http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbCaLZ8a0cw
What do you think? It's a bit different from Rippetoe's suggestions.
Which way is better for joint health? Absolute weight lifted? Carry over to sprinting and jumping? ...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
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box squat?
ReplyDeleteBox squats are more or less useless for raw powerlifters. Maybe not useless but certainly a much less effective exercise than, say, pause squats or just squatting more.
ReplyDeleteI don't know for sure about sprinting or jumping but I'd imagine the arguments are similar.
ReplyDeleteAlso get off Rippetoe's jock. We've had these discussions before, the guy isn't the messiah of weightlifting.
ReplyDeleteI don't really care about the box. I'm more concerned about differences like wide as possible vs shoulder width stance and grip the bar has hard as possible vs thumbless grip. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each alternative?
ReplyDeleteGreat assumption, Shanker. This is an objective comparison of the methods of different coaches.
Keep it civil, guys. This seems like a perfectly good question to me, which is one of the reasons that we have this blog in the first place.
ReplyDeleteCaveat: I haven't had the time to watch the whole video yet. I'll do that after I get back from the Z. For now, I'll just address some of your questions above.
Here are my opinions:
* I've never found box squatting very useful, but then again, I've never really learned how to do them properly. From what I've read, raw lifters are pretty split about how useful they are. My personal opinion is to not worry about them.
* Wide vs. Narrow: There are both wide and narrow raw squatters, but the really wide squatters are usually multi-ply. There are tradeoffs in terms of where your knees go, how far forward you have to lean, and how deep you have to go to hit depth, but these are all things you want to play with until you find a stance that's good for you. Neither one, IMO, is inherently better.
* Thumbs Around vs. Thumbless: I've done both, and it doesn't make a huge difference. Thumbs around puts a little more strain on my wrists, but it feels more secure on my back. If you're gripping (anything, really), always grip as hard as possible.
* Joint Health, Absolute Weight Lifted, Carryover to Sprinting/Jumping: I have no idea, really. Try it and see what works. I think as long as you're lifting with good technique, your joints will be fine, but I'm still pretty young as well.
Just finished watching the vid. It's very specific to box squatting, of course, so I'd probably stick with the "So You Think You Can Squat" series for technique. Some of the tips Tate gives are box squat specific (e.g. stance and sitting back).
ReplyDeleteThanks Frank! I think I'll stick with the stance around shoulder width, but switch to thumbs around as it feels more stable.
ReplyDelete