The Box Squat

Steve Shafley · 04-30-2007, 07:45 PM

Hey, Pierre, do you remember me talking about this at Doug's?

The new article in the PMenu isn't a bad introduction to it. I've got some more shit to say about it, since I've done a significant amount of box squatting, including some very heavy, banded box squats.

My personal experience with the box squat is that it's an exceptional lift to include in a S&C program. It doesn't replace the regular squat forever, but it can be dropped in for a while. There is a significant amount of material written about this lift by Louie Simmons and Dave Tate, and video on YouTube can be found easily.

Ricardo Costa talks about George Frenn in his article. Since American Powerlift Evolution seems defunct now (and I didn't save it via HTTrack for some reason, damn it!), I'd like to present what I remember George Frenn's basic workout was.

Power cleans
Box squats
Good mornings

As you see, you got it covered with explosive work and heavy leg and posterior chain work.

The Culver City folks used a "high box, low box" kind of routine for their squatting as well, with big, overloaded weights being used on higher boxes and then box squatting to lower boxes to build the beginning of the lift. Not a bad program.

Steve Shafley · 05-01-2007, 01:58 PM

I do some box squats about half way through:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voKlgQwMYPQ

With the SSB. A fun bit.

Dave Van Skike · 05-01-2007, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Shafley

I do some box squats about half way through:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voKlgQwMYPQ

With the SSB. A fun bit.

Nice work. Do I detect some slimmage? seems to be less Shaf in this vid that prior.

Steve Shafley · 05-01-2007, 04:47 PM

I'm still IFing. I'm down maybe 5#...maybe.

I'm told I need to shave my eyebrows and put on mascara to complete my transformation into Uncle Fester.

Don Stevenson · 05-01-2007, 06:56 PM

Steve, What do you think of box squats for O lifters?

Specifically a doofus O lifting coach who's tweaked his lower back and is finding full A2A squats uncomfortable.

Greg Everett · 05-01-2007, 07:32 PM

i'm not steve, but i play him on tv. i think box squats can be useful for o-lifters at times to help work that sticking point of the squat.

Steve Shafley · 05-01-2007, 08:01 PM

The big mistake is mistaking box squats for regular squats. They are, and should be different, provide a much more focused stimulus to the posterior chain.

Doing them today, after a long absence of them in my program, revealed I can no longer sit back into them the way I used to, and that my posterior chain is weaker.

Neither which was unexpected.

For an olympic lifter, expect box squats to NOT help you where an improvement in the front squat, or even the back squat to help you, but probably in the pull.

Pierre Auge · 05-02-2007, 03:03 AM

Steve,
yeah seen...

Don Stevenson · 05-02-2007, 10:10 PM

I should explain further.

The doofus coach is me and about 5 weeks ago i tweaked my lower back doing pulls (I think).

Anyway i now find that full depth squatting and heavy pulls are hurting my lower back a bit. It is worst at the bottom of a full squatas my lower back just rounds a fraction and i think puts some tension on the ligaments around L4- L5

Front squats are fine (new PB FSQ last week), snatches are fine and clean and jerk isn't too bad but i'm being pretty cautious with the BSQ and clean pulls at the moment.

I'm wondering if i cut out the full depth squats for a while if i'll lose too much by doing box squats

Steve Shafley · 05-03-2007, 04:57 AM

"No" is how I'd answer that.