heavy enough weight on the first squat day! After I do squats I am sore for days.

 

[alfresco]

am going to cut across the grain on this one

Designbuilt: I think you answered your own question when you said “I made very good size and strength gains.”
And now, since you are rebuilding previously existing muscle, it should come faster and easier, up to a point.

So yes, it is still possible for you to squat 3X per week, by keeping the reps up to, say, 20 - 50 reps and the rest
between sets at a bare minimum, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, provided you did not destroy your knees with
heavy squats and bad form in the past.

Do this at the start of a full body routine performed 3 times per week, add some ‘anabolics’ and you will grow like a
weed. Hell . . . you will even grow like a weed without them. But a lot depends on what else and how much you are
doing at the gym. My guess would be that you are over training, not making the gains that could and should be possible,
impossible.

Most people don’t know what hard work is, and how much effort one has to put into squats to make them work.
But . . . when properly performed, they are an order of magnitude better than anything else in the world you can
do for leg development, provided you can do them.

If I took the time to outline exactly how to squat and what the reminder of your workout would look like and how
it should be performed, you would probably run for the hills, would not be willing to do it or would be unwilling to
work that hard. And that is probably why you are not getting the results you should be. Same goes for your ‘diet’
and ‘supplication.’

All this, of course, is my opinion.

 

[Designbuilt]

Thanks for the replies, for some reason it's not letting me quote, I am glad that you clarified Freakshow, I was going to ask what you were doing as far as reps and weight...

Al Fresco, you made some great points, the first part was exactly right... I did have good quad size when I was younger, but not nearly as much definition as I did the last time I competed, I think I'd be happy with the size I had before in my 20's;, maybe a little more, but the definition I had the last show I did...

I am not an idiot, I had a couple of quad tears that occurred from very little weight when I first started back after a 7 year lay off, the weight felt light, I jumped to about 255 on my very first workout, felt something minor, the next day when I went to the toilet, I saw black and blue marks on the inside of my thighs, in fact it was the day after my son was born right in the hospital toilet that I noticed that...

I agree that it can be overtraining, but I am going to progress very slowly, keeping the reps at 20, going rock bottom with a close stance, if I miss the 20 reps, I will stay at that weight until I reach those goals, that way I can stay away from the heavy weights that cause a danger... Obviously since I am doing 20 reps, it's a weight I am comfortable with... The rest of my workout is pretty short, direct and heavy...

Chest is dumbbell flyes, dumbbell presses, decline bench presses and dips weighted dips... 4 sets of each...

back is the same day, I do weighted pullups, first one warmup set with no weight, then I add 45, 45 and 45, the final set is a drop 135, 90, 45... then reverse grip barbell rows, warm-up, three work sets... I do traps maybe once every two weeks... that's it...

delts arms, side laterals, same scheme, dumbbell presses and rear flyes on the cable machine...

tri, tricep pushdowns, overhead dumbbell tricep presses and sometimes close grip dumbbell presses palms facing each other, or rope overhead extensions...

biceps, barbell curls, dumbbell curls, that's it...

So the workouts are pretty short, what I do need to do is get more sleep, it's very tough for me... I am very cautious though, that's for sure, I've had my share of injuries, so I'm not as reckless as I was in my teens and early 20's...

So my workouts aren't brutal, they are intense, I keep the rest short, but their not Branch Warren nor Ronnie Coleman by any means...

However, I am definitely not lazy, I was a boxer... My daily routine was this, wake up at 5am run 8 miles, that's 8 figure 8's around my park... Go to school, run more during gym class... Go to boxing practice, that's 3 rounds of shadow boxing, 3 rounds of focus gloves, then sparring, I'd spar up to 3 different guys, 3 rounds each... Then I'd hit the double end bag, speed bag and heavy bag... The running was every day, even weekends and the boxing was Monday, Weds and Friday... That was definitely harder than anything I've ever done in the gym... The sparring sessions were brutal, especially when we'd go to rival parks or gyms and spar new guys...

Getting punched in the nose and ribs over and over is no fun, especially on the South Side of Chicago, those parks like Bessemer and Trumbull are a far cry from Disneyland...

 

[curioususer]

I'm one of those guys but I lift moderately

 

[Montego]

I've never gone more then 2x a week personally. One day heavy and the second more of a pump/higher volume.

It's very hard if not impossible to recover for us mere mortals if you're pushing any kind of intensity. I found that once I stopped this, after 5 weeks, my legs did grow.

I think the overloading and probably "over training" did work but, not until I destroyed them and went back to more rest.