I recently completed the Squatober Programme. This was a month long programme from strength coach Aaron Ausmus at Pen and Paper Strength App on Instagram.
The programme has been running for a few years now but this was the first year I have gave it a go.
The idea is that you would work through the workouts over the course of the month, with the goal of hitting a new Squat PR at the end of the month.
You got the daily workout from the Instagram page and although it was a squat programme, each days session had other exercises, a combination of strength and hypertrophy work.
The volume and intensities of the squat would vary from day to day, keeping you fresh for the heavy days and ensuring you progress and not burn out.
The programme was thoroughly enjoyable and due to the smart programming I felt good squatting 6 days a week, Sunday’s were rest days. I also achieved the objective of hitting a new PR at the end of the month.
Although the object of the programme was to hit a new record lift, there was a few other lessons to take from the month long plan.
1) Stick to the plan
No matter what your training goal is, make sure you follow a decent plan or programme. Sometimes I go through periods of having no structure or plan to follow. During these times I usually don’t make much progress with training. I always make progress when following and sticking to a plan and this month was no different. Being a coach, I always get more out of my training when someone else programmes for me, if left to my own devices I will have a tendency to stick to things I’m comfortable with.
Another problem I see with many people is ‘programme hoping’- this is where you start a programme, see something new and different and start that. You keep switching what you are doing and never make progress.
Pick a programme, stick to it to the letter and finish the job. Stay focused and don’t be distracted by new workout ideas or programmes online.
2) Turn a weakness to a strength
The squat has always been my worst lift. I struggle with it, I can’t lift a great load and I don’t particularly enjoy doing them. They just feel uncomfortable and I get frustrated that I can’t lift more. This usually causes me to skip them at any opportunity.
This was a great opportunity for me to actually tackle the problem.
Avoiding something you know that would benefit you just because you suck at it is taking the easy way out.
Doing this programme and sticking to it not only helped me improve my squat technique and the weight lifted, it also helped me mentally. It gave me confidence in knowing that I can stick to something I don’t enjoy for a whole month.
It allowed me to see that doing something uncomfortable in the moment will benefit me in the future.
This can carryover to every day tasks away from the gym – doing what needs to be done instead of only doing what’s comfortable.
3) Practice makes Progress
As mentioned above I managed to get better with my squats over the course of the month. This was down to one things.
Daily practice……..
If you want to get better at something, in the gym or out of the gym, you have to practice and do the work.
This isn’t rocket science but it is sometimes easy to forget this and also sometimes important to immerse yourself in the process as a reminder that you can get better at anything – but it does take practice.
This has been an extremely productive month of training for me. A learning experience that will benefit myself and clients in the future.
Coach Milligan 