 Ladies and gentlemen, you want to blow up your squat. You want the big juicy quads. Today we're going to talk about some programming, some variations, the difference between variations and accessories on ways to build your legs and build your squat. Be sure to like this thing, give it a thumbs up, subscribe, and it's diving. So the biggest thing when we're talking about squats and building legs in general, whether your goal is strength or your goal is hypertrophy, I think squats are a great movement. Yeah, the hypertrophy bros out there will say the stability is hard and that the skill may overtake the stimulus that we're trying to put on our quads, which is true. But what I think is if you have the skill and build the skill of squatting the stability, the hip and knee hinge, the proper mechanics that when you utilize things like a hack squat, a pendulum squat, a leg press, even a lunge, you'll be more aware of your body and be able to function better and push harder on those machines. Let alone, I think it's just a skill that if you're a real meathead, if you like the gym, if you love lifting, that is something that you should continue to perfect over time. And if you don't want to do that, that is 100% on you, but I think you suck. A variation to me is as close to the competition lift as possible, right? Squatting below parallel in a regular squat is what makes up powerlifting, it's what helps build the squat. Maybe lateral to that, the very next step, which I think is one of the best variations there is, is a pause squat. Basically what that can do is allow us to control the whole a little bit harder or a little bit better. Stability in the whole and controlling your balance or your rebound, your timing in and out of the hole is one of the hardest parts of a squat to stay balanced, keeping that borrow of your midfoot and pausing will then also force you to use slightly less load than purpose or then your maximum. When we're doing that, if we're squatting two, three, four times a week, we just can't squat to our maximum all the time. We'll be too fatigued both the system and localized. So a pause squat or a tempo controlling the weight, three seconds pausing one and then exploding up will really allow us to find that stability and balance, which is one of the keys to a big squat. One of the biggest things when I'm looking at a tempo or a pause is one, you want to keep that bar again over your midfoot as much as possible. And two, in the pause, we're trying to take some of that rebound or stretch reflex out. So we want to pause at our ultimate depth that's same as our competition lift. And then when you decide to go, you can have a teammate or a training partner count one to go. You don't want to go back down. You want the first movement to go straight upwards. Again, we're trying to take out some of that rebound. So when you do handle heavier weights or your comp squat, you can utilize that rebound and maybe get a little push out of it. So when we're talking about accessories, typically what we're talking about is more hypertrophy work, building muscle and things that allow you to build up the exercise or the body part you're looking at. Glutes, hams, all very important in the squat. But we're wrote mostly when we're looking at the raw squat is the quadriceps, building up your quads. And when I think about variations versus accessories, both are a long-term game. And within a workout we want to sprint and within our program we want a marathon. But especially accessories and building muscle is over months and years. When we're talking about variations, we might be able to help not only build a different skill, rebuild coordination and build strength. Accessories we're building muscle, which takes time. So you think about it as an investment. It's the work you put in now will pay off a year, two years, three years from now. Some of the best, again, is anything with quads. So going to my hypertrophy bros that like more stable movements so you can really focus on the targeted muscles. Something like a belt squat is one of the best and most popular up and coming exercises for power lifters. It's something you can use your arms to really stabilize. You're taking the load off your shoulders and back so you don't have to worry about upper body and controlling the barbell itself. And you can put all that emphasis into the squat. Secondary to those, I'm probably looking at something like a Bulgarian, a lunge, even a quad extension, hamstring curl, and even RDLs. Typically RDLs are thrown more with the accessories of deadlifts, but it's still a great piece just to build anything lower body. Chopping it off, probably something to do with your core and stability. You see some people start to helicopter both in the squat and the deadlift. Something like a cobenhagen plank, a pull-off press, any side plank, regular plank, and any ab work, hanging leg raises, to really build that core to hold you stable. Because our whole goal, again, is to be as rigid as possible and move like an elevator. Those would be great pieces to add in, sprinkle in throughout the week. If you are a low bar squatter in competition, doing something with like a higher bar position with a slightly closer stance and really emphasizing your quads may be a great variation. The opposite isn't always true. If you're a higher bar squatter, we want to really just emphasize our quads. So again, I might go something like a belt squat, pause squat, tempo squat. With the variations, again, there's unlimited opportunities. We have bands and chains, which can be useful tools in your offseason. One to have fun, which matters, stick to the program, which matters, and allow your brain to have new stimulus so you have more ways to progress. Will it ultimately make or break your PR? Probably not, but they are tools to use. Something like the safety squat bar or more particularly the kabuki transformer bar has a bunch of variations within it that if you're squatting with frequency two, three, four times a week, mixing that in once a week during your offseason or before a real prep is a great opportunity to get a lot of volume in while still allowing your upper body not to be as taxed and building your legs in the long term. Comment below, man. I want to help you guys out and whatever it takes. Strength, hypertrophy, nutrition, what you guys want us to go more in detail in and be sure to check back on our squat bench, deadlift, and different accessories. We just want to tap back in. I know there's a lot of people that want to continue to learn. It's weird to help, man. 3SB.co for all your apparel needs. Good company, available, highest quality gym gear in the game. I'm selling my new videos every day. Be sure to turn on notifications for your boy. Good company, discord.com, to stay tapped in. Appreciate you. Selling Mike, we're out.