Squat frequency

(W:122kg/270lb. H:6'. A:42. S:M. BMI:37.5)

Hi,

In context of muscle recovery, is it DETRIMENTAL to squat 4 days a week?

I exercise 4 days a week for 2.5 hours per session. Cardio / Resistance hybrid. Rest days are Wed, Sat, Sun. I'm thinking of increasing my Squat routine (4 x 12) from two to four of those days. The intention being that the three Rest Days are sufficient for micro damage recovery?

Opinion?
«1

Replies

  • Pelamblue
    Pelamblue Posts: 177 Member
    My training days are exactly the same as yours. I squat once a week and would not entertain doing it more. It is a huge muscle group and therfore needs adequate rest. Twice a week is to much...4 times a week..no way. If you feel like you could do it this much, then you need to be lifting heavier and more controlled. You shouldn't be able to walk after a proper leg session. That many times a week will do more harm than good
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    edited March 2015
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    My training days are exactly the same as yours. I squat once a week and would not entertain doing it more. It is a huge muscle group and therfore needs adequate rest. Twice a week is to much...4 times a week..no way. If you feel like you could do it this much, then you need to be lifting heavier and more controlled. You shouldn't be able to walk after a proper leg session. That many times a week will do more harm than good

    Disagree. Most beginning programs have you squat 3 times a week. Now, this is contingent on your training level and where you are starting from, thus these beginning programs I reference, have you start very light and make 10lbs increases each workout in the beginning (30lbs a week) as newbie trainees can, for many weeks before the weight and fatigue from recovery cause fails. Thus fatigue is handled via the program through retries and de-loads accordingly. I do agree with your statement that 'legs are a huge muscle group', but since they are, they can actually can be trained harder and with more frequency.
    For a more trained person and especially older, frequency is actually key. Older trainees (not speaking to those that have trained for many many years and are now older) typically need the frequency to upkeep motor pattern for the movement. So typically, movement and/or training variables are manipulated in programming to offset fatigue. For for example, a phase of a week where maybe Monday you are hitting for volume, Wednesday where you are lighten it up and do a few sets for speed and or changing the movement like to front squats where the load is less due to the movement, and then Friday where you do an intensity session of a few heavy triples.

    OP, figure out your goals and pick a program aligned to those goals. Can you squat 4x a week, absolutely. But realize that fatigue has to be properly offset throughout the week in some form or fashion to be able to make progress and recover. How that happens is normally mitigated through programming as explained earlier.
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
    @Pelamblue, I disagree with both of your assertions. First, ALOT of people squat more than once a week. There are a lot of people on these forums that either do Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5, including myself, and we squat 3 times a week. Second, not being able to walk is not an indicator of how "good" your leg session was.

    I do agree that the heavier you get the harder it is to recover, but I was squatting 275+ 3x5, 3 days a week and could always walk and got myself up to a 405 1 rep max squat at a weight of 190. So @paulbsr, If you think you can handle 4 days a week go for it. If you see your results dropping, then back it off or do 1-2 light days and 2-3 heavy days for the squats.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I squat 4 days a week. From what I've read, women do well with a higher frequency but I also have read a couple of articles by men who have done 4 day (maybe even 5 day?) squat programs. I'm doing a heavy day, medium day, and two lighter days right now.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    If you are in tune enough with your body to autoregulate it, you can squat 5-6 times a week.

    Matt Perryman's "Squat Everyday" and Pavel and Dan John's "Easy Strength" are two examples.

    For beginners 3x a week is pretty standard on most recommended programmes. Many intermediate routines have you squatting in some fashion 2x a week. Following a HLM approach like Madcow's can see an intermediate squat 3x a week.

    The possibilities are endless and are informed by your current ability, volume, frequency, etc. For example, if you currently squat 1x per week and jumped on a 5x week programme, you'll die. If you add in days slowly and modulate intensity/volume, you'll adapt.



  • Pelamblue
    Pelamblue Posts: 177 Member
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.
  • foursirius
    foursirius Posts: 321 Member
    Seems okay to me. Im currently doing 3 days of squats and my body is tolerating it well enough.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    Well the thing here is "repeat that up to four times a week". No one squatting 4-6 times a week is repeating the same intensity/volume everyday.
  • Well I suppose it depends on you. How often do YOU want to squat? I do legs every other day so my squat day is typically 1 day a week since the other days I do other exercises that work the legs.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    jimmmer wrote: »
    If you are in tune enough with your body to autoregulate it, you can squat 5-6 times a week.

    Matt Perryman's "Squat Everyday" and Pavel and Dan John's "Easy Strength" are two examples.

    For beginners 3x a week is pretty standard on most recommended programmes. Many intermediate routines have you squatting in some fashion 2x a week. Following a HLM approach like Madcow's can see an intermediate squat 3x a week.

    The possibilities are endless and are informed by your current ability, volume, frequency, etc. For example, if you currently squat 1x per week and jumped on a 5x week programme, you'll die. If you add in days slowly and modulate intensity/volume, you'll adapt.



    All of this.

    It is certainly possible to squat 3, 4, 5+ times a week. However, you'll need to manipulate volume and intensity and make sure recovery is on point.

    I currently Squat 4x a week.
  • Pelamblue
    Pelamblue Posts: 177 Member
    jimmmer wrote: »
    [qju uote="Pelamblue;31809238"]I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    Well the thing here is "repeat that up to four times a week". No one squatting 4-6 times a week is repeating the same intensity/volume everyday.[/quote]

    I refer you to mcloud33's statement.
  • Pelamblue
    Pelamblue Posts: 177 Member
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.
  • SemperAnticus1643
    SemperAnticus1643 Posts: 703 Member
    I use the Stronglifts 5x5 program and squat 3x a week. I started with the bar 8 months ago and am now squatting 220#. I think if I were to drop the weight back even to 200#, I could squat more than just the 3x a week.
  • davidcliff
    davidcliff Posts: 144 Member
    Check out Stonglifts 5x5, you squat heavy 3x a week. No problem.
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
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    This was my spreadsheet when I was doing Stronglifts at the end of last year. I was adding 5 lbs every squat until I got up close to 300 lbs. Then I started varying the weight a little and doing a light/med/heavy day every week. Definitely possible to do 3 days a week AND recover. It's all about listening to your body and knowing when it's time to back off a little bit and then start scheduling those lighter days in there.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    edited March 2015
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    If so, that's about 45 reps total as a 65%-70% and not all that much (especially broken out over multiple sessions per week).

    Much different than if one were to try a 5x5 at 85% multiple sessions per week.
  • Pelamblue
    Pelamblue Posts: 177 Member
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    How often do you do a 1rm workout?? Every 6 weeks or so, as a bench mark??
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    If so, that's about 45 reps total as a 65%-70% and not all that much (especially broken out over multiple sessions per week).

    Much different than if one were to try a 5x5 at 85% multiple sessions per week.

    How often do you train 1rm??? Once every 6 weeks??, as a bench mark.
    My 1rm is around 485, if I were doing 5x5 I would be training at around 450-430 mark. Come back and tell me you can do that 3 times a week. And to echo lolbroscience...That aint that much. He should be in the 14-16 rep range at those sorst of percentages
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    If so, that's about 45 reps total as a 65%-70% and not all that much (especially broken out over multiple sessions per week).

    Much different than if one were to try a 5x5 at 85% multiple sessions per week.

    I think I'd be hard pressed to do 1x5 at 85%. I know theoretically I should be able to based on the formulas, but at least for me 5 reps at 75% is about as many as I can do.
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
    @Pelamblue I don't do a 1RM test usually more than every 3 months, but I've only been lifting since last July, so I've done it twice. I went from never lifting before in my life to 360# squat in the first three months, and then up to the 405# squat in the next three. I'm currently cutting and am down 20 lbs since January, so I'm not currently adding much if any to my numbers. Come June, I'll start upping the calories and get my lifts back up again. What's your 1 day a week squat routine look like then? What % of your max are you doing?
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    edited March 2015
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    How often do you do a 1rm workout?? Every 6 weeks or so, as a bench mark??
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    If so, that's about 45 reps total as a 65%-70% and not all that much (especially broken out over multiple sessions per week).

    Much different than if one were to try a 5x5 at 85% multiple sessions per week.

    How often do you train 1rm??? Once every 6 weeks??, as a bench mark.
    My 1rm is around 485, if I were doing 5x5 I would be training at around 450-430 mark. Come back and tell me you can do that 3 times a week. And to echo lolbroscience...That aint that much. He should be in the 14-16 rep range at those sorst of percentages

    Once every 6-8 weeks for 1RM testing.

    I don't follow the second statement.... most 5x5 training would be done in the 70-80% range for one, so at 75% you'd be looking at 5x5x365.

    To the last statement, there isn't really a "should be". You're after accumulating total volume, and hitting those numbers at a higher frequency is certainly sufficient.

    Edit - Chart not needed.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    How often do you do a 1rm workout?? Every 6 weeks or so, as a bench mark??
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    If so, that's about 45 reps total as a 65%-70% and not all that much (especially broken out over multiple sessions per week).

    Much different than if one were to try a 5x5 at 85% multiple sessions per week.

    How often do you train 1rm??? Once every 6 weeks??, as a bench mark.
    My 1rm is around 485, if I were doing 5x5 I would be training at around 450-430 mark. Come back and tell me you can do that 3 times a week. And to echo lolbroscience...That aint that much. He should be in the 14-16 rep range at those sorst of percentages

    Again, no one is suggesting to train 5x5, 3 days a week at 90% of your max.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    McCloud33 wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    If so, that's about 45 reps total as a 65%-70% and not all that much (especially broken out over multiple sessions per week).

    Much different than if one were to try a 5x5 at 85% multiple sessions per week.

    I think I'd be hard pressed to do 1x5 at 85%. I know theoretically I should be able to based on the formulas, but at least for me 5 reps at 75% is about as many as I can do.

    I know, I was using the 5x5 @ 85% as an example of how to drive yourself into the ground and fail.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    edited March 2015
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    How often do you do a 1rm workout?? Every 6 weeks or so, as a bench mark??
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    If so, that's about 45 reps total as a 65%-70% and not all that much (especially broken out over multiple sessions per week).

    Much different than if one were to try a 5x5 at 85% multiple sessions per week.

    How often do you train 1rm??? Once every 6 weeks??, as a bench mark.
    My 1rm is around 485, if I were doing 5x5 I would be training at around 450-430 mark. Come back and tell me you can do that 3 times a week. And to echo lolbroscience...That aint that much. He should be in the 14-16 rep range at those sorst of percentages

    Once every 6-8 weeks for 1RM testing.

    I don't follow the second statement.... most 5x5 training would be done in the 70-80% range for one, so at 75% you'd be looking at 5x5x365.

    To the last statement, there isn't really a "should be". You're after accumulating total volume, and hitting those numbers at a higher frequency is certainly sufficient.

    Edit - Chart not needed.

    So much this.

    No one can really prescribe how much of your RM you can do for how many reps. These formulas and estimates are that - for a mean population.

    We all have different bases of muscular endurance, different ratios of fibre types, different recovery potential, etc, etc.

    And of course, all of these things change and adapt as we change and adapt.

    So "Should" is not really helpful here. You do what you can do and you try to improve on that without hurting yourself or digging yourself into a hole. Everything else is noise on the internet...
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited March 2015
    I think it's going to depend a lot on your program, what you're trying to accomplish, and other training/fitness goals.

    I lift 3x weekly and my primary lifts are the Olympic lifts. I only squat (variations) once or twice per week depending on the week for assistance work. I also ride a lot...so given my volume of miles, squatting heavy with frequency isn't something I do.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    paulbsr wrote: »
    (W:122kg/270lb. H:6'. A:42. S:M. BMI:37.5)

    Hi,

    In context of muscle recovery, is it DETRIMENTAL to squat 4 days a week?

    I exercise 4 days a week for 2.5 hours per session. Cardio / Resistance hybrid. Rest days are Wed, Sat, Sun. I'm thinking of increasing my Squat routine (4 x 12) from two to four of those days. The intention being that the three Rest Days are sufficient for micro damage recovery?

    Opinion?

    When you're talking about that kind of frequency you have to look at your other training variables, which would be intensity / load, reps, sets, rest as well as your training as a whole; in other words what else are you specifically doing and what do those variables look like? Just saying "I'm going to squat 4x12 four times a week & 2.5 hours of cardio and weights" is not sufficient to really understand how to setup a program.

    Based on your post I'm thinking that you're probably new enough to where you don't understand how to construct your own training plan. It's not a negative criticism, not everybody knows everything, right? :) I honestly think the best thing for you would be to get on a structured program so you're not wasting your time in the gym and following a structured plan for a good year or so will help you learn. There are many out there, some mentioned above, and some have you squatting 2+ days a week. The other thing that I should've mentioned above is that you need to understand your training goals, specifically; what are your physical goals other than weight management? Once you understand that, it will help dictate the frequency in-which you want to do any particular exercise.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I'm with the "ok to squat more than once a week" crowd. Varying volume and intensity easily allows for it. Leg workouts that absolutely trash your legs every time are very unnecessary.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    How often do you do a 1rm workout?? Every 6 weeks or so, as a bench mark??
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Pelamblue wrote: »
    I'm sorry guys but you sound like classic overtrainers. I agree to a certain extent with @cajuntank, ie going lighter to aid recovery, however 3x5 3 days a week???. No way, there is no way after a proper and quality squat session you could repeat that up to four times a week, if you can..ask yourself how! The simple science is you need quality rest time in order for protein synthesis to take place effectively, if you don't your training will be a waste of time as the body will not have time to recover properly. I have trained with body builders to army PTI'S and have never gone more than once a week...... Unless you break the leg down..hamstrings and quads on one day then say calves a couple of days later.

    DYEL?

    do you?? Please feel free to add something to the the debate?

    If I read mcloud's comment correctly, he squats 65-70% of his 1RM 3x5, 3x/week. I would be hard pressed to call that overtraining.

    If so, that's about 45 reps total as a 65%-70% and not all that much (especially broken out over multiple sessions per week).

    Much different than if one were to try a 5x5 at 85% multiple sessions per week.

    How often do you train 1rm??? Once every 6 weeks??, as a bench mark.
    My 1rm is around 485, if I were doing 5x5 I would be training at around 450-430 mark. Come back and tell me you can do that 3 times a week. And to echo lolbroscience...That aint that much. He should be in the 14-16 rep range at those sorst of percentages

    Do you even periodisation?

    And in4vids of 5 reps at 93%.

    OP: What are your primary goals?

    Studies have shown that multiple sessions per week with volume equated showed greater hypertrophy (and strength increases) than less frequency. Keeping check of total weekly volume is key.

    e.g. if you are currently doing 5x5 say one day, it would not be a good idea to do the same weight for 4 days a week. I believe that multiple rep ranges are a good idea for the majority of people. So you may do your 5x5 one day and then add a second day with 3 sets of 12. Keep check of recovery and after a few weeks add a third day with 4 sets of 8 for example.

    A top strength coach in Australia says it well. If you want to get good at something, would be better off doing it once a week or practice multiple times? I think the answer is fairly obvious. Find a world class squatter who does it once a week? If there is any, they are a definite minority.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    All you need to start talking is Russian high volume and you immediately realize it's possible to squat multiple sessions a week.

    I did the 20 rep squat breathing program- which is 3x a week.
    I know smolov is ALL squat ALL the time.

    And I am on Sheiko and I squat Monday and Friday- and on the traditional programs you pretty much do Squat Bench Squat Bench on monday adn then Bench Squat Bench Squat - or some variation on Friday.

    So it's only 2x a week- but doubling up on bench and squat is- needless to say brutal- but more than effective.

    It's more than possible. You just have to either really know what you are doing- or be on a program that's proven and something you can trust.

    At this point I've been squatting so much a week- I would feel weird/uncomfortable only squatting 1x a week.