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Squat Every Day
Thoughts on Overtraining and Recovery in Strength Training.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 16, 2013
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452 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
May 12, 2022
This is an interesting book that dips it’s toes into philosophy, physiology, and strongman history. I like the author but it feels like he has too many balloons aloft and can’t keep them all together. His message is delivered scattershot but has solid underpinnings. Frankly it boils down to Pavel Tsatsouline’s advice to train as heavy as you can as often as you can while staying as fresh as you can but it’s interesting to read about this author’s journey towards that type of lifting practice. I have long been a fan of squatting every day so there was nothing too earth shattering on that front. I do hope more people gravitate towards this way of thinking and it’s nice to see some experience based training advice out there. If I write a book about my lifting experiences it would probably run over a lot of the same ground as this one.
January 19, 2016
No matter how bad you feel, indicators of physical stress don’t always reflect decreased performance.
“Because of the high motivational level needed to lift maximal weights, athletes using this method can easily become ‘burned out’,” he writes. “Burn out” or staleness in strength training is a consequence of training too heavy, with high emotional and psychological arousal, rather than the amount or volume of training.
...a handle on neural aspects of fatigue, which is really just how you perceive physical exhaustion dependent on how much mental effort you've recently spent, and more importantly, what “overtraining” really is. Training alters the workings of the brain, and training agitates specific immune-system and neurological symptoms, which translate into feelings of tiredness during training. Biology likes safety margins, the kind that engineers build into bridges. You always want to keep a buffer between working conditions and theoretical maximum tolerances lest you risk a catastrophic failure. The safety margin is there for a reason. And yet there’s a conflict of interest with exercise, in which the entire purpose is to push, and hopefully expand, those physical limits. The survival systems in your body are dumb. They can’t distinguish between a deliberate exercise program and physical labour that might kill you. Your body treats conditions as they come without concern for the intent behind them.
Exercise is supposed to be uncomfortable.
We've seen that feeling bad is only weakly coupled to performing badly. How you feel really is a lie. There are limits, of course there are. Following this line of thinking will not be easy and is not for everyone. You suffer. But you adapt.
Quality means deliberate practice, working right at the edge of your limits – but no further – every time. You’re already naturally good at this. All you have to do is pay attention.
Fatigue, not weight, causes injuries.
Tending a garden means guiding along processes which, for their intended purposes, are far smarter than you could ever be. Respect the garden’s nature as an organic, fluid, adaptable system and it will flourish. Your job is to guide the ship, so to speak, to provide direction. That’s how we need to envision the entire process of training for self-improvement, whether that means strength, muscle mass, or improving body composition to look better.
(Antifragile) Your body responds to exaggerations and extremes ― to volatility ― more than it does to nice predictable rhythms.
Your body rarely ever needs complete rest, and it has become clear to me that we need to be thinking less about inactivity and more about varied activity.
As with pulling, you need to get a decent range of motion or else you’re just showing off.
To summarize the two approaches: Squat a lot and limit deadlifts to fast pulls or one hard deadlift day. Or pull a lot, limit squatting, and cycle the daily training intensity and the range of motion (by pulling out of the rack or off blocks).
Losing your motivation for training and falling out of the habit is the hardest thing to recover from, and preventing that is always better than trying to fix it later.
The body is less a machine with a limited fuel supply and more an ecosystem that responds to cultivation.
Over time, not keeping your tendons mobile and loaded after strenuous exercise can actually make them weaker.
Tendons and ligaments need movement, and they need blood flushed through them regularly. They need to be exposed to regular activity.
Put in five years, ten years, twenty, you’ll accrue more potential for muscle, stronger joints, a whole assortment of physiological adaptations that your lesser-trained self simply won’t have. Changes in the way your genes express themselves. Changes wired right into your brain and in the structure of your muscle fibers. These processes all take time, and no motivational slogans, no amount of hard work, no drugs, can replace that investment of consistency.
About all you can do is show up and train. If everything else falls into place, you succeed. If not, you don’t.
“Because of the high motivational level needed to lift maximal weights, athletes using this method can easily become ‘burned out’,” he writes. “Burn out” or staleness in strength training is a consequence of training too heavy, with high emotional and psychological arousal, rather than the amount or volume of training.
...a handle on neural aspects of fatigue, which is really just how you perceive physical exhaustion dependent on how much mental effort you've recently spent, and more importantly, what “overtraining” really is. Training alters the workings of the brain, and training agitates specific immune-system and neurological symptoms, which translate into feelings of tiredness during training. Biology likes safety margins, the kind that engineers build into bridges. You always want to keep a buffer between working conditions and theoretical maximum tolerances lest you risk a catastrophic failure. The safety margin is there for a reason. And yet there’s a conflict of interest with exercise, in which the entire purpose is to push, and hopefully expand, those physical limits. The survival systems in your body are dumb. They can’t distinguish between a deliberate exercise program and physical labour that might kill you. Your body treats conditions as they come without concern for the intent behind them.
Exercise is supposed to be uncomfortable.
We've seen that feeling bad is only weakly coupled to performing badly. How you feel really is a lie. There are limits, of course there are. Following this line of thinking will not be easy and is not for everyone. You suffer. But you adapt.
Quality means deliberate practice, working right at the edge of your limits – but no further – every time. You’re already naturally good at this. All you have to do is pay attention.
Fatigue, not weight, causes injuries.
Tending a garden means guiding along processes which, for their intended purposes, are far smarter than you could ever be. Respect the garden’s nature as an organic, fluid, adaptable system and it will flourish. Your job is to guide the ship, so to speak, to provide direction. That’s how we need to envision the entire process of training for self-improvement, whether that means strength, muscle mass, or improving body composition to look better.
(Antifragile) Your body responds to exaggerations and extremes ― to volatility ― more than it does to nice predictable rhythms.
Your body rarely ever needs complete rest, and it has become clear to me that we need to be thinking less about inactivity and more about varied activity.
As with pulling, you need to get a decent range of motion or else you’re just showing off.
To summarize the two approaches: Squat a lot and limit deadlifts to fast pulls or one hard deadlift day. Or pull a lot, limit squatting, and cycle the daily training intensity and the range of motion (by pulling out of the rack or off blocks).
Losing your motivation for training and falling out of the habit is the hardest thing to recover from, and preventing that is always better than trying to fix it later.
The body is less a machine with a limited fuel supply and more an ecosystem that responds to cultivation.
Over time, not keeping your tendons mobile and loaded after strenuous exercise can actually make them weaker.
Tendons and ligaments need movement, and they need blood flushed through them regularly. They need to be exposed to regular activity.
Put in five years, ten years, twenty, you’ll accrue more potential for muscle, stronger joints, a whole assortment of physiological adaptations that your lesser-trained self simply won’t have. Changes in the way your genes express themselves. Changes wired right into your brain and in the structure of your muscle fibers. These processes all take time, and no motivational slogans, no amount of hard work, no drugs, can replace that investment of consistency.
About all you can do is show up and train. If everything else falls into place, you succeed. If not, you don’t.
May 2, 2013
I was no stranger to the nucleus of Matt Perryman's philosophy on strength training, having been an avid follower of his blog myosynthesis.com for the past couple of years. His work (but not just his) was highly influential in getting me to try for myself the method that gives this book its title.
In this book he expands beautifully on the ideas that underpin this method, but it's really about much more than that. What is really presented here is a shift in perspective from the philosophical and scientific models that dominate the thinking of the fitness world. How and why lifting weights makes us stronger, what it really means when we feel run down from training, if this is a sign that we are overtrained, the connection (though that word is insufficient, really) between the physical and mental aspects of strength training are all explored with care, thoroughness and wit.
In my view, this is all less about providing simple answers to our questions and more about helping us ask higher quality questions and in turn helping us derive greater rewards from our training.
I would imagine that anyone who is seriously interested in the science and practice of strength training will find much stimulating and thought provoking material in this book, regardless of if they have any desire to literally Squat Every Day.
In this book he expands beautifully on the ideas that underpin this method, but it's really about much more than that. What is really presented here is a shift in perspective from the philosophical and scientific models that dominate the thinking of the fitness world. How and why lifting weights makes us stronger, what it really means when we feel run down from training, if this is a sign that we are overtrained, the connection (though that word is insufficient, really) between the physical and mental aspects of strength training are all explored with care, thoroughness and wit.
In my view, this is all less about providing simple answers to our questions and more about helping us ask higher quality questions and in turn helping us derive greater rewards from our training.
I would imagine that anyone who is seriously interested in the science and practice of strength training will find much stimulating and thought provoking material in this book, regardless of if they have any desire to literally Squat Every Day.
April 8, 2015
This should be a must read for anyone involved in strength training. There are a lot of ideas and opinions being turned into fact across the internet these days, things like you can't deadlift more than once a week, or for more than one set at a time for example. This philosophy usually comes from newbies who've discovered Rippetoe's Starting Strength and are finally getting some results for the first time in their lives and are now self-proclaimed forum experts. Rippetoe's program is excellent and effective, but it has to be taken in context.
If you recognize this in yourself, you need to broaden your world view of strength training, and this book will do just that. There is more to strength training than SS and 531.
Lifters across the globe who are ignorant to these rules (thou shalt only deadlift once a week)are making progress and have been making progress for years squatting, benching, and yes even deadlifting with a high weekly frequency...sometimes several times a day! I'm talking Eastern bloc, German, Bulgarian, and Soviet in particular. Someone needs to tell them they've been doing it wrong all these years ha!
I highly recommend this book to broaden your horizons and take the staleness out of your training. If you like the ideas presented in this book, but want a more detailed program or template there are several on the market that loosely follow the principles in this book; Smolov squat cycles, Tactical Barbell's 'Operator' template and Pavel Tsatsouline's Power to the People basic routine. Warning: you'll be deadlifting 5 days a week with Pavel's program - the horror!!
If you recognize this in yourself, you need to broaden your world view of strength training, and this book will do just that. There is more to strength training than SS and 531.
Lifters across the globe who are ignorant to these rules (thou shalt only deadlift once a week)are making progress and have been making progress for years squatting, benching, and yes even deadlifting with a high weekly frequency...sometimes several times a day! I'm talking Eastern bloc, German, Bulgarian, and Soviet in particular. Someone needs to tell them they've been doing it wrong all these years ha!
I highly recommend this book to broaden your horizons and take the staleness out of your training. If you like the ideas presented in this book, but want a more detailed program or template there are several on the market that loosely follow the principles in this book; Smolov squat cycles, Tactical Barbell's 'Operator' template and Pavel Tsatsouline's Power to the People basic routine. Warning: you'll be deadlifting 5 days a week with Pavel's program - the horror!!
June 14, 2020
Worth Reading
I read this book because I have always preferred working out every day. I like ingraining the habit and once in the groove, look forward to a daily exercise program. But I have aged and now am 66 years old. So, do the old rules still apply? Not exactly. But what this book does is lay the groundwork for you, at any age or level of fitness, to begin to design and then go to modify a daily program that meets your needs. For the average aging ex-athlete, like myself, this is the system that works best. I am not looking to be a body builder but I do enjoy being able to move through life without a lot of stiff joints and pain. So setting goals that are reasonable is crucial. Then, use a patient philosophy to gradually improve your work out programs to meet your needs without causing injury in the process. I think this book is the place to start, and I have designed my program completely around the kettlebell, Indian Clubs and a Weck rope. So you don’t have to be a weight lifter to get something valuable out of this book. It has certainly helped me.
I read this book because I have always preferred working out every day. I like ingraining the habit and once in the groove, look forward to a daily exercise program. But I have aged and now am 66 years old. So, do the old rules still apply? Not exactly. But what this book does is lay the groundwork for you, at any age or level of fitness, to begin to design and then go to modify a daily program that meets your needs. For the average aging ex-athlete, like myself, this is the system that works best. I am not looking to be a body builder but I do enjoy being able to move through life without a lot of stiff joints and pain. So setting goals that are reasonable is crucial. Then, use a patient philosophy to gradually improve your work out programs to meet your needs without causing injury in the process. I think this book is the place to start, and I have designed my program completely around the kettlebell, Indian Clubs and a Weck rope. So you don’t have to be a weight lifter to get something valuable out of this book. It has certainly helped me.
August 11, 2018
One of the most honest books I’ve read in the realm of the fitness universe. Packed with knowledge (beyond training) and down-to-earth advices.
June 3, 2024
I don't think everyone should do this, but, for me, this philosophy/plan helped me put 100 pounds on mu squat in 16 weeks.
December 3, 2014
Amazing book on recovery and mental aspects of training. Certainly one of the best ones I've read on this topic, if not the best. I would highly recommend this book for all intermediate and advanced lifers, even elite lifters would resonate with a lot of the content presented here. If you're interested in what your body is really capable of doing, reaching your maximum potential in the gym (or for that matter in any sport) check out this book. The Author references to a lot of other books, many of which I already read and it's good to see everything coming together, the realization of the mind and body as a very complex whole unit. Highly recommended!!! Think deep, squat deeper. :)
February 2, 2019
Fantastic book. An eye-opener against more traditional training modalities. Very well written and argued for.
April 17, 2018
Perryman's has an interesting take on exercise and science. His basic argument is that the body and biology are not linear so trying to choose a workout program based strictly on science is not only smart to do but could possibly be stunting progress rather than helping you progress. I tend to agree with him. Everyone's body seems to react differently to different programs and stimuli. Working out is similar to dieting, a diet that helps me lose twenty pounds may cause another to gain ten.
Perryman also recommends (if you are an experienced lifter) to try squat (and other workouts) everyday you train. Ask most people at the gym how often you should train legs and you will usually here once a week because you need to recover. Perryman disagrees and says your body will adapt and you will progress if you, say, squat more. Even if it's lighter weight or no weight, training should be thought of as practice. I agree with this from experience. I have been squatting and lifting heavy weights for a few years now. It took some getting used to but no I can squat 85%+ 3-4 a week.
I enjoyed Perryman's take on training and I think more people should try this approach. If nothing else, it's a well-written take on an unconventional training method.
Perryman also recommends (if you are an experienced lifter) to try squat (and other workouts) everyday you train. Ask most people at the gym how often you should train legs and you will usually here once a week because you need to recover. Perryman disagrees and says your body will adapt and you will progress if you, say, squat more. Even if it's lighter weight or no weight, training should be thought of as practice. I agree with this from experience. I have been squatting and lifting heavy weights for a few years now. It took some getting used to but no I can squat 85%+ 3-4 a week.
I enjoyed Perryman's take on training and I think more people should try this approach. If nothing else, it's a well-written take on an unconventional training method.
January 2, 2020
Quite enjoyed this book, which is predominantly about Weight Lifting (Squatting as title suggests).
This is a great book to understand how we build muscle, become stronger and how we recover. It reminded me of another book called the 'Compound Effect' by Darren Hardy which has the same principle that consistent effort over time leads to massive improvements rather than spending a lot of time here and there.
As the title alludes, by training (squatting) every day we can achieve our goals more efficiently. The book goes through what this actually means (i.e. it isn't training at your max every day, as that will lead to some sort of an injury or mishap). It is about showing up everyday, but also listening to your body and adjusting each day.
If you want to me good at anything, be successful, the simplest answer is you practice it every day. Some days you practice it harder, some days you take it easy. The power is in consistency.
Towards the end the book surprisingly got into Philosophies and mindsets for success. Not just weight lifting but life in general. Touching points of mindfulness, flow state and positiveness. I quite enjoyed these sections and the stories in the book. Good book to read for any one lifting weights.
This is a great book to understand how we build muscle, become stronger and how we recover. It reminded me of another book called the 'Compound Effect' by Darren Hardy which has the same principle that consistent effort over time leads to massive improvements rather than spending a lot of time here and there.
As the title alludes, by training (squatting) every day we can achieve our goals more efficiently. The book goes through what this actually means (i.e. it isn't training at your max every day, as that will lead to some sort of an injury or mishap). It is about showing up everyday, but also listening to your body and adjusting each day.
If you want to me good at anything, be successful, the simplest answer is you practice it every day. Some days you practice it harder, some days you take it easy. The power is in consistency.
Towards the end the book surprisingly got into Philosophies and mindsets for success. Not just weight lifting but life in general. Touching points of mindfulness, flow state and positiveness. I quite enjoyed these sections and the stories in the book. Good book to read for any one lifting weights.
January 24, 2018
This is my first book of 2018 reading list. If you are picking this book with idea of improving your current workout or may be getting some tips to improvement in your training this may not be a right literature. It will never tells you which training to do for that I think there are enough literature available.
Reason it deserve 4 star is because this book will be convincing enough for you to make you think if you are working out enough and may be overtraining is just a buzz word for someone with a Deskjob or office job. This book supports its convincing theory with scientific facts from time to time. I highly recommend this book for any serious lifter who are concern with overtraining and injuries.
Reason it deserve 4 star is because this book will be convincing enough for you to make you think if you are working out enough and may be overtraining is just a buzz word for someone with a Deskjob or office job. This book supports its convincing theory with scientific facts from time to time. I highly recommend this book for any serious lifter who are concern with overtraining and injuries.
April 27, 2018
[Full disclosure - if this book was priced more like most books I would have to bring the rating down a star. For anything under 15 bucks it's a crazy good deal.]
Perryman draws from a variety of sources to argue for a low-volume, moderate (ish) intensity, high-frequency training style loosely based on the Bulgarian method of Olympic weightlifting training, challenging many common assumptions about weightlifting and powerlifting.
There are bits of philosophy, psychology, and various other -ologys throughout the book.
Recommended for: anyone who has lifted weights for more than six months, has stalled on their linear progression, or would like to become /fitlit./ Or anyone really, just read the damn thing.
Perryman draws from a variety of sources to argue for a low-volume, moderate (ish) intensity, high-frequency training style loosely based on the Bulgarian method of Olympic weightlifting training, challenging many common assumptions about weightlifting and powerlifting.
There are bits of philosophy, psychology, and various other -ologys throughout the book.
Recommended for: anyone who has lifted weights for more than six months, has stalled on their linear progression, or would like to become /fitlit./ Or anyone really, just read the damn thing.
November 13, 2020
I bought this book for a bit more information on squatting everyday, what I got was a completely new perspective on training, recovery, mindset and so much more.
This book is not just another program and not just for those of us who want to squat everyday. It is a different way to look at what you do in and outside of the gym. Also if you want to improve your SQUAT try this https://fitnessvolt.com/bulgarian-squ...... You can also take the perspective gained from reading this book into other programs you follow.
This book is not just another program and not just for those of us who want to squat everyday. It is a different way to look at what you do in and outside of the gym. Also if you want to improve your SQUAT try this https://fitnessvolt.com/bulgarian-squ...... You can also take the perspective gained from reading this book into other programs you follow.
January 11, 2021
This book was a lot less prescriptive and more zen than I ever expected, but I liked it for sure. Considering the number that COVID, the lockdown, and working from home for the better half of the year has done on my mental well-being, the aspects of mindfulness that this book touches on (especially in the last chapter of the book) hits directly home with the mindfulness and meditation concepts and techniques that I've been learning about through the Calm app (not a sponsor :))
June 19, 2021
Advice repeated elsewhere for free
Honestly nothing special. I was a bit disappointed that this book squarely fell into the tenuous connections from philosophy and pop psychology to inspire you to lift. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know and the way this book is really is super strange, like hard to understand. Honestly if you like this kinda thing just watch Elliot Hulse videos for free on YouTube.
Honestly nothing special. I was a bit disappointed that this book squarely fell into the tenuous connections from philosophy and pop psychology to inspire you to lift. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know and the way this book is really is super strange, like hard to understand. Honestly if you like this kinda thing just watch Elliot Hulse videos for free on YouTube.
December 8, 2023
This was way too much for me. Not complicated just too much effort for the type of person I am. I workout to reduce stress and stay fit. Matt goes deep on thinking about lifting and testing new ways of doing things. Nothing wrong with this, but it’s more thinking effort than I want to spend on lifting as it’s only one part of my routine. I’d recommend this for serious lifters or those who want to be more serious.
July 2, 2021
The breadth of the authors knowledge on a variety of topics is truly impressive. I found the section which discussed personality differences and how they are likely caused by genetic differences in brain structure (I mean isn’t that obvious? Some people think not).
Also cool was his discussion of free will. The part where he questioned the traditional fatigue recovery model was cool too.
Also cool was his discussion of free will. The part where he questioned the traditional fatigue recovery model was cool too.
June 4, 2017
Great read
Thank you for a finely written book. Great wealth of knowledge is passed down. I like that the over all meaning to me is just Squat, put in the work and it will come your way. That everyone's different and remember that. Thank you again.
Thank you for a finely written book. Great wealth of knowledge is passed down. I like that the over all meaning to me is just Squat, put in the work and it will come your way. That everyone's different and remember that. Thank you again.
June 25, 2017
Boken fick mig att omvärdera saker jag tagit för givet inom styrketräning och 20% starkare knäböj på 3 veckor. :D
Rekommenderas extra varmt till de som tränat tungt några år och köpt att man skall vila 72 timmar innan man attackerar en muskelgrupp igen.
Rekommenderas extra varmt till de som tränat tungt några år och köpt att man skall vila 72 timmar innan man attackerar en muskelgrupp igen.
October 19, 2022
I think this is a good book. One of the exercises that people often do wrong is squats and this book can help literally anyone do squats properly. Even though I am yet to finish reading it, I can make out how to squat without hurting my knees.
December 7, 2023
Interesting Theory
Interesting theory but not a lot of useful takeaways form a programming standpoint. Implies that the body adapts to less/no recovery over time. However, no real support for why squatting 5-6 days/week is better than 2-3 days/week.
Interesting theory but not a lot of useful takeaways form a programming standpoint. Implies that the body adapts to less/no recovery over time. However, no real support for why squatting 5-6 days/week is better than 2-3 days/week.
September 2, 2019
Go Squat
Great book about the concepts of recovery and overtraining. If you’re pondering the idea of getting results with high frequency squats, this book is for you.
Great book about the concepts of recovery and overtraining. If you’re pondering the idea of getting results with high frequency squats, this book is for you.
March 4, 2020
Very detailed and full of info.
August 2, 2020
A fun, short read about Ivan Abadzhiev's training system and its applications to the common trainee.
February 13, 2021
It’s too bad that at the time I finished this my city was still in a ridiculous COVID lockdown with gyms closed, so no squatting everyday for me unless we want to consider air squats.
March 20, 2021
Worth reading twice
Interesting and worth reading twice for any trainer or novice lifter. Easy read. Full of amazing information that helps you.
Interesting and worth reading twice for any trainer or novice lifter. Easy read. Full of amazing information that helps you.
August 12, 2021
Good book but has quite a bit of filler.
January 26, 2022
Fun read. I'm not in the market for his actual training idea (training with heavy weights every day), but I found his discussions of recovery and attitude to be interesting and useful.
January 27, 2022
GO SQUAT
Really great review of why we train, and how to approach goals in a way that is more likely to succeed.
Really great review of why we train, and how to approach goals in a way that is more likely to succeed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews