The following approach is designed primarily to improve your strength numbers in the squat. Over the 30-day cycle you squat eight times. Heavy, light and medium days are used:
Day 1 – Squat: heavy
Day 4 – Squat: light
Day 7 – Squat: medium
Day 10 – Squat: light
Day 16 – Squat: heavy
Day 19 – Squat: light
Day 22 – Squat: medium
Day 25 – Squat: light
As you can see, every four-day mini-cycle is followed by a five-day break from squatting. This is time to recover before the first heavy squat workout of the next mini-cycle.
The 5 x 5 method…
The focus is on the 5 x 5 method. The first two sets are ramp-up sets, and the last three are working sets at the same weight.
Set 1 – 60%
Set 2 – 80%
Sets 3 – 5 – 100%
For example, if your working sets are done with 100 kg, the squat part of your leg workout would look like this:
Set 1 – 60 x 5
Set 2 – 80 x 5
Sets 3 – 5 – 100 x 5
Choosing the weights…
First, work out the weight you can use for a set of 10 – 12 repetitions. Start with a weight that is 10 kg below that 10 – 12 repetition set. This should be the working-set weight of your first heavy squat workout.
Heavy squat = 10 – 12 RM – 10 kg
So if you can do 10 reps with 120 kg, subtract 10 kg from it, and the working sets of your first heavy squat workout would be done with 110 kg.
Light and medium days…
These days are calculated as follows:
Light day – use 80% of the working-set weight of the heavy squat day.
Medium day – use 90% of the working-set weight of the heavy squat day.
Taking that 110 kg as an example, the squat workouts would look like this:
Day 1 – Squat: heavy – 110 kg (5 x 5)
Day 4 – Squat: light – 87.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 7 – Squat: medium – 100 kg (5 x 5)
Day 10 – Squat: light – 87.5 kg (5 x 5)
Progression…
Progressing with the weights isn’t hard. Each time you start a heavy squat day again, add 2.5 kg. The program is designed so that your annual gain should come to about 55 kg in total.
If you are relatively new to training, you can happily add 10 kg to every heavy squat day instead, and keep doing so for at least 6 months.
Stuck? What happens if you can’t complete the planned 5 x 5 (in reality 3 x 5) on a heavy day? Simply try again on the next heavy day. If you get stuck two times in a row, lower the heavy-day weight by 10 kg and try to carry on.
An example of progression…
The following example assumes that our starting weight on the first heavy squat day is 110 kg, and that you have to do 5 x 5 with it (in reality 3 x 5). When calculating 80% and 90%, the weights sometimes naturally have to be rounded.
Day 1 – Squat: heavy – 110 kg (5 x 5)
Day 4 – Squat: light – 87.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 7 – Squat: medium – 100 kg (5 x 5)
Day 10 – Squat: light – 87.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 16 – Squat: heavy – 112.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 19 – Squat: light – 90 kg (5 x 5)
Day 22 – Squat: medium – 102.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 25 – Squat: light – 90 kg (5 x 5)
Day 31 – Squat: heavy – 115 kg (5 x 5)
Day 34 – Squat: light – 92.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 37 – Squat: medium – 105 kg (5 x 5)
Day 40 – Squat: light – 92.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 46 – Squat: heavy – 117.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 49 – Squat: light – 95 kg (5 x 5)
Day 52 – Squat: medium – 107.5 kg (5 x 5)
Day 55 – Squat: light – 95 kg (5 x 5)
The split to follow with the 8/30 system…
When following this program, you can use the split described below. You can also train your hamstrings and calves on squat days, but don’t do more than 3 – 4 sets per muscle for them. Remember that your goal is to squat often. With that in mind, wearing out your hamstrings and calves every 3 days would certainly not support progress in your squat weights.
Translator’s note: I think training calves every three days definitely won’t turn out to be a problem!
The first split is recommended mainly when your goal is muscle building:
Day 1 – Squat: heavy
Day 2 – Presses (chest, shoulders and triceps)
Day 4 – Squat: light
Day 5 – Pulls (back, biceps and abs)
Day 7 – Squat: medium
Day 8 – Presses (chest, shoulders and triceps)
Day 10 – Squat: light
Day 11 – Pulls (back, biceps and abs)
Day 16 – Squat: heavy
Day 17 – Presses (chest, shoulders and triceps)
Day 19 – Squat: light
Day 20 – Pulls (back, biceps and abs)
Day 22 – Squat: medium
Day 23 – Presses (chest, shoulders and triceps)
Day 25 – Squat: light
Day 26 – Pulls (back, biceps and abs)
The second split is recommended mainly when your goal is more powerlifting:
Day 1 – Squat: heavy
Day 2 – Press, back, triceps and other accessory work
Day 4 – Squat: light, plus speed deadlift (or Romanian deadlift), abs
Day 5 – Speed press, shoulders and other accessory work
Day 7 – Squat: medium
Day 8 – Press, back, triceps and other accessory work
Day 10 – Squat: light, plus speed deadlift (or Romanian deadlift), abs
Day 11 – Speed press, shoulders and other accessory work
Author: Janar Rückenberg (translation)
Come and train! ArtGym
