You’re fit but you’re weak. You’re strong but you’re unfit.

What’s the answer?

100 squats.

100 continuous squats.

100 continuous squats with +100% your bodyweight.

These are not ‘air squats’ (your starting point), which is just you squatting up and down,
but squats with an extra bodyweight, i.e., you weigh 180lbs, so you have 180lbs, (a
barbell) on your back.

I began the 100 squat regimen a few months ago, and (as of writing) am up to +80%
bodyweight. My upper thighs have grown, my glutes have become rock hard and (when
I’m fresh) it feels like I am levitating as I walk. Gravity barely exists. This is mind-
bending considering I am 61. It’s the best feeling ever. Gravity is an increasing
challenge for people as they age; they fall, they break bones, they have difficulty
walking up stairs or slopes, they can’t get up from a chair without using their arms.
Ironically, gravity is the upstream reason for our strength, without it we become weak.
Remarkably, only seven-days of strict bed rest even for young healthy males leads to
significant loss of skeletal muscle mass and leg strength.

Here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27358494/

Working against gravity is how we retain our strength. Using ‘hyper-gravity’ (my term
for resistance training), in any direction or plane, means that normal gravity is easier to
overcome.

Hard repeatable muscular output is the Holy Grail of aging, especially using the lower-
limbs. Strong, robust and enduring strength is the fountain of youth. Look at the elderly
people who have difficulty navigating your High St, you notice it’s their legs which are
the problem? This didn’t just happen, it’s the (near) end result of not resisting the effects
of aging via strength training and robust activity. This physical decline of strength and
fitness starts in your 30’s if you are not actively doing something about it. Again, elderly
people don’t suddenly become fragile, it’s just a point on the unresisted trajectory of
aging.
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One can be aerobically fit but weak, and strong but overweight, slow and unfit. The new
paradigm is to be able to generate and endure repeated high-level muscular output. I
have no evidence to support it (there may be some, I don’t know) but I believe this is
what degrades the most as one ages; the ability to push oneself repeatedly with little
rest. A decent one-rep max or being able to jog for ten miles (zone2) is not enough. So,
we combine the two; a high-number of reps with a taxing weight. Certainly, good cardio
endurance (VO2max) helps and a good level of strength helps, they are both necessary
– now mix the two. One-hundred-fucking-squats.

I regard 100 squats as an ‘physical capacity’ test – how long can you generate repeated
force without keeling over? This is a true indicator of robustness, even more so for
someone over 40.

There are two ways to improve your 100 squats:

1 Do 100 squats training, specifically

2 Do the things which enable you to do 100 squats; i.e., improve your aerobic fitness
and strength via other means

In other words, 100 squats can be used in itself as a progressive training regimen, or it
can used as a test of the efficacy of your current health and fitness regimen. If your 100
squat results are pathetic, you can improve simply by doing them or by improving your
cardiovascular/respiratory and strength in your own way.

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Work up to 100 air-squats (just your bodyweight). Initially, this may be challenging for
many people – maybe because their legs are weak, their cardio-respiratory fitness is
poor or they are overweight. If this is you, start by splitting the total into achievable
sets. Gradually reduce the number of sets you need to hit the target 100. Because it is
only bodyweight, you can do this three-times a week. You are not a baby, work it out
the best way to progress for yourself. If you are overweight, lose weight!

Once you can do 100 normal full air-squats, your goal is to add increments of 2.5 or
5kilos (or, 5 or 10lbs) and complete 100 reps before moving up. If holding a dumbbell
or kettlebell, or having a bar on your back is uncomfortable, you can use a weighted
vest.

The ultimate goal is to be able to complete 100 squats with your bodyweight on the bar.
I’m not sure if everyone can achieve that but I can’t see why anyone (male of female)
can’t achieve +50% bodyweight.

100 air squats - base

+50% bodyweight - good
+75% bodyweight - excellent
+100% bodyweight - alien level

[The above levels are what I believe as I can find no population normative data. Neither
can I find tables which predict a 1-rep max from a 100-rep max! As this is a specific
exercise, I don’t think the predictive power would be high]

Do not rush the squats! Do not start off too fast! As reps accumulate it will get very
demanding, it is ok to have a couple of breaths between reps. This means it may take as
much as ten-minutes to complete 100 reps. Doesn’t matter, just make sure you are doing
full squats. At the bottom position your upper thighs should be parallel with the ground.

There are other ways to progress. If you are an absolute unit or high-level athlete, you
may feel you can start with +100% bodyweight on the bar and see how many reps you
can do. It’s up to you.

Note: Use appropriate supportive footwear, and the correct technique for your
morphology. Google it, there are a zillion videos online.

Psychology

I have found that my mind wants to give up before my legs. Unless you’re a psychopath
this will be the case for you as well. As you increase the weight your dread before each
session will increase! I can’t sugar-coat it; 100 squats with weight on your back is
physically and psychologically demanding. Just be aware that your mind will give out
before your body. A big component of training is conditioning your mind to accept the
load. However, slow and consistent progress is the way forwards, there is no deadline
or rush.
[As I am also training for other things, I only do this once a week; this means I don’t
overtrain and get the plods or feel constantly achy. As you start putting weight on the
bar you decide if you can handle one session or two sessions a week. I recommend only
one, but it’s up to you. Train only as much as you can recover. Eat well, sleep well and
don’t work yourself into the ground]

This PDF is a short introduction to what I feel is a way to maintain and progress a
specific component of health and strength at any age, but is especially important as one
gets older.

If you want to find out why I believe this type of physical capacity exercise is important
please refer to ‘World Class Fitness’.

Here: https://markbaker.gumroad.com/l/eqpkv

My other free and paid for PDFs are here: https://markbaker.gumroad.com/

- Gang Fit 1 to 3
- Anaerobics: Destruction & Reconstruction
- Guru Anaerobic’s Bookshelf
- Six-Pack at 60
- Guru’s Ark
- Escaping Entrapment
- Run a faster Mile
- Physical Fitness Tests

I offer one-to-one video calls (see, ‘Guru’s Ark’) + email consultations. My email is
markanaerobic@gmail.com – feel free to contact me.