More on 20-Rep Squats and Other High-Rep Breathing Exercises

     Doing a high rep set of squats or deadlifts with a heavy poundage is one of the toughest, most demanding, most painful, and most brutal things you can do.  It is a training principle that has built tons of muscle and it is a training principle that has been endorsed by many of the most knowledgeable and influential writers to ever grace the game.  Dr. Ken Leistner, Peary Rader, Dr. Randall J. Strossen, John McCallum, Mark Berry, Joe Hise, Arthur Jones, and Bradley J. Steiner all have written at length about the almost uncanny ability of heavy, high rep leg and back work to transform a bag of bones into a human gorilla. ~Brooks Kubik in Dinosaur Training (1996 ed.)

Kevin Tolbert (adopted son of Ken Leistner and current head strength coach at Michigan) seen here in his younger days.  He was massively strong, and used the sort of workouts described here.

     After my brief essay at the beginning of the month on a basic 20-rep squat program, I thought I would return to the same subject here for some different thoughts and ideas for how you can apply the exercise—and other exercises, as well—to various programs, or perhaps even to a program that you are currently following.  In my earlier post, I simply wanted to present you with a basic, result-proven program that you could implement as soon as you wanted.  This essay is about incorporating not just squats but other “breathing” exercises into a variety of different training methodologies and regimens.

Lifts Other than the Almighty Squat

     Yes, the squat is the king of all exercises, and, yes, everyone should include squats in their program, but there are some lifters—and a lot of times these are tall men or women, the very individuals who need high-rep leg and back work more than other ‘builders due to their thinner frame—who simply aren’t built well for high repetition squats.  These men (and women) would do better utilizing various high-rep “pulls” or shrugs instead.  The squat should still be performed, of course, but it can be for a lower amount of reps.

     Here are some of the lifts I would substitute for higher-repetition training instead of the traditional back squat:

• Box Squats.  If you are a taller lifter struggling with high-rep back squats, this is the first alternative that I would try.  It’s still, of course, a squat, but box squats are an exercise that most lifters find easier to execute due to the plane of motion.  With back squats, you more or less sit down whereas with box squats you sit back.  If your knees go over your toes, then you probably are not doing this exercise correctly.

• Deadlifts.  Deadlifts have, ever since the times of J.C. Hise’s days, been the almost universal first alternative to the squat for high-rep leg and back work.  If you are, once again, a taller lifter, then you will find this exercise so much easier than the regular back squats—and even much easier than the box squats—that you may never again want to return to the squats.

• Shrugs.  Believe it or not, Hise’s favorite option for the squat wasn’t the deadlift—although he did do them—but it was the heavy breathing shrug.  One option that I’m fond of as a replacement for squats is to actually do a combination deadlift/shrug.  Sit each repetition down, and pick it up to deadlift, and at the top of each deadlift, shrug as high as you can, really trying to touch your ears with your traps.  This will induce heavy breathing, and provides a better range of motion than either a deadlift or a shrug.  It’s also ideal for guys who need more upper body mass than leg mass.  While this isn’t a common problem, since most guys have an underdeveloped lower body, and not vice-versa, it isn’t unheard of.  This is also a good exercise for female athletes who are trying to gain upper body mass, and have a larger lower body than upper.

• Sumo Deficit Deadlifts.  In my book, this is the best alternative to the squat or the box squat.  In fact, I’ve written more than once that I believe this may be the single best exercise you can do after the squat, high-rep or low-rep, it doesn’t matter.  When performed correctly, it turns into a deep squat and a very full range of motion deadlift.  And when performed for high-reps, it allows the lifter to really push the amount of weight being used by resting as much as one needs—and taking as many deep breaths as one needs—between reps once you get above ten or so.  An option that I like is alternating between workouts of squats and workouts of sumo deficit deads even if you’re naturally built for the squat.

• Trap Bar Deadlifts.  If you have access to a trap bar—and I understand that not everyone will; I don’t have one, for instance—then the trap bar deadlift is another great alternative.  In fact, if you train at a commercial gym, this might be the most feasible alternative to the squat.  As with the other deadlift alternatives, really try to go as heavy as you can, understanding that you can rest as much as you need between reps when the reps get really high.

Hard Training

     Experience has taught me that the majority of trainees won’t ever make the progress they envision for themselves because:

1. They will not train as hard as possible.

2. They do not believe a program can be effective if it appears limited in the number of exercises.

3. They will not train as hard as possible.

4. They lack confidence in their ability to gain muscular strength and size.

5. They will not train as hard as possible.

               ~Dr. Ken Leistner (Steel Tip, Volume 1, Number 10, October, 1985)

     Heavy and high rep squats and deadlifts WORK.  They build enormous levels of strength and can add many, many pounds of muscle to your body.  But—and this is a big but—the heavy, high rep work only works if you give it your all.  A halfway effort won’t cut it.  Going “hard” won’t do the trick.  Not even a 90% or 95% effort will get the job done.  To make heavy, high rep squats and deadlifts work for you, you have to attack the bar as if your very life depended on it.  Nothing less will do.     ~Brooks Kubik in Dinosaur Training

     I used the above quotes to emphasize how important it is that you train hard.  Without hard training, heavy, high-rep back and leg training simply won’t work that well.  You really do need to give it your all.

     Workouts that utilize 20-rep squats or other high-rep breathing movements must fit into a “high-intensity” style program.  This is not the place, for instance, where you should try to utilize one of my HFT routines.  Make sure that you’re using a program that allows you to train incredibly hard and then gives you enough rest before training again.  This means you need to use either a full-body program, training probably no more than 2x per week OR you need to use a “full-body split” program, which would allow you to train 3x weekly, but give your lifts some extra rest. If you go the full-body split route, then below is an example of the sort of program that I’m talking about:

Day One (Monday, for example) (Sets listed do NOT include warm-up sets - make sure you warm up properly)

• Squats: 1x20

• Barbell Overhead Presses: 3 sets of 5 reps

• Barbell Curls: 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps

Day Two (Wednesday)

• Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps (no high-rep, breathing sets for this day)

• Weighted Dips: 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps

• Weighted Chins: 4 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

Day Three (Friday)

• Repeat Day One

     On the following week, the Wednesday workout from the first week would be performed on Monday and Friday, and the Day One workout would be performed only on Wednesday.  I like this method, not just because it gives you a little extra variety, but because it allows for a little more rest between the high-rep sets.  I think most lifters would make slightly more consistent gains using this method.

     If you’re a slightly more advanced lifter who needs a little more variety than the above, then another option is to perform a 3-days-per-week, full-body workout but do a different workout on each training day.  Here is an example—with “replacement” exercises other than squats for your high-rep breathing sets—that might work well:

Day One (Monday) (sets listed do NOT include warm-ups)

• Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 1x20

• Cross-Bench Dumbbell Pullovers: 1x20 (perform immediately after your sumo deads; don’t worry about training heavy; simply get a deep stretch on each repetition, and take a deep breath on each rep)

• Barbell Overhead Presses: 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps

• Barbell Curls: 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps

Day Two (Wednesday)

• Squats (light): 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps (Do these as more of an “active recovery” movement.  You will need the recovery because you’re going to do another heavy, high-rep movement on Friday.)

• Bench Presses: 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps

• Weighted Chins: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

Day Three (Friday)

• Deadlift Shrugs: 1x20 (perform these as described above)

• Bent-Arm Barbell Pullovers: 1x20 (perform these immediately after the Deadlift Shrugs, in the same manner as described for the cross-bench pullovers on Day One)

• Weighted Dips: 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps

• Power Cleans: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Dumbbell Curls: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps

Other Factors

     One question you sometimes run across is: “How do I breathe when doing the high-rep sets?”  They are often called breathing squats for a reason, after all.  There are two “schools of thought” here, and both are fine.  Writers such as Berry and Rader advised to intentionally take several deep breaths after each rep, especially once your reps started to get about ten.  But writers such as Leistner and Arthur Jones didn’t discuss the breathing aspect as much, as they seemed to feel that heavy, high-repetition work naturally promotes deep breathing, so there is no need to force it.  Use whatever approach that you feel would be best for you.

     Another key, I believe, to making these kinds of workouts really work is to not necessarily limit your reps to 20.  There is no reason that you can’t push your reps as high as 30, 40, or even 50 reps, especially once you have the strength to lift with weights heavy enough to make 40 or 50 rep sets worth it.

     If you want even more information on 20-rep breathing squats, here are a couple of older articles that I posted in years’ past:

Death Sets Ultimate!

Revisiting the 20-Rep Squat Program

     And, as always, if anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me or leave them in the comments section below.  Right now, I must admit that I am decidedly behind in answering emails (or questions on my FB page), but I do eventually get around to responding.  Until my next post, train hard, heavy, and have a good time doing it!