A ready squat cycle: take the test, get your level and a daily set plan. Train at home, no equipment.
Durable, capable legs for everyday life
Stronger glutes and hips
More mobility and a deep, stable squat
A habit of controlled, full-range movement
Four steps from the test to the next level
Max test — You start with one all-out set. That is your starting point, not a random plan.
Level match — Setrise matches the cycle level to your result, so the plan is never too easy or too hard.
Daily plan — Every training day you get a ready set of series with rep targets and rest times.
Next level — Rest days are built into the cycle. When you finish a level you move straight to the next one.
Technique
2 s down, smooth stand-up with no bouncing.
Inhale down, exhale as you stand.
Set your feet — Feet hip-width apart, toes slightly out, weight across the whole foot.
Lower down — Send your hips back and down. Your knees track over your toes.
Depth — Go at least until your thighs are parallel to the floor, back straight.
Stand up — Drive up through your heels to full extension, squeeze your glutes at the top.
Common mistakes
Knees caving inward.
Heels lifting off the floor in the bottom phase.
A rounded back on the way down.
The whole program: every level, every day
These are the exact sets the app runs. Your test result picks your level. Open it to see the plan day by day.
max: last set for as many clean reps as you can; the number is the minimum to pass the day. After the last day of a level you move to the next one.
Level 1: 1–20 squats · 6 training days · 2–3 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
5 · 6 · 4 · 4 · max (7+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
6 · 7 · 5 · 5 · max (8+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
6 · 7 · 6 · 6 · max (8+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
7 · 8 · 6 · 6 · max (9+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
7 · 8 · 7 · 7 · max (9+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
8 · 9 · 7 · 7 · max (10+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 2: 21–40 squats · 6 training days · 2–3 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
8 · 9 · 7 · 7 · max (10+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
9 · 10 · 8 · 8 · max (11+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
10 · 11 · 9 · 9 · max (12+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
11 · 12 · 10 · 10 · max (14+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
12 · 13 · 11 · 11 · max (15+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
13 · 15 · 12 · 12 · max (16+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 3: 41–60 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
15 · 17 · 14 · 14 · max (18+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
16 · 18 · 15 · 15 · max (19+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
17 · 19 · 16 · 16 · max (20+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
17 · 19 · 16 · 16 · max (22+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
18 · 20 · 17 · 17 · max (23+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
19 · 21 · 17 · 17 · max (24+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 4: 61–80 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
21 · 24 · 19 · 19 · max (24+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
22 · 25 · 20 · 20 · max (25+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
22 · 25 · 20 · 20 · max (26+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
23 · 26 · 21 · 21 · max (26+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
23 · 26 · 21 · 21 · max (27+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
24 · 27 · 22 · 22 · max (28+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 5: 81–100 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
25 · 28 · 23 · 23 · max (28+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
26 · 29 · 24 · 24 · max (29+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
26 · 29 · 24 · 24 · max (30+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
27 · 30 · 25 · 25 · max (30+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
27 · 30 · 25 · 25 · max (31+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
28 · 31 · 26 · 26 · max (32+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 6: 101–125 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
30 · 34 · 28 · 28 · max (34+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
31 · 35 · 29 · 29 · max (35+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
32 · 36 · 29 · 29 · max (36+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
32 · 36 · 30 · 30 · max (36+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
33 · 37 · 30 · 30 · max (37+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
34 · 38 · 31 · 31 · max (38+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 7: 126–150 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
36 · 40 · 33 · 33 · max (40+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
37 · 41 · 34 · 34 · max (41+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
38 · 43 · 35 · 35 · max (43+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
38 · 43 · 35 · 35 · max (44+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
39 · 44 · 36 · 36 · max (45+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
40 · 45 · 37 · 37 · max (46+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 8: 151–175 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
42 · 47 · 39 · 39 · max (47+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
43 · 48 · 40 · 40 · max (48+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
44 · 49 · 41 · 41 · max (49+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
44 · 49 · 42 · 42 · max (49+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
45 · 50 · 41 · 41 · max (50+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
46 · 52 · 42 · 42 · max (52+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 9: 176–200 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
48 · 54 · 44 · 44 · max (54+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
49 · 55 · 45 · 45 · max (55+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
50 · 56 · 46 · 46 · max (56+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
50 · 56 · 47 · 47 · max (56+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
51 · 57 · 47 · 47 · max (57+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
52 · 58 · 48 · 48 · max (58+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 10: 201–220 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
52 · 58 · 48 · 48 · max (58+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
53 · 59 · 49 · 49 · max (59+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
54 · 60 · 50 · 50 · max (60+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
54 · 61 · 50 · 50 · max (61+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
55 · 62 · 51 · 51 · max (62+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
56 · 63 · 52 · 52 · max (63+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 11: 221–240 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
42 · 42 · 47 · 47 · 39 · 39 · max (47+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
43 · 43 · 48 · 48 · 40 · 40 · max (48+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
44 · 44 · 49 · 49 · 40 · 40 · max (50+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
46 · 46 · 51 · 51 · 42 · 42 · max (52+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
47 · 47 · 53 · 53 · 43 · 43 · max (54+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
48 · 48 · 54 · 54 · 44 · 44 · max (56+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 12: 241–260 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
48 · 48 · 54 · 54 · 44 · 44 · max (54+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
49 · 49 · 55 · 55 · 45 · 45 · max (55+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
50 · 50 · 56 · 56 · 46 · 46 · max (56+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
51 · 51 · 57 · 57 · 47 · 47 · max (58+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
52 · 52 · 58 · 58 · 48 · 48 · max (59+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
53 · 53 · 59 · 59 · 49 · 49 · max (60+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 13: 261–275 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
54 · 54 · 60 · 60 · 50 · 50 · max (60+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
55 · 55 · 62 · 62 · 51 · 51 · max (62+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
56 · 56 · 63 · 63 · 52 · 52 · max (63+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
56 · 56 · 63 · 63 · 53 · 53 · max (63+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
57 · 57 · 64 · 64 · 52 · 52 · max (64+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
58 · 58 · 65 · 65 · 53 · 53 · max (65+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 14: 276–290 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
58 · 58 · 65 · 65 · 53 · 53 · max (65+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
59 · 59 · 66 · 66 · 54 · 54 · max (66+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
60 · 60 · 67 · 67 · 55 · 55 · max (67+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
60 · 60 · 67 · 67 · 56 · 56 · max (67+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
61 · 61 · 68 · 68 · 56 · 56 · max (68+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
62 · 62 · 69 · 69 · 57 · 57 · max (69+)
60 s
2 rest days
Level 15: 291–300 squats · 6 training days · 2–4 wks
Day
Sets (reps)
Rest
Then
1
62 · 62 · 69 · 69 · 57 · 57 · max (69+)
60 s
1 rest day
2
63 · 63 · 71 · 71 · 58 · 58 · max (71+)
60 s
1 rest day
3
64 · 64 · 72 · 72 · 59 · 59 · max (72+)
60 s
2 rest days
4
64 · 64 · 72 · 72 · 60 · 60 · max (72+)
60 s
1 rest day
5
65 · 65 · 73 · 73 · 60 · 60 · max (73+)
60 s
1 rest day
6
66 · 66 · 74 · 74 · 61 · 61 · max (74+)
60 s
2 rest days
FAQ
How often should I do squats?
3 times a week: a rest day after each workout and 2 after the third. Legs need recovery too.
Why do the sets have different rep counts?
That’s the wave: the first set warms you up, the second is the hardest, the next ones keep the volume up and the last goes to max. From 221 squats the sets come in pairs to build endurance for one long set.
Do bodyweight squats even make sense?
Yes. They build endurance and technique. They are the base for any further leg training.
What if I do not finish a day?
Rest 2 days and restart the cycle from day 1. Better to step back than to lose your technique.
Do I need equipment?
No. You do bodyweight squats at home with no equipment at all.
How long to an endurance goal?
It depends on your start and consistency. You see progress after each cycle in Setrise.
Can I combine squats with upper body?
Yes. Add a push-up or pull-up program, or your own plan. Setrise handles several programs at once.