Squat Program — Strongtown

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Strongtown squat program

The squat is a fundamental movement that has a tremendous ability to develop strength, athleticism, and increase our overall health.

Regardless of whether you're a man or woman, old or young, squatting has the ability to help us build muscle, to loose or gain weight (based on our individual goals), and to basically improve our overall quality of life. 

The following program has been developed over the years based on the needs (and results) of our athletes.  there are hundreds of other programs out there and this IS JUST what we found works for us. It has been inspired by Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 as well as a variation of the Russian squat / Smolov programs and countless others.

It is a simple 3 week program that keeps an athlete working AT 80% of whatever their 1 rep max is for the cycle with undulating rep schemes.

The program is meant to be repeated as wanted / necessary. we do not recommend having athletes retest their 1 rep maxes until completing the cycle 2, PREFERABLY 3 times.   

ENTER THE SQUAT:

+ WEEK 1: PRIMER WEEK

The goal of the first week is to get in 3 squatting days. Ideally the days are separated by rest days throughout the week. Starting at 80% for sets of 2 should feel extremely manageable and will be the baseline throughout the cycle. In the third week we will be testing the 6 x 2 as an EMOM so try to be aware of rest between sets.

  • Day 1
    • 6 Sets x 2 Reps @ 80% of 1RM
  • Day 2
    • 6 Sets x 3 Reps @ 80% of 1RM
  • Day 3
    • 6 Sets x 2 Reps @ 80% of 1RM

+ WEEK 2: GRIND WEEK

The second week is a grind, hence the title. We're only looking for 2 squatting days throuhghout the week due to the volume increase of the 6 x 4. Take as much rest as needed between sets on the 6 x 4 and try to minimize rest on the 6 x 2 day.

  • Day 1
    • 6 Sets x 4 Reps @ 80% of 1RM
  • Day 2
    • 6 Sets x 2 Reps @ 80% of 1RM

+ WEEK 3: TEST WEEK

The final week of the cycle is the test week and we have two tests that we are looking to pass before we reset the cycle. The first test (T1) is a 5 x 5 at whatever weight we've been using for the first 2 weeks. Take as much rest as needed between sets. The second test (T2) should be done on a separate day of the week...preferabbly 2 days after T1. For the test we are trying to perform the same 6 x 2 that we've been doing throughout the cycle as an EMOM. Basically every minute perform 2 squats for 6 minutes.

  • Test Day 1 (T1)
    • 5 x 5 @ 80% of 1RM
  • Test Day 2 (T2)
    • 6 Minutes Every Minute on the Minute: 2 Reps @ 80% of 1RM

If you pass T1 + T2 at the 80% increase the weight 5-10lbs (depending on feel) and repeat as many times as wanted / needed. We do not recommend retesting the 1RM until completing the cycle 2, preferably 3 times. As the weight gets heavier it may be necessary to take a rest week before starting a new cycle.

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