Box Squats

You may know that squatting is the king of all weight lifting exercises. (Deadlifting is #2.) No other exercise leads to as much muscle development and overall gain than squats, especially when you consider most of your muscles are in your legs. Most people you see squatting in the gym are actually using poor form because they are not squatting below parallel.


As you can see, this guy's butt is going lower than his knees. That is a proper squat. Doing less than that is called a partial squat, and is actually worse for your knees (because of which muscles are activated) and back (because of your spine's orientation).

Some people are unable to do a proper ATG (ass to ground) squat because of flexibility issues or injuries. A great alternative to the classic ATG squat is the box squat.

I did my first box squat this week and HOLY SHIT, what a workout. I have maxed out the leg press (315 lb) and leg curl (250 lb) machines at my gym, so I figured that there was not a ton I could do to improve my legs at the gym. However, the box squat was probably the most strenuous exercise I've done other than straight leg deadlifts.

The technique itself is simple. Bring a bench over to the squat rack and place it behind you. When you squat, keep your feet and knees forward and (slowly and steadily!) sit down on the bench. Make sure you are actually sitting on it and not just tapping your ass on the bench, because this redistribution of weight is key to the exercise. After 1-2 seconds of sitting, EXPLODE up as hard as you can, keeping knees and feet forward. Since you actually went to static equilibrium when you sat on the bench, getting back onto your feet builds muscle that you won't stress as much doing ATG squats. It's a great way to get a better jump or improve your other compound movements (bench, deadlift, press, etc). Plus there is no "guesswork" as to whether you squatted far enough or not.

In summation, box squats are crazy hard but fun and a great exercise. Give them a try.

true they are great.. i started off doing box squats and after every leg day walking out of the gym without stumbling was nearly impossible :P, and another good exercise for people with back problems or flexibility problems is the front squat, as it reduces the amount of strain on the spine, while keeping strict form.

Squats are so good and feel great. A buddy of mine who is going to school to be a personal trainer told me I have perfect form when squatting, I'm assuming it comes from my days of track and field doing the standing long jump, the beginning of any good jump starts with the exact motion of a good squat. I might try these box squats one day though.

I always thought that it was best not to rest the weight, as in keeping your muscles going. Setting the weight down is bad isn't it?

Another good exercise are weighted lunges. Not quite as intense as the squat (or as painful, for that matter, unless you have pads), but they can make you sore .

Another good exercise are weighted lunges. Not quite as intense as the squat (or as painful, for that matter, unless you have pads), but they can make you sore .

Alternative to that: Leg press

Not only does proper form with the squats, and doing box squats extremely work out your legs, your core is also getting one of the best overall workouts it can with one set imaginable.

damn straight. i hate seeing people in the gym who either dont work their legs or barely work their legs at all and wonder why they arent seeing half decent results.

Its hard for me not to laugh at people with horrible form, and they think they are just tearing their muscles up. They go in and just burst through their sets, it does nothing for you..

and leg press is only good for so long, i can max the stack of around 460lb's.. although hack squats are amazing as well, i used to do one light leg day a week where i'd cancel out squats and do hack squats. for those of you who dont know what they are, they're similar to the leg press youre just doing it on a 45 degree angle pushing the weight toward the ceiling. i find they are amazing for quads, some people arent built for squats and go using hack squats and they have better quads than alot of people who do squats.

I really suck dick at leg curls... I'm not sure why. My leg extension, squats, and basically every other leg exercise is in line with my overall fitness.

you should focus alot more on leg curls then.. i remember when my hamstrings lagged behind my quads a hell of alot my squats were as bad as hell, i did triple the work on my hamstring then what i did on my quads and now my quads are lagging behind my ham's by a hell of alot lol, if you strengthen your hamstrings a bit more your squats will fly through the roof