squat routine

My squat workout is identical to my bench press workout. I'm gradually working up to a max out set by warming up with gradually increasing weight.  Also I'm eating and taking supplements before my workout and I'm drinking whey protein shake before my max out sets.
The routine is the same as well.

Warm-up

1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set

Add more single rep max out sets if needed to achieve soreness in the quadriceps and glute muscles

If you don't know what I mean by max out set, click the link on the bottom of the page.

Form for the squat

First off, I'm assuming you're using a squat rack with adjustable bar holders or one with multiple j-hooks. The bar is set high enough where you don't have to bend the knees at a sharp angle to get it off the rack. Also if the bar has a gnarled hand grip meshed into the bar where you put the bar on your neck, you're going to want to cover that with a bath towel wrapped around the bar or a bar pad or the mesh will cut into the back of your neck.

I have to mention a word about flooring. That's right. I'm talking about the floor you stand on where you're doing your squats. The floor should be in the range of anywhere between hard rigid floor padding to concrete flooring.  The reason is that once you hit the bottom of your squat with glutes almost touching the ground, you're shifting your weight to the back of your heels and driving your legs into the ground. If the ground is soft and you dig your heels into the ground, you will fall backwards and spill the weight off your neck. A major catastrophic failure with potential for injury to your knees and lower spine and many other body parts.

If you don't have access to a hard surface to squat on, it is acceptable to lay two 45 lb plates next to each other on the ground.  This will give you a hard rigid floor to squat from. Position the plates so your heel and toes are making contact with the plate and not going through the handle holes in the plate but while still allowing your feet to be far apart enough to let you make a deep knee bend. One foot goes on one plate. The other foot goes on the other plate.

Also don't wear any shoes. Squat in bare feet or socks. When you first drive your heels into the ground, you'll want a hard surface to jam your feet into the ground. Going barefoot will give you a stable base to squat from.

Now for the setup. Make sure the bar is set equidistant between the bar holders. The hand grip is executed by wrapping your fingers around the bar but not the thumb. If you wrap your thumb around the bar you'll put severe pressure on your wrists so just lay the thumb on the bar.


Next position the neck under the bar. Bend your head to the ground. Feel that large bone on the back  of your neck. Put the bar just below that and just above your trap muscles. Now take a breath through the nose just enough to fill the chest cavity with air and keep your spine locked in a straight up and down position  and hold it.  Do not take a breath so deep you put any arch in your lower back but just enough air to support the weight on the back of your neck.  It's a matter of practice to figure out how much air to suck in and provide a rigid corset of air in your upper chest cavity to support the weight on the back of your neck.  In an arched lower back position with a heavy weight on the back of your neck, you risk crushing your lower spine.

While still holding the breath, drive your legs into the ground and lift the bar off the rack.  Step back a couple steps just enough to not hit the barbell  against the rack when you squat. Keep that breath in your lungs. Now position your feet slightly more than shoulder width apart to comfortably let you carry your glutes to the ground and  point the toes slightly outward to a comfortable semi pigeon toe position.  Next, squat to the ground with your glutes almost touching the ground.

You should still be holding that original   breath. Now spread the floor with your feet and don't allow your knees to wander inwards and drive your legs downward. This will activate your glutes and thigh muscles which will keep your torso and head in an upright position and prevent you from bending over at the waist.
I can't stress enough how important it is to spread the floor with your feet and not let your knees to wander inwards. This is the primary motion which will keep your upper torso in an upright position and enable your glutes and quadriceps to carry you back to the top to a knee lockout position.

Once you reach the top, breathe in through the nose and out the mouth.  The weight on top of your neck has a crushing effect on the lower spine. Unlike the bench press where you are actively trying to achieve a severe arch in your lower back, with the heavy weight on your neck an arch in your lower back could be detrimental and lead to lower spine injury so it's very important to not breathe in through the mouth. Rather breathe through the nose. You take in less air this way and minimize any chance of arching your back while still being able to catch your breath. You're going to breathe like this after you squat before putting the weight back onto the rack.

Now for the complementary exercises to help you bust through plateaus. It's simple.  You're going to alternate between pause squats and reflexive bounce squats. On one day you'll do pause squats and on the other will be reflexive bounce squats.

Pause squats have the same form as reflexive bounce squats. The difference is in the pause squat when you squat down, you will momentarily pause for two seconds when you reach the bottom and then drive your legs into the ground. Remember to hold that breath or you will lose tightness in your upper body and this will force the body to have to power the weight back to the top using the lower back which could lead to injury.

The reflexive bounce squat uses the same form  except when you squat down, you're accelerating rapidly downward and using a reflexive bounce off the bottom of the  squat to carry you back to knee lockout. I like to start out slow until I reach the middle of the squat range of motion and then thrust rapidly downward. This helps to steady the weight through the first top half because at the top the weight is extremely unstable and steadiness gradually increases as you approach the ground.  When you come out of your bounce somewhere midrange, there is a tendency for the upper body to lurch forward which could lead to the bar spilling over your head. All I can say is try to keep the upper body upright, continue to hold your breath and concentrate on activating your glute and quadriceps muscles by spreading the floor with your feet and don't let your knees wander inwards.

now that I got you tired, check out my post workout recovery routine

or check out my bench press workout

what the heck is a max out set