About this workout
If you want a bigger squat, you have to squat, often, heavy, and with a plan. This eight week program has you under the bar three days a week: one heavy day to build maximal strength, one volume day to build the muscle and technique that support it, and one posterior-chain day so your back and hamstrings keep up with your quads. Run it, eat, and your squat goes up.
Who This Program Is For
- You can squat to at least parallel with good technique.
- Your squat is the lift you want to bring up over the next two months.
- You can train three days a week and recover from frequent squatting.
Who this is NOT for: lifters whose knees cave or whose back rounds under moderate load. Groove clean technique with lighter weight before you chase a bigger number.
It is also not ideal for anyone with a knee or hip issue that squatting aggravates. Get it looked at first.
What You'll Need
- A barbell and a squat rack with safeties set at the right height.
- A way to estimate your squat one-rep max so the percentages mean something.
- A notebook or app to log loads and reps.
The Program
Three days: a heavy squat day, a volume and technique squat day, and a posterior-chain and support day. A sample week is Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Brace hard, sit between your hips, and drive the whole foot through the floor. Percentages are of your squat one-rep max, in the Reps column.
| Day 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Squat | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Squat | 5 | 3 at 82% | 3-4 min |
| Barbell Front Squat | 3 | 5 | 2-3 min |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 8 | 2 min |
| Leg Press | 3 | 10-12 | 2 min |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 3 | 12 | 60 sec |
| Day 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume and Technique Squat | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Squat | 5 | 5 at 70% | 2-3 min |
| Box Squat | 3 | 5 | 2-3 min |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 | 8-10 each leg | 90 sec |
| Leg Extension | 3 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Day 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Posterior Chain and Support | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Deadlift | 4 | 5 | 3 min |
| Barbell Good Morning | 3 | 8-10 | 2 min |
| Hack Squat | 3 | 10-12 | 2 min |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Hyperextension | 3 | 12-15 | 90 sec |
How to Progress
Two four-week blocks.
Weeks 1-4. Start the heavy squat at 82% for your top triples and add 10 lbs each week. On the volume day, hold 70% and focus on speed and identical technique on every rep.
Weeks 5-7. Build the heavy triples toward 87-90%. Nudge the volume day up to 72-75% while keeping every rep clean. Keep the support work progressing.
Week 8 (deload). Drop the squat to 60%, halve the support volume, and rest. Retest your squat after the deload week.
Warm-Up and Recovery Notes
Warm up thoroughly: five minutes of general movement, then bodyweight squats, then progressively heavier squat sets up to your working weight. Cold hips and heavy squats do not mix.
Frequent heavy squatting is demanding on the knees, hips and lower back. If your speed out of the hole slows badly or your form changes, end the set. Your best squats come from crisp reps, not grinds.
Recover it with sleep and food: seven to nine hours a night, enough protein, and no aggressive dieting while you chase a bigger squat.
Nutrition and Supplementation
Strength comes easier with enough food. Eat at maintenance or a slight surplus with 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
Worth taking here: creatine monohydrate at 5 grams a day, protein powder for intake, and a pre-workout for the heavy day.
FAQ
Three squat sessions a week is a lot. It is, and that frequency is exactly what drives the technique and strength gains. The volume day is submaximal on purpose so you can recover for the heavy day.
High-bar or low-bar? Run your primary style on the heavy day. The front squats and box squats round out your weak points regardless of your main style.
My lower back is tired all the time. Make sure the volume day stays at the prescribed percentage and that you are bracing, not leaning. If it persists, cut one set from the good mornings and rack the volume day slightly lighter.
Questions and results
Ask a coach
Running this program? Tell us what week you are on and how the progression is going. A coach answers every question here.