Squatober is a month dedicated to improving your squat strength and technique by squatting every day. There’s even a community-based program on social media that you can join to share your progress as you compete with yourself. To get the most out of Squatober, focus on these four key areas, which will improve your results and help prevent over-training during 31 straight days of squatting.
Enhance Your Mobility
Remember to incorporate daily stretching and foam rolling into your warm-up routine before working out. It’s crucial to warm up properly to reduce the risk of injury during training. It’s also important to give your muscles time to rest and relax between workouts to prepare them for the next session. Concentrate on stretching the hips, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, as these muscles significantly impact your hip and ankle mobility. This mobility directly affects the depth and quality of your squats, so neglecting these muscle groups will affect your squat performance.
Optimize Nutrition
During Squatober, it’s not the best time to restrict your calories. The intense workouts require you to fuel up for both performance and recovery. Gains happen during recovery, and nutrition plays a huge part in that. A good starting point is to eat 1g of protein for every pound of body weight, and to pair that with whole-food sources of carbohydrates and fats to enhance recovery after challenging workouts.
Recovery and Rest
Getting plenty of sleep allows the body to heal itself after tough workouts. Going into a period of intense training requires a full tank, and focusing on sleep in the weeks leading up to Squatober will help you start strong. Lack of sleep can hinder your progress and increase the risk of injury.Taking days between tough workouts to get in some light activities like walking or yoga promotes blood flow, reduces muscle stiffness and soreness, and aids overall recovery without adding more stress to your body. Less stress and great sleep will improve your ability to bounce back from the grueling workouts in October.
Strength Practices
I would be neglectful if I didn’t emphasize the importance of building overall strength before focusing solely on squats. Even though the squat program in October is centered around squats, it also includes a significant aspect of full-body strength. Establishing a solid foundation of strength prior to intensive training sets the stage for additional progress.
In the months leading up to the program, gradually increase the intensity and volume of your squat-based workouts. Some days should involve lower volume and heavier weights, while others should have higher volume and relatively lighter weights. This could also involve variations such as front squats, paused squats, and box squats.
Lastly, add accessory exercises that complement a strong squat. This can include lunges, split squats, and deadlift variations to strengthen the surrounding muscles. Upper body training should also be progressive, but without overtaxing you to the point where you can’t have two to three effective leg-training days.
By focusing on these four areas – mobility, nutrition, recovery, and strength – you can optimize your performance and prepare for Squatober. The main goals are to reduce the risk of injury and gain strength, both of which require some pre-work to experience the benefits of this 31-day program.
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