The Five Minute Squat Challenge is a maximum repetition squat challenge where the aim is to complete as many squat reps as possible with your own bodyweight on a bar within a five minute time limit
[h=4]The Challenge[/h]The Five Minute Squat Challenge is pretty simple – on paper. Load up a barbell with your own bodyweight and perform as many below parallel back squats as possible within a five minute time limit. Women may use 75% of their bodyweight for this challenge. In reality, it’s a test of strength, endurance, mental toughness and planning.
How you choose to squat is up to you. Low bar, high bar, ATG, whatever – so long as you are hitting below parallel every rep. You can attempt to squat all your reps in one huge set or you can break out your reps in smaller sets and rest in between.
[h=4]The Rules[/h]
Fastest to 50
Good for more experienced lifters for whom bodyweight is a very small percentage of their maximum and who don’t want to mess up the rest of their training too badly by going absolutely all out for max reps – but still want a challenge. Instead of trying to get as many reps as possible in five minutes, the goal here is to try and hit 50 reps in the shortest time possible. Still use the five minute timer – it will still act as a hard stop for any lifter who doesn’t manage to hit the target.
50-50 Squat Challenge
Better for less experienced lifters, this variation is less demanding but will still provide a stiff challenge for newbies. Load up the bar with 50% of your bodyweight rather than the full 100% and squat as many reps as you can up to 50 within the 5 minute time limit. As with Fastest to 50, this variation is capped at 50 reps, hence the 50-50 moniker – 50% of body weight, 50 reps.
Five Minute Front Squats
This variant is exactly the same as the standard Five Minute Squat Challenge; only with front squats instead of back squats. Unless you’re confident of your front squat form, you may want to avoid attempting this – though a bodybuilding grip rather than a clean grip may help to alleviate some of the upper back fatigue you will likely experience.
[h=4]The Challenge[/h]The Five Minute Squat Challenge is pretty simple – on paper. Load up a barbell with your own bodyweight and perform as many below parallel back squats as possible within a five minute time limit. Women may use 75% of their bodyweight for this challenge. In reality, it’s a test of strength, endurance, mental toughness and planning.
How you choose to squat is up to you. Low bar, high bar, ATG, whatever – so long as you are hitting below parallel every rep. You can attempt to squat all your reps in one huge set or you can break out your reps in smaller sets and rest in between.
[h=4]The Rules[/h]
- Load a bar with 100% of your body weight (75% for women). Round the weight to the nearest 1kg or 2.5kg interval, depending what plates you have available.
- Set a timer for 5 minutes. The timer starts when the lifter has walked the bar out of the rack and is ready to start squatting.
- Perform as many squats as possible within the time limit.
- Only squats below parallel count.
- You may re-rack the bar to rest during the challenge but the clock will keep running.
Fastest to 50
Good for more experienced lifters for whom bodyweight is a very small percentage of their maximum and who don’t want to mess up the rest of their training too badly by going absolutely all out for max reps – but still want a challenge. Instead of trying to get as many reps as possible in five minutes, the goal here is to try and hit 50 reps in the shortest time possible. Still use the five minute timer – it will still act as a hard stop for any lifter who doesn’t manage to hit the target.
50-50 Squat Challenge
Better for less experienced lifters, this variation is less demanding but will still provide a stiff challenge for newbies. Load up the bar with 50% of your bodyweight rather than the full 100% and squat as many reps as you can up to 50 within the 5 minute time limit. As with Fastest to 50, this variation is capped at 50 reps, hence the 50-50 moniker – 50% of body weight, 50 reps.
Five Minute Front Squats
This variant is exactly the same as the standard Five Minute Squat Challenge; only with front squats instead of back squats. Unless you’re confident of your front squat form, you may want to avoid attempting this – though a bodybuilding grip rather than a clean grip may help to alleviate some of the upper back fatigue you will likely experience.