Squat Specialization for Mass!

 

Real Bodybuilding: A Squat Specialization Program for Huge Gains in Mass and Strength

     “I started Marvin on weights a couple of years ago as a bet.  It was a mistake.  He got to like it.  Marvin’s training methods are as simple as he is.  He went from a skinny nut to a bulky nut in no time flat by squatting three times a week and eating everything that didn’t bite back.

     “Marvin avoids work like the bubonic plague.  His only other recreation is the beach.  He walks around with his chest stuck out, eats hamburgers, and kicks sand in everyone’s face.” ~John McCallum

 

     For natural lifters, very few programs are as effective as a squat specialization program for packing on mass fast.  The book “Super Squats: How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks” is a testament to this fact.  It has been a perennial bestseller since it was first published in 1989.  But its tenets go back to long before the ‘80s.  In the 1930s, J.C. Hise—whose results were well documented in the book—gained 30 pounds in a month.  The results were so phenomenal that no one believe him.

     When it comes to attaining tremendous squatting strength in the world of powerlifting, programs such as the Sheiko or Smolov regimens have about the same legendary status as “Super Squats” has for muscle-building.  But the “problem” with those programs is that it’s almost impossible to stay in one’s weight class—unless you’re a heavyweight competitor—because you just gain too much weight.  I’m a huge fan of Sheiko’s programs, for instance, but I had to stop using them when competing in powerlifting because I could not stay in my weight class even while eating relatively little food.

     If you’re a natural lifter who is having trouble gaining mass, perhaps you should look at those programs and routines outside of bodybuilding where the athletes gain muscle without even trying to gain muscle.  Using those methods combined with a lot of food, milk, and protein powders—you know, actually trying to gain weight—will produce significantly better results than hammering away at the typical “bro-split” bodybuilding workout.  If you have been eating everything in sight and training hard, but the scale hasn’t moved in weeks or even months, then perhaps it’s time for something different.

     This program is the something different.

     It is inspired by the “Smolov squat program.”  I am not going to get into all the tenets of Smolov, but it’s a program that uses 4 days a week of squatting with different set/rep ranges.  At the start of the week, the squats are done for lower sets and higher reps and move toward high sets and low reps by the 4^th day of training.  This program, however, will only use 3 days of squatting, as that will be sufficient for our mass-building goals.  Another 2 days of training will be set aside for upper-body work.

     Before we get into program details, it must be noted that this is not a “leg specialization” program, although you will undoubtedly grow larger, stronger legs.  Rather, it’s a “mass specialization” program using squats as the mass builder.  Frequent and voluminous squat programs might just be the best mass builders out there!

 

The Smolov-Inspired Squat Specialization Program

     On 3 days each week you will squat and squat only.  On another 2 days, you will train your upper body with a few movements.  Don’t try to add any extra work, especially to your upper body days.  You will notice that this program doesn’t have any hard pulling work or any overhead work, which might seem a little strange to you if you’re familiar with my writings on the big 4.  But for 8 weeks, I want you to be honed in on one thing and one thing only: increasing your squat strength.  When you are finished with the program, then you can do a more “well-rounded” program.  With that out of the way, here it is:

Monday:

Squats: 5 sets of 7 reps using 75% of your one-rep maximum.  Do a few warm-up sets first—the number of warmups will depend on your strength level—then load the bar with 75% of your one-rep maximum.  If you haven’t tested your one-rep maximum lately, and/or you don’t know what it is, it would be good to do that first, preferably about a week before starting the program—just make sure that you have taken enough time between testing your max and beginning this regimen.  If you’re pretty sure you know what your one-rep max is but you’re not definite, do NOT overestimate your max.  If anything, underestimate it.  Make sure, too, that your max is based on what you can do for a full, deep, ass-to-the-grass repetition.  No quarter squats.  No half squats.  But below parallel.

Tuesday:

Bench presses: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

Chins: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

Barbell curls: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

All of these sets should be performed with a little something left “in the tank.”  In other words, stop each set 1 or 2 reps shy of failure.  Unlike the squat days, this day doesn’t need to be very exact.  Do more when you feel good.  Do less when you feel “beat up” from the squat sessions.

Wednesday:

Squats: 7 sets of 5 reps using 80% of your one-rep maximum.

Friday:

Squats: 10 sets of 3 reps using 85% of your one-rep maximum.

Saturday:

Repeat Tuesday workout.

NOTES:

·         At each and every squat workout, add 10 pounds to the previous week’s lifts for that day.

·         Rest 2 to 3 minutes (on average) between each set of squats.  As you may know from reading some of my other articles, I’m not a fan of “blanket” rest periods between sets as I feel it’s too individualistic.  Some lifters need more rest, and some need less.  But whatever rest time you use, stick with that rest period throughout the course of the program for each squat day.

·         You might want to spend a couple of weeks doing a “break in” squat program if you have been utilizing an infrequent squat program (or not squatting at all) before starting this regimen.  If you need these break-in weeks, then squat on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps, with NONE of the sets approaching failure.  You should feel good after each of these workouts.  And after two weeks of that, you should be ready to go.

 

Other Factors

     “We can sum up the essentials very quickly.  Squats and milk.  That’s the gist of it.  Heavy squats and lots of milk and never mind if the principle is 20 years old.  If you’re in doubt, let me tell you this.  I get scores of letters from lifters around the country who’ve tried the squats and milk program.  They all say the same thing.  They gained more weight in a month on the squats and milk than they had in a year or more on other types of programs.” ~John McCallum

     Remember, this is a mass building regimen, which means that you need to be consuming plenty of calories on each day and getting sufficient protein.  If you’re not a big eater, this can be problem—and it might be one of the main reasons that you can’t pack on weight in the first place.  Start by eating 15 times your bodyweight in calories on a daily basis.  Each week of the program, increase your calories.  By the end of the 8-week program, you should be consuming around 30 times your bodyweight in calories on a daily basis.

     If you have a hard time eating calories, then try drinking your calories.  You can’t go wrong with the ol’ “GOMAD” plan—gallon of milk a day.  That’s what McCallum was referring to in the quote above.

     You need sufficient rest and sleep while on this program.  Limit your activities outside of the gym and get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep each night.  If you can manage it, take a short nap in the middle of the day.

     8 weeks on the program should be sufficient for achieving your goals.  And the program will probably “run its course” by then, anyway.  If you get good results from it and want to do it again, I advise switching to a completely different program for 6 to 8 weeks and then, at the end of that, you can do the program again if you want.  Overall, however, I don’t think this program will be as effective if you try to do it for more than 16 weeks in a year.

     As always, if there are any questions, please feel free to email me or leave them in the comments section below.  Good luck and good squatting!