Stella's Adventures in Squatting Journal

Coach's wrap up

Bill writes:

The basic routine Stella followed is 3 x 8, 3 x 5, 5 x 3 building to a 40# spread between sets. She squatted twice every seven days usually on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

I see this as foundation building. Good levels of endurance and underlying strength are being developed while not bouncing up against current maxes. This way the routine is good for a longer
period of time. The initial 1RM is pretty much forgotten as it is moving all the time.

Stella proved to be somewhat of an anomaly. The day she decided she wanted to go heavier she had already done a number of high rep sets before peaking with a set of 10 with 175. Looking at what had gone before, I felt that 3 x 8 with 175 was within her strength levels if her form was good. (In my experience, women tend to be better 'technicians' than men, so I felt comfortable recommending that as a starting place.) I use the term 'anomaly' because her strength just skyrocketed literally with every workout. We exchanged e-mail prior to each workout setting the expectations for the day and she exceeded the goal every time.

From a mental standpoint she had no 1RM. Each workout was regarded as unique and didn't relate to what came before or what would come after. There was only today.

This attitude created a 'no boundary' environment. Stella made great efforts not to 'overthink' what she was doing, but to just establish something reasonable and go for it. She realized that worrying about every nuance is self-limiting.

One of the goals of the program is is to achieve a 40# spread between the rep groups. Stella began at 20# spreads movded them apart a little more every workout. The rest periods are longer than in a bodybuilding program but not excessive so endurance was being developed as well.

This concept builds a higher volume at higher % of max than most programs. If a trainee expressed trepidations of not being able to handle these %, that person would drop back to where they felt comfortable getting started. Someone with a 250 1RM squat, would certainly be expected to be able to do one set of 8 with 175. If not, then the trainee needs to build that endurance level, dropping down to 135 and starting from there with 3 x 8 with 135, 3 x 5
with 165, and 5 x 3 with 195 to build confidence in the ability to lift closer to max for more reps.

As far as intensity goes, the 8 rep sets prepare the trainee up for the work to come. They also create endurance. The 5 rep sets are challenging but not 'gut-busters'. You know you're lifting, but you're not tapping those reserves. The 3 rep sets are where you 'go for it.'

Bill Keyes

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