THE ART OF BOX SQUATTING
The box squat is one of the best ways to squat. It was originally brought to light by the original Westside Barbell in Culver City, California, and made famous by Louie Simmons.
The benefits of box squatting include:
Increased recovery time between squat sessions
Ability to squat to prescribed depth every time
Easier on knees
Places stress on the hips and hamstrings=you become faster, stronger & more explosive
Easy to teach
These benefits are all realized when doing the box squat correctly. This is the key.
If you claim that they don’t work it’s because you’re not doing them properly.
Make sure the box has a wide enough surface area to perform the lift. This will give you confidence when squatting down.
Begin the squat by pushing the hips and glutes back first. Do not lead with the knees.
As you descend, continue to push your hips back and then begin bending the knees.
As you’re bending the knees (squatting down), you should open up your groin.
This means your knees will open and allow you to keep your shins perpendicular to the floor.
This is important because this position keeps the stress off of the knees and onto the hips, low back, and
hamstrings.
Once you reach the box, you must sit on the box. Do not touch and go, and do not bounce on the box.
There is no relaxation. You must sit tight on the box.
After a second and a half, explode off of the box.
Make sure you keep your chest up as you drive off of the box.
BOX HEIGHTS
A low box squat will put you 1–2 inches below parallel. A high box will put you 1–2 inches above parallel.
Of course, all of these box heights are going to be dependent on your options.
Just use what you have.
VARIATIONS:
Straight bar box squat
Cambered bar box squat
Safety squat bar box squat
Front box squat
Buffalo bar box squat
Zercher box squat
Reverse band box squat
If you take into account all the different box heights and bands/chains you can use you have tons of variations to make PRs on a weekly basis.
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