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Double Day Squats & Heavy Weights
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Double Day Squats & Heavy Weights


13 weeks   |   $29   |   Web, Text, Excel


This is a 12-week cycle (with a first week that acts as a rest or transition week, making it 13 weeks total). You will be squatting heavy every day - often twice a day. It will use weight selections based on feel for most sets. This first week will be a transition week to prepare you for very frequent squatting and heavy lifts. Try completing all workouts without sitting down. Rest only as long as needed. This cycle should only be used by athletes who are conditioned for frequent, heavy lifting - it is not a good beginning program.

"Back squat went from 235-250kg, front squat from 190-217kg, snatch 115-127kg, and clean & jerk from 150-160kg." - Nick H.

"The double day squat program by Greg Everett was the hardest program I've done. But my back squat went from 405 to 485 and my front squat went from 325 to 395." - Ryan K.

"Following the Double-Day squat program in my garage, my front squat went from 315 to 375. My clean and jerk went from a struggling, pressed-out 235 to a solid and easy 286. My snatch went from an ugly power/muscle snatch of only 165 to a snatch of 196." - Brian P.

"Put 50lbs on my BS, 40lbs on my FS, 20lbs on my C&J, 30lbs on my Snatch. In week 9 now and still improving. Strongest I have ever been." - Jeff H.

"I made 40 lbs of gains on my back squat in the first 5 weeks." - Adam K.

"Back squat and front squat have gone up by 15kg and i'm only just starting week 4!!" - Craig A.

"After the first 4 weeks, back squat went from 330 lbs. to 365 lbs. and front squat went from 285 lbs. to 310 lbs." - Jason M.

"Squat went from 120kg to 155kg, Front squat went from 100kg to 135kg, Snatch went from 70kg to 102kg, Clean and jerk went from 85kg to 116kg, All by the end of week 9." - Jordan L.

"LOVED this program! I went from 195# FS to 215# and 225# BS to 240#." - Joanne M.

"Back Squat: 157 kg -->184 kg (+27 kg), Front Squat: 124 kg --> 145 kg (+21 kg), *Clean and Jerk: 100 kg --> 110kg (+10 kg), Snatch: 72 kg --> 83 kg (+11 kg) *I injured my wrist about 8 weeks into the cycle which limited my ability to clean" - Marlon H.

Volume: Moderate
Intensity: Very High (but adjustable)

Good For:
  • Leg strength
  • Max and near-max classic lift experience
  • More experienced lifters with good training foundations
Notes:
  • This program does not need to be done in two workouts per day - "double day squats" refers to the two squat sessions per workout. However, it can be split in two if you want.
  • This program can beat you up badly if you're not smart about choosing weights and recovering.
  • Push the weights hard, but generally try to avoid actual failure - this will allow more long term progress and prevent becoming totally destroyed.
Determining Weights:
  • Sets with no weights need to be determined by feel. The idea is to work as heavy as possible each day and try to beat what you've done previously whenever possible.
  • Sets that follow an HS or RM should be done with a lighter weight and then pushed as heavy as possible by the final set
  • %s that follow HS or RM are of that HS or RM, not your PR; e.g., HS; 80%x1x2 means you work up to a heavy single, then do 2 singles with 80% of that heavy single
  • Each workout, make the goal to beat the best weight you've done to date on that exercise in this program by at least 1kg - do this by setting it up in your warm-up sets, e.g. warm-up with 1-2 kg more on each set than you did on the day you're trying to beat. Don't keep warming up with identical weights and continually do the exact same weight each day.

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Sample Week

Week 1 Day 1 Monday
Comments (34)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Front Squat - 80% x 1
  • Snatch - heavy single; 80% (of hs) x 1 x 3
  • Segment Snatch Pull (knee) + Snatch Pull - 90% (of sn) x 1+2 x 4
  • Back Squat - 90% x 1, 75% x 3 x 3
  • Good Morning - 3x5 (very light)
This next cycle will use weight selections based on feel for most sets. This first week will be a transition week to prepare you for very frequent squatting and heavy lifts.

Try completing all workouts without sitting down. Rest only as long as needed.

Week 0 of 12

Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 2 Tuesday
Comments (12)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Muscle Snatch - 3x3
  • Mid-Hang Snatch - 70% x 2 x 5
  • Power Clean + Power Jerk - 75% x 1+1 x 5
  • Front Squat - 90% x 1, 75% x 2 x 3
3 sets; no rest:
10 DB Presses
10 2-arm DB Rows


Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 3 Wednesday
Comments (6)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Front Squat - 80% x 1
  • Clean & Jerk - heavy single; 80% (of hs) x 2+1 x 3
  • Segment Clean Pull (knee) + Clean Pull - 90% (of clean) x 1+2 x 4
  • Back Squat - 90% x 1
  • Pause Back Squat - 70% (of squat) x 3 x 3
  • Good Morning - 3x5 (little heavier than Monday)


Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 4 Thursday
Comments (20)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Back Squat - 80% x 1
  • Power Snatch - 75% x 2 x 5
  • Mid-Hang Clean - 70% x 2 x 5
  • Push Press - 3x5
  • Front Squat - heavy single; 75% (of hs) x 3 x 3

3 sets; no rest:
300m Row
12 Pull-ups


Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 5 Friday
Comments (2)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

Rest Day


Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 6 Saturday
Comments (11)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Front Squat - heavy single
  • Snatch - heavy single
  • Clean & Jerk - heavy single
  • Back Squat - heavy single
  • Pause Back Squat - 70% (of back squat heavy single) x 3 x 3
  • Good Morning - 3x5 (little heavier than Wednesday)


Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 7 Sunday
Comments  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

Rest Day


Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.


70 Comments
Please log in to post a comment

David Mikel
October 3 2015
Hi, just started the program last week and I'm loving it already, i have a question about when to use gear. When do you think its heavy enough to throw on my belt, ace knee wraps, and wrist wraps. I don't wear a belt for the snatch. I don't wear these because of pain in the joints or anything, just to lift better. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated, thanks
Try to train without a belt so you can develop some strength without the belt and save it for your heaviest sets. You can use a belt for ~85% and up or so. I wouldn't go nuts with knee wraps, but I have some lifters who use knee sleeves to keep them warm. Wrist wraps should be fine to add some support.

Steve Pan
Wade Alam
October 11 2015
Noticed the first week there are percentages, after week one most of percentages disappear after the heavy single. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for the programming.
Explained in the program description how to determine weights each day.

Greg Everett
Jake Spanish Miller
June 22 2015
Bruh... Just finished week two (not counting intro week) FS from 147kg to 165kg, this shit is unnatural, cant wait to see the improvements in BS. Thanks!
Adam Kroll
February 26 2015
Great program first of all, ive never seen results like this. I have three questions:

From week 9-12 you have a lot of prescribed percentages at heavy weights for example 90 and 95% after prescribing a heavy single. Should the heavy single be above or below that, or should the 90 and 95% be of that heavy single?

I made 40 lbs of gains on my back squat in the first 5 weeks, but week 6 and 7 I've slowed down significantly and haven't PRed in a few weeks. Is this normal?

Also, my clean and jerk went up 20 lbs in the first two weeks, but no improvement since and no improvement on the snatch? Is this normal due to the high volume of squatting?

Thanks Greg! Again great programming, I've decided to follow two cycles each of three different programs of yours for the next year, the results have already been great.
%s that follow HS or RM are of that HS or RM; e.g., HS; 80%x1x2 means you work up to a heavy single, then do 2 singles with 80% of that heavy single

It's normal to get some quick progress right away and then slow down. Make sure you're getting enough sleep and food. And some people will simply not be able to make it all the way through the entire duration.


Greg Everett
Joao Santos
January 12 2015
Hi ! i just started this program today, but i have a question: when i get to the pause squats, for how long should i pause ? 3 seconds is enough?
Many thanks !
Yes, 3 seconds always in a pause unless otherwise specified.

Greg Everett
Jonathan Juges
December 12 2014
Thanks for posting this- I do not have a coach, so I am only doing the FS/BS/GM portion of this routine, so I have a couple of questions:

1) You say to avoid failure on HS, but if you are feeling good, is it ok to go for a PR if the singles just keep going up and you feel like you have more left in the tank?

2) Similarly, should you be pushing yourself AHAP everyday? Meaning the HS should end up being grinders/semi-grinders everyday?

3) If we overestimate the drop sets and say only get 3 reps instead of 4, what should we do to compensate?
1) Yes, you're always aiming for PRs, but you have to make smart choices. If you just go to failure every time, you're going to grind yourself into powder.

2) As heavy as you feel good for. If you feel like shit, don't push it extremely hard, but keep it challenging.

3) If it's not the last set, reduce the weight for the next sets to get the RXed reps.

4) It will help you recover from the reduced volume. Intensity will still likely be pretty high.

5) Yes, you're trying to always beat what you've done previously. It won't happen every day, but that's the goal.

Greg Everett
Craig Amarilli
November 23 2014
it's probably been asked before so i'll apologise in advance (i have scrolled but can't find it). regarding the % for the Pause Squats and 4x3's etc, whats the rough %1RM i should be looking at? and what has been deemed 'optimal'? it's been suggested by others at 75% however i'm doing fine with 80%. (i understand it says 'go by feel', just curious if there's been a tested 'optimal %')
No optimal - it will really depend on how you're recovering, etc. Don't overthink it and just trust how you feel.

Greg Everett
Craig Amarilli
November 30 2014
program is absolutely ace! not splitting the sessions into 2 but going by feel on the weights. back squat and front squat have gone up by 15kg and i'm only just starting week 4!!
Brian John
October 28 2014
For what it's worth, I'm on the 2nd week of this program. Already seeing benefits. Make sure you eat a lot (*good* food, obv) and sleep enough.
Martin Westerlund
October 14 2015
Would you recommend to add some regular heavy deadlifts on some "lower volume" days since there are no days with just normal deadlifting?
I recommend against adding additional work to the programs, especilly deadlifting.


Steve Pan
Kelvin Kolb
October 26 2015
Maybe I'm just having brain fart, but what does a set look like when it reads: at 90% do 5 X 1 + 2. I get the 5 x 1 at 90% but then do i do a 6th set of 2 reps?
I'm not sure which day you are referring to. You may post on the specific day that you have in question. If it is 90% x 1+2 x 5 that will be 5 sets at 90% and the 1+2 refers to the exercises before. For clean & jerk 1+2 would be 1 clean and 2 jerks.


Steve Pan
Richard Chapple
October 26 2015
Hey Greg,

Been doing the program for 4 weeks, and am seeing good results especially in the snatch. The squats are having good carry-over into the lifts. I had a question about a notation in the second cycle. On Thursdays, you program jerks as:

Jerk - (3,2,1) x 3

I read the help page, and can't figure out what this means. Could you clarify? Thanks!

You will take a set of 3 at one weight, take the weight up for the next set at 2 reps, and then once again for 1 rep. You will repeat this process 3 times and try to beat the weights from the previous wave on the next one.


Steve Pan
Said Al ghaithi
November 3 2015
Im looking forward to start next week however i noticed that in week two there are no percentages. So at what percent are the 3x2 snatches after the heavy single etc.
You will have to comment on the day that you have a question on for me to help you. The back off sets in this program have listed percentages and are taken as a % of the HS as listed.


Steve Pan
Tristan Harrison
November 4 2015
Would it be ok to do a CrossFit metcon on top of this to keep my conditioning up, or would you advise against any extra volume?
I would recommend against adding any extra conditioning work to these programs.


Steve Pan
William Tomisser
November 8 2015
I'm finishing this program this week do you think it's safe to do it twice in a row? The gains were so good I just don't wanna butcher myself and end up with a torn muscle or something.
You may want to take a transition week and then try this program again. If you are feeling good it should be okay to run this again. Be careful and watch how you are feeling as you go to make sure you are staying healthy. Stay on top of your mobility and prehab work!


Steve Pan
Austin Phillips
December 7 2015
Just out of curiosity, is it common to find that while I can usually get around the same weight for the front squat heavy single if it's performed at the start of the workout or at the end, my back squats tend to be around 10 kilos lower when the heavy single is programmed at the end of training?
The weights will vary as you go. Try not to match the same weights but give yourself a shot at beating them week to week even if its just by a kilo.


Steve Pan
Jason Martinko
December 12 2015
This program is as tough as nails, especially for the first 4 weeks if you're not used to lots and lots (and LOTS) of heavy singles / near max lifts. I could only manage 4 workouts a week (sometimes 3) due to schedule, but after the first 4 weeks, back squat went from 330 lbs. to 365 lbs. and front squat went from 285 lbs. to 310 lbs.

Fantastic program!
Jeff Hilderbrand
December 22 2015
This program is the tits. Put 50lbs on my BS, 40lbs on my FS, 20lbs on my C&J, 30lbs on my Sn... Some may been from just practice on my movements, but not much. In week 9 now and still improving. Strongest I have ever been.
Quoc Tran
January 11 2016
What is the significance of not missing attempts on heavy singles?
We don't want any missed reps. Going to the point of missing in this cycle will put a damper on your overall training through the week, the intensity is very high so we want to control the overall volume of reps by preventing you from missing and having to repeat reps (or fighting to repeat when you miss). We want as many good reps as possible and limit the amount of misses.


Steve Pan
Fredrik Ek
January 14 2016
Hi
I am on the second week now and I have one question:
I have felt really beaten up the last few days and the reason is that I have pushed the weights too hard. Is it really smart to try and push for a PR in Squat every day? Should I go for technical PRs instead?
From the notes section for this program:
  • Weight selections are based on feel for most sets. This first week will be a transition week to prepare you for very frequent squatting and heavy lifts.
  • This cycle should only be used by athletes who are conditioned for frequent, heavy lifting
  • This program can beat you up badly if you're not smart about choosing weights and recovering.
  • Push the weights hard, but generally try to avoid actual failure - this will allow more long term progress and prevent becoming totally destroyed.
  • Each workout, make the goal to beat the best weight you've done to date on that exercise in this program by at least 1kg - do this by setting it up in your warm-up sets, e.g. warm-up with 1-2 kg more on each set than you did on the day you're trying to beat. Don't keep warming up with identical weights and continually do the exact same weight each day.
You should not be pushing for a PR every day, but working to getting the best you can do for that day. Each of the weeks you will work to try and beat the weights from the previous where possible if you are feeling good.

Steve Pan
Tom Dewitt
January 27 2016
since it doesnt say a specific warm up for squats it just jumps to 90% or heavy single, what would be the best way to work up to a heavy single or 80,90%?
You will have to feel out and vary how you warm up as you go on Heavy Singles. You don't want to repeat the same warm ups everytime. Try to feel out what works for the given day as you feel. If you are feeling shitty you may want to take smaller jumps and take more time getting warm. If you are feeling good then take some chances at bigger jumps in the middle. Aim to give you self a chance to beat the previous week if you are feeling good. Starting at a light weight for some reps then from around 40-50% taking 10% jumps for a few sets, and then 5% or less as you get closer to your best would be good place to start getting a feel for what jumps you can make.


Steve Pan
Adrian Ivan
March 15 2016
Regarding the on-the-minute work; (e.g. week 3, day 1). Do I do 5 reps/minute at the prescribed intensity, OR do I do 1 rep every minute for 5 total at the prescribed intensity? One sounds too light, the other sounds like crossfit. So I have no real indication which one is the way to go.
1 rep per minute at the top of each minute for 5 reps.

Steve Pan
William Bennett
April 25 2016
This program is fantastic. Lots of PRs in both squats and both Oly Lifts already and starting week 4.
Barend Geldenhuys
May 4 2016
Hi. For week 1 to week 6 a lot of the days does not have % of PR or HS for some of the lifts. Do you go on how you feel on the day or stick to 80 to 85% of a HS and increase it after every day?
You will go by how you feel and adjust as needed. Please read the notes on the program front page, on the workouts as you go, and also the help section here.

Steve Pan
Joanne Mulligan
May 6 2016
LOVED this program! I went from 195# FS to 215# and 225# BS to 240#. Very sad that my 12 weeks are over :(
Jake Davis
June 6 2016
For someone with only 5 days available for lifting (Thursday through Monday), is it advisable to do all 5 days in succession, or should the program instead be approached as if I only have 4 days to lift, and just push 1 day to the following week, like what is described in the "Modifying the Schedule" section of the Choosing the Right Program article?
I would just do 5 consecutive days and know that day 5 may not feel amazing. But it's been done plenty of times.

Greg Everett
Brian Johns
June 8 2016
I have a question about how this could be split into 2 sessions:

Some days I have less time in the morning, others I have less time in the evening. Is it ok to break off either the first or last squat portion and complete the rest of the lifts in the longer session? Or is there a way you would advise doing it differently?

Thanks
Brian - There is no problem with doing that. But make sure that if you do your squats first, it is not going to effect the rest of your lifts if you are testing RMs or have heavy snatch and C&J days. Make sense?

Alyssa Sulay
Logan Ballarche
August 22 2016
I am just finishing up the 8-week general cycle and am starting to look for another cycle to start. Right now I am doing CrossFit workouts a couple times a week, and mixing in some auxillary lifts/gymnasics or conditioning on other days when I am feeling good. I have felt pretty decent with the workload. For the next cycle I want to really focus on the weight lifting and I am interested in trying out this cycle. I understand that with this cycle is pretty brutal and I will need to essentially cut out all extra stuff. What are your thoughts on at least throwing in some pure conditioning stuff like rowing, swimming, biking, etc... I want to be able to maintain some level of conditioning into my next cycle, so if you have some thoughts on if that could work with this cycle or if I should choose one with less volume, that would be appreciated.

Thanks for the great work!
Any conditioning work you do on top of this will be too much - I would find a less demanding program if you want to do both.

Greg Everett
Steven Coen
January 5 2017
Really excited to start this program! Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, what differentiates purchasing from Catalyst directly vs. Excerise.com?
If you purchase the exercise.com program you will only have access to the program through the exercise.com app. If you purchase the program directly from our site, then you will have access to the web program and the excel sheet, but no access to the exercise.com app. 

Alyssa Sulay
Brian Archield
March 26 2017
Hello,
For this program, are we allowed to use working maxes for percentages? Thank You
Yes, you want to take the percenatges off your Maxes. 

Alyssa Sulay
Brian Archield
March 27 2017
I got a couple questions. If we miss a day are we allowed to make it up on the rest day, or do you want us to keep it in that order? Im somewhat new to a strict oly program.. How long should these workouts last? I know they will vary based on the amount exercises, but I want to make sure Im not training too long.

Thank you.
Brian - If you need to shift the days if you miss one it is okay to do so. The workouts can about two hours (or more) depending on how fast you work. You want to make sure you take enough rest between sets. I find with this type of program the workouts can take longer because of the amount of volume and intensity. 

Alyssa Sulay
David Buye
May 8 2017
Hi there, I currently have the newest edition of the CA Book. This program is listed but compared to other programs with the rep x set setup, is the Book edition wrong?

For example normally Power Jerk + Power Clean is 1+2 x 5. But in the book it is denoted as 5 x 1+2 (Week 1 Tuesday non-transition day), does this mean this program is backwards?

So I am just wondering for example
Week 2 Day 1 Monday
Front Squat - HS
Snatch : HS; 3 x 2 (I am thinking this is supposed to be 2 snatches x 3 sets instead of 3 snatches for 2 sets)

Just double checking because the notation seems to be flipflopped.
David - If there is a prescribed % in front like this: Power Clean + Power Jerk - 80% x 1+2 x 5, then you would read it as 5 sets of 1+2 at 80%, but if there is no prescribed weight like this: Push Press - 5x2, then you would read it as 5 sets of 2. In the situation of the Snatch - HS, 3x2, then you would work up to a HS snatch, then do 3 back off sets of 2. 

Alyssa Sulay
Jordan Lyde
June 10 2017
Squat went from 120kg to 155kg
Front squat went from 100kg to 135kg
Snatch went from 70kg to 102kg
Clean and jerk went from 85kg to 116kg
All by the end of week 9
Nice job Jordan!!

Alyssa Sulay
David Kohan
October 18 2018
Hello, just wondering what about ab and back work or adding any functional bodybuilding? Or should any work be done from more of an active recovery stance?

Thanks and I look forward to starting this program!
David - Yes, any additional work should be done as accessory work and can be done after the daily exercises. 
 

Alyssa Sulay
Sydney Fernandez
December 5 2020
If I become injured (severe knee pain in the bottom of the squat suddenly), is it better to continue the program doing what I can, or should I take a week off to recover and then pick up where I left off?
If you're within a couple weeks of finishing, and you can do everything except squat deep, you can try modifying lifts to powers and squatting to parallel, or box squatting, etc., and you may be able to fix the issue in time to finish well. Otherwise, stop and rehab it and restart from the beginning of the cycle.

Greg Everett
Benjamin Berres
April 6 2023
My BS/FS/C&J/Snatch have all increased by end of wk 7.

Should I update the spreadsheet (Notes & PRs tab) with my new maxes so that the percentages that drive wk 8 through wk 12 reflect this increased strength?
Yes, but if it's a dramatic increase, you may want to only increase about half the differnce for now.

Greg Everett
Laurits Reiche
May 20 2023
Should i add my own acc work to work on weaknesses?
Yes you can

Greg Everett
Laurits Reiche
May 20 2023
And can i add a 2. session where i do heavy strict press to focus on this also?
If you want, yes

Greg Everett
Marlon Harris
July 10 2023
I just finished this cycle. It was brutal but effective. As the 13 weeks went on, my lifts increased more than I could have ever imagined.

Back Squat: 157 kg -->184 kg (+27 kg)
Front Squat: 124 kg --> 145 kg (+21 kg)
*Clean and Jerk: 100 kg --> 110kg (+10 kg)
Snatch: 72 kg --> 83 kg (+11 kg)
* I injured my wrist about 8 weeks into the cycle which limited my ability to clean

My plan is to redo the cycle and let you know how it goes. You put together such an incredible program, Greg. I am truly grateful.