Squat Daily + Olympic Lifts + Bodybuilding (published in INSIDE FITNESS MAGAZINE)
So, you read the title, huh? I know what you’re thinking: “Inside Fitness went with the ‘Add X amount to a big lift’ gimmick for this issue.” Well, believe me, this is no gimmick.
How do I know that? Well, I’ve been squatting every single day for more than 500 days, and it has added more than 100 pounds to my squat. Yes, you read that correctly.
The premise is simple: squat every day, put in ample work under the bar, see massive progress. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If you’re trying to boost a particular lift – the squat in this instance – you’re not going to give it a ho-hum effort and just squat whenever you feel like it. Olympic weightlifting coach John Broz, who played an integral role in helping me learn the particulars of this program, has said, “If you wait for a day to train when you feel good, you’ll lift about twice a year.” But we’re trying to add 100 pounds to your squat, and that means we’re going to be doing a hell of a lot of squatting.
But before I get into the details, it’s important to note just how exactly I got to this point in my lifting career. The end result has been fantastic – I’ve been able to continue to compete at a high level of powerlifting, stay strong as I cut for fitness and cover shoots, and expand my training to include Olympic lifting – but the start of the journey was a precarious one, to say the least.
