Are Squats Good For... | Dan John 

High rep squats where the first thing that ever made me feel like I was strong after being very skinny my entire life. Probably the most life altering thing I did early in my lifting career. I was very intimidated by the college age gym bros, felt like I had to earn the right to one of the two squat racks in a HUGE facility. I couldn't do a ton of weight but I could ATG for 20. Gave me just enough confidence to get through a very convoluted beginner phase. For the record the dudes I was intimidated by turned out to be really nice, I still count a couple of them as friends.

Great question! Thanks for the answer Coach! 50rep squat sounds almost impossible to tolerate... I did 20 times 3 and barely survived . 😃 Used "only" double 20kg bells.

high volume squats like 4x8 and EMOM style sets and reps with appropriate/challenging weight gave me massive vertical jump gains a couple of years ago. That was at age 26 I went from not quite being able to dunk to being able to do two handed dunks in street clothes with a backpack on in the span of about 3-4 months. Admittedly, this was after a breakup so my motivation and dedication was through the roof.

Thanks for the question and answer, I got the exact same question after reading the mass made simple

Quad-zilla aka Tom Platz would put 5 minutes on a kitchen timer. He once squatted 315 lbs for 67 reps in 5 minutes. I like hip belt squat for high reps. To me it is easier to maintain my form and less stress on my back.

Another thing I just remember about squats and mass/strength, I remembered this story about the hockey legend Jaromir Jagr. When he was a kid, he said he sucked at hockey, so his dad had him do 1000 bodyweight squats per day. He said he broke it up throughout the day, so 4 sets of 50 in the morning, 4 sets of 50 after school, etc. He said after awhile he started getting better at hockey. He was becoming a stronger skater. Then he was getting a little more better, and a little more better, then he was the best on his team, then at the next level he was the best on that team, and so on, and he never looked back.

Back in the 90s I worked in a health food stores and we had this older guy probably in his 70s talked about how the navy did a study on high rep squats and had the same results. So he would tell me to do my squats in the 20 rep range

I made reference to this in a comment I made on one of your other videos about attempting my first overhead squat with the barbell being the second hardest thing I've ever done, but the absolute hardest thing I've ever done in my life was back in 2006-2007 when I got my hands on the book Super Squats by Randall Strossen that promised 30 lbs of muscle after 6 weeks of high rep squats. If I remember correctly, I think it was 1 set of 20 reps at 80% of your 1 rep max, and once you'd get around the 12-15 rep range, I can't describe it but fighting the rest of the way to 20 was something that actually affected you mentally rather than physically. I was also so hungry all the time and ate so much that at the end of the 6 weeks I actually ballooned up from 145 to 180. I then stopped training period for awhile and after the bloating and everything went away and I felt normal physically, I dropped down to around 160-165, which I'm guessing was the actual muscle mass I gained from 145. So while it wasn't 30 lbs, the 15-20 lb net gain just made me happy. Now, I've been getting back into training for knee rehab reasons after not lifting weights for a number of years, and for awhile I was doing bodyweight squats of 25 reps in the morning when I wake up and 25 reps in the evening shortly before bed on a slantboard to target the quads/teardrops more to help strengthen my knees. After awhile, it's done wonders for my knees, although not 100% yet, but definitely stronger. And it's lit a fire under me to where I want to keep squatting. Now I start off doing a 5-minute goblet hold squat in the bottom position for 5 minutes to get settled in and comfortable (this alone is so underrated, it feels fantastic to me just sitting there. I learned this from Zack Telander), stand up and shake my legs for a bit, then I practice your goblet squat/overhead squat drill, then I do my reps on the slantboard, then I work on my 2-handed kettlebell swing technique for 25-50 reps, then I head off to work. Back feels great, knees feel great, hips feel great.

Squats are hard, period. That’s why they work and why so many avoid doing them. They make you powerful.

Hi Dan, i have asked this question on an older video of yours. you are a wonderful inspiration for those who want to be great in martials arts, and help to help themselves. i used to do Taekwondo. And am a black belt, but i have not trained for a long time. And have just had a hip replacement, and am about to have another hip replacement on my other leg. I want to be able to kick and hip twist, even though im nearly 60 but age is just a number. Could i still return to training? should i get permission from my specialist? what do you advice?. Kind regards to you and family from Carl

If squats work, is there an alternative? Carries, sled drags/pushes, etc? I've always found going from a to b under load better than static strength.

Coach, I’m 65 and have been working out regularly since high school. I love to back squat but I get terrible arthritic pain around my neck now and have stopped. Still Zercher, trap bar and dead with no problem. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Any advice on AVOIDING gaining mass? I want to have a lean slim body without doing a ton of cardio.

I do ATG goblet squats. At 64, I'm not going to load my spine.