Q: I’ve been reading a lot about high-rep leg work, specifically squats. How it can add 20 pounds of muscle in six weeks. Do you think high-rep squats are worth the effort? I know they are tough, but if I get bigger faster, I’m in. Plus, I train at home and have limited weight anyway, so that would save me from buying more plates.
A: We were in touch with a bodybuilder who packed on an amazing 50 pounds of muscle in just over a year’s time. And he attributes a lot of that to adding a high-rep set of squats to his leg day (his full story was in an old issue of IRON MAN)…
Big gains with high-rep squats are not uncommon, as you said. According to Randall Strossen, Ph.D., the classic 20-rep squat regimen is mass building dynamite:
Men who had been unable to register significant gains with other routines were suddenly gaining 20 pounds of muscle in a month or two.
Strossen himself gained 30 pounds of muscle in six weeks on such a program (see The Freak-Physique Stretch-Overload Workout for info and 20-rep squat workouts that work).
And those gains were from only one set of 20-rep squats two to three times a week. That may sound kind of easy, but keep in mind that you add weight to the bar at EVERY session. And by the end of each set you are breathing like a racehorse. The last few reps are brutal…
In fact, you’ll want to do these in a power rack in case you dump the bar and yack. So, if you train at home, make sure you have some sort of safety rack as backup or just do dumbbell squats instead so you can drop them if necessary.
Seriously. After the description of how to properly perform a wicked 20-rep squat set in the Freak-Physique e-book, we dub them “911 Squats.” But it can be worth it if you’re looking to add mass. One set triggers growth in your ENTIRE body due to metabolic and anabolic momentum.
Steve recalls—not so fondly—gaining almost 10 pounds of muscle when he was in his 20s using a 20-rep-squat regimen for only one month. The memory isn’t such a fond one because he also recalls stumbling out into the gym parking lot most workout days right after squats—but luckily he never yacked.
If you want to give 20-rep squats a try, you can use the classic full-body workouts in the Freak-Physique e-book. Four to six weeks can add significant mass to your physique.
Or you could simply add a high-rep set of squats to your leg day if you want to stay on your current training split—like our friend did who gained 50 pounds of muscle in about a year…
However, do NOT abuse this exercise. We don’t recommend multiple sets of high-rep squats in the 20-rep-squat style described in Freak-Physique unless you are a genetic mutant. One set twice or maybe three times a week should be plenty. Not kidding.
Why not try it for a month? Your thighs will pack on new size, and you’ll add more muscle from head to toe. It’s time to GROW!
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Ripped Muscle Now: Harvard Research
Harvard researcher Dr. Dimitrios Stamou discovered an enzyme that eats bodyfat. It’s helping women and men lose up to 21 pounds on average in less than 28 days.
Plus, it can help bodybuilders get freaky ripped faster than ever (see the pic of the 69-year-old who is shredded at the link below).
Remember, when you’re leaner, you look bigger than ever… And best of all, your body can MAKE this fat-blasting enzyme by eating these specific foods… and they taste GREAT.
Our colleague, the man who owned the gym that Lou Ferrigno trained at in “Pumping Iron,” turned us onto this. He’s using it himself to shed fat faster than ever, and he’s in his 50s. Get the details and see his photo HERE.