Help with box squats/squat assistance exercises.

[BEhave]

I have been doing box squats for the past 2 weeks. I feel like they are hurting my knees. I sit on the box, so that my feet don't touch the ground anymore than I squat back up. I think I am doing them wrong because of this or am I supposed to feel pain in my knees?

I also want to know some more squat assistance exercises. I am doing coans ddeadlift routine on mondays, and have wednesdays as my squat day.

[clorox_me]

did you watch any videos of box squats? Your feet are supposed to stay on the ground.

seriously, i would just do free squats or you're going to get hurt.

[allergic2rice]

whoa whoa, you lifted your feet off the ground? asking for an injury, keep the feet on the floor

[koyongi]

Um, how high is you box? Even my feet touch the ground when I box squat...

Box squats will not hurt your knees any more than regular squats, if done properly. Set your feet, sit back to the box, and then use your glutes and hams to come back up off the box. Just like a regular squat, but you let your hips deload a bit at the bottom.

[gbg]

Feet off ground=wrong.

[muscle_g]

Yes what everyone else said, your feet isn't supposed to leave the ground. Set the box up so that you can make depth and let your feet still be on the ground. Sit down release your hip muscles while still keeping your abs and lower back tight and explode back up.

To help with your knees
Make sure you are sitting back when going down on the box, instead of just straight down. If your going straight down that puts alot of pressure on the knee joints. Imagine your about to sit down into a chair. Sit back as far as you can.

[gbg]

Rookies shouldn't relax there hips, keep everything tight once your more advanced then you can release the tension in your hip flexors.

[koyongi]

Originally Posted by gbg

Rookies shouldn't relax there hips, keep everything tight once your more advanced then you can release the tension in your hip flexors.

I disagree. A proper box squat should not be touch-and-go. Even beginners can do them properly, they just need to keep the weights low to work on form. Everything else should be tight, but the point of box squatting is to have that momentary deload of the hips and subsequent explosion back up.

[gbg]

Originally Posted by koyongi

I disagree. A proper box squat should not be touch-and-go. Even beginners can do them properly, they just need to keep the weights low to work on form. Everything else should be tight, but the point of box squatting is to have that momentary deload of the hips and subsequent explosion back up.

I agree, but for someone who isn't familiar with the exercise it's safer to keep things tight till the technique is established, reason being when someone who is knew at the exercise they tend to relax everything and that is trouble.

Safety first.

[Smack.]

If a lift hurts you you are either:

a) Not doing it correctly, or
b) Just not meant to do it

Feet off of floor is wrong, so it is probable that you are in the first category.

Or, maybe, like me, you are just no suited to the lift. I did box squats as well and my knees started to hurt after a while.

[muscle_g]

Originally Posted by koyongi

I disagree. A proper box squat should not be touch-and-go. Even beginners can do them properly, they just need to keep the weights low to work on form. Everything else should be tight, but the point of box squatting is to have that momentary deload of the hips and subsequent explosion back up.

Originally Posted by gbg

I agree, but for someone who isn't familiar with the exercise it's safer to keep things tight till the technique is established, reason being when someone who is knew at the exercise they tend to relax everything and that is trouble.

Safety first.

I like both of these idea's, safety first, but have someone expeirenced show you proper form.