Dr. Squat - Dr. Fred Hatfield

I do not think this plan will be conducive to building strength nor add significant muscle mass. It may work to keep a lean body composition.for strength and hypertrophy you are violating at leasttwo of the seven laws that you can find in the knowledge section of this site. To build strength and mass you must overload the muscle and allow it to recover. If you were to work hard enough to overload each day, you would soon reach a state of overtraining and likely injure yourself.

If you keep the workload to a level you can recover rom on a daily basis, you will not have created enough stimulus to force adaptation. I predict misery and woe, or at least a lack of progress.

I dont mean to be discouraging and i am all for experimentation, but i think you will not like the results of this plan.

I wish you luck, you should keep a log on the site so we can follow along.

I've gained roughly 5 pounds, and I am looking bigger as well. The exercises at the given weights and reps have gotten considerably easier. I'll keep a training log on the site once I get my own training journal on my computer updated. I write everything in notebooks so I have a digital and manual copy.

So far I'm feeling pretty satisfied with this new change. I don't ever have sore muscles, I seem to have more energy when I leave the gym than when I enter, and I'm definitely making progress. I don't plan on counting any chickens before they hatch, but I think it has potential.

I have always wondered growing up in Iowa how the farm boys bust their ass every day and still get bigger and stronger without ever setting foot in a weight room. Never getting sore muscles, never taking days off, or using the latest supplements. Corn doesn't stop growing and they don't stop working. I think I finally get it. Its gradual progressive overload.

I haven't converted my hand written journal into digital form, so I won't be creating a log unless someone feels it is entirely necessary.

During the training for this program, many exercises had to be eliminated or changed because of issues. Every exercise however became progressively easier. I also had to stop training every day, and train every other day, despite only doing one set on each exercise every day. My strength level quickly increased and when I began using heavier weights my muscles could not repair/grow as fast as the destruction took place. I realized this after a month and a half of training every day. I did 50 pounds on dumbell flys for 10 reps, I then decided to take one day off for rest since I had been training every day for over a month. After one day of rest, I was unable to complete 2 reps with 50 pounds. The second rep I did felt like my muscle was being torn from bone. I can only imagine that all of the inflammatory chemicals released from daily training had some how built up during that one day of rest? It took a week of rest for my body to entirely recover. After this, I began training every other day, and in one entire week each exercise is performed a total of 3 sets. Once during each workout.

I had to eliminate the farmer walk because I ran out of chalk for over a month.

Before starting the program, the most I could use on the anterior and lateral dumbell raise was 25 pounds without swinging the weight, and being able to pause for a second at the top of the rep. Before eliminating the exercise from my routine, I was able to do 45 pounds for 10 reps with a one second pause at the top. This was with a 10 degree bend in the elbow joint. Almost entirely straight. With a 45 Degree angle the weight moved becomes very easy. I had to eliminate lateral dumbell raises, and anterior dumbell raises because the poundages I was able to use began damaging my connective tissue. The tissues specifically damaged were the coracoclavicular ligament, and coracoacromial ligament. These ligaments can be found just behind the distal head of the clavicle.

The only exercises that made it over the 3 month time span, were the seated calf raises, flys, and curls. Everything else had to be substituted, changed, or eliminated.

My flys started out at 30 pounds for 10 reps one set per day with slow, controlled, and focused form. I now use 55 pound dumbells for 10 reps with the same form, and my max fly before starting the program use to be 45 pounds for 8 reps/terrible form.

The seated calves started at 165lb's for 15 reps, this was the weight needed to achieve perfect form. Each rep is all of the way up and all of the way down without any weight bouncing. Bouncing the weight at the bottom by using the tendon diminishes the benefit of the exercise. My all time best seated calf raise shortly before the program, was 300 pounds, very limited range of motion, for 7 reps, and my hands were on the handles of the calf machine. After the 3 months, I now do 300Lb's on the seated calf raises for 15 reps with perfect form, and my hands are always behind my back. I am about to move up to 320Lb's. I do one set of calf raises at this weight without any warm up.

My curls have increased as well. I now do 55 pound concentration curls for 9 reps. Most people cheat on their curls and dont even realize it. The humerus must be pointing directly down towards the floor during the entire movement. The shoulder and spine may not sway or move during the exercise at all. The elbow also may not hyper extend at the bottom of the rep as to create a pendulum effect to assist in moving the weight. The arm may not rest against the inner thigh, as it braces the arm and encourages shoulder sway. I originally began by using 30 pounds for 8 reps, however my max curl is unknown, since like most people the form was terrible. Many individuals use shoulder and spine sway during standing and seated curls. It turns an isolation exercise into a complex movement.

IN SUMMARY
I am stronger and larger than ever before.
My form has never been as strict as it is now.
I am one pound under my heaviest weight ever achieved. i.e. 276 pounds.
My rotator cuff, back, and hip have all healed.
For Christmas someone purchased the Captains of Crush hand grippers, 2.5, and 3 for me. Straight out of the package I closed the 2.5, and I can almost close the number 3. I am within a centimeter of closing it.

The experience has changed the way I look at training. I entirely believe that most people are CHRONICALLY over training. If someone said to me 4 months ago that doing 3 sets of every exercise in one week, one set per workout, would make me stronger........I would probably call that person a liar or an idiot.