Endurance During Squats

[QuoVadis]

I love doing squats but there's one thing I hate, and that is the fact that I almost always get light-headed and out of breath and have to put the bar back before I drop to the floor. I literally have to sit down right away or I feel like I'm gonna faint.

I'm not a huge cardio freak so maybe my endurance is just shit, but is this normal? I see guys pumping out the heavy reps, faces red, neck veins popping, but they can still stand after the set.

No doubt about it, squats are the KING of exercises.

 

[blood_drinker]

Yeah squats can get mad intense - I usually feel lightheaded and occasionally on the verge of puking. It`s cool , dont worry. have a spotter to help you out force out your 6 reps, and your quads will grow. Dont worry.

 

[Phemomena]

how long have you been doing squats? the body tends to adjust to the motion after training on this exercise for some time.... i found that my first 2 months of squats were insanely tiring... then it gradually got to the point where i could concentrate more on working the muscles at hand and feeling the burn rather than catching my breath on the last couple reps... they still kick me in the ass, but i'm not seeing stars anymore after a squat set (well after most... there will always be that occasionaly one that gets ya bad)

its such a wicked move and can really be a shock to your system when you first start (since as discussed around this board a lot recently, squats are not just a leg exercise, they're a all over mass builder, you use just about every muscle in your body to do a squat)...

make sure you're getting the right food into you a couple hours before your workout, maybe a carb drink just before... this may come down to your system not being properly fueled... also make sure you are breathing thoughtout the exercise... it sounds stupid, but a lot of people forget to breathe when they're concentrating on heavy mass (or abs, never understood that one, but i've been guilt of it myself)... you'lll always hear the big guys forcing the air out outta there lungs when they're coming up from a squat... (hopefully that's the only place the air is coming outta too )

good luck

 

[Daeo]

how long have you been doing squats? the body tends to adjust to the motion after training on this exercise for some time.... i found that my first 2 months of squats were insanely tiring... then it gradually got to the point where i could concentrate more on working the muscles at hand and feeling the burn rather than catching my breath on the last couple reps... they still kick me in the ass, but i'm not seeing stars anymore after a squat set (well after most... there will always be that occasionaly one that gets ya bad)

its such a wicked move and can really be a shock to your system when you first start (since as discussed around this board a lot recently, squats are not just a leg exercise, they're a all over mass builder, you use just about every muscle in your body to do a squat)...

make sure you're getting the right food into you a couple hours before your workout, maybe a carb drink just before... this may come down to your system not being properly fueled... also make sure you are breathing thoughtout the exercise... it sounds stupid, but a lot of people forget to breathe when they're concentrating on heavy mass (or abs, never understood that one, but i've been guilt of it myself)... you'lll always hear the big guys forcing the air out outta there lungs when they're coming up from a squat... (hopefully that's the only place the air is coming outta too )

good luck

I've been doing squats for about 5 years now and still get light headed and out of breath ALOT. Wonder what my problem is

I really wouldn't worry about it myself. It's part of the game. It really won't ever go away. Get used to it...

 

[blood_drinker]

I dont think it ever goes away, you just get to like the insane rush after bustin your balls under hundreds of pounds.