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Nemesis Guide

Yoda-Squat-Nemesis-Try-Harder

Welcome to the Nemesis Guide! This is a knowledge-base for the Nemesis style of physical training, including “Squat Nemesis” and other popular variants.

Quick Links

Here are some quick-links, and you can also use the navigation bar above.

  • Squat Nemesis WODS: Our original giant list (and description) of all of our Squat Nemesis workouts — Many people print out this whole page, lol — over time, I’m going to be creating a page for each one of the workouts with more details, and tips we’ve learned over the last few years, so stay tuned!

  • Nemesis Laws: The 3 Principles of Physical Programming that Nemesis is built upon. Consider these the “point” of the whole process. If you understand this, you’ll be fine.

  • Frequently Asked Questions: Get answers to commonly asked questions about Nemesis training!

  • 21-Day Squat Challenge FAQ: Want to do the 21-Day Squat Challenge? Get answers to the most commonly asked questions.

Nemesis in a Nutshell

Nemesis is not for everyone. It takes a certain kind of crazy to find this style of training fun. We require that you are having fun! (There is no point otherwise.)

Make no mistake, Nemesis can be (and should be) one of the hardest things you’ve ever tried to do. That’s why it works! But it only works when you are enjoying the process.

Most people don’t like hard things. For them, Nemesis simply won’t work, because they will half-ass everything. These people want results, but won’t do what it takes to get those results. These people will fail to ever reach their goals.

Nemesis is for people who LIKE hard things. Nemesis is for people who enjoy the process, the hard work it takes to reach big goals. Nemesis is for crazy people who find things like squatting for 21-days straight exciting!

Does this sound like you?

  • You LOVE to challenge, test, and improve yourself
  • You understand that progress is possible — and that you will get what you put in
  • You’re not looking for magic solutions — you want practical advice

If so, then you’re just like us!

The name “Nemesis” is what we call our philosophy of training — a practical way of approaching the process of change that I’ve developed over the years through coaching my own athletes in the gym. It is pragmatic and results-focused.1

Interstingly, the hardest thing about the Nemesis Programming Style is mental2, not physical. That is also the greatest benefit to training this way! By forcing yourself to learn more about how your body responds, about how to correctly read your body, and how to adjust accordingly, you will become far more “in tune” with yourself.

Nemesis is a way of making dramatic (positive!) changes to both your body and your brain through hard training and practice. From squats to meditation, the point is to better yourself in measurable, practical, ways.

There are no secrets.

Now go lift something heavy,
Nick Horton

  1. I didn’t name it! My friend Cliff Dyer was doing an early version of this program that I was coaching him on. One day he was texting me about it, and his Android phone autocorrected a different word to “nemesis”… In context it was so funny, I said, that’s what I’m going to call it! It’s grown completely out of purportion since then, LOL. Keep in mind that this has all been light-hearted since the beginning. Work hard, laugh often. ↩
  2. When we say “mental”, we mean a literal changing of your physical brain for the better through training. ↩