Road to 2x Bodyweight Squat - 6½ months progress

[@IvanDjuric300]

Great work man. Ur squat looks excellent! Keep it up. U have a good mindset when it comes to training. Ur mobility is impressive. Well done and keep working. I can see u squatting big numbers.

[@BNack]

Hey I think I know this guy ;)

[@Kyle111]

@@BNack seems familiar

[@IvanDjuric300]

Heheheh

[@kcbm225]

Never seen someone fail so calmly before. No form sacrifice, no lost of control of the bar, just accepting it and putting the weight calmly on the pins and try again. Very inspiring

[@alexrinse]

Really enjoyed it, especially the look at the couple leaving at the end taken aback by your grunt! Nice squats, pleasure to watch....

[@diegoamendoza734]

This is f*cking inspiring brother. I love the mindset shift from weight to mobility and form. That also helped me a lot in my squat journey: Healthy knees, good mobility and strength became higher in less time. Also, going with no belt means that the core had one the greatest improvements there too. Awesome video man!

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thanks a lot for the kind words bro 😁!

[@petersoar2886]

Epic, man! Nothing better than a good deep squat. The annotations showed cool thought processes. You'll go far!

[@undefeatedems9925]

U made me realise I should work more on my form and technique. Great video and keep it up!

[@mynameisseb9613]

This really motivated me to train harder. I just uploaded my first progress vid and I'm gonna keep uploading till I get 140kg as well. Keep pushing

[@ACallBeyond.]

Great work brother! Nothing is manlier than squatting, people that skip leg day always gets me fucked up 😂

[@yannikakapralli]

congratz, brother!!! Hope you are still going for it! Love from Germany!

[@sankman87]

The video is great! Was nice to read what you did, why and for what. Keep up!

[@Kev80ification]

Fantastic work mate. Super impressive 👏

[@nachiketa22]

Amazing video bro, immaculate squat form! I also do ATG squat and I remember just in the last session the gym owner told me that I squat too deep and it's back for lower back, ofcourse I didn't listen to him and performed my 5x5 ATGs, I used to go until parallel few months back, but always had lower back pain due to it, thankfully ATG for me solved this problem, now I've no option but to use my legs to get out of the hole.

[@Jakeeey92]

I was going to comment and say watch your lower back rounding, but by the end you had fixed your technique. Great job bro

[@dpoprey23]

What a great video. Good motivation bc I'm stuck at my squatting weight and didn't take effort to progress seriously

[@nikitasmolin6232]

this guy is watching Clarence Kennedy, I can recognize it by how he unracks that bar :)

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Dude I didn't even notice lmao, and yes ofc I watch Clarence Kennedy ;)

[@Valsankanakkath]

Yes of course

[@CameronfDrums]

deep down everyone wants to be Clarence

[@MatteoFitness]

That’s a very standard unrack…

[@IheartMVodkas]

Hey just wanted to let you know that these are one of the vids I keep watching that motivated me to keep going for a 4 plate squat, and to remember why I started. A year ago I could barely do 140 kg, just recently I hit a 160kg 5 x 3, as well as a 140kg 8 x 5. Thanks again for posting this, just know you left a huge impact on my lifting journey 🙂

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Happy to hear this little video has left such an impact on you :) Going from barely hitting 140kg to repping out 160kg for multiple reps and sets in just a year is crazy good bro, keep it up!

[@dtpossx]

Man, that 130kg squat with the lifting shoes made me hit that sub button. Awesome form and execution!!

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thanks bro, appreciate the kind words :)

[@alepantoja]

I was gonna comment on the pvssy pad, but glad to see you went on without it and put a smile on my face by squatting barefoot, so underrated. Nice progress bro keep it up

[@BL-zi9wb]

We all gotta start somewhere

[@chengxiangzhang9895]

Incredible insistence and scentifical implement. A huge success. I wish I would achieve the twice body weight lift as you while now I only achieve 1.5. Really inspiring and helpful!! Proud of you, dude

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Keep lifting, progressively overload your squats and you'll hit the 2x body weight squat with confidence my friend :)

[@magnacartaholygrail1643]

Nice video bro. Excellent perseverance.

[@balasubramaniperiyandavar2571]

Great inspiration bro

[@mr.andrew_andrew]

Mate, well done.

[@keithsim2914]

Appreciate how he's focusing on mobility instead of just mindlessly chasing heavy weights.

[@ElreyRayo]

Good form, takes years, keep learning

[@mico8187]

5:52 I was so anxious this guy was gonna ruin the shot XD

[@wyrn_slater]

My goal by end of this year. Awesome stuff man!

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thanks bro & good luck in hitting the 2x bw squat, you can do it 💪😁!

[@BardofCornwall]

Nice! I'm working towards a double-bodyweight squat myself.

[@sunoverthehills9083]

rock on dude .. solid!

[@harishtandisexy]

Great progress man . I am trying to improve my squat too. Trying to work on my form ...

[@marquesk.708]

Well done bro💪🏼

[@dkmchui]

Impressive. Your are much bigger and stronger in the end.

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thank you bro 😁

[@herrnoname2.094]

Niiiice! Congrats😁

[@canmetan670]

Amazing dude! Very inspiring. Watched it muted of course but lifting 2x bodyweight would be my dream.

[@BNack]

You can do it just gotta put your head down and grind it. light weight baby!!!

[@joaofaria699]

Shout out to the dude managing his junk @5:37

[@HighOnCaffein3]

I'm 3 years late but congratulations man, is hard to move that bar with all that weight but it feels so good once you are able to do it.

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thanks bro :)

[@pallyali786]

Very good form. This is inspiring. I'm also trying to progress on squats. I'm tall and gangly so I find squats abit difficult. Find it hard to find a good balance.

[@empiricus2211]

same here, no idea if I’ll ever be able to squat with mobility and no back fatigue/pain

[@Beats-By-Anthony]

Respect man! I enjoyed watching to the vid every second! How was your routine look like? I mean how much sets, reps, percentages and so on during the week?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Hey, glad you enjoyed it mate :) I always start off with a warm-up consisting of stretching/flexibility drills & then ~5 warmup sets at 1-4 reps. For the bulk of my training I did 6-7 sets with varying reps and weights. I tried working off percentages but it didn't suit me so I simply went with the heaviest I could each session for specific rep ranges consisting of 8/5/2-3 in that order. I also only squatted once a week for the first 4 months or so and then I switched to 2.

[@frightenedskillet1051]

I wish I could go back and start my lifting journey over again

[@blakebarrette9568]

Great progress and form looks awesome 🤙 wondering what kind of programming you did to build up your squat

[@TheScatman89]

fuck yeah man, get that shit ! train hard all day

[@Rodrigo_Holanda]

congrats, man.

[@Max-ot1hh]

Very well done dude! This is great motivation. Any specific stretching/exercise tips to improve mobility, and reduce butt wink? NVM, saw your response below :)

[@timothymanurung4835]

i dont know what name of the exercise is, but i suggest you to watch olympic weightlifters warm-up session, it helps me quite a lot through my mobility issues

[@leendert16]

Impressive!

[@tehonlygod]

The grip that stole christmas

[@mickeychan2223]

man your ATG pause squat looks beautiful

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thank you for the kind words my dude

[@tigtagtigtag14]

Inspirational, you look like a changed man over the progress of the vid! Can you give advice on the static stretches used to improve mobility?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thank you for the kind words bro! What i focused on back then was stretches for the hip flexors and ankles, as i had poor mobility in both of those areas. Along with that I also foam rolled my entire back, quads, hamstrings & calves. Simply sitting in a deep squat, with little or no butt wink, for 30-60 seconds is also a really good way to both increase your mobility for the squat, but also to warm up for a squat session.

[@darussianping61]

Amazing

[@persxst]

Incredible!!!

[@juan89801]

congrats

[@youdontknowme8226]

Good one bro

[@masonmichael2103]

Low bar will always be better for stability for me honestly. But you gotta keep in mind everyone has their own way of squatting. Just find where you’re comfortable.

[@AcceleratorPrime]

I squat high bar & deadlift sumo because they feel like the most natural versions of their counterparts, as well as having the better carry-over to sports and physical activites outside the gym. You wouldn't move a couch or lift something really heavy off the floor in a conventional DL stance for example. However it is as you say, you should find where you're comfortable, and also lift with intention and choose your lifts for your specific goals. For example, if you're a powerlifter there's almost never any reason to choose the high bar squat as you will always be able to lift more weight if you train the low bar instead.

[@masonmichael2103]

That’s awesome bro. I always will be a huge fan of conventional it’s just where I’m strongest and most comfortable.

[@AhmadJZaigham]

Good!👍

[@Valsankanakkath]

Great 👍

[@SramDHills]

niceee!!

[@rudranilkundu4058]

Great video bro; Gonn use it to milk motivation.

[@erichbachman7363]

5:37 epic adjustment of balls! ;D

[@Simpleburger1968]

Just posted a new personal best in the gym tonight for barbell squat : 90 kg against 80 kg bodyweight. In my 50's . (Came very close to fail on bench press 80 kg ...but got it just ! )

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Great stuff my man, hope i can get some PBs when i'm in my 50s too!

[@Francesco_Di_Pereira]

Nice job. I want to squat twice my bodyweight as well... for reps. But I'm just getting started. I'm doing 60kg 5x10 paused to develop thst tom and explossive start. I was wondering if you used a linear progression planification, because I really don't know how to start. Also, what is worng with wide arms and barefoot squating?

[@NLLeFa]

Nice one. I never really had trouble with the depth, in fact ever since the beginning I was already doing ATG and some gym bros were advising me to squat to parallel which I didn't listen to ofc. I always knew that more range of motion is harder and works better for growth. However, the squat has been the toughest lift for me, I have pretty long femurs even tho I'm average height. It's the proportions, not the overall height that's gave me more trouble. I still can't squat 2x bodyweight, although my legs are enough developed for my taste. Don't really want the bulky look tbh.

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thanks man, as for reaching a 2x bodyweight squat it's more about programming specifically for strength and the eventual peak to hit that new 1RM rather than anything else. I believe even with long boi femurs you'll be able to do it with a good program, don't give up if a 2x bw ATG squat is your goal :)!

[@TLSpurgeon]

Have you tried putting plates under your hills when you squat? It helped me because my femurs are long and I'm also not that tall. I use 5lbs plates. Now I don't feel any lower back pain. I feel the tension in my quads which is where I want it. For strength and development.

[@cheezesmoker8851]

​@@TLSpurgeonyh it is good to put some lil plates under your heel this is true

[@JTempleton]

Nice

[@muscular_ninja]

Hell yeaaaaaaa 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Abdullah_muslim1]

Bro can Ik your plan for when you were on this journey. Like how many times per week also how many sets and reps were you doing. And how many times would you go for PRS

[@ExecutionSommaire]

90kg after one month, okaaaay. Damn. This is my current 1RM after years of practice (on and off but still)

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Newbie gains + high motivation to train hard = fast progress. I'm sure if you really want to bring up your squat and you get on a squat specific program you could turn that 90kg 1rm into a 5rm relatively quickly :)!

[@Vatsuggggg]

Snyggt!

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Tackar 😄

[@alexcool8006]

Goood man

[@JohnyRelax]

I am glad you started doing ass to grass, way better and more impressive :)

[@testie__111]

my back hurt in the first part of the video

[@yilebaba6565]

💪🏻💪🏻

[@BNack]

As a fellow squatter this is also my goal I’m so close you can check my progression on my channel if you want but I’m currently 35lbs away from 2x bodyweight

[@denissergeyevich4872]

Невероятно крутое видео, ты молодец!!!

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Спасибо!

[@mute5634]

personally been a high bar squatter since the start, but did you ever try low bar when training?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

I remember trying it once for a single set at 110kg. Felt very awkward but i remember getting out of the hole was very easy.

[@SanJay-di6kx]

This is great definitely motivated me to increase my squat weights It would be great if you could do a video on your diet as well. Keep grinding man

[@edwinjaner5978]

Based

[@SeanGeary]

hey man love the vid. I have been struggling with butt wink recently, I have long legs, and every video I see recommends me to take a wider stance, and just go to parallel, which i dont want to settle for tbh. I was wondering if and how you got over the butt wink b/c I want to eventually lift numbers ATG. Thx

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Hey bro, nowadays i've completely eliminated my butt wink & my best advice would be DAILY flexibility exercises for everything lower body as well as your back. A specific exercise i'd recommend is sitting in squat, as deep as you can with very little butt wink, and just sit in that position for 30-60s and repeat that throughout the day whenever you get the chance. Holding something with a bit of weight, like a 10kg plate/dumbell or a heavy bag can make sitting in a deep squat while maintaining good form a bit easier. ~10 mins every day and you should have little to no butt wink at all in a few months time, as well as a deeper squat of course! It doesn't hurt to experiment with stance width and foot positioning either, i did plenty of that before finding my best-fitting stance.

[@SeanGeary]

@@AcceleratorPrime thank you for the advice ! you respond faster than my teachers lol

[@SeanGeary]

@@AveryRulerOfElves that defiantly sounds smart. I wasn't just going to keep going to depth. What I noticed is I can go to parallel without butt wink, then I can put a plate under my heels to get a better range of motion. Im just going to let time do its thing.

[@Vatsuggggg]

@@AcceleratorPrime great advice

[@zhuojunjian5976]

👏, keep it up. From a bodybuilding perspective how many inches did your legs grow?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Exactly how much they grew I can't tell ya as i've never measured them, but after i started squatting my quads got big real quick, to the point where most of my jeans either did not fit or had turned into skinny jeans lol.

[@zhuojunjian5976]

@@AcceleratorPrime 😂👍

[@elite_lurker7589]

Whats your form and muscles get efficent at the movement pattern its all downhill for awhile.

[@OlivierKlippe]

Are those nike shorts? Which one is that? Really like it

[@AcceleratorPrime]

They are Nike Running x Cody Hudson flex stride shorts, mine still look as good as they did 2 years ago. If you can find them buy em!

[@st.paulmn9159]

Internal rotator stretching

[@jugo8780]

2 questions for you if you don’t mind. When you were training to do this, did you eat more to put on weight? Did you keep your reps under 5 to concentrate on maximizing strength or did you have cycles where you did higher rep squats? Thanks!

[@AcceleratorPrime]

For the bulk of my training I did 6-7 sets with varying reps and weights. I tried working off percentages but it didn't suit me so I simply went with the heaviest I could each session for specific rep ranges consisting of 8/5/2-3 in that order. I also only squatted once a week for the first 4 months or so and then I switched to 2. I did not eat more to put on weight, but if your goal is to improve your strength eating & gaining more mass will definitely help to that end.

[@jugo8780]

@@AcceleratorPrime oh ok thanks I appreciate the detailed response. Last question, did you notice your athleticism improve? A 2x bw squat is usually what the best athletes have for vertical jump and short distance sprinting. Thanks again!

[@AcceleratorPrime]

@@jugo8780 I can't really tell ya if my athleticism improved as i've always been athletic in general, especially when it comes to explosive feats such as sprinting & jumping. I haven't done anything challenging in that regard for quite some time, but in theory it definitely should improve you in those areas. Essentially all professional track & field athletes hit the gym, both in- and off-season. Seeing training clips and documentaries from athletes high bar squats and lunge variations seem to be very common and I would assume for good reason! Strong legs = potential to become more athletic no doubt about it.

[@khristophsatori8826]

haha good show

[@abdulahmed3251]

What specific things did you do to help increase your mobility?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

For the squat specifically I did supported depth squats by holding onto the safety bars as you can see in the video at 5:30 . Plant your feet to the ground and try to go as far down you can while maintaining a neutral lower back and then sit in that position for a bit before going up and then repeat. You can also add in some swaying to the sides as well as back and forth to increase both ankle and hip mobility. If your back starts bending simply go up a little bit until you can maintain a straight back. Eventually you'll be able to go deeper and deeper. Flexibility/stretching drills are part of my warmup every gym session (6 days a week) with a main focus on the hips, legs, ankles, shoulders & back. ~5 minutes every time eventually adds up to a fair bit!

[@persxst]

Did you also do accessory exercises? If yes which is your favourite?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

I did not do any accessory exercises for the squat, if you *want* to though i'd say bulgarian split squats are the best, they will turn your quads into boulders.

[@parrotboss785]

At what weight do you think its a plus to buy squating shoes? I am not aiming for 1 rep max, i just do like 8-10 reps and 3 sets 1 time per week.

[@AcceleratorPrime]

It depends, squat shoes mainly offer two benefits; stability & the ability to squat deeper due to the elevated heel. They're not a necessity to have but I will say that squatting with proper squat shoes feels better overall. So the weight you're squatting doesn't really matter, get a pair whenever you feel like it :).

[@asonofdorn8442]

Squatting heavy without shoes just feels so scary to me. Also gonna attempt to squat 2x bw for the first time soon.

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Good luck with the 2x bw squat!

[@asonofdorn8442]

@@AcceleratorPrime Thanks man. Failed it tho, almost had it but then it didnt go up. Had to take 5kg off for it to go up. 😮‍💨

[@AcceleratorPrime]

@@asonofdorn8442 5kg off is hella close, stick to a good training schedule and you’ll give yourself that 2x bw squat as a xmas present 😁

[@persxst]

04:18 are lifting shoes worth it? Who should buy them? For me, i would love to squat heavier weights with better form but gym remains just a hobby for me. So I'm wondering if i should invest in pl/squat shoes?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

A high quality pair of lifting shoes is worth it for anyone who goes to the gym and squats, and the shoes will last you a decade+ if you take care of them. If you can still find them i'd recommend the Nike Romaleos 2, i've had mine for 3½ years and they still look like new.

[@paroulis12]

I lost the shoes . LOL LMFAO

[@0xAC]

2x bw squat in 6 months is impressive. Hard work and clearly good genetics. I'm pretty sure that with low-bar you could go to 160 at least, adding a belt maybe even 180. Great job and respect for sharing this. Do you compete, since you clearly have this in your cards?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Thanks bro! I don't compete in any strength sport, i just lift because i enjoy it :).

[@0xAC]

@@AcceleratorPrime I think that such videos are needed a lot. Majority of gym goers has no idea what they are capable of. All the best!

[@tankster90]

But alas, this is still a better love story than Twilight

[@liby254]

do you use squatting shoes? And do you recommend one should buy a pair?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

I do use squat shoes and if you plan to regularly squat i can definitely recommend getting a pair! My romaleos 2s are serving me well, comfy, stable & essentially no wear on them either.

[@Improveathletics]

can't believe the shot was almost ruined lol!

[@demonicxpriest7699]

Nice work I've been weightlifting now for about 9 months to get myself in shape and I've lost about 77lbs so far looking forward to using a barbell when I move in to my own house been concentrating on dumbells at the minute

[@Messup7654]

You got the home gym setup?

[@demonicxpriest7699]

@Messup7654 got a bench and a few differnt sets of dumbbells at the minimum

[@michaelsmith7397]

Does lumbar flexion (butt wink) cause you any problems? Im having issues with depth and it’s tough

[@AcceleratorPrime]

In my experience my buttwink came from simply having poor mobility, which is also evident from my form in my earlier squats. So while it didn't cause any issues per say it was a symptom of poor mobility. Nowadays I have zero buttwink and zero problems going ATG, so going off that I'd recommend working on mobility :)!

[@XLEZZY_REUPLOADS]

how many kg to your squat do you reckon an avg person can gain in their first 3 months of barbell squatting? i can squat 65kg for 12+, which is much lower than my bench lol. although i'm definitely interested in strengthening my squat, i'm more interested in gaining leg mass to avoid chicken legs. do you think 12 reps is too much and can i still gain significant leg mass by doing lower reps like 6-8? squats have been the hardest exercise for me mentally. my heart races whenever i do them and i always have to stay focused or i start dropping. i'm considering moving on to the leg press (ik it's inferior), so i'm looking for realistic motivation

[@AcceleratorPrime]

To be honest it's hard to say how much more weight you will be able to squat in X months because some training periods you will get a ton of gains and some periods you will get less than you had hoped. As for if 12 reps is too much, that'll be entirely subjective, but IMO it's best to work in a variety of reps, especially for beginner and intermediate lifters. For example you could start your lightest set with 12 reps, then drop down to 10 reps for the next one, then 8 reps, then 5 reps and finally 3 reps. Increase the weight as you lower the reps. Do this 2x a week with a deload week every 8-12 weeks and you should shed the mental weight of performing squats, while getting bigger and stronger at the same time :)!

[@XLEZZY_REUPLOADS]

@@AcceleratorPrime thank you for the straightforward response bro. btw, is your method of varying the rep ranges what you do for bench press too?

[@dadmanful]

Have you tried squatting without shoes.

[@PesoUpNext]

I’m at 1.63x rn but they journey continues

[@user-ht5mt5id8z]

Did you do mobility and stretching before squats or after?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Before, after a squat session is when my flexibility would be at its best.

[@trampflips101]

What kind of static stretching did you do? I find my ankle mobility is limiting my squat depth but it's so hard to improve ankle dorsiflexion, such a stubborn joint.

[@AcceleratorPrime]

I'd say the no.1 overall for squatting flexibility is to grab an object with some weight (a 10kg plate is great!), hold it in front of you and sit as deep as you can. Hold this position for 30-45 secs and repeat 4-5 times every day. You'll likely see some major mobility improvement in just 7-10 days. If you can't get very deep you can start with elevating your heels to your prefered degree, as this will offset a good amount of the required ankle dorsiflexion! An ankle-specific flexibility exercise that I can recommend is simply kneeling down and then trying to stretch the front leg's ankle as much as you can, do not be afraid to use your hands to push down on your knee to get a bit deeper. You could do this against a wall from a set distance to see the mobility gains, as you get more flexible you'll also get closer to the wall with your knee. Hope this helps :)!

[@trampflips101]

@@AcceleratorPrime Thanks for such a detailed response, really appreciate it. I'll implement that into my routine and see how it goes. Very impressive squats by the way.

[@rub4179]

do you have an instagram where you post lifting content?

[@olly_evans]

Which shoes are they man? Was there a noticeable difference?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

Get a pair of shoes with an elevated heel, like the Nike Romaleos or Adipower. If you can find them i'd strongly recommend the Nike Romaleos *2*, squats feel amazing in them!

[@julianlaustsen1991]

not bad, how many times a week u squat?

[@AcceleratorPrime]

During this time i squatted 2x a week, but would sometimes sneak in some extra squats during chest/arms day 😅