Numbers For Step Ups

 The number 500 seems to be the "gold standard" for certain exercises, mainly bodyweight like Squats and such so why have such an arbitrary number? Karl Gotch believed 500 Squats was to get into the door even though some guys were doing far more than that at one point like up to 1000 or more. He himself could do that in his sleep, I never truly understood it but it has been the go to number in many wrestling schools like Verne Gagne's camp back in the day when guys like Flair & Steamboat trained under him. 

For someone like Bob Backlund who was doing bodyweight stuff and weight training throughout his career, forgot more about conditioning than most people will ever know but his true calling when it came to Fitness was the Step Ups & Ab Wheel. He would do hundreds of either one with ease almost daily and is still considered to this day one of the most conditioned athletes of any era and he's in his 70's. I like the Ab Wheel and have done hundreds of reps myself but the Step Ups are a godsend of an exercise. In my opinion, it's not how many reps you can do, it's really how long can you go. Backlund could go for an hour or more if he felt like it, for me, 30 minutes to an hour is more than enough lol.

Once I set a goal for myself to do high reps, I just went for time from then on. Sometimes I'll see how many reps I can do in a certain amount of time or just pick a number and go. I don't go for more than 1000 in a workout and the fastest time for me was about 41 minutes. In most workouts whether in a row or over the course of a workout, 500 Step Ups or more seems to be the norm and I get more out of that than doing 500 Squats. In reality, 500 Step Ups is really just a number that just happen to be a certain standard that I made for myself, I never found in my research someone doing 500 reps in a workout as a number someone has to achieve to make anything worthwhile, it was just a choice. 

In my Dopa Workouts (10% OFF using Discount Code POWERANDMIGHT), I would superset the band with bodyweight Step Ups or do an exercise for a few minutes and then do sets of 25-50 per leg of Step Ups. In 3 workouts for example, the numbers came out to 500-800 Reps total. Some days, I just do Step Ups for one workout and do other the things at different times in the day. When I do circuits that are inspired by Darebee, I would substitute the squats with Step Ups and end with 300 or more total reps at the end. When I do Step Ups for time, some days I'll do 10-30 minutes and just go with it. My fastest 500 in a row was around 23 minutes and that was doing a countdown. When I do 1000, I'll use my deck of cards for that workout. 

I don't have any desire to go for hours like Mr. Backlund because for one, ADD and two, I don't want to so damn high that I can't even think straight the rest of the time. I want to do other stuff too and enjoy being in the moment and not stare at the ceiling. Is there really a "Gold Standard", not really because everybody is different and it's important to have a variety to do. If you want to do 100 one day, 300 the next or 500 or more, that's up to you, do what you can for that day and know you got something in. This is probably the only exercise now that I like to do 100's of and feel happy about it, others whether for upper body or lower body is really roughly 100 or more and don't go beyond a couple hundred if that. 

Step Ups can be done with bodyweight, with weights, a weight vest, a backpack; they can be done slow or fast. They strengthen the legs, less impact on the knee joints, great for conditioning for any sport. They are truly underrated and have enormous benefits for your health. Get in some Step Ups today and have fun with them, not ready for high reps yet? That's ok, start with small numbers and work your way up, don't rush it and be mindful. They will test your conditioning that's for sure. Be amazingly awesome.

A Realistic Outlook On Bodyweight Leg Training

Over the years, doing various aspect of Leg Training from Squats to Animal Movements and Sprinting has given my legs some serious strength and overall conditioning. From doing 1000 Hindu Squats in 33 minutes, 10-10 Sec. Sprints, Horse Stances, Overcoming Isometric Squats, tons of Duck Walks, 1000's upon 1000's of Step Ups, it has been a blessing to be able to do these things and still make progress. 

From a realistic stand point, it doesn't come right away and had to make adjustments and modifications along the way but training the legs goes beyond just building muscle and being strong long-term, it's about finding ways to prevent injuries as much as possible, train hard but not get so sore that you can't get out of bed or even be so stiff that walking hurts (at 19 I know what that was like and don't wish it on anyone). It's the ability to train and strengthen the bones, tendons and ligaments. Another plus to consistent leg work is the ability to generate great levels of HGH and natural testosterone. 

Now granted the things I've been able to do are nothing compared to people I know and have witnessed first hand so I'm no superman or world record holder. I do however know how to adapt, what to look for and who to listen to when it comes to training using simple and advanced methods of training. There are people out there who are far more skilled than me so I learn from them and work with what makes it work for my body. Logan Christopher is one of those guys. His knowledge is unbelievable and teaches far better than most people. 

In this case, I'm going to give you a small rundown on how he can help you jack up your leg training to another level utilizing simple bodyweight movements and a couple implements to create some killer workouts. His feats alone are worth the price of this type of training. What does some of this training entail? Let's take a gander....

Gaining A Full Range Of Motion Squat

For us humans, a natural position is to go all the way down and sit in a full squat. In most places in the world, this is a position where games are played, eating some good food and even resting. Here in the states however, it's not so much of these things and we treat the full squat like it's some kind of demon that tears down our knees and we sit in chairs way too much. Ultimate Guide To Bodyweight Squats can teach you how to reverse this. It teaches how to create the best form for you since not everyone learns the same way to go to Ass To Grass. Breathing patterns for performance, squatting mistakes to avoid and also to use a time challenge to hit your comfortable spot and stay there. 

Learning this and from other people, I can hold a deep squat for 10 minutes or more if I felt like and not feel pain or strain whatsoever. It helped build my flexibility and mental state. I've even meditated in this position and time just flew by. 

Squat Variations

With a variety of Squat Exercises to choose from, you can learn how to take your leg training to another level and not just hitting a certain number of reps. I'm talking about building a great level of flexibility in the hips, ankles and knees. Be able to explode on command with variations that makes you jump like a wildcat in the jungle. How to utilize multiple variations so you can get the best out of your training than just sticking to one type of squat for extended periods of time. You're getting more than 20 Variations here.

Building Up Reps For Conditioning

A short but important video on how you can build up to doing 500-1000 Squats in a single set that is effective in how you move forward in your quest for awesome leg conditioning. This is great for those who've hit plateaus and want to up the ante to amplify their training for sports, challenges and daily training. 

Tips On The Pistol Squat

This is for the nutballs who want to take their leg training to another stage of the game and perform awesome Pistol Squats. Learn specific exercises to help with your flexibility. The way you breathe and place your hands to make them easier while also using a Stomp. If you want to make Pistol Squats your bitch, this is for you crazy fuckers. 

Beyond The Pistol

Take your one-legged training up another level that separates you from the crazy to the clinically insane. Shrimp Squats, Dragon Squats, Weighted Pistols and other exercises to really test the limits of your leg training. Learn about assisted squats to help you progress to each phase, how come many big men never pull off the Dragon Squat, stretches that specifically target the exercises and exact hand positions that are crucial to the Shrimp Squat and Double Shrimp Squats (this one's a doozer). 

Get invested in your leg training. With more than 15 years of training with various Squats, Logan has been through the ringer and has tested everything he has learned so he can pass it onto you and show you the do's and don'ts of progressive leg training. When it comes to pricing, this is a steal in comparison to most courses and not some rinky dink Squat Course that charges you 149 bucks for a damn hardcover or 50 bucks for a KINDLE of just typical variations and that's it. With this course going on right now, you can get the videos and e-book for less than $100 and you'll get far more variations, instructions on what to do to progress, safety guidelines to avoid injuries at a much greater rate and train for real world flexibility, strength, conditioning, balance and a hell of a lot more. Don't settle for low quality at a ridiculous price, set your sights on the real deal that makes your investment worth while and get treated to one of the best Physical Culturists of the past 20 years. 

Get those legs going, have fun and keep being amazingly awesome. 

Double Decker Of Insanity

 

Every now and then, there comes a time where you want to challenge yourself and see where you're at or how far you're willing to push. A few times recently, I have dug into a hole of doing leg workouts with the deck of cards of Step Ups & Hindu Squats. It started at finishing the deck of 450 and 225 respectively and then added 50 and 25 to make them an even 500 Step Ups & 250 Hindu Squats. I got pretty good at it and was able to complete this workout almost consistently. 

I ended up with a minor back injury where something went out of alignment about 10 days ago and I was having trouble doing what I normally do. During that time, I did lighter things like Isometrics, Joint Loosening, slow Bear Crawling and some light Flow work. Once I started to feel a bit better, I tested myself in doing just the Step Ups for 30 min doing 12-15 reps per leg straight through. Did this a couple times and just kept up with lighter stuff. I noticed some more improvement so I did some Hammer work and added weight to my Epic Sledgehammer and filmed doing 10 reps with 75 lbs. You can view it here. 

My improvement kept getting better so I did another Hammer workout with the 25 lber and managed a total of 300 reps. I filmed the first set which was 52 reps in 57 seconds, you can view that here. 

Today, I felt like I was at my best and wanted to really take it to another level. With the Step Ups & Hindu Squats, I did the same numbers on the cards as I normally would but I was determined to test my conditioning by doing not one but TWO DECKS IN A ROW!!! That's a total of 1000 Step Ups & 500 Hindu Squats. Some guys will do one or the other or do one exercise straight and another some time after that but I don't think (at least to my knowledge) someone has done both in the same workout using decks of cards where it was going back and forth between the two exercises. I knew that Karl Gotch was doing his "Bible" Workout with Hindu Push-Ups, Squats, Jump Squats & Half-Moon Push-ups with 2 decks in a row and although this is way harder, just doing legs is a completely different animal, not saying it's better it's just different. 

For most people, this looks insane and I got some kind of screw loose, this was one of my most insane workouts already so far this year and it's only February. This was a challenge for myself and to see how my back felt because if I sat too long, it did feel painful so I had to move around more which eased the pain and when I laid down, most of the pain went away temporarily. Didn't take one aspirin, muscle relaxer, Advil, Tylenol or anything like that. I hate meds or just over the counter meds with incredible prejudice, that's probably one of the very few things in my life I can say I truly hate. I wanted to rehab myself like I did with my leg injuries and be smart about it. Didn't push hard and listened to my body. Not many get that and go from one extreme to another without realizing the consequences.

Injuries happen, we can't 100% avoid them, but we can make adjustments and learn to be patient with ourselves to an extent. This did hurt like hell and a couple times felt debilitating but I couldn't give up on what I was doing completely, just needed to make small tweaks for the time being and now I feel like I can take on a fucking tank. The challenge really was to get strong again and this double decker workout was the finish line to that challenge. I'm proud to be able to do this and I might do it again you never know. 

If you want to go after this workout, I would suggest have some water on hand before you do it, like 20-30 minutes before you do it cause this workout will make you sweat like you just went through a damn tsunami and it will test your mental fortitude along with your cardio. Drink water after you shower and drink plenty slowly. The endorphin high is indescribable and that water will taste like the best water you've ever had. Challenge yourself, be smart about your training and keep being amazingly awesome. 

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Results Of Leg Training

I normally don't like showing off my legs when it comes to the results I've attained because of the accident and some areas seem off to me but overall from years of Squats, Step-Ups, Sprints, Animal Walks, Isometrics and other things, I think I've developed some decent legs with some muscularity. Not shredded by any means and I wouldn't call myself Quadzilla or anything like that. These legs have been through a lot and have kept myself in really good condition for the most part.

For a long time, I have always believed in keeping the legs strong, durable and having that workhorse mentality of doing what was possible yet still have gas left in the tank. Stumbled a time or two and have gotten my ass kicked on a few occasions especially on the mat doing BJJ but never thought about not doing some kind of leg training almost daily. Numbers have come and gone, workouts change, forming exercises that don't risk injury and keeping the joints healthy. 

I was never big on the Barbell Squats back in my teens and have done around 400 lbs but that's about it. Squats & Sprints were the big thing for me in those early years of bodyweight training and as time went on, switched to Isometrics and Step-Ups but the Animal Exercises were always my favorite. Not the biggest fan of Plyometrics but I did like the Frog Jumps & The Hindu Jumpers. For a period with the Jumpers, they were part of my 500 Rep Workout with the Hindu Squats and have done as many as 100 Jumpers in a row but never went beyond that. 

From time to time I'll still do Squats and such like doing 100 or so with my 50 lb Sandbell and holding in various positions like Bear Hug & The Shoulder To Shoulder. Step-Ups are my big leg exercise these days as I'll do several hundred to 1000 in certain workouts but also because of my attention span, I have to back off and do other things to keep me interested. Doing hundreds or more of Leg Work isn't my biggest priority but I will do them in spades to maintain conditioning. When it comes to strength, Isometrics are right up there because as long as my tendons and ligaments are strong, it keeps me strong in the long run especially if I'm hiking for a long period of time, hauling furniture up flights of stairs. I haven't even touched a barbell squat since I went to a seminar way back in 2011 when I met Bud Jeffries for the first time and as weird as that was even just doing partials, I just never got right with that kind of squat.

One workout I've now done a couple times recently was doing Step-Ups & Hindu Squats using a Deck Of Cards. I have to where the numbers come out to 450 Step-Ups and 225 Hindu Squats and that's a pretty good workout for the legs. You get both the Unilateral Work and Squat work in the same session which is a hell of a test for lasting strength, quad building, cardio and conditioning. I do my best to only rest by flipping a card and getting into position other than that, I'm off and running at a good pace for myself. One of these days I'll have to time it and see how fast I can do it. It's like paying tribute to Bob Backlund & Karl Gotch in the same workout. I do get bored doing just one exercise for an entire workout and as many times as I've done 500 Squats with those cards, this workout I find more appealing cause I get great leg work from the best of both worlds. If you think Step-Ups are a "lazy man's form of leg training" than you haven't done something like this and do it with solid efficiency and are full of shit in the first place to think like that. It's anything but lazy and as you do the squats, you'll sometimes feel heavier going up the step to do Step-Ups, it can be that brutal on the legs. 

 Most of the time, I like to show the results of my upper body because that's what you see the most from me since I wear baggy shorts and they cover the thighs. I'm just more skeptical of my legs because my scarring from my shin and my legs aren't my best feature. It is what it is but with the way I train, my legs feel great and rarely ever get sore and do my best to work my joints so I don't stiff up. I won't ever have the legs of a Tom Platz (quite frankly who really would?) or a William Gerardi but I'll take what I can get and keep those Tree Trunk California Redwoods going for as long as I can. 

Condition your legs, keep them strong and keep being amazingly awesome. 

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If You Ain't Squatting, You Ain't Training

Who the fuck came up with this rule? Why isn't it training if you don't squat? Granted squats are essential but what kind of squatting are we talking about? Are we talking about High Repetition? Holding certain postures? Lifting a crazy amount of weight? All the above? What do we know what's right or wrong with training the squat?

I think it depends on the goals you have and what variations constitutes a squat type of training or part of a regimen. Squats again are essential but because of the plethora of variations, it doesn't have to be one or the other. When it comes to high repetition, it can be debatable depending on who you ask. Now something like 500 Hindu Squats is a great goal but is it a complete necessity outside of sports conditioning? There are plenty of fighters and wrestlers who can do 500 Squats like it's a cake walk but not all of them last in an actual match (which in a perspective is counterproductive don't you think?). High Rep squats can be healthy if you have experience and are consistent with it and it wouldn't matter if you did 100 or 1000 a day but there comes a time where high rep squats can be harmful to an extent. You're not going to see many 80-90 year olds doing 300 or more squats. 

Unless you have specific goals, you can do high reps in total with multiple variations to really reap the benefits. Do 50 of Hindu Squats, 25 Side Lunges each side, do several Pan Squats (Bodyweight Goblet Squat basically) and others. Step-Ups is great for leg conditioning as well to strengthen the legs unilaterally. Sometimes doing less number of squats can be good because you can do them slower to really tackle the tendons and ligaments. Some people think if you train slow, you'll be slow, that's not necessarily true. When you do Squats or variations at a slower pace say ten seconds or more up and down, it creates that time under tension which for older folks or those who have sustained injuries, can be extremely beneficial.

I would do various squats within a good level of repetitions but I prefer Step-Ups and Isometric Squats and Lunges which really help strengthen the joints from another perspective and give that protective shield for the skeletal structure. Wall Sits, Iso Zercher Squats, Iso Leg Presses, 30 second Hindu Squats and Isometric Lunges (Hybrid Style) can do far more for the legs as we get older than doing hundreds of reps. I've done 500-1000 squats and as great as that was for a period, it doesn't have as much value to me as it use to be. Quite frankly, some of the best squatting exercises aren't stationary but moving within an amount of space such as Duck Walks, Bigfoot Walk, Frog Jumps or combining the squat into a sequence of animal moves. 

Lifting extremely heavyweight may work for a powerlifter or strongman but again, you can't go that hard forever and expect to not have some form of injury or needing some kind of surgery. An extreme few exceptions in the entire world can manage some incredible numbers in the heavy squats and still function later in life. Hip replacements, broken bones, shattered femurs, ankle breaks and low back pain are going to be the majority's life if they continue that path. 

When it comes down to it, we squat a lot as it is in our lives; picking up stuff, putting on our shoes, getting baskets of laundry, being at the level of a child, gardening and other things. It's a natural form of movement no question but to say if you ain't squatting, you ain't training is like saying if you're not going fast on the streets like in Nascar, you're not really driving. There's a time and a place for squats but the question is, what squats are a priority and what style are you talking about? 

You don't have to do traditional squats to get awesome benefits for the lower body, in reality, the unconventional ways are far more interesting than to just shove rep after rep down someone's throat. Build strong and durable legs, be resourceful and keep being amazingly awesome.

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Holy Shit It's Bigfoot

 If you get the reference, kudos to you. Can you last 3 minutes in the Bigfoot Exercise Challenge? 

It may not look like much but it is for sure a great exercise for the legs. It is a little out there especially with the name but the effects of it are more than what people think. When you first see it, where the hell is the resistance, what does the range of motion initially? Give it a go and see what happens.

Pretty quickly you'll feel it in your thighs and your ass. If you can do it for a good length of time, you'll feel quite the sensation (even within 30 seconds). It is no joke especially if you want to condition the legs along with strength & durability. Here's the reality, many people even at a higher level of training don't always know what works and what should be thrown in the trash (CrossFit anyone?). A lot live in this dogmatic world that consistently believes that more weight comes to more results, the greater range of motion means more results and that compound movements such as the Squat & Deadlift are the kings of developing the lower body. Don't get me wrong, those lifts are essential to many things such as powerlifting, strongman training and certain aspects of sports specific training but they're not Mount Olympus caliber either. 

Here's a shocker for you: Many movements end up being in a partial range of motion. Not only that, but also because of the dynamics and mechanics of a lot of movements, there are a ton of Semi-Unilateral & Semi-Bilateral moves that are similar to the Bigfoot Walk. Think about it for a second like a martial artist or a wrestler, if their stance is too wide, his power and speed won't be as effective plus they can be caught easier in specific positions. With a firm and balanced stance (watch a wrestler like Dan Gable or Jordan Burroughs), it's a little more closed in, it's not spread out and out of unison. Similar to a Hockey Player, he needs that balance on those skates, if his range of motion is out of sync with controlling the puck, he's going to tear a groin, skates will go berserk and he can't be at his best or even at the most basic level of play. 

This particular movement is a lot more useful to do for real life and sports. It's weird to look at but it's not any weirder than crouching and walking through bushes or practicing various stances in wrestling or other combat sports. You're only squatting down a bit but instead of coming back up, you stay in that position and move around or hold for a period of time, simple but not as easy as it looks. People with knee issues (small levels) could benefit from this exercise. It creates constant tension and you're shifting from one leg to another. 

This is just another look at the wide range of exercises you can learn from such as the ones from Movement 20XX that incorporate full body application and progressions that hit many muscle groups and can get you in killer condition and long-term strength whether you're an athlete, a complete beginner, older trainee or just those who want to be in shape for the long haul. Some of these may be too advanced for some but overall, these exercise will take you to places in your fitness journey you may haven't experienced before. 

Be adventurous, take up the challenge if you can. If you can't last the full 3 minutes that's ok, build up to it little by little. Keep striving to be better and keep being amazingly awesome.  

Are Step Ups The Lazy Man's Equivalent Of Leg Training?

I saw this recently and it kind of made me laugh and just thought "wow, what kind of bullshit is this?" Now granted, Step Ups don't get as much attention as Squats and other forms of Leg work such as Sprints, Lunges and others but in reality, they're one of the key ingredients to building some crazy conditioning. Just ask Bob Backlund, think he's lazy?

Step Ups have been used for a very long time and they're a simulation of what people do everyday such as climbing stairs or going on rugged terrain, going up a ladder, hell if you're really ambitious you may find a tree to climb the branches. One of the things it was used for from a Fitness standpoint was to test students at Harvard to determine how their heart rate was after a 3 min set. Hence the name, the Harvard Step Test. Ever see those delivery boys going up and down those stairs in apartment buildings in New York or Chicago? You'd have to have some good legs in order to keep that job and some of those guys can haul ass. Doesn't sound lazy to me?

Bob Backlund, in my eyes was the man when it came to Step Ups. He started doing them sometime either during or after his reign as world champion before Vince Jr. took over the WWWF and made it the phenom today. After years of running jarred his knees and needed something to keep his legs strong yet durable and conditioned, he found out about the Harvard Step Test and since then, he's probably done more reps in more sessions than some of the greatest athletes before or since. He was still capable of doing high level reps in squats, push-ups, burpees and other exercises but he still believed the Step Ups made him the most conditioned he ever felt.

It really is a phenomenal exercise and many athletes and everyday people use it to help with building strength and stamina in the legs. Some have used it to train for long hikes or expeditions, others such as pro baseball players use it to help with their speed and strength throughout games. It's one of my personal favorites and have found them to be better than squats in many ways, not to say squats aren't good, they're awesome but Step Ups just have a better feeling and they're just different.

I've done hundreds of reps with both Squats and Step Ups and in comparison, Step Ups don't ever make me feel sore. On about 2-3 occasions I've done 1000 Step Ups and the fastest time was 50 minutes using a deck of cards and have done 1000 Squats twice ever and that fastest time was 33 minutes. These days if I did squats, it be around 100-300 and it's been a while since I did 500 in a row but during my circuit workouts, I would do them in sets of 10-20 depending on the circuit and the amount of squats in that circuit. For the Step Ups, around the same amount of reps either in a row or in a circuit. My favorite workout is to do a Superset of Step Ups & Shoulder Carrying my 50 lb Sandbell. Set a timer for let's say 20 min and just go back and forth with those exercises and I'd do around 10-15 reps per leg and carry the sandbell twice (once on each shoulder) for ten yards each without a rest. For circuits, I don't rest on those either. I have tested myself in doing 500 Step Ups and my time was just under 22 min (21:52 to be exact) and feel really proud of that.

Doing this exercise may not be the most spectacular looking, but it does work wonders beyond what some shmuck thinks it does or doesn't do. Take a step stool of about 12-15 inches in height and have at it. Some stools hold up to 300 lbs or more and others lower but for most people, as long as it's sturdy you're good to go and there are some that are foldable so you can store it easier. It gets you into pretty damn good condition if you're consistent with it. Be sure to understand your leg to step ratio because if you have a step up that's too short, it won't do a whole lot for you but also don't use a step that is too high for your legs or you'll overextend the hip joint and put more stress on your knees than you need to. I work with a 14 in stool from time to time and was my primary step stool until I started noticing some weird things in my hips and hamstrings so I switched to a 12 1/2 inch step stool and that felt just perfect for my leg to step ratio and can get in workouts that are challenging but it's not going to hurt my joints in the long run. 

You work with what's best for you and make it your strength. It's all about progressing and finding the right niche in your arsenal to where you're kicking ass but also being safe on your joints as well. I don't even really count reps much these days in this exercise mainly because I've set my goals to do as many as I wanted to test myself with and just make it more of a "moving meditation" type exercise where I set a timer and just do the amount of reps I want per leg and keep going until the timer runs out. Some like to count and time, others may have a goal in mind and go as much as they can, it's up to you and have fun with it. 

So is the Step Up the lazy man's exercise of training the legs? Hell no and whoever says it is, is either trying to sell you the illusion of something else pr bullshitting his way into some form of training that is superior. That's not the true way to train. What is superior is what gives you the best chance at being fit and continue doing it for a long time with very little chance at getting injured and creating challenges that are interesting to you. If Squats are more your thing, that's awesome and I hope you succeed at them, if they worked for the Great Gama and Jaromir Jagr, I have no doubt they can work for you, if you prefer Step Ups, have at it and make it the best damn exercise you can do because it keeps you wanting to come back to it. Now if you're one of those crazy bastards that has a mind for both, well bro, you've got some serious shit going on and I hope it gives you the most bad ass set of legs ever. 

Be strong, get conditioned, be safe and keep being amazingly awesome. 

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On The Squat

Squats have been a staple of fitness for as long as fitness has been around. It's the foundation for building not just the legs but the entire body. When I was weight training in high school, I didn't understand much about how to perform lifts properly and mimicked some of my classmates or what I saw in magazines. Because I didn't understand, I didn't know how to progress so I just picked weights that I thought I could handle. When it came to squats, all I really knew at the time was box squats with a bar that had the padding like Louie Simmons used like the Safety Squat Bar and the best I did was around 400. Never hit that amount again after that.

Before the accident, I was still learning how to use weights properly as I was never coached and just did what I thought was ok for me to do. When it came to Barbell Squats, it just never suited well with me for some reason and although I got around 300 in that lift, it didn't mean much to me at all. I liked the leg press and deadlift way better than the squats. At 20, I was doing 375 on Dead and around 750-800 on the leg press. After the accident, I stopped doing weighted squats completely and dove into the Hindu Squats almost exclusively for the legs. When I hit 1000+ Hindus in Dec of '05, that to me was a hell of an accomplishment (even though I went back and forth between the squats and jumpers) and that was my first real sign that I built that kind of conditioning without anyone guiding me or going to rehab. 

As the years went on, doing hundreds of squats at a time whether for an extended period of time or on certain days just got stale and I moved on to other forms of leg training. Now I'm referring to doing hundreds in a row but from time to time, I felt way more enthusiastic doing Squats during circuits instead of in a row or doing them with a deck of cards. Doing Hindu Squats or Squat Variations in a circuit gave me better space to perform other exercises and finish off totaling in the hundreds. On circuit days, I would do somewhere between 200-350 total in a workout which worked out very well. With the cards, I would do 500. Here's an idea on how to do the Hindu Squat....

These days, if I get an urge to do squats, I would do them but they're not a priority and have other options to choose from like Step Ups or Lunges. Step Ups are by far my favorite exercise for the legs and could do hundreds without blinking an eye. They just feel better, not that the squats don't but when it comes to interest and enthusiasm, I'll take Step Ups any day of the week. That doesn't mean I completely dismiss the Squat. It's just a preference and do multiple variations to add interest. 

I do believe Squats lay the foundation and should be practiced in order to understand the power and emphasis of leg training. The basic elements take in the ground work for developing overall body strength and conditioning along with maintaining or building testosterone naturally cause let's face it for many guys, testosterone is mandatory regardless of age. Now do you need to do hundreds of squats or lift 500 or more pounds in order to stand out? No, not necessarily and not everyone is gunning for a 500 lb squat even though many had success in it and are incredibly strong, doing hundreds of squats won't make you a great athlete either, just read about Billy Robinson that said "You can do thousands of squats everyday, but it won't make you a better wrestler." They do however, show that you can maintain or keep building strength and health. 

One of my favorites to do for legs is working Isometrics. From the wall sit variations to hybrid Iso Lunges and the Zercher Iso Squat. Isometric Leg Work can be just as tough if not harder than regular squats and you can get a workout in in a fraction of the time. Whether for rehab or prehab, Leg Isometrics built strength that weights or bodyweight can't always hit and develops the strength to withstand injuries. They're a great add on to regular leg training as they strengthen the tendons and give you the endurance to do hundreds of reps without compromising the joints. As we age, doing hundreds of reps or pounds isn't that big of a thing to work on as just maintaining healthy joints and tendons just to be able to go up stairs or hiking or climbing a ladder without hurting ourselves. Be smart about your training and drop the ego. Very few people at the age of 65 or older are doing 500 or more squats in a row and even fewer hit 500 lbs on the rack. They can continue to maintain strength however with Isometric Training.

Do your squats or whatever leg training you want to do and be healthy. Be strong and be amazingly awesome.