Box Squats

[theory]

Are box squats dangerous, Dr. Squat says they are but he doesnt explain.

How can they be dangerous, and what kind of injuries can they cause?

[SteveO]

they can be dangerous if done improperly, when doing them do not SIT down

[sta63bmx]

Don't believe everything you read. There's an article in my sig about them. Also read...

http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls9.htm

http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls17.htm

http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls32.htm

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=body_120squat

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/box-squat.htm

Dr. Squat does indeed rule. But so do box squats! They aren't harmful when done correctly.

EDIT: The most common things I hear are these...

"Box squats are bad for your back." This is true, if you plop down on the box with a ton of weight on your back. That is why you lower yourself onto the box under control. I have also had issues with my lower back rounding when I do box squats off an 8" box. That's pretty deep, and I have difficulty getting my butt that low without losing some of my arch. I think that may be a form issue with me. Regardless, most people aren't that low anyways, so it's a moot point.

"That wide of a stance is useless for sport training." Whatever, bud! How many stances does a basketball player use in a game for jumping? Wide stance squats and ESPECIALLY wide stance box squats train concentric strength in the glutes, hips, and hamstrings, some of the prime movers in your vertical leap. If your squat is training nothing but quads, how is that specific to your sport?

"It's not any different than a regular squat." The difference is kind of subtle, but explained pretty well in the articles. The key is releasing stored tension, especially in the hips. Once you do that, you rock forward a tiny bit and then explode up off the box. When done right, you'll feel the strain in your hips like mad.

For bodybuilding, box squats aren't very useful, IMO. However, you can definitely get a lot of ham, hip, and glute work out of them. But there are more efficient ways to do that, probably. For teaching people to squat, box squats are a godsend. Teaching someone to free squat can be hard, really hard. But with a box, you can train for height and assbackness. Or whatever you want to call that. /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I love the box squat. I really do. My vertical is about 6-7" greater than it was in highschool, and I think it's just because I am much, much stronger now than I was. I don't do much regular squatting anymore, but I box squat all the time, and I think it's a great exercise, personally.

[MC-JayCore]

There are some lifts that simply have a bad reputation. Box squats are one of them.

I remember going to the gym one day, and a guy was box squatting. Out of nowhere, a gym instructor goes up to him and tells him box squatting is dangerous, and he should stop. Now I take a moment here and turn around to survey the amount of people bent over rowing with curved backs, curling 1/2 reps whilst swinging their backs like crazy, benching with discraceful form, and the guy box squatting is the one told off. The box squatter turns round to the instructor and says "I don't think they're dangerous", and keeps going. Word.

[JTiger]

I hate the gym instructors that eyeball you like they are going to throw you out of because your form is correct, while all the other hackers get nothing. Just leave me alone and watch, you just might learn something.

[DB_Head]

Where I workout the gym instructors are total morons who have no idea what they're doing. The other day I saw the senior instructor training a new employee how to lift weights, the new guy looked like he had never touched a weight in his life... :O

[rise]

I boxsquat, but I do not sit and rest on the box when I go down. I prefer the 'touch n go' method; as it was mentioned earlier, it is easy to round out your back when you sit down fully.