This is something of a survival adaptation, the amount of dehydration and fatigue, the weird schedule, and all that comes with working labor right now makes for interesting squat every day. Originally due to bicep tendonitis I started doing front squats, lately my back has been fatigued in a way that back squats don’t seem like a good idea, so more front squats.
Now 20 rep squats are shitty as all hell, but great for you. Mental toughness, building size, and building a type of strength endurance.
I’d also been thinking about the Ken Leistner stuff I’ve read over the years. Dr. Ken is all about high rep death sets of squats, primarily 20 rep sets, but also sets of 15 and 30 for variation.
Front Squats limit you on upper back more than leg strength, legs and back both already fatigued from work, but this is safety. Even when your heart isn’t in it you can force yourself to do 1 set. A set that mentally you know will suck, but isn’t that heavy. You have fatigue in the legs and back, and the upper back in general limiting you.
I’ve front squatted 225×10 and back squatted315x20 recently, as well as 195×50, and 225×37 far in the past.
The last 2 days were front squat 115×20 and 135×15, and on the 135 day i also did a few heavier singles.
Ken Leistner, his son, and his adopted son all did crazy shit in these rep ranges, at this stage in the game fronts are simply more useful to me than back squats.
I remember being psyched at 17 to hit bodyweight for 20 on a squat, and was just as psyched to hit 315 x 2o recently.
Now 315 is nearing my front squat 1rm, I can most likely hit 335, and feel close to 365.
I want to hit bodyweight for 20 here, which would end up somewhere between 225 and 250 (I let my weight fluctuate as it happens), and then get to 315×20 on fronts.
Imagine how strong you’d have to be to hit that set?
Think about not only the leg strength but the upper back and core strength involved.
There will be abs showing when I hit that set. It’s a massive amount of strain on the abs. That is how you’d rock abs at a higher bodyfat percentage, just have VERY strong thick abs, shout out to Alphadestiny, but I feel front squats (not weighted pulley crunches) work best for this purpose.
Do something crazy and get some crazy gains.
-J
Update :~Feb 2018, 185 x 23ish was great, just rest paused till definitely past 20 reps, and then panted like a motherfucker. High rep front squats may be the hardest lift to breathe with.