Squats
fatkid1110
Posts: 20 Member
Is squatting 3 times a week bad?
I found a full body workout routine that im trying to follow and it only asks for three sets of each workout but I feel better doing four or more. I am only able to squats 200lbs for now and I always try to get at least 15 reps in per set. A co-worker told me it's bad for my body..?
Can any experienced lifters provide some advice please and thank you!
I found a full body workout routine that im trying to follow and it only asks for three sets of each workout but I feel better doing four or more. I am only able to squats 200lbs for now and I always try to get at least 15 reps in per set. A co-worker told me it's bad for my body..?
Can any experienced lifters provide some advice please and thank you!
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Replies
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Strong Lifts 5x5 starts each workout with squats. If you follow the program as designed, you'd be doing squats 3 times a week.
Personally, I think the only way to hurt yourself doing squats is with bad form or trying to go too heavy too soon.2 -
Recovery is just as important as volume (or more). However, depending on rep range and relative weight, it's perfectly fine to squat 3 days a week. Some programs are centered around squatting every day of the week.
Just remember to get enough rest and food to fuel all of those squats.1 -
Monday squats, Tuesday off, Wednesday squats, Thursday and Friday off, Saturday squats. .. for first week0
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That sounds like my schedule, I run Stronglifts 5x5. Haven't had any issues. The days in between are my recovery days.1
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if you are on a program you like, stick to the program. If you don't like that program , you should find another that is something you like better. 15 reps per set is a lot of volume. More reps doesnt' always equal better workout. what are your goals. Find a program that fits your goals, and stick to it without rearranging it.
and dont listen to your co-worker, unless he's some kinda sports Dr. And even then , you dont always have to listen to them. Weight lifting is good for your body, it builds muscle and strengthens bones.1 -
My only real goal is weight loss right now..0
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fatkid1110 wrote: »My only real goal is weight loss right now..
squats wont help with that. only diet. but do the squats anyways, they are good for your body. When you start to decide on a fitness goal, you can find programs specifically for that.0 -
I squat on the regular (3-4) times a week but I make sure to vary the style and weight.
For example:
- day 1: heavy back squats
- day 2: light front squats (with pause at the bottom)
- day 3: no squats
- day 4: heavy front squats
- day 5: no squats
- day 6: overhead squats
- day 7: no squats
Switch it up to improve core strength and overall strength and efficiency throughout all movements!1 -
I squat three days a week. My squats have shown great improvement and I haven't died yet. I think your program is fine. I've heard full-body programs where you do the same compound exercises 2-3 times a week are better for beginners.0
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Squatting 3x's a week is pretty routine. Doing that is part of the Stronglifts and Starting Strength programs. However, those are 5x5 and 3x5 programs.
However, unless you're elite power lifter whose max 1RM squat is over 325#, 15 reps for 3 or 4 sets at 200# is WAY too much and the only result will be exhaustion and/or injury. What are you trying to accomplish doing that?
Doing 5x5 (or 3x5) @ 200# for a week and then increasing the weight by 5# each week (as long as you continue to progress) is all that you need to do in order to increase your strength safely and progressively.
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In short no, it's not bad for you.
I did SL 5x5 pretty much all year long and managed to squat x1.56 my bodyweight. Keep at it, watch what you eat and your weight will drop.0 -
fatkid1110 wrote: »My only real goal is weight loss right now..
squats wont help with that. only diet. but do the squats anyways, they are good for your body. When you start to decide on a fitness goal, you can find programs specifically for that.
I lost 4.2lbs last week when I squatted mon,wed,Fri. So yes you can lose weight doing squats.0 -
Whatever it is you're doing, quite frankly, sounds stupid. Get on a real program - and follow it as it's written - and don't try to make your own stuff up. Quite simply, you don't know enough to do so - as evidenced by you making a thread to ask this question. Oh, and your co-worker has no clue what (s)he is talking about.0
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I'd be concerned about the numbers of reps as well. People who know far more about these things than I do design programs around sets of 3 to 5 reps.
Doing squats in and of themselves will not make you lose weight. If you do squats while eating at a calorie deficit they can increase your weight loss potential by upping the calories your body burns during a week.0 -
Decide on what you are after in the muscle dept. endurance or strength... if you are after strength, fewer reps and more sets with higher weight... if you are after endurance fewer sets with more reps and lighter weight... Strong lifts has a decent app to help you get your lifting game up to snuff if you are after mass and strength gains... it's a great launching point... one poster is dead on that variety is key to ensuring that you don't injure yourself so look for squat variations and don't forget cardio.. however I always caution people with a "little" excess weight that running should wait until you have had a chance to tighten up all the leg muscles... and lost a few pounds so the impact is lessened on the knees and hips... a great way to double team the strength and cardio is to find some kettle bell circuit training programs it will increase flexibility, strength and endurance all at once.
quick gains in the weight loss dept when first starting a weight loss program is not unusual... so don't fool yourself into thinking your recent losses are going to continue... just getting off the couch and going for a walk 3 x/week could have the same results... but your body will adjust to the new activity level and that will be when it is time to get serious.. and absolutely you can loose fat by lifting alone... it will just take a few more years to get to your goal... research and knowledge are important educate yourself on nutrition and define your goals and enjoy the journey.0 -
fatkid1110 wrote: »fatkid1110 wrote: »My only real goal is weight loss right now..
squats wont help with that. only diet. but do the squats anyways, they are good for your body. When you start to decide on a fitness goal, you can find programs specifically for that.
I lost 4.2lbs last week when I squatted mon,wed,Fri. So yes you can lose weight doing squats.
Your calorie deficit lost you that weight, not the squats.
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fatkid1110 wrote: »Is squatting 3 times a week bad?
I found a full body workout routine that im trying to follow and it only asks for three sets of each workout but I feel better doing four or more. I am only able to squats 200lbs for now and I always try to get at least 15 reps in per set. A co-worker told me it's bad for my body..?
Can any experienced lifters provide some advice please and thank you!
1- No - squatting 3 times a week is not bad - Providing it's done well, and with good form.
2 - If it's a Full body workout and you feel better for 4 sets, Then I'd ask why 4? Is 3 note challenging enough? If so, instead of 4 x 15 @200LBs, Next time try 3 x 8-12 @ 210Lbs. When you hit 12 STOP! even IF you do feel you can do another 3-4 reps. If you hit 3x12 @ 210LB's, up to 215\220Lbs and 3 x 8-12 again... rinse, repeat... Use the weights above as a guide, not gospel BTW.... just hit the reps\sets (Unless your program says otherwise).
3 - Co-Worker is wrong... Bad anything is bad for the body. Good form squats done right, and safely are not.
4 - High frequency squatting is quite common, 3-4 days a week, or even 5 days0 -
samanthaluangphixay wrote: »fatkid1110 wrote: »fatkid1110 wrote: »My only real goal is weight loss right now..
squats wont help with that. only diet. but do the squats anyways, they are good for your body. When you start to decide on a fitness goal, you can find programs specifically for that.
I lost 4.2lbs last week when I squatted mon,wed,Fri. So yes you can lose weight doing squats.
Your calorie deficit lost you that weight, not the squats.
Glad someone else said it.1 -
Whatever it is you're doing, quite frankly, sounds stupid. Get on a real program - and follow it as it's written - and don't try to make your own stuff up. Quite simply, you don't know enough to do so - as evidenced by you making a thread to ask this question. Oh, and your co-worker has no clue what (s)he is talking about.
I like it when people step outside of the box and try new things. That's how discoveries are made. Those only advocating established programs, to me sound like they don't have a mind of their own. When I would do squats, my legs would be sore for a week, so 3 times a week sounds a bit much to me. That being said, everyone is different. If you're feeling the strain but not seeing the results, consider other avenues. I got better results biking up hills than I ever had with squats.1 -
mgalovic01 wrote: »Whatever it is you're doing, quite frankly, sounds stupid. Get on a real program - and follow it as it's written - and don't try to make your own stuff up. Quite simply, you don't know enough to do so - as evidenced by you making a thread to ask this question. Oh, and your co-worker has no clue what (s)he is talking about.
I like it when people step outside of the box and try new things. That's how discoveries are made. Those only advocating established programs, to me sound like they don't have a mind of their own. When I would do squats, my legs would be sore for a week, so 3 times a week sounds a bit much to me. That being said, everyone is different. If you're feeling the strain but not the results, consider other avenues. I got better results biking up hills than I ever had with squats.
Maybe because you were doing random exercises instead of doing an effective program0 -
lsutton484 wrote: »I'd be concerned about the numbers of reps as well. People who know far more about these things than I do design programs around sets of 3 to 5 reps.
Doing squats in and of themselves will not make you lose weight. If you do squats while eating at a calorie deficit they can increase your weight loss potential by upping the calories your body burns during a week.
Those are "heavy" strength programs...and they are outstanding for building strength and linear strength progression...however, it isn't the only way to train. I train in a variety of rep ranges, including sets of 15...that builds muscular endurance and stamina which is just as important as building strength...no need to "live" in any one rep range unless you actually need to "specialize" or you just want to...as a matter of general fitness, working in a variety of rep ranges is very beneficial.
I usually work in higher rep ranges when I'm cutting and super-set things and take shorter rest...this builds endurance and for what it's worth, increases energy expenditure which is beneficial when cutting. However, I tend to do more dumbbell and cable work when working in this range and do variations of traditional compounds rather than barbell work...
I know "heavy", "heavy", "heavy" is the mantra around here, but it's not the only way to train...I only do heavy cycles in the winter when there's nothing going on in the cycling world...otherwise, "heavy" kills my rides.0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »mgalovic01 wrote: »Whatever it is you're doing, quite frankly, sounds stupid. Get on a real program - and follow it as it's written - and don't try to make your own stuff up. Quite simply, you don't know enough to do so - as evidenced by you making a thread to ask this question. Oh, and your co-worker has no clue what (s)he is talking about.
I like it when people step outside of the box and try new things. That's how discoveries are made. Those only advocating established programs, to me sound like they don't have a mind of their own. When I would do squats, my legs would be sore for a week, so 3 times a week sounds a bit much to me. That being said, everyone is different. If you're feeling the strain but not the results, consider other avenues. I got better results biking up hills than I ever had with squats.
Maybe because you were doing random exercises instead of doing an effective program
Maybe. Squats were part of my leg day which included the ham machine, quad machine, calve raises and maybe the inner and outer thigh machines. My diet wasn't really where is should have been to see gains. I was bulking while biking. Lots of carbs meant a really nice pump. My legs felt swole when I got off.0 -
Squatting 3x's a week is pretty routine. Doing that is part of the Stronglifts and Starting Strength programs. However, those are 5x5 and 3x5 programs.
However, unless you're elite power lifter whose max 1RM squat is over 325#, 15 reps for 3 or 4 sets at 200# is WAY too much and the only result will be exhaustion and/or injury. What are you trying to accomplish doing that?
Doing 5x5 (or 3x5) @ 200# for a week and then increasing the weight by 5# each week (as long as you continue to progress) is all that you need to do in order to increase your strength safely and progressively.
This makes no sense. If you can crank out 3-4 sets of 15 reps and your form hasn't gone to crap, there's nothing wrong with that. How on earth would only doing 5 reps at an easily handled weight that he's already doing for 15 be better?0 -
mgalovic01 wrote: »Whatever it is you're doing, quite frankly, sounds stupid. Get on a real program - and follow it as it's written - and don't try to make your own stuff up. Quite simply, you don't know enough to do so - as evidenced by you making a thread to ask this question. Oh, and your co-worker has no clue what (s)he is talking about.
I like it when people step outside of the box and try new things. That's how discoveries are made. Those only advocating established programs, to me sound like they don't have a mind of their own. When I would do squats, my legs would be sore for a week, so 3 times a week sounds a bit much to me. That being said, everyone is different. If you're feeling the strain but not seeing the results, consider other avenues. I got better results biking up hills than I ever had with squats.
The problem with programming your own routine is that people often miss things and/or skip on things that they don't necessarily like doing...they often end up over-training in one place and under-training in another and end up with muscular imbalances, etc...and usually results come slower and sometimes are non-existent. It takes a good bit of knowledge to create a program that is actually good, efficient, and effective.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »mgalovic01 wrote: »Whatever it is you're doing, quite frankly, sounds stupid. Get on a real program - and follow it as it's written - and don't try to make your own stuff up. Quite simply, you don't know enough to do so - as evidenced by you making a thread to ask this question. Oh, and your co-worker has no clue what (s)he is talking about.
I like it when people step outside of the box and try new things. That's how discoveries are made. Those only advocating established programs, to me sound like they don't have a mind of their own. When I would do squats, my legs would be sore for a week, so 3 times a week sounds a bit much to me. That being said, everyone is different. If you're feeling the strain but not seeing the results, consider other avenues. I got better results biking up hills than I ever had with squats.
The problem with programming your own routine is that people often miss things and/or skip on things that they don't necessarily like doing...they often end up over-training in one place and under-training in another and end up with muscular imbalances, etc...and usually results come slower and sometimes are non-existent. It takes a good bit of knowledge to create a program that is actually good, efficient, and effective.
That's a good point. It's just that everyone who does them comes out looking the same. There's no individuality or personal expression in them.0 -
fatkid1110 wrote: »Is squatting 3 times a week bad?
I found a full body workout routine that im trying to follow and it only asks for three sets of each workout
does it ask for more weight with each workout? or every couple of workouts or something? progression can come in a range of forms, and increasing weight is one of the tried-and-true ones.
all i can do is mention my own experience without assuming it'll be universal for anyone else. [i'm a 51yo woman, for context. chasing strength now but i never lifted in my life until about 2.5 years ago]. i'm personally one of the people who seem to benefit from frequency and volume with squats. but in my case that's specifically because my body just won't hold onto the 'memory' of how to do it if i don't keep on doing it. once a week on wendler's protocol just isn't working for me. i go back every time and regardless of strength levels i waste half the workout just trying to re-figure out how to avoid certain form fails.
by contrast, i can ohp all day any day. that one makes sense to my nervous system, so i can easily progress by just doing whatever wendler tells me to do - i.e. go in there once a week and do overhead press.
so in my case, the more squats the better, it seems. but in my case that means i have to carefully manage the amount of weight i'm using, or soreness or some kind of strain thing is going to mess me up just as effectively as the 'amnesia' problem that i'm trying to fix.0
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