Some Weird Squat Technique

Training Powerlifting
21

[quote]Uber N3wb wrote:
I used to box squat westside style, I got up to 500x7 off a box that was very very slightly above paralel, but when I went to do normal squats there was no way in hell I could do that without a box. The wide stance box squating had almost no cary over to my deadlift either.

But it strengthens the muscles that need to be strong to preform a proper squat, it teaches you to sit back and push your knee’s etc. Most people if you just tell them to squat will squat quad dominant, box squats will fix all of this and will help them learn regular squats much quicker when the time comes.

[/quote]

I know you said in your other post that your form is probably horrible, but if you’re able to do much more in a box squat than a regular squat than you are definitely doing them wrong. It sounds like you do the typical “box squat” I see in my gym. This consists of pulling a bench or other object behind you, dropping straight down, and then bouncing up off the box/bench. This allows someone to do a lot more weight than a regular free squat.

Read this article by Louie Simmons.
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/box_squatting.htm

In his second sentence he says, “This is, in my opinion, the safest way to squat because you don’t use as much weight as you would with a regular squat.” In his next sentence he says, “…you don’t rock on the box and you don’t touch and go…”

If you are sitting completely on the box and relaxing your hip flexors before exploding off, then you shouldn’t be able to use anywhere near the weight you would on a regular squat.

22

Your upper back is not flexed and you don’t use your hips at all. No wonder you have trouble getting deep. I had very similar problems, and here’s what I did to fix them:

For the upper back I simply locked my wrists when grabbing the bar instead of bending them. Instant flexing. To be more comfortable with this I don’t wrap my thumb around the bar.

For the hips I do alot of stretching and did ALL my squats on a box for a period of around 3 months, three times a week. This helped me learn to use my hips and sit down correctly during the lift.

Now keep in mind this might not be the best way to go about these technique issues and I am NOT a professional, but those two things have had a tremendous impact on my squat.

23

I know exactly how to squat yet its still physically hard to do since I have really long legs. I use a wide stance but my hips get pretty tight and its still kind of hard to go as deep as I want. Its getting better but its definitely slower then most who try to get the hang of it.

24

[quote]Hanley wrote:
Leeuwer wrote:

You use one ? What do you think ?

I’m undecided. I’ve recently been trying box squats out and no doubt they train your “squatting muscles”. What I’m unsure of is whether they train your squat.

As an assitance exercise no doubt they’re great. And for those in multi ply gear who need to sit back like they’re on a box they’re obviously good. But for raw/single ply guys I think you’d still need to do an actual squat cycle before going into a meet or your form will be all over the place.

Horses for courses… If you’re an athlete looking to be bigger/faster/stronger, then you don’t neccessairly need to peak your squat for a meet and as a result box squatting would be a good compromise since you’re hitting all the muscles.

My point is tho, training on a box doesn’t mean you’re learning how to squat liek you would in a meet. And of course the argument can be made that you don’t HAVE to know how to squat like you would in a meet if you’re not gonna do one.

I’m going round in circles but hopefully people get what I’m saying.

[/quote]

Well I’m not gonna pull the “it works because Louie Simmons and Westside say so!” card(even though that’s a good argument), but this played around in my mind too.

But I thought of it this way :

My squat went up the most when I concentrated on lifts like close-stance good mornings, sumo deadlifts and step-ups(for me).

So perhaps this is a good way of working in a position that’s needed for me to break records again.(with the occasional free squat mixed in there)

Plus, for me personally, and I think this is the best argument in any article or comment about box squats : they spare your knees. I really find that the best thing about them.

If you’re like me(which I can guess you somewhat are regarding to powerlifting), you HAVE to squat, pain or not.
These just make it bearable.

But I haven’t had enough experience with them myself to speak out on great results yet. I’ve had to severely lower my training weight to get good at them, and only now it’s moving up to something respectable.

If you want to, I’ll post how my free squat progresses from doing boxes.

25

It looks like a good assistance movement to complement a squat routine. Good points made it allows you to sit back which is a must to get the most out of your glutes and hams for a big squat. Alot of newbe squatters tend to have too much forward lean in their squat. I box squat, olympic squat, pause squat and do conventional powerlifting squats. I’d like to try these. Where did you get the bands?

26

those are just green jump stretch bands. you can buy them here: http://jumpstretch.com/osc/index.php?cPath=21 or on elitefts i think.

i’ll post one more video tomorrow in this thread, of some single leg variations… you get the same feel with those variations as well… seems pretty effective. those are easier to setup, and people would probably play around with those rather than the back squat variation, to see how they like it.

peace