Increase Your Strength by Squatting Till You Drop!
Increase Your Strength by Squatting Till You Drop!
The squat is the ultimate exercise for lower limb size and strength. Correctly performed, squats can dramatically increase strength power, enhancing athletic performance, while also stimulating tremendous muscle growth. While many advanced squat techniques routinely manipulate training intensity and volume in a pretty straightforward way to enhance strength, some uncommon training methods exist that have a more unconventional impact on training intensity and volume, resulting in extraordinary strength gains in the squat.
Optimal Training Volume for the Squat
Most weight-training programs focused on developing squat strength typically have a set range of three to five sets. While three to five sets can effectively elicit strength, is it the optimal amount of sets for maximal strength gains? According to a study by Marshall et al., the answer to this question may, in fact, be a resounding no.
In the above study, researchers showed that subjects performing eight sets of squats at 80 percent of their 1RM had the greatest increase in strength, of almost 25 percent. The other two groups in this study doing only one set and four sets showed an increase in strength of only 10 percent and 14 percent, respectively. While this is only one study, the results clearly indicate that performing as many as eight sets at a relatively high intensity produces a significantly greater improvement in strength. So, if you are looking for an effective way to boost squat strength, consider gradually increasing the number of sets performed during your squat workout to eight, for a potent training effect that should boost squat strength significantly.
Boost Squat Strength With Cluster Sets
Another training method that increases training volume involves the use of cluster sets. Cluster set training involves breaking up one complete set into “mini-sets” where you only perform roughly one-third of the total repetitions that you would normally perform for a complete set. After the first mini-set, you rack the weight and wait 10 to 30 seconds— and then perform successive mini-sets, until you surpass the total number of repetitions that you would normally perform without interruption, by at least one repetition.
As an example of cluster set training, let’s say you can squat 405 pounds for five successive repetitions. Well, during a cluster set, you would lift 405 pounds for the first mini-set within the cluster for two repetitions, rack the weight, wait for 10 to 30 seconds and repeat two more times, or for two more mini-sets, within the first cluster. This would give you a total of six repetitions with 405 pounds, meaning you’ve effectively performed one more repetition within the cluster set than you normally do during a regular set, effectively increasing training volume.
The greater training volume while performing cluster sets provides quite a training effect that fosters considerable gains in strength. In one study, 18 highly trained athletes were divided into two training groups, with one group performing a traditional training squat workout, and the other group performing a cluster set training squat workout.5The group performing cluster sets increased strength and power much more than the traditionally trained group, demonstrating the ability of cluster set training to bolster strength.
For most of Michael Rudolph’s career he has been engrossed in the exercise world as either an athlete (he played college football at Hofstra University), personal trainer or as a research scientist (he earned a B.Sc. in Exercise Science at Hofstra University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Stony Brook University). After earning his Ph.D., Michael investigated the molecular biology of exercise as a fellow at Harvard Medical School and Columbia University for over eight years. That research contributed seminally to understanding the function of the incredibly important cellular energy sensor AMPK— leading to numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals including the journal Nature. Michael is currently a scientist working at the New York Structural Biology Center doing contract work for the Department of Defense on a project involving national security.