The John Grimek Squat & Bulk RoutineWhen God created the squat
When God created the squat, he didn’t just say, “Lo, ye angels, I have created yet another exercise, now let us knock off early for the day”.
No, he gathered all the gang around him, Jesus, Satan, Gabriel, and proclaimed, “Behold the squat, a divine movement by which men shall attain massive muscles and women huge luscious bottoms”, following which everyone cheered and hallowed ale was passed around in celebration.
Unfortunately, early mankind must have missed this holy memo, and Jesus, when sent to Earth, didn’t help matters much, choosing to focus on peace and love instead of instructing his disciples on the correct way to build huge quads, glutes and hamstrings.
In fact, it wasn’t until the early 1930s that the muscle-building power of the squat was truly recognised.
A man by the name of Joseph C. Hise, who was trying to add more muscle mass to his 200lb frame, read a magazine article by Mark Berry about the benefits of the deep knee bend.
Hise incorporated this movement into his own routine, alongside curls and the behind-the-neck press, and was able to gain 29 pounds in one month.
Hise wrote to Berry, the editor of the magazine, about his astonishing results, and this very letter, which was published in Strongman magazine in 1932, triggered widespread interest in the movement
Before he went on to become a two-time Mr America, Mr Universe and represent the USA in weightlifting in the 1936 Olympics, John Grimek was a pupil, and great friend, of Hise.
The two trained together many times, and it is no stretch to assume that it was from Hise that Grimek developed his obsessive love of heavy squatting.
Indeed, no-one of his era squatted as much Grimek.
The ‘Monarch of Muscledom’ would perform hundreds of repetitions a session, often working up to well over 300kg, and credited the movement as the reason he was able to build such a colossal, muscular physique.
The Routine
As one would expect, the squat was the foundation of Grimek’s bodybuilding workout, and he would typically perform the exercise in a pyramid fashion (decreasing the reps while increasing the weight), where each set would be supersetted with a chest exercise (typically pullovers or lying lateral raises).
The following workout, dubbed the ‘Squat and Bulk Routine’, was one that Grimek referred to in numerous magazine articles and interviews over the years, maintaining that “this routine plus plenty of good food will help anyone to add that magic bulk to his frame
