• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 499 0

than at the start of the deadlift, and this longer range of motion is a terribly critical distinction between the two, since the added ROM just happens to be in the most mechanically disadvantageous part. The only thing that mitigates this mechanically hard position is the stretch-reflex rebound out of the bottom provided by the hamstrings, glutes, and adductors. Squats that start from a dead stop, removing the help provided by the stretch reflex, are quite useful when performed from different positions: just below parallel, well below parallel, and just above parallel. The pause makes the drive up very, very hard; a below-parallel paused box squat done for five reps might be only 50–60% of your 1RM. If you strengthen the squat at these positions from a dead stop, the explosion you must generate to start up from the bottom without the benefit of the bounce makes for a stronger squat when the bounce is added back in.

Paused squats. Paused squats can be done in two ways: off a box or in the power rack. The box squat is an old training method that has worked effectively for several generations of lifters. The box is set up on the platform and behind the lifter, another step back from the regular foot position for safety in backing up to the box. The box can be an actual box, built of wood or metal, a plyometric jump box, or a stack of bumper plates. The height should be variable, the box should not slip against the platform or your butt, and it must be hell for stout. The stance is generally the same as for the squat, perhaps a little wider to allow the adductors to stretch a little more and increase their contribution from the dead stop.

Figure 7-4. Box squats done with stacked bumper plates. Use what you have, as long as it is sturdy.

Take the bar out of the rack and step carefully back to a position that allows a firm contact with the box as your hips reach back at the bottom. This distance may vary with the box, but in general your heels will be parallel to the front edge of the box; if you are using stacked bumper plates, their radius will allow your heels to be a little behind the front of the plates. The squat itself will be an exaggeration of the correct form, with lots of attention paid to getting the hips back, the knees out to the sides, and enough forward lean to stay in balance with this extreme hips-back position. This exaggeration is needed because you’re going to stop dead, with no rebound, and then drive your hips up from the pause below parallel. The difference in stance reflects the need to tighten up the bottom position for an exaggerated hip drive without a rebound.

As you approach the box, slow down so that you don’t slap it with your butt. The purpose here is to load the box carefully to avoid compressing your back. Pause for a second or two and drive the hips straight up hard. Do not exhale at the bottom. Air is support, and if ever in your life you need support, it will be at the bottom of a box squat. This exercise can be used for varying numbers of reps and sets, depending on the effect desired. The box can be varied in height from several inches below parallel to an inch or two, no more, above parallel. The deep versions use lighter weights, as mentioned earlier, and the high-box version can be done with weights greatly exceeding a 1RM squat. (This alone should indicate how important it is to squat below parallel; high squats are much easier to do with lots more weight because they are not a full-range-of-motion exercise, and yes, a couple of inches does make this much difference.)

A version of this exercise known as the “rocking box squat” (developed at Westside Barbell in Culver City, California, in the 1960s) has the weight leaving the feet briefly as you rock back slightly and then coming back onto the feet before you drive your hips up hard off the box. But keep this in mind: box squats are an advanced exercise with a huge potential for injury if done by inexperienced or physically unprepared trainees. The risk of spinal compression between the box and the bar is very high, and