Squat Everyday Program: The Ultimate Guide
The Squat Everyday program has been long used by Olympic weightlifters to improve technique and maximise strength – and has more recently been used to accelerate gains by gym goers across the globe.
By Coach Hunter Bennett
This program challenges conventional recommendations around rest and recovery, suggesting that daily squatting can lead to significant strength and muscle gains without overtraining.
In this article, we’ll explore the history of the program, the science behind it, its benefits, how to implement it, and key factors to consider when using this routine.
History of the Squat Everyday Program
The idea of squatting every day isn’t new.
It’s history traces back to early weightlifting in countries like Bulgaria and Russia, where athletes almost always trained with a high frequency. These lifters would squat daily or even multiple times a day to build strength and technique.
Also referred to as the “Bulgarian Method,” the squat everyday method demonstrates the body can adapt to almost anything, helping you break through plateaus and achieve new levels of strength.
Benefits of the Squat Everyday Program
- Greater Strength: Squatting heavy every day allows you to practice the movement more often, leading to better neuromuscular efficiency and improved strength.
- Enhanced Technique: Frequent practice leads to faster skill learning and technique improvements. Squatting every day helps you refine your squat technique while using heavy loads, making you more efficient.
- Mental Toughness: Squatting heavy every day builds resilience. In short, if you can get through this, you can get through almost anything.
- Muscle Growth: While the program is primarily focused on strength, it can also cause muscle growth, especially if you’re eating enough calories and protein to support recovery.
- Improved Mobility: Daily squatting helps maintain and improve mobility, particularly in the hips, knees, and ankles. Getting into a deep squat will become a breeze.
How to do the Squat Everyday Program
The squat everyday program is extremely simple to implement.
Every single day work up to a maximum 1RM squat, then follow this with three backdown sets. The three backdown sets include 3 sets of 2 reps at 90% of that days 1RM, or 3 sets of 3 reps at 85% of the days 1RM. And you simply alternate the days that these are performed.
For example, on day one you might hit a 160kg back squat as your daily 1RM. You would then perform 3 sets of 2 reps at 145kg (90% of that day’s max; rounded up from 144kg).
Then, on day two, you might hit 165kg. You would then perform 3 sets of 3 reps at 140kg (85% of that day’s max).
You would then repeat the process, alternating between the two types of backdown sets every day.
How Long Should I Squat Every Day?
There is no hard and fast rule regarding how long you should perform the squat everyday program. The key is making sure you provide enough time to adapt and see some progress.
In our mind, this means running the program for a minimum of 30 days.
But when you finish is up to.
It is not uncommon to hear of people doing the squat everyday program for 100 days straight or more. However, this may be too long for some.
With this in mind, we would recommend stopping if you are experiencing any of the following:
- Your performance (i.e., 1RM) have consistently dropped for 7 days or more.
- You developed an injury, or have aches and pains that are getting worse daily (rather than getting better).
- You are mentally exhausted from the program and are starting to dread training.
Is there Science to Support the Squat Everyday Program?
Believe it or not, there is some research on the squat everyday program.
A case study conducted on three high level lifters (two powerlifters, one weightlifter) had them perform the squat everyday program for 37 days. The only difference to the above protocol is that they performed five backdown sets from days 1 to 30, instead of three.
And the results were impressive.
The weightlifter took his squat 1RM from 125 to 138kg, one powerlifter took his from 215 to 222.5kg, and the final powerlifter took his from 220 all the way to 241kg.
These are very impressive results when you consider they came from only 37 days of hard training.
Factors to Consider When Doing the Squat Everyday Program
If you want to implement this program effectively, there are some things you need to consider to make it work.
1. Don’t expect to PB every day.
Your performance will fluctuate a lot day to day. Some days you will come in and feel great, and others you will feel terrible. As a result, you might find yourself failing weights that were a warmup only a day or two ago.
The below image is taken straight from the study I spoke about earlier, showing the variations in daily 1RM strength experienced by the three lifters in the study. You can see that while they trended up the whole time, they experienced some big ups and downs throughout the 37-day period.
If you come into the program expecting to PB every day, you will be disappointed.
Instead, come in, take what’s there, and move on. The goal is the PB at the end of the program, not during training.
2. Lower Volume on Other Lifts.
Squatting every day is demanding, so you may need to reduce the volume or frequency of other exercises to prevent overtraining.
I would recommend taking a very minimalistic approach to all other body parts. After each squat workout, pick 1-2 exercises that train muscle groups not involved with the squat, and perform 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps.
Importantly, choose exercises that have a very low “whole-body” fatigue cost. This mostly means choosing machine-based movements over free weight exercises, and opting for those that are more isolation in nature.
For example, the chest press machine, seated rows, lat pull downs, the shoulder press machine, hamstring curls, calf raises, and bicep and tricep exercises.
Leave deadlifts and lunges until after you are done with the program.
3. Prioritize Recovery:
Because of the high demand associated with the squat everyday program, recovery is essential.
This means trying to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night, staying hydrated, eating enough protein to maximise recovery, and eating enough high-quality carbohydrates to fuel your training sessions.
If you have these big rocks of recovery in place, your progress is going to be all that greater.
Squat Everyday Program: Conclusion
The Squat Everyday program is an extremely effective way to boost squat strength in minimal time – as long as you can get through it.
Using the tips outlined in this article you can effectively implement the program and maximise your squat gains.
If you are not sure where to start and want to try a less serious training plan, check out some of our programs or feel free to contact us for more information.