Box Squats for the Raw Powerlifter

I recently ran conjugate for 7 months and 2 meet cycles. I competed raw w/wraps both times. During both cycles I only used the comp. squat for two workouts suspending the bar from the top of the rack.

Here’s what I learned about the relationship between the box squat and raw lifting.

  1. The first rule IMO is your squat form needs to be dialed in to the degree where you don’t need to think about positioning. Your groove needs to be well ingrained other wise the box will fuck you up. You can minimize this by mimicking your comp. squat with the box like Matt Wenning suggests.

  2. Be careful with trying to box squat wide. Louie has his lifters use briefs (even the raw guys) to save wear and tear. Start with a high box and a narrower stance and do a three week wave at each position changing only ONE factor (either depth or width) after each wave. I would change width first then depth. Try to determine whether you have anteverted or retroverted hips - refer to Stuart McGill for further info on this.

  3. Do not drop onto the box. This is a sign of a weak posterior chain. Start with the box height that allows you to control the descent.

  4. When rising off the box, pull against the heels and raise the bar, then thrust the hips forward. Tricky to master.

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