Background
At the end of 2025, I found myself pretty directionless. I was a few months removed from having completed my “strongman competition and 5 mile trail ruck on back-to-back days” challenge, and was just kind of going through the motions. Additionally, I was (and still am) in the middle of studying for the CPA exam and didn’t really have a lot of mental energy for training in general. In December I caught some kind of virus that caused me to miss a week of training, and I lost a decent chunk of bodyweight. I was really disappointed at the whole state of affairs, and knew I needed some kind of kick in the ass. I initially looked at signing up for some kind of competition again, but nothing caught my eye. Super Squats had always been on my radar as “maybe someday, but that looks kind of brutal so probably not anytime soon”. But then I bought and read the book and realized it looked a little more doable after seeing the author’s advice. So, Super Squats became the next mountain to climb.
The Training
I kept things pretty close to the main recommended routine in the book. Lifting was M/W/F. I setup an A/B rotation, with Axle Bench/Landmine Rows and DB Press/Drag Curls as supersets for the upper body work on my A day, and Axle BTN Press/Chest Supported Row and DB Incline/Axle Curl on my B day, with both days finishing with the breathing squats, pullovers and SLDLs. I did use a cambered bar for my squats, which was explicitly permitted by the author. Biggest change was I switched the recommended rep scheme for the rows and curls; I like higher reps for arms and it seemed like it wouldn’t make or break the program. I also dropped the ab and calf work from the program as I knew I would get it in elsewhere (details to follow). Otherwise, I followed all the set and rep prescriptions laid out in the book.
I did do some conditioning/active recovery on off days, but I kept it very minimal. 2-3 times a week I would do a 10 minute circuit of bodyweight exercises to alleviate soreness and maintain a base level of GPP (think stuff like chins, dips, lunges, ab wheel, and so forth). I never came remotely close to muscular failure here; instead my goal was just to move my body through a lot of ROM in a short amount of time. I also walked at least 30 minutes every single day (as in I took an intentional walk, not just counted my steps), and a few times early in the program I wore a weight vest during the walk, although I ditched that when I realized how hard this program was on the lower back. Overall, I think all this extra activity helped the process rather than hurt it.
The Nutrition
I promised myself before starting the program that I wasn’t going to use it as an excuse to eat sloppy. JC Hise may have needed the gallons of milk a day, but I don’t really think that’s necessary for the weights I am using. If that meant I left a little progress on the table – I was okay with that. For awhile, my diet had been based around a lot of grassfed beef/venison/elk, pastured raised eggs, egg whites, Fairlife milk, whole grains, potatoes, veggies and some fruits – a balanced macro approach, nothing groundbreaking.
I came into the program with a status quo of eating 2 big meals a day, but quickly realized I couldn’t get enough food in those 2 meals without feeling uncomfortable, so I bumped that number up to 3-4. Eventually even that didn’t help, and I started cutting certain things out of my diet that affected my digestion, namely most grains and a lot of veggies. By the last week of the program, I was looking to the “Building the Monolith” approach for inspiration - 1.5lb of meat a day, 8 eggs plus extra whites, and fruit for energy, plus my secret weapon - cottage cheese.
I think the key takeaway for me here, beyond not needing to rely on frozen pizzas and fried chicken like 24 year old me would have done, was only bumping up the calories when I could tell I needed it. I didn’t come out of the gate eating 4 times a day and 1.5lb of meat, it was a gradual process to get there. For people who are afraid of getting fat on a bulk - that is the answer.
Results
First things first, my lifetime PR for a 20 rep squat coming into this was 217lb, and I finished the 18th workout of this program with 229lb x 20, so that is undeniable progress. I started the actual progression on this program super light - with just 146lb. Surprisingly, for the majority of the program, it was my lower back that was the limiting factor in the squats, rather than my legs or my cardio. I made sure to hammer core work on my recovery days to compensate. Also, counting to 20 sucks! With the mandatory breathing between reps, you are going “1…2…3…One!..1…2…3…Two!”. I’m fairly certain I messed the count up on at least 1 day and ended up doing 21 reps just to be sure.
I also made great progress on all other lifts, including bringing my Axle Bench up to 148 for 3 sets of 12, my Axle BTN Press to 100 for 3 sets of 10, my SLDL up to 216x15, and I made steady progress on the various DB presses, rows and curls as well.
Very few lifts were a perfectly linear effort. Quite often, I would add weight to a lift, and it would take me a session or 2 to get all the prescribed reps before moving up again. I enjoyed this type of slow and steady progression. Also, the sessions all took less than an hour - which I was very happy with.
And finally, in terms of physique, I started the program around 175lb bodyweight, and ended at 179lb - a gain of 4 lb in 6 weeks. I have a before and after picture below - the left is on Dec 22 and the right is Feb 9, both taken in the afternoon for comparison’s sake. Now, for full disclosure, there’s a little trickery involved here, as I mentioned I was sick right before starting this program, but I have to be one of the few people who ended Super Squats leaner than they started it.
Going Forward
Not sure yet! I definitely want to do this program again at some point, but most people (the author included) suggest switching it up after 6 weeks. My backyard is buried under snow, so any type of strongman work is off the table right now. I am thinking Mass Made Simple, but there are a couple of Jim Wendler and Jamie Lewis programs I want to look over before I fully commit.
Hopefully this is helpful or interesting to read for someone! This program was probably the most successful of my training career.