My story of squatting 3 times a week.

[Milone79]

I apologize for the length of this post in advance but thought I would share my experience with squatting 3 times/week with you all. After chatting with JasonDB(thank you for showing me the light) a while back I thought I would try it out for myself. I was dealing with a brutal shoulder injury that was not allowing me to properly train my upper body for a few months. Rather than skip days in the gym entirely I thought I would try something new (to me) and hit my legs three times/week. I structured my own routine and documented the numbers pertaining to my squats only. Even though I did accessory movements with each workout and also trained my hamstrings and calves on each of the workouts I didn't bother with those numbers as I was only concerned with bringing up my squat.
I trained Legs following three routines; a 5,3,1 day, a 3 x15 day and a 3 x6-8 day.I would hit my legs about every 48 hrs although on occasion if I felt I needed an extra day to recover I would take it before smashing them again. In between I trained Chest/Shoulders on one day and Back/arms on another (again very light as my shoulder was still on the mend).

1)5,3,1 = 315, 365, 405x 4(first one seemed a bit easy so I pushed for 4 reps that day)
2)3x15 = 225 for all 3 sets 15 reps
3)3x6-8 = 315x6, 315x8, 315 x 10

1)5,3,1 = 315x1, 365x3, 405x2 (was slightly off that night)
2)3x15= 225x15, 225x15, 235x15
3)3x6-8= 315x8, 315x8, 315x 10

1)5,3,1 = 315x8, 365x3, 365x8, 405x4 (had some kind of super powers that day lol)
2)3x15 = 225x15, 245x15, 265x 15
3)3x6-8 = 315x8, 335x8, 365x6

1)5,3,1 = 320x5, 370x3, 405x4, 425x1, 405x3
2)3x15 = 230x15, 250x15, 270x15
3)3x6-8 = 320x8, 340x8, 365x7

1)5,3,1 = 325x5, 370x3, 430x1, 405x2
2)3x15 = 230x15, 250x15, 275x15
3)3x6-8 = 320x8, 340x8, 365x8

1)5,3,1 = 325x5, 375x3, 440x1
2)3x15 = 230x15, 250x15, 280x15
3)3x6-8 = 320x8, 345x8, 370x8

1)5,3,1 = 325x5, 380x3, 450x1
2)3x15 = 230x15, 255x15, 290x15
3)3x6-8 = 320x8, 350x8, 375x8

Then my final day was another 5,3,1 before leaving on vacation..

325x5, 380x3, 455x1 Tried 460 first but lost my form and had to dump the bar....reloaded everything and got back under it and nailed 455lbs !! Moral of the story; don't be greedy...small increments over time will lead to setting your P.R.s

I did this all on a cut (approx 2400 cals/day) and as you can see got stronger just about every single week. I trained my whole life following a 7 day spilt (hitting the same body part only once a week) I never would have thought I could train like this but am sure glad I tried it...I am hooked. :-)

[joelash302]

I got an IT band cramp reading that. Excellent job, what was your prior pr?

[phal]

Grats bud, I love squatting 3+ times a week once you do it it's hard to go back.

Now try Smolov (4 times a week) and report back haha

[Milone79]

Thanks Joe..My best previous P.R. was 405 lbs...

Phal..Keep hearing great things about Smolov from Paul will have to give it a try one of these days too...

Also was thinking of applying this method to bringing up my bench and chest perhaps..

[joelash302]

Thanks Joe..My best previous P.R. was 405 lbs...

Phal..Keep hearing great things about Smolov from Paul will have to give it a try one of these days too...

Also was thinking of applying this method to bringing up my bench and chest perhaps..

+55 lb pr in 7 weeks on a cut? Are you a wizard?

[tswdan]

+55 lb pr in 7 weeks on a cut? Are you a wizard?

Sounds about like Smolov Jr results.

[Milone79]

No wizardry involved just balls out training and desire to finally get my squat numbers up to some respectable levels .... the best piece of gym equipment I ever invested in was a piece of paper and a pen...keeping track of your numbers and looking back on them the next workout makes for an amazing motivational tool also.

[Milone79]

+55 lb pr in 7 weeks on a cut? Are you a wizard?

and to be exact it was 50lbs P.R. increase. :-)

[Milone79]

lol...I hope so...I just got back from 2 weeks in the Dominican Republic so I should probably sheck to make sure he is.. ;-)

[Milone79]

Sick. How was it down there?

awesome!!! 2 weeks in Punta Cana was just what the Dr. ordered...don't think I can go back to a 7 day getaway again...14 days for the win...takes a good 4-5 days just to totally unwind.

[Milone79]

[QUOTE=necon76;843196311]I know you were cutting, but did you notice much change in your leg development?


Great work by the way.[/QUOTE

yes..even though I was cutting I could swear my legs started to get thicker....

[sawoobley]

Great job! Squatting 3x per week FTW.

[Chuck2600]

What are your other lifts just out of curiosity?

[JasonDB]

Told you... no natty seeking gains should be squating less than 3x a week. Scaling back to once or twice is fine if you are happy with your size and strength levels, but it is not optimal for anyone not using protein-synthesis increasing drugs, regardless of training experience or level of development who is seeking to improve.

Given that you have always trained on a 7 day frequency I thought you might see a rapid improvement doing this. Watch what happens when you go on a caloric surplus doing it. ;-)

[greekmanman]

Told you... no natty seeking gains should be squating less than 3x a week. Scaling back to once or twice is fine if you are happy with your size and strength levels, but it is not optimal for anyone not using protein-synthesis increasing drugs, regardless of training experience or level of development who is seeking to improve.

Given that you have always trained on a 7 day frequency I thought you might see a rapid improvement doing this. Watch what happens when you go on a caloric surplus doing it. ;-)

Agreed.

[Milone79]

Told you... no natty seeking gains should be squating less than 3x a week. Scaling back to once or twice is fine if you are happy with your size and strength levels, but it is not optimal for anyone not using protein-synthesis increasing drugs, regardless of training experience or level of development who is seeking to improve.

Given that you have always trained on a 7 day frequency I thought you might see a rapid improvement doing this. Watch what happens when you go on a caloric surplus doing it. ;-)

Sooooo true...and I cannot wait to see what happens when I train like this on a bulk diet....the best part was that my legs actually felt like they healed between workouts so much faster than on my old 7 day split too...super stoked!!! :-)

[pedalift]

great job

i started stronglifts 5x5 about 6 weeks ago...squatting 3x a week is awesome.

[Milone79]

What are your other lifts just out of curiosity?

nothing too impressive imo..I can bench 325 for a single and deadlifted 510 lbs once about 2 weeks before my last show...would love to try both of those lifts again deep into a bulk diet and am very curious to see if my new found squatting strength will translate into my deadlift..

[JasonDB]

nothing too impressive imo..I can bench 325 for a single and deadlifted 510 lbs once about 2 weeks before my last show...would love to try both of those lifts again deep into a bulk diet and am very curious to see if my new found squatting strength will translate into my deadlift..

A nice deep squat is one of the best accessory lifts for deadlifts.

[Milone79]

ATG=only way I roll!!! ;-) Gonna try for a Deadlift single very soon just out of curiosity now..

[shiliangtu]

Thanks Joe..My best previous P.R. was 405 lbs...

Phal..Keep hearing great things about Smolov from Paul will have to give it a try one of these days too...

Also was thinking of applying this method to bringing up my bench and chest perhaps..

great things about Smolov from Paul will have to give it a try one of these days too...

[shiliangtu]

I got an IT band cramp reading that. Excellent job, what was your prior pr?

I got an IT band cramp reading that.

[Rmeister007]

I don't want to discredit or bash anyone's achievements. I just want to let us naturals know that people on gear can recover much faster than us. I squat once a week, and try to squat twice a week in some weeks with the extra day overlap. That's plenty for me and I see gains. I think 3 times for me would be overtraining. Then again, I train to failure and get major DOMS after training legs.

What we all gotta understand is that people's bodies are all different. Some genetic freaks or people on gear could handle squatting 3 or 4 times a week. Most of us could not. Just saying. Well, I could if I didn't lift to failure, but what's the point in that?

Regardless, big ups! Respect!! Awesome gains.

[necon76]

I don't want to discredit or bash anyone's achievements. I just want to let us naturals know that people on gear can recover much faster than us. I squat once a week, and try to squat twice a week in some weeks with the extra day overlap. That's plenty for me and I see gains. I think 3 times for me would be overtraining. Then again, I train to failure and get major DOMS after training legs.

What we all gotta understand is that people's bodies are all different. Some genetic freaks or people on gear could handle squatting 3 or 4 times a week. Most of us could not. Just saying. Well, I could if I didn't lift to failure, but what's the point in that?

Regardless, big ups! Respect!! Awesome gains.

Hate to burst your bubble here sugartits, but the OP is a natural bodybuilder. And what you think is overtraining, & what it actually is, are vastly different.

[ispoody1243]

I don't want to discredit or bash anyone's achievements. I just want to let us naturals know that people on gear can recover much faster than us. I squat once a week, and try to squat twice a week in some weeks with the extra day overlap. That's plenty for me and I see gains. I think 3 times for me would be overtraining. Then again, I train to failure and get major DOMS after training legs.

What we all gotta understand is that people's bodies are all different. Some genetic freaks or people on gear could handle squatting 3 or 4 times a week. Most of us could not. Just saying. Well, I could if I didn't lift to failure, but what's the point in that?

Regardless, big ups! Respect!! Awesome gains.

what a terrible 11 moths bump....

[BunkMoreland]

Hate to burst your bubble here sugartits, but the OP is a natural bodybuilder.

Exactly. says so right in his sig. dunno how he missed that

[necon76]

Exactly. says so right in his sig. dunno how he missed that

[axxlef]

I don't want to discredit or bash anyone's achievements. I just want to let us naturals know that people on gear can recover much faster than us. I squat once a week, and try to squat twice a week in some weeks with the extra day overlap. That's plenty for me and I see gains. I think 3 times for me would be overtraining. Then again, I train to failure and get major DOMS after training legs.

What we all gotta understand is that people's bodies are all different. Some genetic freaks or people on gear could handle squatting 3 or 4 times a week. Most of us could not. Just saying. Well, I could if I didn't lift to failure, but what's the point in that?

Regardless, big ups! Respect!! Awesome gains.

Hate to disagree but i am not only natural but getting old as well and love. Squatting 3x a week your body very quickly adapts to the workload.

[lovingit]

I don't want to discredit or bash anyone's achievements. I just want to let us naturals know that people on gear can recover much faster than us. I squat once a week, and try to squat twice a week in some weeks with the extra day overlap. That's plenty for me and I see gains. I think 3 times for me would be overtraining. Then again, I train to failure and get major DOMS after training legs.

What we all gotta understand is that people's bodies are all different. Some genetic freaks or people on gear could handle squatting 3 or 4 times a week. Most of us could not. Just saying. Well, I could if I didn't lift to failure, but what's the point in that?

Regardless, big ups! Respect!! Awesome gains.

No excuses.

[vitornoob]

Overtraining is simply a state of mind, it is TIME TO BLEEEEEEEEEEED!