The Forgotten ‘Breathing Squat’: How This Old-School Technique Can Skyrocket Your Leg Gains

It doesn’t matter what you are training for – muscle mass, fat loss, fitness, or sports performance – you’ll achieve your goals faster if you build your workouts around squats. Squats are the crowned king of exercises and are probably responsible for more gains than any other movement.

But what type of squat should you do? After all, there are so many different variations to choose from. Your options include air squats, barbell squats, dumbbell squats, Smith machine squats, belt squats, kickstand squats, split squats, and pistol squats; the list is almost endless!

However, if you were training back in the bronze, silver, and early golden eras of bodybuilding, there is another type of squat you’d be familiar with: the breathing squat. Usually performed in sets of 20 reps, this classic exercise was a mainstay of strength training between 1930 and 1960, and almost every famous lifter of the time did it.

I first read about breathing squats in the late 1980s in the book Super Squats: How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks by strength training historian Randall J. Strossen (Ph.D.) In it, Strossen describes how to harness the power of breathing squats to build muscle faster than ever before.

Needless to say, I had to try breathing squats for myself and quickly learned how transformative this exercise can be.

In this article, I explain how to do breathing squats, outline their benefits, and share a four-week program incorporating this incredible exercise.

How to Perform Breathing Squats

Before trying breathing squats for yourself, you must first master conventional barbell back squats. After all, they are the foundation of this uniquely challenging squat variation. So, go back to squat school if you are still learning how to squat correctly.

That said, if you are ready to take your squat game and leg gains to the next level, breathing squats are the exercise for you. Follow these steps to get the most from this classic exercise.

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Some training guides suggest using your ten-repetition maximum for breathing squats. This is probably too heavy for most lifters, especially if you want to stick with this exercise for more than a few workouts. So, instead, I suggest using something closer to your 15-20 rep maximum, which is roughly 60-67% of your 1RM.

Calculate your squat one-repetition maximum here.

Preparation

Place your barbell in a squat rack set just below shoulder height so it’s easy to unrack. For safety, you MUST use a squat rack for breathing squats. Failing mid-rep is a real possibility and getting stuck under a heavy barbell can cause severe injury. To that end, make sure you set the safety bars to the correct height, i.e., the bottom of your squat range of motion.

Set-Up

Duck under the bar and rest it against your upper trapezius. Grip the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip to provide a natural shelf for the weight. Do not rest the bar on your neck, as doing so is uncomfortable and potentially dangerous.

Inhale, brace your core and lift your chest. Stand up and unrack the bar. Take 1-2 small steps back so the bar is clear of the J-hooks. Your feet should be roughly shoulder-width apart with your toes turned slightly out.

Take a few breaths and get comfortable – you’re going to be here for a while…

Descent

Bend your knees, push your hips back, and descend until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor. Take care not to round your lower back or lean too far forward as doing so could lead to injury. Your weight should be distributed evenly between your forefoot and heels. Push your knees out as you descend to maximize glute and hip engagement.

Related: How Deep Should YOU Squat?

Ascent

Keeping your chest up and ensuring that your hips do not rise faster than your shoulders, drive your feet into the floor and stand up. Try to come up explosively to maximize muscle recruitment. However, don’t worry if rising fatigue levels mean that is only wishful thinking. Trying to lift quickly even if you move slowly will still enhance muscle engagement.

Breathe  

Take a deep breath, reset your core, and descend into another squat. One breath should be enough at the start of your set, but don’t be surprised if you need three, four, or even five breaths between reps toward the end. Take as many as you need so you can pump out your next rep.

Keep Going!

Continue squatting and breathing until you have completed 20 full reps. Once finished, rerack the weight and take a well-earned rest before continuing with the rest of your program.

Progression

While completing your first set of breathing squats is a major bodybuilding milestone, you need to keep challenging your muscles with more weight if you want them to continue growing. So, the next time you do this exercise, add 2.5 to 5 pounds to the bar and do the same 20 reps.

That might not sound like a lot, but those small weight increases add up and could mean you are using an additional 30 to 60 pounds four weeks from now.

Breathing Squat Benefits

Breathing squats are arguably the hardest leg exercise ever invented. They’re so tough that I used to have bad dreams the night before I did them. So, the question is, are breathing squats worth the pain they cause? Check out this list of benefits and then decide!

Bigger, Stronger Muscles

Muscles get bigger and stronger in response to training stress. You can stress your muscles by lifting heavy weights for low reps, or with a high volume of work with lighter weights. Breathing squats combine both types of stress – weight and volume – using a variation of rest-pause training.

Rest-pause training has been shown to produce excellent gains in both muscle strength and size, and studies suggest it may be more effective than conventional strength training methods (1).

Golden-era bodybuilders used breathing squats to gain muscle and weight quickly. However, they combined them with an appropriate meal plan, often following the gallon-of-milk-a-day (GOMAD) diet. You can read more about old-school nutritional practices in this article.

Increased Muscular Endurance  

Endurance is the ability of your muscles to keep working despite fatigue. Muscular endurance plays a critical role in many athletic and everyday activities, such as running, playing team sports, and walking up multiple flights of stairs. A few weeks of breathing squats will make your legs all but unstoppable.

Improved Fitness

There is a noticeable cardiovascular element to breathing squats. Your heart rate will soar, and you’ll have to fight to your heaving lungs. As such, breathing squats will enhance your cardiovascular efficiency, affecting your heart and lungs in much the same way as high-intensity interval training does.

Increased Anabolic Hormone Production

High-volume/high-intensity exercise protocols like 20-rep breathing squats have been shown to elevate anabolic hormone production, such as testosterone and growth hormone (2). These substances play a critical role in muscle growth. This may be one of the reasons that breathing squats have their reputation for rapid muscle growth and strength increases.

Increased Mental Toughness

A 20-rep set of breathing squats is a battle from start to finish. Your muscles will be screaming for you to stop, but you’ll have to ignore them and keep going to reach the end.

Doing something this hard several times a week for a month or more will have a huge impact on your mental toughness and determination. Everyday challenges will seem like a walk in the park compared to breathing squats.

4-Week Breathing Squat Workout

While you could just add breathing squats to your existing leg workout, you’ll get more from this exercise if you follow a structured routine. Here is an old-school-inspired workout that combines breathing squats with a few additional classic bodybuilding exercises.

Do this workout 2-3 times per week in conjunction with a suitable bulking diet.

#	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Breathing squat	1	20	5 minutes
2	Barbell floor press	2-3	6-10	2 minutes
3	Pull-up	2-3	AMRAP*	2 minutes
4	Stiff-leg deadlift	2-3	12-15	2 minutes
5	Military press	2-3	6-10	2 minutes
6	Pendlay row	2-3	6-10	2 minutes
7	Dips	2-3	AMRAP*	2 minutes
8	Barbell curl	2-3	6-10	2 minutes
9	Decline sit-up	2-3	15-20	2 minutes
10	Hanging leg raise	2-3	15-20	2 minutes

*AMRAP = as many reps as possible. Continue until you are unable to maintain perfect form.

You can also find alternative 20-rep breathing squat workouts in these articles:

• The Old School 20-Rep Squat Routine for Size and Strength
• CrossFit Muscle: Get Freaky Legs with The 20-Rep Squat Program

Breathing Squats FAQ

Do you have a question about old-school breathing squats? No problem, because I’ve got the answers! Need more information? Please drop me a line in the comments section below and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

1. Are Breathing Squats Safe?

Breathing squats are probably one of the riskiest squat variations. Lifting heavy weights for high reps means you’ll be working close to failure a lot of the time, and that means your form may be less than perfect. Plus, there is the risk of missing a rep and getting stuck under a heavy weight.

That said, no exercise is entirely safe, and provided you start with a conservative load, use a squat rack, and do your best to maintain good form from start to finish, the risk of injury is acceptable.  

2. Can I Wear A Lifting Belt for Breathing Squats?

Wearing a lifting belt for breathing squats is a good idea. A belt makes it easier to brace your core, providing essential stability and support for your lumbar spine. However, remember that a belt is not meant to be used passively; you don’t just strap one on and forget about it. Instead, you must work with your belt to maximize its effectiveness.

Related: Does Wearing A Lifting Belt Enhance Strength?

3. Can I Do Breathing Front Squats?

While I like front squats, I don’t think they’re a viable breathing squat option. Your arms will probably tire long before your legs, which means you’ll either have to use lighter weights or will fail before completing all 20 reps.

You could try doing 20-rep breathing leg presses or deadlifts but, to be honest, barbell back squats are probably the best option.

4. How Often/Long Can Should I Do Breathing Squats?

I suggest doing breathing squats 2-3 times a week for four to six weeks. More than this will probably lead to overtraining. Remember to increase your weights by 2.5 to 5.0 pounds per workout to maximize your progress.

Conclusion

Breathing squats are part of bodybuilding history. Like the original 5×5 workout, Arnold’s Golden Six, and Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty program, they’re something that every lifter should try at least once.

Of course, breathing squats aren’t easy, and you’ll probably hate each and every rep you perform, but you will build muscle, strength, and mental toughness faster than ever before.

So, give the 20-rep breathing squat a try; it’s a bodybuilding rite of passage!

References

1. Prestes J, A Tibana R, de Araujo Sousa E, da Cunha Nascimento D, de Oliveira Rocha P, F Camarço N, Frade de Sousa NM, Willardson JM. Strength and Muscular Adaptations After 6 Weeks of Rest-Pause vs. Traditional Multiple-Sets Resistance Training in Trained Subjects. J Strength Cond Res. 2019 Jul;33 Suppl 1:S113-S121. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001923. PMID: 28617715.
2. Khoo J, Tian HH, Tan B, Chew K, Ng CS, Leong D, Teo RC, Chen RY. Comparing effects of low- and high-volume moderate-intensity exercise on sexual function and testosterone in obese men. J Sex Med. 2013 Jul;10(7):1823-32. doi: 10.1111/jsm.12154. Epub 2013 May 1. PMID: 23635309.

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