box squats

just tried box squats recently. They feel like they would be really benefitial. I've just been stacking up some rubber plates to a height I fancy

Just wondering if other people do these. If they do how often and to what height.height was thinking about maybe Mon to below paralell then on fri alternating high and deep for maybe a double and some speed

I do them fairly often Drew. I used to do them religiously every week, sometimes 2x a week. I'm really not sure they help me all that much over regular squats, but still keep them in just in case haha. I vary it now though

Can be great for trying to find depth in new gear


For my speed work I usually hit either 12.5" or 14.5". You very rarely see any top guys doing high box squats; for this reason alone I almost never include them

I do them at least once per week. More benifial for suited squats in my opinion...but also help deadlifting. Westside barbell have made box squats with bands very popular to emphasis explosive power and acceleration through the lift; I've been using this method lately and noticed a big difference on my regular squat.

Height wise i think it is good to vary, as you would with board pressing, block deadlifts etc. A lot of top lifters do use high boxes as well as low boxes. Ano and the Metal gym do a lot of high box squats with chains; varation is good in my opinion.

Thanks for the advice chaps

Do you do speed work with a high box too Jason, or just use it as sort of an overload? One of the best rational for box squats I've heard was that taking 1000 reps a year (or whatever it ends up being lol) to 1" below parallel will make it very easy to find 1" below once you get to a meet.

Just curious is all

I haven't worked to a high box for a while...been focusing on the bottom portion lately but yeah it's primary use is to overload, not something to rely upon though. Paralell box squats are still king in my opinion.

I don't have any Bands or anything like that to get westide but I think as my formneeds work and strengthening I'll dabble with just below true box squats and touch and go (just to keep eye on depth) and deeper box squats. I'm much weeker at bottom than at the top

Surely the box height should be set below parallel, since in competition you squat to below parallel. I think regularly doing parallel squats is training your mind and body to do high squats in a meet!

hmmm it depends, I know people that do it with no problems as long as you know how to hit depth when it is needed.

Not everyone has to squat below parallel in the meet either!

You dont have a box in competition, and normal squats do not feel the same in my head, especially when using kit.

You can vary the height depending on your weakness, below pararllel box squats emphasis the posterior chain, however personally I felt a greater carry over to regular squats from parallel box squats.

If you're hamstrings are comparitively weak vs your quads then below parallel would probably be more benificial. However it's something you need to judge for yourself.

At Westside Barbell they 99% only box squat in training and full squat in a meet.

Not really a "full squat" in the meets they do is it though

I mean "FREE SQUAT", then, you picky fellow.
can I say Free Squat without adding a (tm) at the end, though?