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How I Program Squats: The ULTIMATE Guide for Every Level

Sebastian Oreb

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Work with me directly: https://taap.it/coachingyt

Just 7.5 weeks ago, I tore my quad. Today, I am squatting 260kg. How is that possible? Because I stripped my training back to zero and followed the exact programming principles I use to build world-class athletes.

In this video, I am giving you my complete Squat Programming Guide for free. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced lifter, the rules of periodization apply to us all.

I break down:

The 3 Phases of Programming: Exactly how to structure your Hypertrophy, Strength, and Peaking blocks.

Rep Ranges & Volume: Why I use 6-8 reps for building muscle but drop to 3-6 reps for building strength.

The "Unrack" Fix: A simple technical adjustment (stacking the hips) that makes the weight feel instantly lighter.

Squat vs. Deadlift: Why I believe the squat is the most important lift for overall strength and how to fit deadlifts into a squat specialization program.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro: Squatting 260kg after a quad tear

0:40 - Rebuilding from scratch (The Rehab Process)

2:16 - My current routine: Stiletto Squats & Low Bar

3:06 - Why the Squat is King (Squat vs. Deadlift)

5:41 - 200kg Stiletto Squat Top Set

6:47 - The roadmap back to a 300kg Squat

9:45 - Technique Tip: The strongest way to Unrack

11:15 - Why you should take small jumps in warm-ups

15:40 - The 260kg Top Single

16:16 - PROGRAMMING MASTERCLASS STARTS

17:45 - Phase 1: Hypertrophy (Sets, Reps & Frequency)

22:12 - Phase 2: Strength Building (3-6 Rep Range)

24:35 - Phase 3: Peaking (The Skill of Heavy Singles)

27:10 - How to manage Deadlifts during a Squat Program

28:30 - Summary

CONNECT WITH ME:

Instagram: Instagram: australianstrengthcoach

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20 Comments

@millionexplodinghats 1 year ago

This is some of the best training information I have seen on the internet.

@imdibene 1 year ago

it really is criminal that your channel does not have more views, all the information that you present is gold

@db11707 1 year ago

could you do same style of video for bench press?

@miadiaz-sanabria2380 1 month ago

I'm learning so much from your videos! Thank you!!

@youbou5081 1 year ago

26:10 summary

@TheOlsonOutfit 1 year ago

Man, this is great to have specific rep, set, and weekly totals all in one well explained video.

@AzhaanEbrahim 1 year ago

The speed of the 260kg squat lookes really quick you probably have a lot more in the tank let's go great progress 💪🏻🔥

@chrispainting8115 1 year ago

It's so good to see strength focused training. So much information out there is focused towards body building. Thank you. Have been loving your videos

@codyc56 1 month ago

I can definitely attest to working on squats helping my deadlift. I might deadlift 1-2x per month and still pull heavy and make progress even if I’m competing. It’s kind of a necessity for me since my back can’t handle volume on deadlifts. I have short arms and a longer torso too so not built for deadlifting. Squats are king for me.

@MC-nv4bo 1 year ago

Twisting feet into the ground was a really eye opener for me. Never realized how loose I was when holding the weight

@timeavas2872 1 year ago

So many golden nuggets here! I have been able to improve so much on my technique thanks to your videos 🙏

@mikerackhabit 10 months ago

Truly the best source of information on YouTube. I appreciate you.

@fubiki9899 6 months ago

i love it when you're out of breath but still wanna speak up and explain to us shit LMFAO love the passion brother keep it up! Hope ur channel gets bigger

@iachu_m 3 months ago

Thank you

@turbostyler 4 months ago

God damn I wish I had this info when I was back in my early 20s, especially the info around periodisation. I'm reading serious strength training (second edition) and it has a lot of these principles in there, however you've broken it down way better in your videos.

@shashwatworah6103 1 year ago

10/10 - glad to find you

@leeg672 1 year ago

Love the Programming.👍 Very similar to what I have found to work the best for me. I typically program 4-6 wks at a time. But, will go up to 12 wks out. It's a wonderful journey! Programming takes a lot of practice and notes to program specifically for a person and/or an objective(s). But, it keeps one focused on the task at hand. Like a Business plan, no one runs a successful business by showing up and then simply doing what ever they "feel" like doing! But, many lifters kinda do. And that's ok, it's their journey... But, having a solid Objective and structured business plan to achieve the objective is always going to render the best results.

@what9418 1 year ago (edited)

As a beginner I would also program tendon strengthening. After having tendon problems due to calcification for over 10 years, I'm focusing on tendon strengthening more. I do static holds, which means I slowly go to 90 degree position, hold that for 10 seconds and go back to half squat position, which I also hold for 10 seconds. I do that for 3 reps, so a one minute set.

The knee pain is very controllable that way, where it used to take weeks to fade away in the past and I could start all over again.

The funny part is that this kind of training also increases your max weight for reps without even training it. I started to try this 4 months ago or so and last month I easily did 10 reps with 110kg while I never exceeded 95 kg with the tendon strengthening. I'm doing the static holds with 105kg now, so I'm curious of that carries over to a 10x120kg squat. Will try in a few weeks.

If you have some advice on this I would be very interested!