Why Is My Squat Not Increasing

Why Your Squat Is Stuck (It's Not Your Strength)

The reason why is my squat not increasing is almost never your actual strength; it's that you're accumulating too much fatigue from training at 90-100% intensity too often. You're trying to force progress by adding 5 pounds to the bar every single week, and your body is pushing back. You feel stuck at 135, 225, or maybe 315 pounds, and no matter how hard you push, the number won’t budge. You might even feel weaker some days. This isn't a sign you need to train harder. It's a sign you need to train smarter. Your body is sending a clear signal that it cannot recover from the stress you're applying. The constant grinding with heavy weights creates a recovery debt that your sleep and nutrition can't pay off. Your muscles, nervous system, and joints are screaming for a break. The solution isn't another brutal workout. It's a strategic reduction in intensity to let the fatigue fade, allowing your true, newly-built strength to finally show itself. We're going to stop testing strength for a few weeks and start building it.

The Hidden Math That Proves You're Training Too Hard

Your progress stalls because of a simple concept: Stimulus-Recovery-Adaptation (SRA). Think of your body's ability to recover as a bucket. Every workout, especially a heavy squat session, pours stress into that bucket. Sleep, food, and rest days slowly drain it. When you pour stress in faster than you can drain it, the bucket overflows. That overflow is the fatigue that's killing your squat progress. A max-effort squat session, where you're hitting a 1-3 rep max at a perceived exertion of 9 or 10, can take 72-96 hours for your central nervous system to fully recover from. If you're doing this once or twice a week, you're starting your next session before the bucket is even half-empty. You're in a constant state of fatigue. Your fitness is likely increasing underneath it all, but the fatigue is masking it, so your performance (the weight on the bar) goes down. The fix is submaximal training. Instead of grinding out reps at 95% of your max, you'll work with 75-85%. A session at this intensity might only take 24-48 hours to recover from. This allows you to train more frequently and accumulate more quality volume over a month, which is the real driver of long-term strength. You get stronger by doing more work over time, not by running yourself into the ground in a single session.

Tired of guessing? Track it.

Mofilo tracks food, workouts, and your purpose. Download today.

The 8-Week Protocol to Add 20 Pounds to Your Squat

Stop what you're doing. The program that got you stuck won't get you unstuck. This 8-week plan is designed to systematically erase fatigue, build a new base of strength through volume, and then translate that new potential into a heavier one-rep max. Follow it exactly. Do not add more weight or extra sets because it feels 'too easy' at the start. That 'easy' feeling is the entire point.

Phase 1: The Strategic Deload (Week 1)

This is not a week off. This is an active recovery week designed to dump fatigue. You will squat twice this week. Use 60% of your current stalled one-rep max. For example, if you're stuck at 225 lbs, your deload weight is 135 lbs. Perform 3 sets of 5 reps. The bar should feel ridiculously light. The goal is to move the weight quickly and perfectly, stimulating the muscles without stressing the nervous system. This tells your body it's safe to recover. After this week, you will feel fresh, and your joints will feel better. This is mandatory.

Phase 2: The Volume Block (Weeks 2-5)

This is where we build the foundation for your new max. We are not testing strength here; we are building it with reps. Take 85% of your old 1RM and consider this your 'training max' for this cycle. You will squat twice a week. Your workout for the next four weeks is 5 sets of 5 reps (5x5).

• Week 2: Use 75% of your training max for 5x5. It should feel like you have 3 reps left in the tank on your last set.
• Week 3: Add 5-10 pounds to the bar. Do 5x5. It should feel like you have 2 reps left.
• Week 4: Add another 5-10 pounds. Do 5x5. This should be hard, with maybe 1 rep left.
• Week 5: Add another 5 pounds. This is the peak of the volume block. Fight for all 25 reps. This will be the hardest workout of the cycle.

Phase 3: The Intensity Block (Weeks 6-7)

After building a massive base with volume, we now teach your body to handle heavy weight again. We drop the reps and increase the weight to let your new strength shine. You will still squat twice a week.

• Day 1 (Heavy): Work up to a heavy set of 3 reps. In Week 6, aim for a weight that's about 5% heavier than your 5x5 weight from Week 5. In Week 7, try to add another 5-10 pounds to that triple.
• Day 2 (Light/Speed): Use 80% of the weight you used on Day 1 for 3 sets of 3 reps. Focus on moving the bar as fast as possible on the way up.

Phase 4: Test Your New Max (Week 8)

After your last workout in Week 7, take 3-4 full days of rest. Eat well and sleep. On test day, go to the gym feeling strong and confident. Warm up thoroughly. Then, attempt a new one-rep max. Make smart jumps. For example: 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 245x1 (your old max), then 265x1 (your new PR). You've earned it.

Week 1 Will Feel Wrong. That's How You Know It's Working

When you start this protocol, your ego will fight you. The deload in Week 1 will feel pointless. The first volume week will feel too light. You'll be tempted to add more weight. Do not do it. The feeling of being 'undertrained' for those first 1-2 weeks is the entire mechanism that makes this work. You are finally giving your body a chance to catch up. By Week 4, you will not feel undertrained. You will feel the challenge. Progress is not a straight line up. By following this wave of volume and intensity, you are creating a predictable path to a new personal record. A realistic goal for this 8-week cycle is a 15-25 pound increase on your squat max. If you were stuck at 225 lbs, hitting 245 lbs is a massive victory. It proves the plateau is broken. After you hit your new max, you can either take another deload week and run the cycle again with your new numbers, or switch to a different program to continue your progress. The key is to never again let yourself grind against the same weight for more than 2-3 weeks without making a strategic change.

You read this far. You're serious.

Track food, workouts, and your purpose with Mofilo. Download today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Often to Squat for Strength

For most intermediate lifters, squatting 2 times per week is the sweet spot for strength gains. This frequency allows for one heavier session focused on intensity or volume, and a second, lighter session focused on technique or speed, with 48-72 hours of recovery in between.

The Role of Squat Variations

If your main squat is stalled, swapping in a variation for 4-6 weeks can be incredibly effective. Pause Squats (pausing for 2-3 seconds in the bottom position) build strength out of the hole. Box Squats teach you to sit back and use your hips, often fixing form issues.

Calorie and Protein Needs for a Plateau

You cannot build a bigger squat in a significant calorie deficit. To break a plateau, ensure you are eating at least at maintenance, or preferably a slight surplus of 200-300 calories. Prioritize protein, aiming for 0.8-1.0 grams per pound of bodyweight daily to support muscle repair and growth.

When to Deload Your Squat

A planned deload, like in our 8-week protocol, should happen every 4-8 weeks to manage fatigue. You need an unplanned deload if you feel constantly beaten down, your joints ache, you fail reps you should hit, or you have zero motivation to lift. For that week, cut your weights by 40-50%.

The Importance of Accessory Lifts

Your squat is only as strong as its supporting muscles. Don't neglect them. After your main squat work, perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps on exercises like Bulgarian split squats, leg press, hamstring curls, and glute bridges. A strong core and back are also critical for stability.