Squatting is the most fundamental movement you can do to improve in every area of athletics and sport.
That is a very bold statement, but it is the principle upon which every worthwhile strength coach will base his training. There is a lot to be said about squatting as an exercise, but at this time I will only write about one specific approach to squatting – the Hatch Squat Cycle. It was developed specifically for Olympic lifters, and features 2 days each week for 12 weeks, of 4-6 sets of High-bar back squats, followed by 4 or 5 sets of Front squats. It progresses from high volume to high intensity, with a progressive drop in total tonnage each week. This will help most athletes set new records on the Back and Front squats, which should be tested before and after the cycle is run.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that most recreational athletes should base their starting numbers on 90-95% of their best ever lifts (do not use “theoretical maxes” for this, only weights you have actually lifted). Well-seasoned lifters, people being paid to train, and residents of the Olympic training center may be able to violate this rule. However, such should be done only with extreme caution. Perhaps wait for the first couple of weeks to pass to decide if you should add an extra 5 or 10 pounds to your working numbers.
I have prepared an Excel spreadsheet that will keep track of all of your sessions. Once you plug in your max lifts and “working maxes”, it will display all of the workouts for the whole 12 week cycle.
There are a number of different ways you can utilize this squat program. It takes a measure of skill to balance the volume of work with other training, however. And being able to move you towards a specific goal – that is more of a work of art. Coach Rudy Nielsen of The Outlaw Way is currently using this cycle in his programming for Elite Crossfitters. He has helped a number to qualify for the CrossFit Games, and even more for Regionals. This highlights the value placed upon squatting by well-qualified and accomplished strength coaches. You don’t have to be interested in competing in the CrossFit Games to benefit from better and more frequent squatting, however. An increase in this fundamental strength exercise will carry over into nearly all other aspects of fitness. Just get under that bar and squat!
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