Conclusion of 20 rep squat program: Thoughts and relation to overall strength
We just finished our 20 rep squat program and I have to say I couldn’t be more proud. This past Monday, we re-tested our 5 rep max back squat, which was our baseline and I think virtually every person set a PR. Some PR’d by about 5 pounds and some even PR’d by up to 70 incredible pounds!!! Some people even squatted their former 1 rep maxes for 20!! I think the average was about 20-30lbs.
What we accomplished:
If you PR’d: congratulations. If you did NOT PR: congratulations.
Regardless of what the final numbers were in relation to the baseline, it is universal across the board that you all got stronger. I’m really looking at the 6 week program as a whole. Here’s why you are stronger:
- You all became capable of squatting more weight, making you physically stronger.
- You all became mentally stronger, not allowing yourselves to quit during a set: This will transfer over to other lifts where your body is telling you to give up or even WODs where your body is telling you the same. You now have a louder inner voice to tell that quitting inner voice: SHUT UP
Why did some people increase a lot? Why did some increase a little?
In weight training, and athletics in general there is a law of diminishing returns to a certain degree. When you are new to lifting or even CrossFit and start, the PRs will rain down when you put the effort it. Then slowly the slope of the curve will decrease. Why? Because as you get stronger or more experienced, the “next level” will be one to be even harder to reach physiologically. I’ll give you an example: A child learns to take their first step, a huge milestone. Then they take 2 more, and learn to walk. From there, they learn to run. All of this occurs within a few months to a year. Take the same child, who develops into an olympic runner over their lifetime. As a developed adult athlete, their PRs in the 200m sprint, 800m sprint, then mile or even greater distances will come in more sporadic fashion over their career, if they even continue to come at all. If the growth curve and rate of PRs was linear, then the same infant who started walking at year 1 would be running world record sprints and marathons by age 5.
What we saw over the past week, leading into Monday’s 5 rep re-test was an example of this. Those that saw huge PRs were usually on the “newer” side of experience or hadn’t gone through a proper squat program before. They were equivalent to the newbies taking huge first strides. The ones that have been doing this for a while (around 2 years or more), or already had higher squat numbers typically saw lower increases. These were the equivalent of that collegiate runner who’s been running for a bit who is trying to PR on an already great sprint time.
No matter the number, the effort needs to be commended.
How does 20 rep squatting relate to 1 rep max?
Monday’s 5 rep max re-test was just that: a retest. This Friday’s 1 Rep test is an experiment.
What do I mean by that? It’s simple. We are comparing, to a certain extent, apples to oranges.
Physiologically, high rep lifts (20 rep) and low rep lifts (1 RM) are different beasts. With high rep vs low rep, you actually use different metabolic pathways AND muscle fibers. I’ll continue with our running analogy with equating a 20 rep max lift with a marathon where you are using an endurance pathway and slow twitch muscle fibers, and a 1 rep max with sprint where you are using a short term, anaerobic pathways with fast twitch.
I’ll take it a step further and try to make it simple: If you train to run a marathon, you will become good at marathons and not necessarily a sprint.
Specificity is key. To be good at something, you have to train specifically for it.
So to answer the question: how much will my 1 rep max go up via my 20 rep squat program? The answer is maybe a lot, maybe a little. Nothing is guaranteed. There are other factors such as existing squat strength and experience that come into play. Not to mention other factors on testing day: nutrition, rest levels, stress levels, mental state etc.
Conclusion:
Am I saying that you won’t increase your 1 rep max after these 6 weeks? NO. NO. NO. I’m NOT saying that.
You may, or may not, PR your 1 rep max.
What I AM saying is that you have to look at the program as a whole. Don’t put too much emphasis on a 1 rep max or 5 rep max number. Look at what the program has done, not just the before and after 5 rep numbers and definitely not just the 1rep numbers that may or may not have much correlation with our 6 week program.
Look at the weight that you are able to push at higher reps schemes, and how that will relate to your OVERALL fitness levels. Also, look at the mental toughness you have obtained by going through this program.
There is no doubt that EVERYONE, including myself, has become stronger. I’m proud of you all for what you have accomplished, regardless of whatever number you have put on the boards.
Now let’s take this strength and continue our overall journey together.
