There are so many variations of the mighty squat – the only true leg building mechanism around in old school opinion. Unlike many of the variations of exercises for other body parts, variations for squats never take the beneficial range of motion out of the exercise. With any type of squat, you’ll always, well, squat.

So box squats were invented by a guy called Louie Simmons – the only guy over the age of 50 to squat 920 pounds.

He’s also the head of an elite, hardcore lifting crew called Westside Barbell in Culver City.

Lots of lifters at this hardcore emporium have squatted more than 900 pounds, in fact, and that’s due to pure and simple technique and the support of a crew who want its members to achieve more and more in powerlifting.

A couple of these guys have joined the 1000 pound club.

Box squats are a simple technique invention, that includes a sturdy wooden box or platform that can be placed beneath the hips. The hips must be lower than the knees, slightly, when the person comes to rest (in the lowest squat position of the exercise).

There’s no bouncing, no touch and go, just a solid SIT, and a coming back up again. Control is the earmark of this technique that builds not only muscle, but stabilizes squats and strengthens surrounding joints, ligaments and tendons to enable the lifter to move up in weight.

With sins perpendicular to the floor, and a sitting back on the box with the hips moving back first on the way down, it allows a safer, faster means of progress.

Benefits of the Box Squat are many:

You can’t cheat depth, according to the fellas down there, and you learn to sit back by moving your hips first – thereby increasing hip mobility.
Another benefit is that you develop overall hip power, which of course is important for squat thrust and lower body strength. Box squats require starting from a dead stop in the bottom position, and this develops explosive posterior chain strength.
It’s also a safe way to go, because it stops the lifter from buckling and rounding the lower back. It’s harder, say the folks who do it, to round the back when you’re moving down and back, leading with the hips.

Fans of the box squat recommend beginning with a box that is slightly higher than the knees, and you can use varying depth boxes while you learn. The main thing is, a true box squat requires your hips go slightly lower than the knees in the sit position before coming back up with the weight.

Some use an aerobic box or platform, and the Westside Barbell crew say that Elite FTS sells one online. You can also use rubber bumper plates the gym – though that may be selfish if the supply in your gym isn’t great.

EXECUTION OF BOX SQUAT:

Box Squat Starting Position -
The starting position on Box Squats is similar as for Squats. But you’ll use a slightly wider stance.

Make sure the bar is stationed low on your back to begin. A high bar doesn’t work for Box Squats. Put the bar low, on top of your scapular spine.

Use a narrow Grip -
Narrow makes it easier to keep your upper-back tight, which adds strength.

Foot Stance -
Shouldn’t be a sumo stance, but should be wider than your shoulder-width. Feet should be turned out about 30 degrees.

Tight upper-back -
Imagine squeezing a pen between your shoulder blades. Keep this position during the whole lift.

Keep chest up -
Stick chest outward and keep it up. This together with the tight upper-back will prevent your back from bending.

Look Forward -
Fix a point in front of you during the whole lift. Don’t look up or down, just look forward or through the mirror.

Push Your Abs Out -
This increases lower back stability. Push abs out as if someone was going to punch you in your stomach.

HOW TO SQUAT DOWN ON BOX:
Lower yourself by moving your hips first. Your knees should hardly move during Box Squats, it all comes from your hips.

Sit Back, and lead by pushing your hips back as far as you can. Think sitting on a toilet. Your knees don’t move, your hips move back – which is why keeping your chest and abs out stabilize.

Shins are perpendicular to the floor – even past perpendicular to the floor. You’ll get this by moving your hips first. Push them back as far as you can.

Keep the knees out – your upper-thighs must stay in line with your feet to avoid knee injuries. Imagine pushing your knees out in the same direction as where your toes point.

Sit down on the box, but do not let yourself fall down on it.

Lower yourself under good control – not slowly, but also not a quick touch and go. It should be fluid and controlled.

Remember to stay tight – don’t relax your muscles, it can cause back injuries. Keep all your muscles tight on the box.

HOW TO SQUAT OFF THE BOX:
Stay tight, keep your chest up and look forward. Squat up by thinking “hips up,” do not lean forward.

Plant heels firmly on the floor, and curl your toes. Heels keep you from losing balance. Push from the outer side of your feet, and explode. You can’t do Box Squats slowly. Think: Explode upward from hips. That’s how Box Squats build hip power.

COMMON BOX SQUAT MISTAKES OF EXECUTION:
As with any weight lifting exercise, the lower back can become compromised if you don’t execute correct form. The key is to sit on the box and stay tight, not to bounce or relax at any point.

Mistake 1: Bouncing off The Box – This sandwiches your spine between the bar and the box, causing back injuries. Lower yourself under control to sit on the box for a brief moment and begin coming up.

Mistake 2: Relaxing on The Box – When you do this, your spine gets the whole load as surrounding muscles can’t provide support. Stay tight, push your abs out.

Mistake 3: Keeping Knees Forward – It kills posterior chain strength. Keep your shins at perpendicular to the floor – or past. Lower yourself by pushing your hips back.

Mistake 4: Rocking Forward – Won’t allow you to use your glutes effectively and will risk back injury. Squat up by moving your hips up. Keep your torso still.

Mistake 5: Leaning Forward – Can make your back round. Instead, look forward, keeping a big chest, with shoulder blades back and down; arch your back, push your abs out. Squat.

Mistake 6: Keeping knees in – This puts uneven compression on knee joint. Push your knees out from start to finish. Keep your thighs in line with your feet.

By squatting deeper than you imagined in a cage, box squats allow you to isolate all the correct muscles. Through isolating all the correct muscles, it enables you to develop additional flexibility, and muscle development, and quickly improves your pulling strength for things like deadlifts and Olympic pulls. In a word, box squats are the versatility lifters need to move past those plateaus, and a great start for beginners to ingrain the most correct form.

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ARTIQUETTE # 2

SEVEN BIGGEST OBSTACLES TO PHYSIQUE PROGRESS – TIPS ON AVOIDING THEM

So much can hold a person back from improving, why add to the mix by making avoidable mistakes in training and diet? What’s funny about the business of bodybuilding and working out is, the mistakes people make are most often a mixed bag of both science and common sense.

#1 NO INTENSITY – Training without fire (resistance workout mistake)
Intensity is quite simply elusive to most people, but when you’ve felt intensity in workouts, you’ll certainly know that it feels different than anything else. Going through the motions isn’t worth your time or effort. If you’re going to spend an hour a day in the gym, five days per week, you may as well make it count. Change workouts to reflect intensity by adding weights, taking less rest in between sets, and changing apparatus, to find what gives you the burn and pump you need to take you from Point A to Point B. Whether it’s supersets, giant sets, super-slow training sets, forced reps, drop sets, or any number of methods, employing intensity in workouts is much more important than almost anything else.

#2 NO PLAN OR DIRECTION – No assessment or thought about what to do, or when (resistance workout mistake)
Most people laugh at keeping a workout log. But without any record of what you have done and what of those things have worked or not worked for you, there is no reference for the future. Some people are admittedly more practiced at keeping track of their progress and are more instinctive. But if you aren’t an instinctive person, you’ll need to keep some records of what workouts you have done, and when, in order to move forward and plan ahead. Planning is key when it comes to progress, because without a goal, a way of getting there and a means of executing it all, you won’t reach goals – ever. Keep track of workouts and plan them well ahead – finding workout partners, times of day and training aids that will help you make progress. Just remember, not planning means you could end up thinking it’s okay to miss a workout here or there and end up on the couch. The more you do that, the more likely you’ll end up not working out at all. A plan will keep you focused.

#3 NO POST WORKOUT FOOD PLAN – Failing to replenish after a workout (diet mistake)
Post-workout meals and shakes are something anyone serious about physique progress should understand and apply. Committing to meals and supplements that enhance growth makes workouts in the gym well worth the toil and soreness. PWMs should include a protein, a simple carbohydrate, and some fat, along with a surplus of branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine), and a recovery supplement such as L-glutamine. Find fast-absorbing proteins, simple carbs and supplements that agree with your system to enable you to get the most recovery and quick nutrition following hard workouts geared toward growth. It’s the most important meal of the day.

#4 TRAINING INCORRECTLY – Whether poor form or overtraining (resistance training mistake)
Learning form is more important than any amount of weight you can lift. That’s because without proper form, imbalances and injuries take over and cloud your progress. Injuries are the number one reason progress is not ongoing. Stops and starts because of rehabilitating muscles and tendons means inconsistencies are more than norm than growth. Take the time to learn the correct form, practice is for months, and then worry about lifting heavy. Read up on techniques that make sense, and incorporate them for variety. Avoid overtraining, and train more intensely, for less time, for the greatest progress.

#5 TOO MUCH CARDIO – Impedes progress and sets up metabolic issues (cardio mistake)
To peddle or not to peddle. Many experts, like Chris Aceto and others in our industry, tell us that doing too much cardio can actually hinder metabolism and can set up a cycle of insulin spikes and recessions that can damage our long-term goal of a sound metabolism, a hard body, and a muscular frame. It’s important to work the heart, but not necessarily 60 minutes a day, seven days a week.

The low intensity – slow burn fat loss prescription of the 80s just doesn’t hold water for anyone anymore. Optimal fat loss comes from interval training that is selectively executed, infrequently, throughout the week. Varying speed, incline, pace, difficulty, and many other factors featured on stationary aerobic gym equipment, can make all the difference in metabolic rate, body condition and fat loss. Thirty minutes of interval training – varying intensity and pace and difficulty, as well as apparatus type – for an average of three to four time per week, can mean more fat loss and greater muscle retention than five days of 60 minutes without varying intensity.

#6 POOR LIFESTYLE CHOICES – Poor choices can screw up hormones and growth potential (diet/ supplement mistake)
Some people say that making the choice to us AAS is a poor lifestyle choice, and of course they’re right. However, we all know that top level bodybuilders wouldn’t go the way of the natural man if their goals are to hit the pro stage. So, accepting that fact, there are many ways to minimize the damaging effects of AAS, including regular health checks, blood work, and intelligent approach to its use. Other lifestyle choices, such as avoiding booze, cigarettes, marijuana, and other party drugs, will mean that cellular damage is minimized. Progress can’t be made when you’re fatigued and trying to recover from hangovers produced by drugs and alcohol, and usually don’t allow you the sleep you need to repair damage. Minimize use of toxins, take plenty of antioxidants, and eat and sleep well, and you’ll get a good head start.

#7 COMPARING SELF TO OTHERS – No identity or sense of self can cause injury and unhappiness (mental/ emotional mistake)
No matter how you slice it, you’re just a different person with different chemistry, body type, and just about everything else. Comparing to others is the most “out of context” thing you can do – and there is just no such thing as “apples-to-apples” between people. Even comparing yourself to yourself over time isn’t fair because you are a different person chemically and hormonally all the time.

I think the reason people compare themselves to others is a “way out” – it’s a kind of cop out that allows them to be depressed and say “I give up.” If it weren’t then it would be motivating, but it rarely is. Truth is, it’s also that way when you compare yourself, from one year to the next. Research shows that you aren’t even the same person from week to week, in terms of chemical makeup. That means that who you were last year at your contest is not who you will be this year. Try to clean the slate and look at who you are “today” and not who you were once. Accepting or just resigning yourself to looking at the “current” facts is what will give you a leg up. Pay attention to what is happening by keeping good records about “why” you were the person you were, and you’ll be that again – it just might be through a more circuitous route this year.