what is the science behind squatting 3 times a week?

[Oblivian]

What changed?

Well I'm old now, but also the weight. Back when I was doing that, I was trying to get my squat into the 400s. Now I'm around 500, so my working weight is in the 400s consistently. I can get by squatting twice a week at most.

 

[Chad R. Thundercock]

I squat 6 times a week. 7 if I'm not too hungover on Sundays.

From my understanding, 3x a week is doable for a novice because the loads/stresses are light and lets them build a bigger work capacity.

I asked about squat vs deadlift a while ago and got plausible but not concrete answers: http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/deadlifts-back-or-leg-day-neither.3107221/page-2#post-110918137

Are you doing the Bulgarian Method?

 

[DoomPatrol]

like in the stronglifts 5x5 routine. i tried it last week, and it surprised me that it was more taxing than i thought it would be.
i liked it, though.


but why squat in particular is 3 times a week, when deadlift is only one set a week?

Because squat is generally considering the best single exercise you can do. The barbell squat hits basically every major muscle group apart from chest. Your neck, entire back, shoulders, stomach, hips, quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves are used in the squat. It's the best way to load your entire body with heavy weight and elicit muscle growth and strength gains for the entire body.

Deadlift is a close second, but squat is just a little bit better for your entire body and the movement is harder to learn. The best way to get better at a lift is to do it often so you squat several times a week.

There's a lot of overlap in the exercises too. They largely target the same muscle groups, and you need recovery time. The program simply works so stick with it!

 

[JauntyAngle]

Because squat is generally considering the best single exercise you can do. The barbell squat hits basically every major muscle group apart from chest. Your neck, entire back, shoulders, stomach, hips, quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves are used in the squat. It's the best way to load your entire body with heavy weight and elicit muscle growth and strength gains for the entire body.

Deadlift is a close second, but squat is just a little bit better for your entire body and the movement is harder to learn. The best way to get better at a lift is to do it often so you squat several times a week.

There's a lot of overlap in the exercises too. They largely target the same muscle groups, and you need recovery time. The program simply works so stick with it!

Agree with the general sentiment, but surely the stimulus for the shoulders isn't that much. And triceps definitely count as a major muscle group. I think the "T-Rex Syndrome" that a lot of people who do SS and SL get tells you a lot about just how much stimulus you get to the arms and chest muscles.

 

[DoomPatrol]

Agree with the general sentiment, but surely the stimulus for the shoulders isn't that much. And triceps definitely count as a major muscle group. I think the "T-Rex Syndrome" that a lot of people who do SS and SL get tells you a lot about just how much stimulus you get to the arms and chest muscles.

I've never had that issue with either program. They're largely beginner programs anyways, so you should quickly be moving to something a little bit larger. And you'll get more shoulder work with standing press and flat bench.

 

[AaronCollins35]

I don't think I could hit squats three times a week. It takes a few days for my legs to fully heal after a good leg day. I think that would be overtraining for me.

 

[selfcritical]

I don't think I could hit squats three times a week. It takes a few days for my legs to fully heal after a good leg day. I think that would be overtraining for me.

It would depend entirely on intensity and volume of those sessions. Right now i'm on a fairly light template (Dan John's 5 day a week one) but it's about 10 reps total of each exercise per day, with only 1 or 2 days a week actually being overloading (I'm doing this because my compliance was shitty, and being in the gym every day for a relatively short period of time helps me stick to stuff)