Box Squats- what should i actually do on the box?

[die faster]

should i keep as tight as possible? should i completely sit on it, or just kind of touch it?

today was my first day with box squats. i tried all different ways, one keeping tight as possible, then i just sat down on it and pushed back up from a dead stop with not much tightness, tried just touching it lightly, tried sitting while keeping really tight. which is the best way?

 

[CoBra666]

you know i never really considered any other way cuz im ignorant like that, but ive always completely sat on it. lift my feet off the ground for a second to make sure all weight is off them then go back up. altho i live in a bubble

 

[ExtraMile]

According to louie simmons you keep everything tight while relaxing the hip flexors to release the hips. He also says that your feet should be far enough forwards so that your shins are past perpendicular forcing you to leg curl off the box

 

[themondtster]

I YouTube'd to see how it was done and they completely sat down and waited a sec or two then sat up. Guess its supposed to go from a relaxed state(legs wise) up.

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[moya]

I YouTube'd to see how it was done and they completely sat down and waited a sec or two then sat up. Guess its supposed to go from a relaxed state(legs wise) up.

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...sure, but i could look it up on youtube as well and find 20 other variations on how to do just about anything... its who the teacher is that matters most here...

 

[CoBra666]

youtube is horrible. i met a competition body builder on my job site and im gonna try and get my company relocated to his camp so i can train with him. i dont even want to know how many things ive been taught that are stupid

 

[ExtraMile]

Just an FYI, no serious powerlifter or strength athlete out there box squats by sitting on the box and taking their feet off the floor.

And I don't know of any top bodybuilder, for that matter, who uses box squats at all....

 

[die faster]

yeah i would never take my feet off the floor, and i would of course keep tightness in my spine. i like the idea of feet forward, esp if your hams are lagging. not exactly sure how i can relax only my hip flexors with a bar and weight on my back

this is the video ive been watching that got me into this

YouTube - ‪EliteFTS.com: So You Think You Can Squat Part 1‬‏

but the only thing he doesnt talk about is how you should actually sit on the box. when he has lighter weight he kind of just sits on the box lightly then when it gets heavier he sits more on it. but idk if he stays tight the whole time or relaxes, idk

 

[ExtraMile]

There's a good video by louie simmons if your looking to box squat like the westsiders:

YouTube - ‪Got Strength visit to Westside Barbell Part I: Louie Simmons teaches box squat‬‏

 

[CoBra666]

i dont really see what difference it makes if my feet come up or not, although yes i keep my back tight i could see some serious damage happening if i didnt. and fyi im not a comp bber. but this is the stuff i want to adjust since i have recently met one, and am doing my best to give myself the chance to lift with him. but i do box squats because i had a very severe back injury and they help me baby my squats till i am more comfortable with the heavy loads on my back again

 

[CoBra666]

and i didnt say he is a top bber for clarification. number 1 we live in canada idk if anyone good at anything other than hockey comes out of canada. but he is into all that stuff lifts some crazy weights and does do as many shows as he can in this area. used to play football in college than started lifting, studied alot of that kind of stuff in school and shit. now he's been into bb shows the last few years. all i can say is he knows alot more than i do, and im gonna do my best to workout with him.

 

[die faster]

There's a good video by louie simmons if your looking to box squat like the westsiders:

YouTube - ‪Got Strength visit to Westside Barbell Part I: Louie Simmons teaches box squat‬‏

nice ok so he completly sits all his weight on it. it looks like he just keeps his back tight

also so happy that songs on, its from the end of the warriors

 

[b fold the truth]

i dont really see what difference it makes if my feet come up or not, although yes i keep my back tight i could see some serious damage happening if i didnt. and fyi im not a comp bber. but this is the stuff i want to adjust since i have recently met one, and am doing my best to give myself the chance to lift with him. but i do box squats because i had a very severe back injury and they help me baby my squats till i am more comfortable with the heavy loads on my back again

Because you can't pick your feet up off the floor and be safe on your body...AND it will have no carry over to a free squat because it will be nothing similar.

Matt Wenning shows a lot of great stuff but you need to watch all of his videos.

One thing people often miss is that is is never butt to the box but it is BALLS to the box. Very important!

 

[themondtster]

Moya-Is the a specific person or place either on YouTube or another web site that has proper demonstrations. Internet is the only place I really can get help with things.

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[moya]

look above... THAT's a box squat...
i will admit ive never really gotten into them... my power out the hole is pretty good and i squat raw... it does kind of surprise me that geared lifters would even do them, because their suits give them great acceleration out of the hole, though it appears to work so i guess thats what really matters...

 

[CoBra666]

Because you can't pick your feet up off the floor and be safe on your body...AND it will have no carry over to a free squat because it will be nothing similar.

Matt Wenning shows a lot of great stuff but you need to watch all of his videos.

One thing people often miss is that is is never butt to the box but it is BALLS to the box. Very important!

good to know dude. thx

 

[b fold the truth]

look above... THAT's a box squat...
i will admit ive never really gotten into them... my power out the hole is pretty good and i squat raw... it does kind of surprise me that geared lifters would even do them, because their suits give them great acceleration out of the hole, though it appears to work so i guess thats what really matters...

My suit is HUGE on me...amazingly huge but Geared lifters will use the box squat even more because the suit acts similar to the box...as it will stop you in the hole and you can sit back farther with a suit on than without. Imagine having a very light weight wall behind you allowing you to sit back against it with the tip of your butt...leaning into it...that is how a suit helps you to be able to sit back.

The suit also often causes more problems than it can help (knees turning it, losing arch, rounding shoulders, can't keep your air, etc...) so geared and on the box is a great way to practice.

You are 100% correct...it's about doing what works...WORKS for you! Box squats don't work for a lot of people simply because they don't perform them properly. I still find tons of mistakes in my squat sessions when I review them on video.

 

[moya]

My suit is HUGE on me...amazingly huge but Geared lifters will use the box squat even more because the suit acts similar to the box...as it will stop you in the hole and you can sit back farther with a suit on than without. Imagine having a very light weight wall behind you allowing you to sit back against it with the tip of your butt...leaning into it...that is how a suit helps you to be able to sit back.

The suit also often causes more problems than it can help (knees turning it, losing arch, rounding shoulders, can't keep your air, etc...) so geared and on the box is a great way to practice.

You are 100% correct...it's about doing what works...WORKS for you! Box squats don't work for a lot of people simply because they don't perform them properly. I still find tons of mistakes in my squat sessions when I review them on video.

i used a suit for a couple years... managed a 485@148ish in the gym before i lost it... some asshole hater at the gym stole it out of my bag when i left it in the weightroom for a couple minutes to piss... so i decided to go raw and show them i could do it without...
i will get back into geared lifting, i had just bought a bench shirt as well and barely used it twice, though i probably need to go up a size now in the shirt...
i could get my suit on by myself, just had to use the pegs on the squat rack to get the straps up...
get a tighter suit dammit!
ive done some box squatting, but nothing serious... im sure a time will come when i need it, but for now im just alternating between cycles of ed coan deadlift routine with front squats and zerchers and then smolov when i take a break from deads...
so far this is working out great... neither lift drops much as i work hard on the other... i was trying to do both heavy deads and squats in the same week for a while and it just wasnt getting me anywhere...
maybe when i run smolov again this late summer i will try it with box squats, could be fun... the way ive done them look just about how yours are, though my bar only has 405 on it lol.... i do use knee wraps when ive done them though, as i tend to get a little more pressure in the knees doing these, would that be normal? i do drive out conciously, they dont buckle in...

 

[b fold the truth]

I do box squats because they don't kill my knees. The shins should be vertical basically...it must be some type of technique issue. Send me a video once you start doing them again. I hit an easy 902 reverse band box squat yesterday. My bar was full till the end but I'd sure like to have 1k on there.