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A great squat story from a friend of mine, Dennis Weis, the "Yukon Hercules." 405 for a set of 20 (which is impressive enough) with NO warmup!Check out his website at www.dennisbweis.com for more:
This program is a Peary Rader special. I would take a poundage with which I could barely get 10 full reps and with a lot of mental tenacity (and 4-5 deep breaths between reps) would finish out with 20 reps. This was done twice a week. I'd add weight whenever possible, say, 5-10 additional pounds once a week, and just keep grinding out 20 reps, but just for a couple of sets per workout.
Eventually these commando-tough workout sessions got me to the point where I was able to do 20 rock-bottom barbell back squats with 405 pounds, without a warm-up of any kind. I wrote about it in a series of articles for Iron Man magazine in the late '70s, entitled "Bits of Advice & Routines." Then a funny thing happened. . . .
One evening during the late 1970s, in the month of June, I heard a knock at my door. I opened it and saw two guys in their early 20s. My first though was, Oh, great, two guys who are working their way through college, probably selling magazines or, worse yet, fur-lined bathtubs. They said, "Are you Dennis B. Weis?" to which I replied, "If you're from a collection agency or the IRS, then No!"
They assured me they were from neither, so I admitted I was in fact the person they were seeking. They went on to say that they were up here on a commercial fishing boat from San Francisco and wanted to stop by and chat, since they were avid readers of Peary Rader's Iron Man magazine. They had read in my "Bits of Advice" series that I could do full barbell back squats with 405 for 20 reps without a warm-up, and they said, quite frankly, "they didn't believe it."
I remembered writing that in the article, but I said that while I was capable of that feat, it didn't necessarily mean that it was an everyday occurrence that could be done at any time during, say, a five-year span. Peaking levels vary, but I told them they were in luck because I was indeed in shape to perform 405 pounds for 20 reps. We left the house and walked down the road a couple of blocks to my 12x16' workout shed. There was just enough light coming in through the windows, even though it was late evening, which meant I didn't have to crank up the propane lamp. I was lucky it was June and not December so I didn't have to scrape off frost from the bar. I directed their attention to my squatting apparatus, a York portable dip bar attachment hooked to a Peter Dodge Dynatron A-Frame. Two wood safety boxes were positioned nearby. I asked the guys to count up the weight on the squat bar (that was resting atop the dip bars), "And don't forget to include the weight of the bar," I exclaimed. They counted 405 pounds. I could tell they were surprised that it was loaded and ready; I told them it had been this way for a few months. I didn't have training partners, so I could leave equipment as is.
I asked them to stand back as I prepared to squat. I took 20-30 seconds and mentally, through visual imagery, saw myself successfully completing 20 deep squats with perfect motion and form. I was getting an inner rush, so I knew I was ready.
I approached the squat rack, grabbed the bar about 6 inches wider than shoulder width, with both hands. I dipped down slightly so that I could center the bar high across my traps. Then I stood up with the weight and methodically but vigorously stepped back from the squat rack, taking no more than two steps with each foot. I spaced my feet about 12 inches apart (where I felt the strongest) and rotated them out laterally from parallel at about a 45-degree angle. I locked my legs, arched my back, tightened my abs and made sure my chin was parallel to the floor. I was now ready to begin the first of 20 reps in the standing pause squats.
I took a huge, deep breath and proceeded to squat down to rock bottom. I know from practical application where my below-parallel rock bottom position is so I can squat in one smooth motion without worrying about having search for the bottom position. My negative or eccentric speed took about 4 seconds per rep going down. I never considered squatting to where the tops of my thighs were only just parallel to the floor. I never experienced any sacroiliac danger or knee joint injury squatting rock bottom, although this might not be the case for many squatters. I suspect my controlled descent was partly responsible for this, as opposed to the crash-dive or collapse style descent.
As I descended, my shins almost always extended over the instep of my feet, but no further. Immediately upon reaching rock bottom I would begin the ascent upward, still holding the deep breath of air. As I moved out of the squatting pocket, I always led with my head and chest to keep my hips from rising too fast. I'm really fighting the mindless weight up, and this of course is only the first of 20 reps. Remember, I'm doing these suckers without a general or specific warm-up of any kind, so I expect the first few to be brutally hard, vein-bulging efforts.
As I near the top of the movement, there is less strain, so I expel the air. It took me about 3 seconds to complete the positive or concentric phase of the rep. I breathe in 3 huge breaths quickly, grit my teeth and grind out another rep. I continue on in this manner for 8 more reps -- three deep and determined breaths and do the rep. Finally, at rep 10, it starts to get easier, because I'm finally getting warmed up. This goes to around rep 14, and I start to fade a bit, so I start taking 6 breaths between each squat. I of course never racked the bar during the pauses, and while it allowed the blood to free up and circulate through the thigh muscles for a rejuvenative effect, the spinal erectors were always under tension and swollen beyond belief at the end of a set.
After the completion of the 20th rep I stepped forward and racked the bar. I never counted from 1-20 when doing the reps but would in my mind divide the whole thing into four 5-rep sets. I'd count 1-5, then the next five I'd count backwards from 5 to 1. That left 10 reps to go. From here I'd say to myself, I've got just 3 triple sets to go and one single. I'd do 3 reps, then say I have only 3 sets of doubles and one single.
I do two doubles and finish off with three singles. This mental exercise in counting worked for me then and still does today. I really varied this mental exercise of counting once when I full-squatted 300 pounds for 75 reps. I did those reps on a bet for a lousy hamburger. Never again!
Regarding the numerous rest pauses between some of the varying reps of the set, some people might say that deliberate rest pauses between reps make the set less impacting than doing a set where there is only one deep breath and no more taken between each rep. This is speculative at best, because the bodybuilder who is used to taking only one breath between each rep may not fare any better by taking 3-6 huge breaths between reps and may even do worse, and vice versa.
The two guys from San Francisco were impressed with my 20-rep feat and heartily congratulated me. They appreciated the fact that I could back up the claims I had made in the Iron Man article.
What you have just read is a personalized glimpse and glance into my world of bodybuilding in the early years. I invite you to continue visiting my website frequently and see how it has come full circle at age 55 and beyond.
I am proud of the fact that I have been training anabolic-drug free for a lifetime! Stay flexed!!!
This program is a Peary Rader special. I would take a poundage with which I could barely get 10 full reps and with a lot of mental tenacity (and 4-5 deep breaths between reps) would finish out with 20 reps. This was done twice a week. I'd add weight whenever possible, say, 5-10 additional pounds once a week, and just keep grinding out 20 reps, but just for a couple of sets per workout.
Eventually these commando-tough workout sessions got me to the point where I was able to do 20 rock-bottom barbell back squats with 405 pounds, without a warm-up of any kind. I wrote about it in a series of articles for Iron Man magazine in the late '70s, entitled "Bits of Advice & Routines." Then a funny thing happened. . . .
One evening during the late 1970s, in the month of June, I heard a knock at my door. I opened it and saw two guys in their early 20s. My first though was, Oh, great, two guys who are working their way through college, probably selling magazines or, worse yet, fur-lined bathtubs. They said, "Are you Dennis B. Weis?" to which I replied, "If you're from a collection agency or the IRS, then No!"
They assured me they were from neither, so I admitted I was in fact the person they were seeking. They went on to say that they were up here on a commercial fishing boat from San Francisco and wanted to stop by and chat, since they were avid readers of Peary Rader's Iron Man magazine. They had read in my "Bits of Advice" series that I could do full barbell back squats with 405 for 20 reps without a warm-up, and they said, quite frankly, "they didn't believe it."
I remembered writing that in the article, but I said that while I was capable of that feat, it didn't necessarily mean that it was an everyday occurrence that could be done at any time during, say, a five-year span. Peaking levels vary, but I told them they were in luck because I was indeed in shape to perform 405 pounds for 20 reps. We left the house and walked down the road a couple of blocks to my 12x16' workout shed. There was just enough light coming in through the windows, even though it was late evening, which meant I didn't have to crank up the propane lamp. I was lucky it was June and not December so I didn't have to scrape off frost from the bar. I directed their attention to my squatting apparatus, a York portable dip bar attachment hooked to a Peter Dodge Dynatron A-Frame. Two wood safety boxes were positioned nearby. I asked the guys to count up the weight on the squat bar (that was resting atop the dip bars), "And don't forget to include the weight of the bar," I exclaimed. They counted 405 pounds. I could tell they were surprised that it was loaded and ready; I told them it had been this way for a few months. I didn't have training partners, so I could leave equipment as is.
I asked them to stand back as I prepared to squat. I took 20-30 seconds and mentally, through visual imagery, saw myself successfully completing 20 deep squats with perfect motion and form. I was getting an inner rush, so I knew I was ready.
I approached the squat rack, grabbed the bar about 6 inches wider than shoulder width, with both hands. I dipped down slightly so that I could center the bar high across my traps. Then I stood up with the weight and methodically but vigorously stepped back from the squat rack, taking no more than two steps with each foot. I spaced my feet about 12 inches apart (where I felt the strongest) and rotated them out laterally from parallel at about a 45-degree angle. I locked my legs, arched my back, tightened my abs and made sure my chin was parallel to the floor. I was now ready to begin the first of 20 reps in the standing pause squats.
I took a huge, deep breath and proceeded to squat down to rock bottom. I know from practical application where my below-parallel rock bottom position is so I can squat in one smooth motion without worrying about having search for the bottom position. My negative or eccentric speed took about 4 seconds per rep going down. I never considered squatting to where the tops of my thighs were only just parallel to the floor. I never experienced any sacroiliac danger or knee joint injury squatting rock bottom, although this might not be the case for many squatters. I suspect my controlled descent was partly responsible for this, as opposed to the crash-dive or collapse style descent.
As I descended, my shins almost always extended over the instep of my feet, but no further. Immediately upon reaching rock bottom I would begin the ascent upward, still holding the deep breath of air. As I moved out of the squatting pocket, I always led with my head and chest to keep my hips from rising too fast. I'm really fighting the mindless weight up, and this of course is only the first of 20 reps. Remember, I'm doing these suckers without a general or specific warm-up of any kind, so I expect the first few to be brutally hard, vein-bulging efforts.
As I near the top of the movement, there is less strain, so I expel the air. It took me about 3 seconds to complete the positive or concentric phase of the rep. I breathe in 3 huge breaths quickly, grit my teeth and grind out another rep. I continue on in this manner for 8 more reps -- three deep and determined breaths and do the rep. Finally, at rep 10, it starts to get easier, because I'm finally getting warmed up. This goes to around rep 14, and I start to fade a bit, so I start taking 6 breaths between each squat. I of course never racked the bar during the pauses, and while it allowed the blood to free up and circulate through the thigh muscles for a rejuvenative effect, the spinal erectors were always under tension and swollen beyond belief at the end of a set.
After the completion of the 20th rep I stepped forward and racked the bar. I never counted from 1-20 when doing the reps but would in my mind divide the whole thing into four 5-rep sets. I'd count 1-5, then the next five I'd count backwards from 5 to 1. That left 10 reps to go. From here I'd say to myself, I've got just 3 triple sets to go and one single. I'd do 3 reps, then say I have only 3 sets of doubles and one single.
I do two doubles and finish off with three singles. This mental exercise in counting worked for me then and still does today. I really varied this mental exercise of counting once when I full-squatted 300 pounds for 75 reps. I did those reps on a bet for a lousy hamburger. Never again!
Regarding the numerous rest pauses between some of the varying reps of the set, some people might say that deliberate rest pauses between reps make the set less impacting than doing a set where there is only one deep breath and no more taken between each rep. This is speculative at best, because the bodybuilder who is used to taking only one breath between each rep may not fare any better by taking 3-6 huge breaths between reps and may even do worse, and vice versa.
The two guys from San Francisco were impressed with my 20-rep feat and heartily congratulated me. They appreciated the fact that I could back up the claims I had made in the Iron Man article.
What you have just read is a personalized glimpse and glance into my world of bodybuilding in the early years. I invite you to continue visiting my website frequently and see how it has come full circle at age 55 and beyond.
I am proud of the fact that I have been training anabolic-drug free for a lifetime! Stay flexed!!!
