Hey guys,
I was wondering, when you squat, what is your rep and set range for hypertrophy purposes.I am asking, what specifically works for YOU. Reason being, there are so many workouts that contradict each other. Some people will do a few sets with 6-8 rep range while others will do 20 reps ( breathing squats ) . Both say that their method is really working well for the.
Now I know that everybody is different, and two people might need completely different approaches to training to achieve the same result. This is why I am asking, what works personally for YOU ?! Thanks in advance…
Years ago, my best growth came from 30 rep squats (to failure), done twice per week. Not done in the usually prescribed 20-rep breathing method. These were piston-like.
My quads just ballooned.
Took a lot of mental toughness, which I no longer seem to possess at this age.
3-4 working sets* of 10-12 reps. I’ve found that to be the happy medium between high reps that are too fatiguing to maintain intensity through the workout on non Heman days and lower reps that tend to not be ideal from a hypertrophy standpoint. Again, that’s just what works for me and everyone is fairly different. You just have to experiment and see what works for you. Honestly though, as long as you are working hard, sets and reps don’t really matter.
For me, 20 rep squats done twice a week, with steady poundage increases. The first 15 or so are pretty piston-like; the last few become rest-pause/breathing style. I’ve also started adding a set of rest-pause leg presses a few hours later.
But I haven’t tried much else. 5x5 wasn’t working for me – too much rest, not enough intensity. And since 20 rep squats are still working for me, I’m still doing them.
I vary from 12 to 30 reps and i also vary tempo. I never tried 10 reps so who knows. Ounce in a while i do partials with heavier load. Basically a set is 50 to 180 sec. Lots of water. Rests 40 to 180 sec. Never lock. Also i stretch between some sets but not trying total stretch.
If you feel exhausted you can lower the load squeeze 1 or 2 more set(s).
All the best!
I aim for 4x15. I started these at about 50% of my 1RM. That poundage seemed low at first, but then I started to see Jesus on the last 5-7 reps of my last set.
[quote]wswnsc wrote:
I aim for 4x15. I started these at about 50% of my 1RM. That poundage seemed low at first, but then I started to see Jesus on the last 5-7 reps of my last set. [/quote]
LOL!
That was you seeing yourself in the crucifixion position in the mirror (the squat almost looks like that pose!)
@ Iron Dwarf
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[quote]BHappy wrote:
@ Iron Dwarf
there is a rumor they are in the final phase for a new supplement.
Double the posting speed with triple funny.
I sure hope you got big $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for your DNA ! ! ![/quote]
8-12 for some sets and then 20 reps no matter what
Even if I have to bail I’ll rerack and do another couple
Once I can get all 20 with out fail I’ll increase the weight
The 8-12 rep I just up weight once I hit 12
This is with both back squats and front squats
[quote]i_am_ketosis wrote:
3-4 working sets* of 10-12 reps. I’ve found that to be the happy medium between high reps that are too fatiguing to maintain intensity through the workout on non Heman days and lower reps that tend to not be ideal from a hypertrophy standpoint. Again, that’s just what works for me and everyone is fairly different. You just have to experiment and see what works for you. Honestly though, as long as you are working hard, sets and reps don’t really matter. [/quote]
x2
@Devoted - I don’t think the theories contradict each other they’re just what people decided to use. Sometimes you’re at a point in your life where walking around for 3 days fatigued is too draining. You may just need a happy medium.
I think it also makes a huge difference WHEN you do squats in your leg workout. I’ve personally seen alot more growth out of doing them 3rd in my workout after hamstring curls, and heavy ass high rep leg press than when I do them first.
Weirdly enough, with front squats I saw best growth out of 5-8 sets of 3-6, while back squats just 1 or 2 sets of 15-25.
I get the best with higher rep ranges 15-30, BUT…you need to mix things up every now and then when you hit a plateau. As example, currently I am down in the 4-6 rep range.
It also helps to have phases of increasing the number sets. Example, stay with the same weight, but add an extra set each week for 3 weeks.
The key is to find what works and stick with it while it is working.
I’m recently started doing 4 sets 10-20 reps. I start with 60 kg for 20 and progress up to around 120 kg for ten. I’ll see how that goes… I used to train according to powerlifting template for a few years where I wouldn’t perform more than 3 reps on any given set, so this is completely new to me. Thanks for the input guys…
OP, I’m confused are you only training for hypertrophy,or do you actually have some kind of method of also progressing your weights?
Maybe you could do like a 3x5 with heavy weight that you try to break PR’s with, then do a set of 8-12, followed by a set of 15-20 in which you try to break PR’s with on those sets as well.I would be astound if you didn’t grow on that.
For example…
Set1 - 5 @ 80% (add weight or rep next time,vary percent as needed)
Set2- 5 @ 80% (add weight or rep next time,vary percent as needed)
Set3- 5 reps @ 80% (add weight or rep next time,vary percent as needed)
Set4- 8-12 reps " "
Set5- 15-20 reps " "
[quote]EthanETE wrote:
OP, I’m confused are you only training for hypertrophy,or do you actually have some kind of method of also progressing your weights?
Maybe you could do like a 3x5 with heavy weight that you try to break PR’s with, then do a set of 8-12, followed by a set of 15-20 in which you try to break PR’s with on those sets as well.I would be astound if you didn’t grow on that.
For example…
Set1 - 5 @ 80% (add weight or rep next time,vary percent as needed)
Set2- 5 @ 80% (add weight or rep next time,vary percent as needed)
Set3- 5 reps @ 80% (add weight or rep next time,vary percent as needed)
Set4- 8-12 reps " "
Set5- 15-20 reps " "[/quote]