How to Squat 315 From 225: A 12-Week Tempo Plan

This is my walk-through of how I would take someone with a 225 pound squat toward 315. If someone already squats 225, they've spent some time in the gym or have good genetics for handling training volume. I don't promise a timeline: it depends on training age, genetics and how good the lifter is.

I don't know how long it will take. It depends on training age, genetics, and how good they are.

How to read the plan

A few terms first:

• Sets by reps. "10 sets of 4" means ten sets of four repetitions.
• Eccentric. The lowering part of the squat. A "4 to 5 second eccentric" means you take that long to descend.
• One-and-a-quarter squat. Go all the way down to the lowest good-form depth, come up a quarter of the way, drop back to the bottom, then all the way up.

The plan at a glance

Phase 1: technique first

Spend the first 2 to 4 weeks on technique. The goal is to squat to multiple depths and feel all of them.

Phase 2: high sets, low reps, slow eccentric

My example is a 135 pound lifter with a 225 pound max. The first 4 sets are at 135 for 4 reps with a 4-second eccentric. The next 6 sets go in pairs, increasing 5 to 10 pounds every two sets. Do this for the first two weeks. After that, drop to 8 sets with the same reps.

As an illustration, if you add 5 pounds each pair, the ten sets look like this:

Each set is 4 reps with the slow eccentric.

Phase 3: add the one-and-a-quarter squat

Over the next 4 weeks, combine the slow tempo with the one-and-a-quarter squat. Do 8 sets of 5 for the first 2 weeks, then 6 sets of 3 for the next 2 weeks.

Phase 4: shorten the tempo

Drop the eccentric from 5 seconds to 3 seconds and keep the quarter squat for the first 2 weeks of the block. For the last 2 weeks, cut the tempo and the quarter squat, keep 8 sets, and drop reps to 2.

Week 13: test the squat

On week 13, test the squat. My way to project where the lifter will end up: going up 5 pounds every set is feasible. Treat the second-to-last set as the previous week's heaviest set, and progress by one or two weight units (one unit is 5 pounds, the next is 10) to project the result after 12 weeks.

How much stronger is a 315 squat than a 225 squat?

It is 90 pounds heavier, a 40 percent increase. Going from 225 to 315 is an increase of 90 pounds, or 40 percent (315 / 225 = 1.4). On the bar, 315 is a bar plus three 45 pound plates on each side, because (315 - 45) / 2 = 135 per side. If you need help loading a bar to a target, see barbell plate math.

The plan also changes how much work you do in a session. Here are the reps per squat session in the blocks I describe, worked out from my set and rep counts:

Volume falls as the weights climb. That is the pattern I describe for a strength block: heavier weights, lower overall volume, then fast low-rep work at the end.

What weight should you start the plan at?

One way is to start at about 60 percent of your own squat max. My example is a 135 pound lifter with a 225 pound max, so the first working weight is 60 percent of the max (135 / 225 = 0.6). From there, keep the 5 to 10 pound steps. Because everything in the plan hangs on a max, estimate yours first with how to calculate your one-rep max.

Why does this squat plan work?

It follows the same logic as my general approach to stalls: slow lowering and pauses challenge the nervous system when adding weight each week stops working. For the reasoning behind that, see progressive overload explained, and for why a squat stalls to begin with, why your squat stopped going up.