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John Kuc Squat Workout
John Kuc is an ex world champion powerlifter that was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania USA in 1947. Standing 6-foot-tall John competed at 322 pounds. During the 1970s and the 1980s John set many powerlifting records, both national and international records and won 3 world championships in the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF).
In 2009 at age 62 John's total at the IPF was 2,551 pounds coming from a 738lb squat, a deadlift of 810lbs and an amazing squat of 1,003 pounds. John also competed in the AAU World Powerlifting Championships which he won in 1974. It was a time when powerlifting was just starting to be recognized as legitimate sport.
It needs to be noted that the workout listed below and the following text is for intermediate and advanced powerlifters only. If you have been powerlifting for less than a year, this article should not be adhered to and the routine should not be copied.
According to John, the squat stands on it's on when it comes to powerlifting for two reasons. The first is because it is the first movement done at any powerlifting meet. The second is that the squat uses heavy weights, the style or form used to lift this heavy weight will directly affect the lower back, the hips and the legs.
There is always controversy surrounding the level or depth of a squat, so your first objective is to drill the squat depth into your brain with practice. Form or technique is everything when doing a squat. It uses all the large muscle groups, but unlike doing deadlifts, the squat can be trained harder and more often.
Many lifters train squats twice a week or take 2 or 3 days off leg training after every squat workout. The two squat workouts in a week that John does are separated into a heavy day and a light day. The heavy days training would be 3 to 5 sets of heavy doubles and singles. The light squat days would be triples, fours and fives.
It needs to be understood that every time you train with squats you are learning about your body. We are all born differently and therefore respond differently to any routine or different types of training, you can learn just a little bit more about your body and your strength from every squat workout you do.
Your weeks training would look like this: Monday doing heavy squats with heavy bench and Thursdays you would do light squats, along with heavy deadlifts. Your week would end with a light bench-press workout to end your 5 days powerlifting training.
On the days you are resting you would do bodybuilding work concentrating on accessory movements targeting other body-parts not related to squats. Your squat routine would look like this:
1) Heavy Day:
Warmup using one set of 15 reps, then 8 reps. 6 reps and then 4 reps. This would be followed by a 2nd warmup doing progressively heavier weights on each set, doing doubles 4 X 2 reps.
2) Light Day:
Warmup using 15 reps, then 8 reps and then 6 reps and ending with 4-3 reps. You would then begin your 2nd warmup working progressively heavier singles 3 X 1. These singles should not be done using your maximum 1RM weight, unless you are specifically testing your own singles strength.
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DISCLAIMER: This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.
