Squat 10 x 10: a brutal leg day challenge
The squat may look like a simple exercise on paper, but 10 x 10 three times a day quickly turns it into a serious test. This is the story of one such day: 300 repetitions, fixed rests, rising weights and a fairly honest picture of what your legs think afterwards.
Why does the squat work as a challenge like this?
If you’re bored, you’re a gym-goer and you have free time on your hands, a thought sometimes starts ticking away in your head that an ordinary person might never try. For me, one secret idea stuck around for a long time: could I do squats 10 x 10, and not just once in a leg workout, but three times a day, or 3 x (10 x 10)?
No sooner said than done. I took it on Thursday, July 21, in this year of 2011. Because of a lower back and left knee injury, my leg strength wasn’t at its best at that point, so it was clear right away that the weight couldn’t be anything crazy. I planned to start with 90 kg, although it shifted a little over the course of the day.
I spaced the three squat sessions four hours apart. It wasn’t just one long workout but a whole day in which the body had to get going again several times. That’s exactly what makes it interesting. One 10 x 10 is hard but still bearable. When you have to do the same thing again at lunchtime and then in the evening, recovery, eating, your head and your nervous system all come into play.
Squat 10 x 10: what the day actually looked like
I did the first 10 x 10 before noon, at 11:00 with 90 kg. I kept the rests between sets strictly to 1:30. The whole first workout lasted 25 minutes, of which 10 x 10 itself took a real 22 minutes. At first it felt surprisingly good. The weight wasn’t big, but ten sets always signal that this is no joke.
I did the second 10 x 10 from 14:45 to 15:10. This time the rests were a touch longer, 1:40 on average. The weight was 95 kg. Here it was already starting to show that this wasn’t just an ordinary leg day. Movement was still good, but the body understood that the morning’s work hadn’t been forgotten.
The third 10 x 10 took place in the evening, from 18:10 to 18:38. This time, too, the average rest stayed definitely under 2 minutes, at about 1:50. Between a few sets I let it run the full 2 minutes, but no more. The weight the third time was 100 kg, and of course 10 x 10 had to be completed with that as well.
Honestly, the whole thing was amazingly bearable. Yes, before the last block of 10 x 10 sets with 100 kg my legs were slightly stiff and the fatigue was noticeable. The weights weren’t big, of course, but the training volume demands its due. That’s the whole point of an undertaking like this: not one super-heavy set, but a disciplined number of repetitions.
What does the squat do to your body at this volume?
10 x 10 is never quite easy. In terms of repetitions, the training volume is substantial, yet a single workout doesn’t drag on for too long. That makes the challenge psychologically easier to bear. You don’t think of endless grinding ahead. You think: ten sets, fixed rests, deep squats, done.
So what actually happens? The first workout gets the legs working. The second tests how well you can recover. The third already asks for your head. Are you willing to go under the bar again when your legs are heavy and you’ve already done a lot that day?
Personally, I feel that if my back held up and my left knee allowed it, I’d be capable of doing the same with, say, 105 kg, 110 kg or 115 kg. Staying in the same ballpark, you could even think about 500 squats a day. For instance, 10 x 10 with 90 kg every 2.5 hours would be a pretty wild undertaking. If the knee allows it, who knows, maybe I’ll try it.
Food, weather and recovery on the same day
The weather on my 300-squat day was wild: 32 degrees outside. I went through a fresh training shirt for every workout, because 10 x 10 in that kind of weather took it out of me. That’s an important detail. When the air is heavy and the heat is high, willpower alone isn’t enough. Fluids, carbohydrates and rests become far more important.
My calories that day came to 4400 kcal, with as much as 540 g of carbohydrates. I wasn’t stingy there, because otherwise pulling off a day like that would have been very hard. After every squat session I definitely took 5 g of creatine, Hera 80 and carbohydrates. Before the last session I also took Fitness Explorer, which helped enormously to keep me on my feet.
A simple truth: a day like this is no place to start dieting. When the training volume is large, the body needs something to grip onto. Otherwise the challenge quickly turns into suffering, and technique can fall apart.
Practical tips before you try it
If you want to try the same, choose the weight sensibly. Ego doesn’t help when by the third workout your back is stiff or your knee is sending warning signals. It’s better to do proper deep squats with a lighter weight than to start grinding out half repetitions.
There’s no particular point in planning anything else for that day. Do your squats, eat properly, drink enough and see how your body responds. You can try the same logic with the press or some third exercise, but with a leg day the effect is especially noticeable.
You can also vary the plan: for example, a front squat in the morning, a hack squat at lunchtime (with a barbell or on a machine) and a regular squat with the bar on your back in the evening. Each time 10 x 10, of course. This gives your body a slightly different angle, but the total work volume stays the same.
FAQ
Is the 10 x 10 squat suitable for beginners?
For a true beginner, probably not at this volume. Your squat technique should be solid first, and your body should be used to a higher training volume. You can start with one 10 x 10 workout rather than going straight to three in a day.
How heavy should the bar be?
Choose a weight that lets you complete every set with clean technique. If even the first 10 x 10 is at your limit, the day has been planned wrong. The point of this challenge is total volume, not maximum weight.
Can I do other training on the same day?
You can, but it usually doesn’t make sense. 300 squat repetitions are a training load all on their own. If you want to complete the challenge honestly, keep the rest of the day easy.
All in all, I think this is a whole new level of extreme leg training and could be a great challenge for many. Happy squatting!!!
Author: Janar Rückenberg
Source:Turg.Fitness.ee
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