Squat... and Do What You Will

     Saint Augustine once uttered the phrase “love, and do what you will.”  The blessed Augustine was basically saying that as long as you do everything out of love – love for others, love for God – then whatever else you do will be correct.

     I happen to think the same thing about squatting.  As long as you are squatting – if not at every workout, then at least on a very regular basis – then you can do what you will with the rest of your workout.  In fact, I think squatting is the foundation of all successful training.  (Okay, I suppose you can get good results without squatting – especially if you’re doing plenty of Olympic lifting or deadlifting – but squatting is a sure fire way to get great results all the time.)  For instance, if you do the following five things, I can guarantee you will get great results[1]:

1.       Squat a lot

2.       Train with volume

3.       Train frequently

4.       Get plenty of rest when not training

5.       Eat a lot of food

     If you don’t believe me, then try any of the following squatting and training options, depending on your goals:

     If you want to have the most massive muscles possible (for your genetics) and you don’t care that much about whether your muscles are actually functional, then I suggest you train 3 to 4 days per week.  Squat at the beginning of each session, then pick a bodypart to train.  Day one could be squats, chest, and shoulders.  Day two could be squats, biceps, and triceps.  Day three could be squats and back.  And day four could be squats, hamstrings, calves, and abdominals.  You don’t have to go “crazy” on the squats; just use about 60-70% of your one-rep maximum on each day.

     If you are interested in being massive and being strong, then train 3 to 5 days per week.  On one day, squat and do some overhead pressing work.  On another day, squat and carry or drag heavy stuff (farmer’s walks, sled drags, etc.).  On another day, squat and then do some heavy bench pressing (barbell or dumbbell) followed by chins.  And on another day, squat and then do various pulls (deadlifts, snatches, cleans, etc.).  Train every other day, or train for a couple days in a row before taking a day off.

     And if you are interested in being a massive powerlifter, then train 3 days per week, squat at each session, and then add bench presses one day, and deadlifts the next.

     Getting massive and/or strong isn’t that complicated.  It just requires plenty of hard work, and lots of squatting.

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[1] If I was going to add anything to this list, I would also say its good idea to lift heavy things off the ground, put heavy things over your head, and carry heavy things for distance.  All of those should be part and parcel of the “train with volume” part.