Daily squatting came into vogue three or four years ago with
the revelations of Jon Broz's "Method" and its predecessor Ivan
Abajiev's "Bulgarian System." The
latter's results speak for themselves, as Abadjiev is one of, if the, most
successful weightlifting coach of all-time.
And Broz is no slouch, himself. His
gym, Average Broz Gymnasium, is chalked full of strong ass folks – men, women,
juniors and seniors (And the presence of such a diversified clientele/athlete
base refutes the idea that daily squatting is unsustainable, and applicable
only to select populations, but that is entirely different post altogether). The common denominator in both systems is
indeed an emphasis on daily training and daily squatting, in particular, where
the athlete works up to maximum single each session.
"Squat even on the Sabbath,"
preaches Abadjiev.
A topic related to daily squatting is the "Dark Times,"
or so that is how Broz describes the earliest period of adaptation. And having followed a daily squat program on
two separate occasions I can attest to the potency of this phenomenon. When an athlete finds himself/herself itching
to squat and irritated until they do, chances are they are suffering through
the Dark Times. I suspect hormonal
reactions are the cause of such feelings, and the effect(s) on the athlete's
brain may be comparable to those experienced by drug addicts during their
repeated use. But, kids, it's better to be addicted to squatting than crack.
Setting aside what I suspect is a failed attempt at humor,
mitigating the negativity associated with the Dark Times is important, because
performance in workouts often declines before improving. It's just the necessary evil of adapting to
an increased workload. Lowering
expectations pre-workout is one way – and I think the best way – to mitigate
the Dark Times. Stop thinking about setting personal records every workout, and
focus instead on hitting 90%, or maybe 95%, as often as possible. By looking at workouts as "work"
not "displays of all-time best strength" it relieves the mental
stress associated trying to set personal records repeatedly. As the athlete improves their consistency
with heavier weights, the personal records will likely follow in short
order. I also recommend the following
advice to all: (1) attempt only one-kilogram personal records and (2) stop a
progression after hitting a personal record.
End on a high note even if you think there might be a few more kilograms
in the tank.
Now, if an athlete holds a personal record of 140 in the
front squat, their progression on a "good day" with this specific 3-2-1
repetition scheme might proceed as follows:
70x3, 80x3, 90x3, 100x3, 110x3, 120x3, 123x3, 126x2, 130x2,
134, 138, 141, 100x3, 105x3, 110x3, 115x3, 120x3
Taking smaller jumps during the first wave primes the
central nervous system for the heavier weights while also allowing for mobility
work and an accumulation of volume.
Conversely, their progression on a "bad day" might
proceed as follows (emphasis on the differences outside of the base repetition
scheme):
60x5x2, 70x5x2, 80x5, 90x5, 100x5, 110x5, 116x4, 120x3,
123x2, 126, 129, 132, 70x7, 80x7, 90x7, 100x7
Despite not setting any personal records – and athletes
should keep personal records for singles, doubles, triples, fours, fives,
sevens, tens and twenties (but only in the back squat for twenty) – the athlete
still trained and accumulated much-needed volume. If they feel "totally gnarly"
during warm-up, a few options for alleviating that feeling include: (1) spending
an extra few minutes training with the empty bar, (2) performing two sets at
the lightest weights, as noted above and/or (3) progressing to their heaviest
weights lifted via smaller jumps. The
third approach has consistently proven helpful to me, because it allows for an
accumulation of volume while simultaneously "tricking" my central
nervous system into handling heavier weights.
But even once an athlete finds himself in "the
heightened state", as Abadjiev describes, their workouts will not yield personal
records on a consistent or predicted basis.
There will be peaks, valleys and personal record droughts. The athlete must keep training through such
periods. Eventually the valleys will reach higher than the previous peaks, and
their personal records will increase, as well.
