Prior to the set, I tend to feel anxious and think about the set alot even as far out as the day before. After the set, I feel like I just carved Mount Rushmore with my cock. I have notice an increase in testosterone activity since I started doing them as well.
Right on. I have trouble sleeping the night before breathing squats, its not even funny. Afterwards you feel completely destroyed, but on top of the world when you realise what you just accomplished. Its awesome.
Knowing the onslaught I am about to endure, especially starting at the 15th rep, I take about 3-4 deep breaths during reps 1 to 10 and from there the breaths escalate and around the 16th rep I am taking about 10 seconds to druel and pant and curse at the weights a bit (wife compares it to labor) between reps.
This sounds great, i think you have the intensity and control of the set down-pat. The thing i found strange is that no matter how much you increase the weight on this program, its always around the 15th rep where the "fun" starts. After a few weeks you're squatting a good 30lbs more than at the beginning, but it still gets hard at the same point in the set.
So long as you keep this sort of attention on your breathing and taking your time with the reps, you will complete the set and will be able to add the weight every time.
The main muscular exhaustion is in my lumbar region. I do have to say that I do not feel as much of an attack on my quads as I did with 4x8 of higher intensity. However, my body and mind as a whole did not take the beating that it does with 1x20. Perhaps, this is what makes this style so effective. I should also mention that 235# posed a greater challenge to me then 240# did. But I had a spotter with 240# nagging me from behind.
I found it really hit my quads hard, but like you said most of the stress was in the back really. Are you keeping your core nice and tight throughout the whole set?
I know theres a lot more to concentrate on when you get near the big 20, but i found that helped take some of the stress off my lower back.
Having a spotter who isn't afraid to tear into you like a drill sergeant is a pretty big element when things start getting tough. I always do better with these squats when theres somebody yelling at me.
20 Rep Squats are pretty much all a mental game. Anything that keeps you focused and fired up is going to help. Im pretty sure if there was a gun to your head you could do 30 reps if you had to, its just finding that motivation.
To recap my typical 1x20:
Warm up:135#1x10, 205#-1x6, 235#-1x4, 240#-1x1.
Note that I increase warmups the same amount of weight as I do the working set.
Working set:currently 240#-1x20.
Tempo: First 10 reps-2-3/1/0 changing to 1/1/0 in the second half.
Set duration: Currently about 3 minutes.
Failure mode: If there was a faliure, it would be due to my upper body and my CV system, or just flat out passing the fuck out
The warmups look good, and don't seem like they'll be fatiguing you (this is a big problem with some people, their warmups drain their main set!).
I was thinking about stopping just short of lockout during the breathing phase of the set. I just don't think its fair to my torso to have to hold all that weight stable while my quads get to lock out and take a break.
What you think about the tempo, breathing time, set time, and not locking out?
Honestly, using tempo for the first half of the set before you start tanking out is something i've never thought of, but i like it. The quads rarely fail on this despite the crazy fucking volume, and this seems like a good way to accomplish a longer set length, and bring the quads into play a lot more.
With the not locking out thing, i think the last thing you want is to tire the quads out too much, and while taking the deep breaths i think you need to be as stable as possible, which might be compromised by keeping your knees to soft.
The rest of your setup looks fucking solid though, man. Well done! Set length looks good, the tempo element you've put into it sounds great, and your breathing is doing just enough to let you finish your sets and add more weight.
How are your results looking in terms of mass gains or strength gains in other areas?
great stuff! You might find broader shoulders are a side effect from all the breathing squats - expanding the ribcage will push your chest and shoulders out aswell.
.
