box squat back to regular squat help

[Andew]

ive had some great strenth grains performing box squats for the past 3-4 months however at the end of todays workout i went for a set of regular squats at a reduced weight and noticed i go incredibly deep, as though i think im going to hit a box but obviously nothing is there...

will there be no strenght conversion back to regular squats (havent tried fresh yet) and how would you stop sinking so far when squatting, im 5'11 and using the squat rack the bar was just hovering above the rack, whereas when im box squatting its just to parrallel...

to avoid this 'sink' when im going down, is there any exercise apart from reqular squatting that would strengthen which ever muscle/s that are responsible for stopping me?

[Jason2459]

So, you mean you want to squat high? Take a video and post it here. I am guessing you are actually squating to depth now which is what you want to be doing.

[neilmorgan77]

You probably shouldn't have been using the box to stop your descent on the box squats. Maybe try box squats where you only touch the box to get your depth right, then remove the box when stopping yourself at the right depth is second nature.

[Jason2459]

You probably shouldn't have been using the box to stop your descent on the box squats. Maybe try box squats where you only touch the box to get your depth right, then remove the box when stopping yourself at the right depth is second nature.

I don't like this approach at all myself. Use the box properly or just don't use it at all. Don't rely on it to help you judge depth. But that's just me who almost exclusively does all box squats when squatting in training and have never had an issue hitting depth in a meet.

[neilmorgan77]

I don't like this approach at all myself. Use the box properly or just don't use it at all. Don't rely on it to help you judge depth. But that's just me who almost exclusively does all box squats when squatting in training and have never had an issue hitting depth in a meet.

I was just trying to help the transition from box squats to regular squats, but I agree that you shouldn't need the box to judge depth. The main point is that he shouldn't be falling out of control during his squats, which may be why he is going too deep.

[Jason2459]

I'm not sure he's going to deep. !

[neilmorgan77]

I'm not sure he's going to deep. !

Well, I only had his words to go on. A video would have shown us for sure what's going on.

[Jason2459]

Well, I only had his words to go on. A video would have shown us for sure what's going on.

So am I. He says he's going to parallel on the box(which easily could be higher than that) but when not using the box he is going lower and possibly hitting depth for once.

[untranslatedZA]

If u are doing box squat CORRECTLY, which most people dont do, including myself ive learned recently, there will be carryover to regular squat regardless of your stance, having a box there to judge depth isnt all bad but i would try to use it less and less, since sometimes u end up feeling for the box and going deeper than u need to in a meet, which could affect your total. U should have someone spotting u, and they should be checking your depth so u can just focus on actual squating.

[getout87]

When switching from box to free, it is a good idea to have someone calling you up.

[Jason2459]

When switching from box to free, it is a good idea to have someone calling you up.

Best way to do it. If you don't have someone knowledgeable about what depth is supposed to be use video and setup to the side. I train alone and use video all the time to critique my form.

[Torrtrefireto]

When switching from box to free, it is a good idea to have someone calling you up.

Unless you squat with speed

By the time anyone could call 'up' a lot of people would already be on the floor


OP I would suggest you just start doing real squats often and film them until you know where you need to be and it comes naturally

[Andew]

well so far as i said i only tried after my regular workout, the depth of the box is that im at parallel when im on the box and i have alternated between using it as a a guage of depth orginally then progressed to using it as an actuall proper box squat (or what i hope to be) by essentially sitting on it and powering up.

when i did go down without the box there i shot through where the box would be but was by no means out of control but by going so deep for me at least below parallel i felt as though i could lift the weight but with no drive. so yeah from everyones advice ill probably have to film myself to critique where to stop without the box otherwise ill be screwed.

[Jason2459]

Yes please video the squats. I'd like to see you box squat as well. Again, it sounds like you are actually squatting to depth now like you are supposed to be doing. No, you won't be able to use as much weight as when you were not going deep enough. So that will hurt the ego. I'm also assuming you actually were going to parallel on the box which a lot of people think they are but are actually higher.

[dlt76028]

Regular squats to build regular squats

[Jason2459]

Regular squats to build regular squats

Not entirely true.

[Torrtrefireto]

Not entirely true.

Works well enough for a lot of us

Box squats (though I didn't do them in a fashion that you or Isaku would say is proper) absolutely destroyed my regular squat.

[Jason2459]

Works well enough for a lot of us

Box squats (though I didn't do them in a fashion that you or Isaku would say is proper) absolutely destroyed my regular squat.

Not saying it won't and not saying that you must box squat. But box squatting, properly, took me from 225 to 500 unequipped with in two years.

[Shinjan]

Not saying it won't and not saying that you must box squat. But box squatting, properly, took me from 225 to 500 unequipped with in two years.

Squats without anything else took my squat from 135 to 455 in two years and there are many more people who have had similar results. Dont think that argument works here lol

[Jason2459]

Squats without anything else took my squat from 135 to 455 in two years and there are many more people who have had similar results. Dont think that argument works here lol

Umm... what argument? I said I'm not advocating that box squats are everything and must not squat. Box squats can carry over to a squat. If you never box squat and just squat you're squat can go up. I haven't said it won't. Why are you trying to twist things? I rarely ever do full squats in training due to a bad knee. Box squats allow me to relieve a lot of knee pressure when done properly.

[MannUSAF]

Umm... what argument? I said I'm not advocating that box squats are everything and must not squat. Box squats can carry over to a squat. If you never box squat and just squat you're squat can go up. I haven't said it won't. Why are you trying to twist things? I rarely ever do full squats in training due to a bad knee. Box squats allow me to relieve a lot of knee pressure when done properly.

If you are a raw lifter then you have no business doing box squats. Box squatting is for geared lifters trying to emulate in training the movement of hitting the hole in a suit. Box squatting correctly actually deloads the quads which is precisely what happens in geard lifting and precisely not what happens raw. You're practicing something that doesn't correlate to an actual squat, and the stress and tension on bodyparts that are associated with squatting. You said it yourself that you box squat to relieve the pressure off of your knees which means your doing something that is unnatural. Obviously squatting without a box puts stress on your knees, so that puts stress and tension where it's supposed to be. This means you either need to work on your form or play with stances that doesn't put stress on your knees. Squatting is what makes your squat stronger...not box squats.

[Jason2459]

If you are a raw lifter then you have no business doing box squats. Box squatting is for geared lifters trying to emulate in training the movement of hitting the hole in a suit. Box squatting correctly actually deloads the quads which is precisely what happens in geard lifting and precisely not what happens raw. You're practicing something that doesn't correlate to an actual squat, and the stress and tension on bodyparts that are associated with squatting. You said it yourself that you box squat to relieve the pressure off of your knees which means your doing something that is unnatural. Obviously squatting without a box puts stress on your knees, so that puts stress and tension where it's supposed to be. This means you either need to work on your form or play with stances that doesn't put stress on your knees. Squatting is what makes your squat stronger...not box squats.

All of that is just wrong.

[Jason2459]

If you are a raw lifter then you have no business doing box squats. Box squatting is for geared lifters trying to emulate in training the movement of hitting the hole in a suit.

You do realize how long Box squatting has been around don't you? Well before geared lifting. The earliest that I know of was in the 60-70's from Russia and then 70's-80's in powerlifting. Could go further back then that. Again, I have always used the box squat in training for my unequipped squat training. Never once had an issue with hitting the hole in a meet.

Box squatting correctly actually deloads the quads which is precisely what happens in geard lifting and precisely not what happens raw.

No, you are deloading the hips and everything else should be very tight and ready to jump right back up. The quads are used the least in a squat over all especially the wider your stance goes.

You're practicing something that doesn't correlate to an actual squat, and the stress and tension on bodyparts that are associated with squatting.

Actually box squats exaggerate what the squat should be by sitting back further and harder. If you don't watch out you'll either be doing a good morning or dumping the bar. Form has to stay very tight through out or you're finished. This really helps strengthen the supporting muscles making a squat with out a box much easier. The box also breaks up the squat making it much harder as well increasing your stretch reflex strength making a squat with out a box much stronger out of the hole.

You said it yourself that you box squat to relieve the pressure off of your knees which means your doing something that is unnatural. Obviously squatting without a box puts stress on your knees, so that puts stress and tension where it's supposed to be. This means you either need to work on your form or play with stances that doesn't put stress on youSquatting

Squating properly with out a box should not put that much stress on the knees. For me it's forward motion of the knee that blows up my knee cap for weeks. I have to watch out how I even go down stairs or squat down to pick something up. In power lifting you want to reduce as much knee travel as possible. The narrower the stance the more knee travel there will be but pushing your knees out hard will help reduce some of that knee travel. Then on top of that the wider your stance the less knee travel there will be. This is why I squat with a fairly wide stance and with practically 0 knee travel. With that said I train maximal effort once a week training the squat and deadlift. When I squat for maximal effort, or any lift really, form tends to break down a little once you get up into the upper percentages for singles. I don't want to take the chance of blowing out and being decommissioned for several weeks. With the box squat my knees actually travel backward, as it should for anyone box squatting, greatly reducing the risk of any forward travel. Risk vs. reward.

Squatting is what makes your squat stronger...not box squatssquatting

I never said squating doesn't make your squat stronger. But you or any one else that says a box squat wont make your squat stronger too is completely wrong.

[neilmorgan77]

I'm a raw squatter and I use box squats regularly in my training including using green bands. The box squats seem to help my initial drive out of the bottom of the squat, and using the bands make me stronger towards the top. It doesn't really matter that it's raw lifting. It is building strengths which are important to all lifting.

[nekkidbear]

I know a lot of people say it doesn't correlate over to the raw squat and what not but... I would like to say that proper box squatting defenitley correlates to my DL. Probably some of the best posterior chain work I can do. Helps keep me focused on what I should be using to move the weight.

[Xuaxace]

Been box squatting as a main squat for the last 6 months due a lower back injury. Once I hit 180kg/396lb I will try to see if I can match it with my free squat bench. Should be a good exercise to know whether the box had carry over or not.

So far I have built a lot of strength out of the hole, so things are very promising IMO.

[Torrtrefireto]

If you are a raw lifter then you have no business doing box squats. Box squatting is for geared lifters trying to emulate in training the movement of hitting the hole in a suit. Box squatting correctly actually deloads the quads which is precisely what happens in geard lifting and precisely not what happens raw. You're practicing something that doesn't correlate to an actual squat, and the stress and tension on bodyparts that are associated with squatting. You said it yourself that you box squat to relieve the pressure off of your knees which means your doing something that is unnatural. Obviously squatting without a box puts stress on your knees, so that puts stress and tension where it's supposed to be. This means you either need to work on your form or play with stances that doesn't put stress on your knees. Squatting is what makes your squat stronger...not box squats.

Don't agree with anything except the last sentence

and I am willing to admit that some (a minority) of people who do a lot of box squatting can walk away with good technique on their real squats and be strong.

Main issue is that they usually look lost in the hole and don't know how to get out of it properly, although a lot of them never actually get to the hole so its not a big edal (lookin' at spf raw lifters here)

[Pazienxa]

Very interesting discussion here. I have been doing box squats for the last 2-2.5 years of 4 years training thus far. I squatted a max of 345 free squat before completely stalling so I switched over to box squats after reading so much about it on Westside methodologies. The one time I do recall switching back to regular squats was when I hit a 365 max on box squat but I had missed the attempt at 345 free squats a week later. However, at the time I was box squatting at half an inch above parallel and back to back week of maxing might have made a difference.

By then I had already found box squats so much more fun to do and it was helping me a great deal in track due the great carryover I was getting off the blocks and I haven't done a regular squat since. I eventually lowered box height slowly and recently I hit a 415x5 PR on a box about half inch below parallel with a fairly wide stance. However, I am doubtful I would be able to hit that on a regular squat since the movement patterns are different. I do feel that if I started training free squats I would definitely be able to match it.

One very distinct issue I remember clearly when switching over from box to free was the fact that I couldn't stop myself from descending in the hole as I had always had the box there to stop me. Not sure what to attribute to here but it felt I wasn't strong enough to stop the weight.

[untranslatedZA]

Box squating on madcows save me around 3 weeks of overtraining headroom, contantly doing regular squats leads me to overtraining faster. Box squating at least as long as i can leads to a longer period before im overtrained as ****, still made 20kgs on my squat in 3 months, check sig, going for 195kgs before worlds in Oct.