3 Things I Learned From John Broz

#1 Squat every day

John Broz was the first person I read about who squatted every day, and he had learned from a Bulgarian gold medalist. John, who is originally from Cleveland, spent a lot of time learning from Bulgarians who had the biggest snatch in recorded history. He started squatting every day in 1996, and people still think he’s crazy, except for maybe me, ha.

I discovered John after I bombed out of a meet, and I decided to look into the extreme squat every day program. I however, had what I call a CoryG twist on the program. I was a huge fan of the conjugate system, and therefore wanted to utilize multiple variations of squats. And not just front and back squats like the Bulgarians.

I always joked with John and would tell him that I’m a fitness model, and could help him get the notoriety he deserved. John definitely deserves credit for this, and taking it to the mainstream has changed both my life and business. I will forever be grateful for John helping me embark on my journey with squatting every day, and allowing me to put my spin on it.

#2 The Body Lies to You

Don’t believe it. “Get warmed up and see what happens,” is what he said to me when I asked him about what happens when you feel like shit. He said, “The body lies to you. I have had some of my best days on days when I woke up and felt crappy.”

From that day forward, I just got under the bar no matter what the case. Another John Brozism if you will, is if you get under the bar, it’s a win no matter what happens. If you don’t that day, it’s a loss. Plain and simple, give what you got daily. It will vary big time, but the methodology rewards consistency. Some weeks it’s the “dark times,” as John calls it, where everything feels heavy. Other times you will feel like a superhero.

All in all, I would say that John proclaims that you will become a stronger human. I would have to agree and say that he is absolutely correct. This is exactly how I feel, and this programming I made up based on his craziness led me to squatting 550 at 198 lbs., 500 at 189 lbs., 540 at 181 lbs., and 500 at 178 lbs. My best front squat also reached 405 pounds at 200 lbs., and I did 315 for 17 reps on back squat.

#3 Are you happy with your number?

John said to me one time, “You know one day you are stuck with that number.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “At some point, it’s over just like that.” When someone asks you what your best back squat, front squat, clean & jerk, snatch, etc. is, you are stuck with that number. The body won’t have the ability to make the weight again, so you are trapped with it.

So, you have to ask yourself, “Are you okay with your number?” I thought long and hard about this, and I came to the realization that I really want to squat 600 at 181 lbs. It would be amazing to be able to say that’s my number. My best squat currently is 540 at 181 lbs., and I am proud of that, but like anything else, I want more. So I ask you: are you happy with your numbers? If not, I heard that squatting every day helps.