Box Squats Video - I'm I doing them right?

[jerkbox]

question: how high is that box you made, and how tall are you?


I woulda made it deeper so that you have the option to sit back further.....that way you can basically walk yourself right to the edge of the box and not have to worry about overshooting the box.

the thing I use at the gym has a nice large square surface...it's constructed out of metal though....the one I use is about 18" high i'd guess...which may be a little too high for me.

anyway, I can certainly see you are rounding your back on the box squats.....

the other vid, all that is in view is your legs, so it's kind of hard to tell what the rest of you is doing. but, it does look like your knees are coming way out over your toes - which is not good. you can prevent that by doing box squats far back on the box. watch - your box squat again, your knees are where they should be.

you might need some more flexibility in your calves and hamstrings to be able to do regular back squats correctly.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

question: how high is that box you made, and how tall are you?

That's 2 boxes stacked... 12.5 inches high. I'm 6'. I could make some spacers to raise it up. I'm not necesarily trying to be a powerlifter, just want to be big and strong. I guess the way I've been doing squats has just developed my quads, but not my hams.

I woulda made it deeper so that you have the option to sit back further.....that way you can basically walk yourself right to the edge of the box and not have to worry about overshooting the box.

Yeah, I should have made them a couple inches deeper. I was just guessing . They're 16 inches deep. I think they'll work ok... I will just keep my ankles an inch or so from the box.

the thing I use at the gym has a nice large square surface...it's constructed out of metal though....the one I use is about 18" high i'd guess...which may be a little too high for me.

anyway, I can certainly see you are rounding your back on the box squats.....

the other vid, all that is in view is your legs, so it's kind of hard to tell what the rest of you is doing. but, it does look like your knees are coming way out over your toes - which is not good. you can prevent that by doing box squats far back on the box. watch - your box squat again, your knees are where they should be.

you might need some more flexibility in your calves and hamstrings to be able to do regular back squats correctly.

Rounding back- will work on that. Never been flexible. I've been too lazy to stretch regularly. Any tips on that, or is it just a matter of doing regular stretches?

Feels weird to squat with my ass way back like that. I have trouble just doing it without any weight on my shoulders. Got a long way to go before I can use any real weight. So this should allow me to squat more weight in the long run, huh? Is this a common problem, or I'm a just weird? At least I'm training at home.. don't have to look like a wuss in front of everyone

 

[jerkbox]

don't sweat it man.....it takes a while to get the form down....there are so many things involved in squatting....I recently showed one of my friends how to squat, and his first few attempts he looked like a complete shakey retard.....but eventually he picked it up.

squatting isn't the same without some weight on your back....just keep it light until you get the form down.


a few stretches I do everytime I squat, and after any cardio -

hamstrings - there's a million stretches for these, I like to use a bar (like ballerinas) or sitting down pull your chest as close as possible to your knees while keeping your legs straight - individually, or both at once.

for calves, which I think are pretty important to have good flexibility for squats - when my buddy first started doing squats, his heels were coming up off the floor, and he was squatting on the balls of his feet. that = bad. I like to lean low forward against something, and put one foot at a time as far back as possible, then try to get your heel flat on the floor....you will feel a great stretch....or you can do a deep stretch on a calf machine or something.

I would stretch your back, quads, and inner thighs as well.


you know you are flexible when you can do a narrow stance squat all the way down to the floor with your feet flat on the ground and you knees behind your toes

 

[PolishHammer1977]

Mike,

Keep the emphasis on form brother. You are on ther verge of great things.

 

[t3c]

Might I suggest lots of practice with less weight ontop of everything else people suggested?


What kind of shoes do you squat in mike?

 

[Mike_Rojas]

Might I suggest lots of practice with less weight ontop of everything else people suggested?


What kind of shoes do you squat in mike?

I'll definitely be practicing with the light weights.


I usually squat with cheap tennis shoes, but when I go heavy I wear my old boots I had in the Marines.

 

[PlatnumKowboy]

I noticed on the way up you lead foward with your upper torso and head with a rounded back and it pushes your knees forward. Try leading with your head and neck pushing back hard with the legs following louie simmons described it like this in an article I read.

 

[benchmonster]

All right, couple of things here.

1. Second vid was much better than first one. BUT, still trying to squat with quads. Also, try a higher box for a while. I cringed every time I watched you fall those last 4 to 6 inches onto the box. My box squat max would crush my spine if I did that. And I am probably 150 or 200 lbs behind DBCooper and some of the real monsters on this board in a box max. Gradually move the box lower as you get stronger and more flexible till breaking parallel.

2. Get some wrestling shoes, or Chuck Taylor Converses to squat in. Need a flat soled shoe that won't break over as you push out on the sides of them.

3. As you squat down, and as you raise up, you must push your feet out as hard as you can. Try to spread the floor apart with your feet.

Go to growordie.com and look at some of the box squat video's on there. There are 800 and 900+ squatters training on that site, so go find out how the really strong guys are doing it.

B.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

All right, couple of things here.

1. Second vid was much better than first one. BUT, still trying to squat with quads. Also, try a higher box for a while. I cringed every time I watched you fall those last 4 to 6 inches onto the box. My box squat max would crush my spine if I did that. And I am probably 150 or 200 lbs behind DBCooper and some of the real monsters on this board in a box max. Gradually move the box lower as you get stronger and more flexible till breaking parallel.

2. Get some wrestling shoes, or Chuck Taylor Converses to squat in. Need a flat soled shoe that won't break over as you push out on the sides of them.

3. As you squat down, and as you raise up, you must push your feet out as hard as you can. Try to spread the floor apart with your feet.

Go to growordie.com and look at some of the box squat video's on there. There are 800 and 900+ squatters training on that site, so go find out how the really strong guys are doing it.

B.

Thanks. I'll add a box and work at it. I tried some more with just the bar... won't put up the video 'cause it still looks like sh*t. Guess I'll start with a broomstick and work my way up . It's a very humbling experience. I thought I knew how to squat. My lower back and hams feel all jittery from the little nothing I did. Also, I didn't realize I rounded my back. I didn't know squats were so complicated. I'll look into getting some new shoes.

Spatts and gang told me about my messed up deadlift already. I wonder what I'm doing wrong with the bench? Probably everything as well. Next week all my workouts will probably consist of just moving the dang bar.

 

[IronLion]

Look at it this way: it means you will make considerable gains in a short period of time just by mastering the technique