Doug LarsonOn this episode of Barbell Shrugged, we return to Muscle Beach to squat heavy and talk strength with Cory Gregory. That’s right, it’s time for Part II with the coal-miner turned powerlifter, bodybuilder, magazine cover model, gym owner and business man.
Last week, fitness legend Bill Phillips shared exactly what it takes to transform your body and life forever. Now, all you need to make your goals real is a spark/kick in the ass, and Cory is perfect guy to give it to you. It’s time to wake your ass up and lift, baby.
I hope you enjoy the show. Watch, take note, and share this episode with a friend in need of a little spark. 🙂
Cheers,
Chris
Man – I feel like one of the bros when I listen to you guys. Thank you for creating that atmosphere in your podcasts/videos.
When it comes to the variability of crossfit, i.e. weightlifting, gymnastics, aerobic capacity, strength, etc. Is there a give and take? You guys touched on squat everyday being low volume so it may not even matter…
Lets say the microcycles are focus on strength/weightlifting one week, gymnastics the next, strength/conditioning (heavy metcons), and deload week 4; wod daily. Would you apply squat everyday to macrocycle and adjust per demand of microcycles? Or sack up, apply the rule, eat/rest effectively and see what happens…
Such an interesting conversation.
Thanks in advance
-B
I have been doing the program for a month to help jump start my leg strength and I have gone from back squatting 225 3 times to now back squatting 275 3 times. The program is great. I am also handling for 3 reps 225 front squats. I am excited for another month of squatting.
Dude, that’s awesome! Keep it up.
Thanks Brady. I really appreciate that.
Sounds to me that your focus is shifting quit a bit. I think that would only work with highly skilled, advanced athletes in need of super high variety and high volume.
A better idea would be to set the long-term priority. If strength is what’s needed most, focus on it for at least a few months. Yeah, you can squat often as your base. But around that I would lay out a more focused plan. For a balanced approach, I would add weightlifting movements, some key gymnastics exercises (handstand, dips, pull-ups, muscle-ups, whatever), then assistance exercises last. That can be your WOD. Stuff like lunges, light presses, back raises, med ball work, whatever you want.
Just some ideas.
I’m curious when you felt you worst, what was the heaviest you would still work up to?
Brandon, that depends on how bad you feel. Stiff and just not into it? …I’d probably go to 90% or so, then I’d come back down to work a few rep sets, or possibly a few sets of speed work around 70-80%. Follow Jon Broz’s advice. If you can get into the gym and just do some barbell work, even a little, then it’s a PLUS for your strength. There will be plenty of days where you feel just fine, and can push the load. Don’t worry about that.
Chris
Per the episode ‘500 squats…” , is the point to either squat or deadlift everyday or to do both?
Thanks
Squats can be performed way more often than deadlifts. For the DL, try 1-2 times a week, and only make it a true maximal effort maybe once a month. The rest, pull with max effort and great form, but at submax loads. Also play with variety. For the squat, you can go daily, but I’d still add in that work slowly.
Best,
Would you recommend this program for beginners, i.e. people with less than a year of lifting?
Squatting often is great for everyone. The only thing is that you have to start where you’re at. If you’re relatively new to squats, keep the focus on technique and quality of motion for a while. Don’t worry too much about the weight, it can be light to start.
If I were you I would go for a balance. Maybe pic 3 days where you’ll work the back squat and front squat hard. On the other days, you can go lighter, for speed and form. You can also do overhead squats and pause squats. Great for mobility and speed, but don’t beat you up much.
Hope that helps.
Chris
Hey Chris.
Cool stuff. In regards to you mentioning that we should ‘fail often’. What are your thoughts on other programs where you rarely fail at all. Such examples include Dan John’s Easy Strength program where you rarely ever miss a lift (if I understood the program correctly).
Love your work.
I don’t remember exactly the context, or what I said. But, I generally think it’s a bad idea to fail often. I think our point on the show was that you don’t have to hit true maxes and risk failure day to day, especially not at a true 1 RM. That should be reserved for testing days, which are few and far between.
As per Dan John, he’s the man. I’ve actually been in touch with him. If we can get out to his neck of the woods, I’d like to shoot the show with him.
Cheers,
My son has been swimming for at least 10 years now. But he wants to get strong. He is 14 now. And he has dominated almost every meet he’s been in. At this point in time, I told him to follow me and squat everyday(plus Olympic Stuff. His attention span is small, but if I can get him to do this minimal movement everyday, I am golden! Any Ideas
Yes. Go with movement quality and proficiency over load. Practice, practice good movement. That’s what will set him up. Apart from that, build work capacity with small movements. Lunges, step-ups, sled pulling and pushing of all kinds. Dumbbell work. Basically, loads of stuff to pile on muscle, increase work ability, and set-up big strength later down the road. Keep it light, fun, but create intent in training. Should work out great. Just NO rush towards certain loads. It will come.
Great show guys! I love the guest and content. Shows like this bring great value to the masses. The team’s chemistry on the podcast is awesome! Keep it up!
-R
Thanks, Renaldo. 🙂
I read an article by Cory about squat everyday about a month before the open. I squatted everyday for only about two weeks because of the open… Mind you I’m 65 and my 1rm back squat was about 135 before I started squatting. After the open I maxed out at 175! That’s from only two weeks squatting and then the open. I’m a firm believer of squatting every day! My deadlift went up as well! It seems everything that was killing me, wall balls, Burpees, thrusters… All improved and became bearable!
[…] Watch/listen to Cory talk about his Squat Every Day training on Episode 170 and Episode 188 […]