Transcription
If you do anything that involves high rep submaximal leg exertion, like any sort of biking, hiking, running, or even field sports or martial arts, high rep body weight squats can make a noticeable improvement in your fatigue, resistance, and overall conditioning.
And I can say personally that despite being decently strong with the barbell squat at one point, it wasn't until I started hammering high rep bodyweight squats that I really noticed a significant difference in my fatigue resistance when hiking and mountain biking. And I also found it surprisingly good for maintaining decent running performance.
And speaking of running, just like with running, you have flexibility with how you squat. Jogging and sprinting are both forms of running, right? But while both can improve your conditioning, they do so through different mechanisms and they result in pretty different experiences. And the same goes for squatting.
So slower paced squats with a full lockout at the top. Those result in a lower and more sustained heart rate. The pause at the top gives you a little break between each rep and slows down the accumulation of metabolites. And the result is, you know, a style of squat that you can do for a longer period of time, especially when your legs are well conditioned. And this can work really well for that sort of, you know, that that zone 2 aerobic base training where you're sustaining moderate heart rates for extended durations, kind of like a jog. And this is excellent for general endurance and work capacity. and it can help build the fitness to sustain submaximal efforts for longer durations.
Now, on the other hand, constant tension style squats when done with a quick pace, they don't allow you to clear out the metabolites between reps. So, that accumulates and eventually reach reaches a pretty high level. They also allow for a greater density of work. So, they can really elevate your heart rate. So, if you want to focus on your tolerance to acute metabolic stress, these are really effective. And if your legs are conditioned enough, you can actually hit 90 to 100% of your max heart rate in a really hard set. So these are absolutely brutal and they feel much more like running sprints or intervals where the duration is going to be shorter. Your heart rate spikes, the metabolite accumulation is intense, and you're going to be left, you know, gasping for air.
So both of these methods are legit ways to approach squats for conditioning. It all depends on what you want to get out of your squats. Do you want to sustain more moderate heart rates with less metabolite accumulation for a longer duration, kind of like a jog? Or do you want a high heart rate and a ton of metabolic stress for a shorter duration like what you'd get from running sprints or intervals? And maybe you want both. Maybe you want the ability to sustain lower efforts for longer durations as well as the ability to handle higher peak levels of metabolic stress for a shorter period of time. And you can do both for the best of both worlds.
And remember, while barbell squats and bodyweight squats are both squats, they're very different tools for very different purposes. And high rep bodyweight squats take time because they're a tool for developing endurance and conditioning. Those things require longer durations and sustained efforts. You cannot shortcut it by doing a heavy barbell squat. Okay? So, it's just a different tool for a different purpose. All right?
So, I hope that makes sense. If you guys have any questions, let me know. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.