cesimpson

I’ve been toying with the idea, lately, of following a 6 week cycle of 20 rep breathing squats. I’m not all that interested in drinking a gallon of milk per day. I don’t actually believe that doing barbell pullovers can expand one’s rib cage (regardless, not sure that’s a goal I have). But I do like the idea of 20 heavy squats every workout for 6 weeks. It seems like that’s just the sort of silly challenge I might take.

And I’m going to.

I’m not sure what I’m going to get out of it. The typical goal of the Breathing Squats routine is to “GET HUGE“. I don’t really want to get huge, and I think if I don’t increase my calories significantly (with the gallon o’ milk per day) I’m not actually going to get huge. Maybe I’ll put on a little muscle, but I don’t believe the claims of “20# in 6 weeks”. Maybe I’ll get a little leaner. Mostly, though, I think it’s going to be an exercise in mental toughness.

Whatever happens, it’s only 6 weeks and it’s gotta be better than sitting on my ass. (Come to think of it, it might actually be very difficult to sit on my ass once I get into this.)The plan is going to look like this:

Squats

3-4 sets Warm Up Overhead Squats

20x Breathing Squats

2x Circuit

Weighted Dips

Weighted Chin Ups

Knees-to-Elbows

120 sec. Rest

3x Circuit

Bent Over Barbell Rows

Push Press

120 sec. Rest

Deadlifts

3×5 Snatch-Grip on Plates

I’m going to start both my squats and SGDL @ 225# and add 5# each workout. I’m still going outside on Wednesdays, so this is going to be a Monday & Friday thing only. On Friday 24 October, if all goes well, I should do 20x Breathing Squats @ 280#. (Hmmm…I’ll be transparent here and say the mental image of 20×280# is a little…uh…daunting.)

The Weighted Dips and Chin Ups will both be done AMAP for each set. They will start at BW+40# and increase 5# every week as long as I can keep pumping out more than 3x of each. The Rows and Push Presses will both start at 135# and increase 10# every week. Rows will be done as sets of 10x and Push Presses will be AMAP.

Finally, the Snatch-Grip Deadlifts will be done as Drop Sets, with minimal amount of rest between the sets. The first set will be the Squat weight for that day. The second and third set will each be 90% of the previous.

Wish me luck.

Workout

Good Mornings / Weighted Chin Ups

10x @ 45# / 10x @ BW

10x @ 65# / 10x @ BW+10#

7x @ 95# / 7x @ BW+15#

7x @ 115# / 7x @ BW+20#

5x @ 135# / 5x @ BW+25#

5x @ 155# / 5x @ BW+30#

3x @ 165# / 3x @ BW+30#

3x @ 175# / 3x @ BW+35#

3x @ 185# / 3x @ BW+35#

2x @ 195# / 2x @ BW+40#

1x @ 205# / 1x @ BW+40#

Good Mornings were each done from a stop on pins set below my navel and just above my hips. Good stretch in my hamstrings each rep. That’s a total volume of 6190#. My previous Good Morning work also maxed at 205#, but the total volume was only 3970#.

3x Bench Press AMAP @ BW

Weighed in before my workout at 161.75#. Put 165# on the bar and pumped out as many as possible at roughly 1:1.5 work:rest.

1: 15x

2: 11x

3: 6x

That’s it for today. The next time I write here, I expect to have taken the dive into 20 Rep Breathing Squats.