The Value of 10x10 Squats

If pressed you’re for time, this should be your go-to lift.

Whether it’s Friday night before going out, or mid-week when you’re in a rush, sometimes you simply don’t have an hour to spare. For those days, when you just want/need to get in, out, and on your way in 30 min or less, this lift will leave you feeling like you just spent a couple of hours doing hill repeats while carrying Richard Simmons on your back. Remember him?

The secret workout weapon? Four words: 10 by 10 squats.

On paper that might not seem all that difficult. In fact, you may have just read that and thought, “10 sets of 10 squats? Really?! That hardly constitutes a full workout.” Yeah, so maybe you didn’t drop“constitutes”, but you get the point…

And you’re right; on paper they seem harmless. But try doing 10 sets of 10 reps just once and you’ll see the value when you can’t even get out of your chair, four days later. In fact, if you go to depth (i.e. past 90 degrees) and take just 60 seconds between sets, we guarantee DOMS like you’ve never experienced before.

In doing 100 squats you’ll work every single leg muscle, as well as your entire core to stabilize the weight. A word to wise though, don’t try to be superman or superwoman when doing this workout. The goal is to finish all 100 reps, so go light (think 50-60% of your max squat). That means, if you can squat 315 lbs, go with about 185 lbs here. If you can squat 405 lbs, go with 245 lbs.

It isn’t novel. It isn’t sexy. And it sure as hell isn’t fun. It’s squats, and well… yeah, just squats. No bicep work. No tricep kickbacks. No isolated core training. But if you’re pressed for time and have a desire to remember what hard work truly feels like, hop on the 10x10 bandwagon and get the absolute most out of your 30 minute lift.