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

[t3c]

hey man, i forgot to say that I had a REALLY high box for a while...a good deal above paralell...then i just lowered each week until i got the height i needed. You should try that.

I don't know what tennis shoes are like or your boots but i would grab some chuck talors cheap so you can really push out and in turn keep your knees out.

 

[coolcolj]

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.

incorrect - your hams get worked as well, quads only extend the knee, and obviously your hips are extending
Just that by sitting back you shift the stress more to the glutes


man I don't know how you drop down like that ontpo the box - ouch. I think that box is too low for you at the moment.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

incorrect - your hams get worked as well, quads only extend the knee, and obviously your hips are extending
Just that by sitting back you shift the stress more to the glutes


man I don't know how you drop down like that ontpo the box - ouch. I think that box is too low for you at the moment.

Naturally hams are used anytime the hips bend, I just feel them a lot more in the hams than before.

Now I'm going to get more stress to the glutes - great. Just what a need, more butt. I got more than enough as is

I agree, box is too low... I'm just trying to figure this stuff out. I didn't mean to drop like that - I just lost muscle control when my ass was way back there. It was only 95 pounds, so no biggie.

I'll work on it. Thanks everyone for the help!

ps: Is it really possible to go ATF while keeping your knees in line with feet? I usually see this:

 

[Mike_Rojas]

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.

OK, I looked over the site and saw the WIDE stance that Tommy uses - wow. So I tried to go wider and angle my feet out more and it was much easier to go down to the box.

 

[coolcolj]

only if you go wide on your stance and lean forward a lot

it's a balance thing - I don't think having the knees go forward is a bad thing, Doesn't bother me one bit

 

[Deepsquat]

I don't feel that anyone emphisised this enough...you are dropping too fast ...control the weight ...I damn near shit my pants when I saw you bounce on the 3 rep 1st video and 2-3 on 2nd video.....you can severly fuck up your spine doing that ...stop it today....... Pl;ease ...this is one reason why when my friends ask me about bench squats I tell them to avoid it at all costs...It can take just one bad rep and POW! Your back is dust for the rest of your life..please study other videos and learn to squat BACK and you can do this safely ...I bodybuild..not powerlift ...but I understand what you are trying to do ...but safety first!

 

[Mike_Rojas]

I don't feel that anyone emphisised this enough...you are dropping too fast ...control the weight ...I damn near shit my pants when I saw you bounce on the 3 rep 1st video and 2-3 on 2nd video.....you can severly fuck up your spine doing that ...stop it today....... Pl;ease ...this is one reason why when my friends ask me about bench squats I tell them to avoid it at all costs...It can take just one bad rep and POW! Your back is dust for the rest of your life..please study other videos and learn to squat BACK and you can do this safely ...I bodybuild..not powerlift ...but I understand what you are trying to do ...but safety first!

Thanks Deep. I should have started out lighter. I usually do work sets of squats with 225 (in my apparently wrong technique), so I didn't think I'd have a problem with 135 and 95. Now I'll play around with just the bar or a broomstick.

 

[benchmonster]

high free (non-box) squatting 225 does not mean you are able to handle X amount of weight for a box squat. A box squat is a different creature altogether.

Get those feet out, and push out with feet, not down, to raise and lower onto and off of the box.

Also, arch your back hard, and try to bend the bar over your shoulders. This will help keep you tight. Got to maintain tightness at all costs. When you drop fast on the box, it looks like you have lost all tightness.

B.

 

[spatts]

I don't feel that anyone emphisised this enough...you are dropping too fast ...control the weight ...I damn near shit my pants when I saw you bounce on the 3 rep 1st video and 2-3 on 2nd video.....you can severly fuck up your spine doing that ...stop it today....... Pl;ease ...this is one reason why when my friends ask me about bench squats I tell them to avoid it at all costs...It can take just one bad rep and POW! Your back is dust for the rest of your life..please study other videos and learn to squat BACK and you can do this safely ...I bodybuild..not powerlift ...but I understand what you are trying to do ...but safety first!

This is what I noticed too. He was falling to the box. You have to fix that now, because pulling that crap with several hundred pounds on your back will leave you crippled. Concentrate on pushing your knees out, and lowering yourself to the box with your hamstrings.

For years people told me to sit back more, then I realized that what they were referring to was NOT a need to sit back more, but the illusion that I was sitting back more. The squat is a back and forth move...not down and up. Until Bob Youngs asked me which muscles I was using to lower myself, I couldn't squat for crap. When I got my shower curtain rod and headed out to the garage, two things came of that question. First, when lowering yourself with your hams, you add a stability and potential for reversal strength to the lift, and it's easier to recruit the hips for that F**k the Bar move that really is how you squat. Secondly, it caused me to realize that there are two ways to look like you're sitting back more: you can either sit farther back on the box OR you can spread your knees out more and not sit as far back. This second point was the key for me. I knew somebody would say one simple thing and my squat would finally click, and I have Bob to thank for that. I practiced with the curtain rod for almost an hour that day...doing it over, and over, and over. Then I spent days visualizing it so I wouldn't forget the new pattern. When my comp rolled around about 3 weeks later, I added almost 100 pounds to my squat, just having figured out how to squat with my hamstrings.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

Thanks everyone. I added another box, so it's like 19" - that's above parallel, but I will lower down as I get the hang of it. I'm practicing over and over with a rubber pipe that weighs about a pound. I'm glad I have my camera, 'cause I think I'm doing it right, then I watch the video.. errr.