How I Increased My Squat by 25% in Under Three Weeks
In 17 short days, I increased my five rep squat max from 135 lbs to 170 lbs— no fancy split, no shady supplements. Literally by simply squatting.
When I really got into weightlifting about two years ago, the improvements— or “gains” as the gym rats call it— just kept coming. When you first start weightlifting, you basically set a new personal best every time you walk into the gym; you’re still figuring out how strong you are, and this new form of exercise is having rapid changes on your muscle growth. Unfortunately, these improvements eventually start to reach a plateau. This happened to me about one year into my weightlifting journey, especially when it came to my squat strength.
I used to do leg day about once a week, which would begin with squatting and then some accessory leg work. I would walk up to the squat rack, stretch for a bit, and set my eyes on the 45 plates for a 135 lb squat. I got very comfortable with this weight over time. I would do five sets of five reps. One day, I decided to throw tens on each side. This weight felt ridiculously heavy, and I was super discouraged. I quit after two reps and decided I would never break through the 135 lb wall.
After this workout, I called my sister Alison’s husband, who also is a recreational, yet knowledgeable weightlifter. I told him about my plateauing strength. He suggested that it was probably a mental block, and he also sent me a link to a basic, linear weightlifting program by Starting Strength. Simply put, the program is as follows: the athlete will squat, bench press, overhead press, and deadlift three times a week, with 3 sets of 5 reps. However, each day, the athlete will increase the weight by five pounds, following a basic, linear increase. I tailored this to my current goal, which was primarily the squat, and I did other accessory work (because I’ve always used a bodybuilding split more than a powerlifting split, just preference). I also threw in some deadlifts as a supplement to my squat.
I started the program, successfully moved up by 5 pounds each time, and finished off at 5 clean reps of 170 lbs. This was nearly a 26% squat increase in only 17 days, and these weren’t “newbie gains”. By putting these tiny 2.5 lb weights on each side of the bar, suddenly the increasing weight did not seem so daunting. For a whole year, I had myself believing that I couldn’t squat more than 135, and now, a 200 lb squat doesn’t seem so far away.
I learned three things from this experience that I think are definitely worth sharing:
1) Strength barriers in the gym are hugely mental. This applies to people who started lifting weights yesterday, and even long time veterans. We are capable of so much more than we think, and we have to be uncomfortable with the weight on the rack to find our potential.
2) If you want to get better at something in the gym, you have to just do it. Practice it, and more than once a week.
3) If you aren’t satisfied with where you are in the gym, you need to make a plan and hold yourself accountable. And you need to stick with it.
Looking at the three things I learned, I realize how strongly they parallel the way we should face the challenges we encounter in life, too. I swear I did not intend to make those rules sound like some cliche metaphor for life… they just are. Perhaps that is precisely why I like weightlifting so much.
Alex