"Benefits of Squats - Deep Breathing Squats 1940s Style"

Just how did the benefits of squats pluck 109 lbs Roger Eells from his deathbed and transform him into one of the world's best built men?

Deep breathing squats 1940s Style holds the key.

Deep Breathing Squats

Reading like a Hollywood screenplay, the power of deep breathing squats is most evident in the following inspiring story.

Roger Eells was born and brought up in a small US Midwestern town to healthy and strong parents. The youngest of three brothers, Eells was the smallest and weakest of his siblings - and as is often the case with the baby of the family, he found himself spoilt.

Growing up on a diet of cakes and candy, Eells subsequently fell victim to every childhood illness. This poor start in life meant little improvement in his frail physique as a teenager, which saw the 14-year-old Eells struggle to tip the scales at a meagre 93 pounds. However, despite his lack of strength and size, Eells held a burning desire to prove himself.

This desire would see the young Roger race automobiles on dirt tracks (he would hold the half-mile dirt track record) and later take up aviation to catastrophic results. Falling into a whirling propellor, Eells would sever the muscles of his right thigh and puncture a lung. Leading to advanced tuberculosis, he was given only 3 months to live.

Yet Eells was made of stern stuff, and would spend the next year-and-a-half slowly rebuilding his strength with light exercise such as walking.

In 1932, and weighing a puny 121 lbs, Eells would begin progressive strength training with a barbell.

Electrifying Eells

In the beginning his left lung was still collapsed and his breathing was painful. But in time Eells gradually gained in weight and strength until his chest started to lose its sunken appearance and his neck and face began to fill out - the miracle benefits of squats was taking place!

At first he performed 20 rep squats in rapid fashion without any special attention to breathing. Results were average until Joseph Curtis Hise paid him a surprise visit and explained the importance of breathing squats and pullovers when looking for big gains in muscular size and strength.

Armed with this information, here are some of his breathing squats results:

Sterling statistics. In 12 months Eells gained 41 pounds, increased his chest measurement by 10 inches, widened his shoulders by three inches and added six inches onto each thigh.
Lift large. On December 1932 Eells struggled to lift 15 pounds, yet by 1933 he was lifting 850 pounds in the leg exercises and would go onto one-arm press 250 pounds.
Body weight boost. By 1934 these deep breathing squats would see his collapsed lung magically healed as his body tipped the scales at an impressive and muscular 185 pounds.

Breathing Squats Program

 Photo courtesy of Shawn Rossi

The deep breathing squats program that led to this remarkable transformation saw Eells squatting with 125 lbs for 20 repetitions and eating as much as he was able, including three quarts of milk with lots of honey for energy, plus peanut butter and several boxes of raisins each day.

Fueling his workouts this way, Eells would develop the lung power necessary to grow and gain strength.

And it is here that we discover the secret behind the benefits of squats. Describing this muscle building formula, Eells went onto write:

"It must be fully understood that you are exercising on lung power. With this firmly in mind take the bar loaded to the weight that you have found from experimentation which will permit you to squat 20 times and take three deep breaths through your MOUTH. Suck in the air until you feel the pressure in your chest and then squat on full lungs rising, immediately expelling the breath on the way up. Take THREE more deep breaths and squat again on FULL lungs, rise and repeat 20 times, remembering to take three deep breaths between each squat and going down on full lungs."

Eells continues:

"Three very deep breaths between squats and hitting bottom on full lungs is a very important part of the exercise so keep that in mind while performing it. If you experience a slight dizziness from the deep breathing disregard it for the first three exercise periods. If it persists it is a sign that you are not using enough weight. Do not, however, think that the heavier the weight you use, the more rapid results you will obtain. It is NOT THE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT you use but HOW you use it that encourages chest growth."