Dr. Pain

OK, where to start!

Recently, one of the guys that I help now and then came to me and said he got his squat to 455!

About 3-4 months ago, Tan Girl (my Partner) and I put him through the "New Meat" Chest W/O! I quess TG inspired him to get stronger and he has made some really decent gains in that period! About the same time as the NM W/O, I worked with him on his squat, lowered his weight and the bar on his back, changed his center, got the force off of his erectors and onto his glutes, hips and legs! Taught him how to drive his heels through the floor and explode out of the hole!

So I figured that since he was geting stronger, that kind of squat was totally possible! A few days ago he is squatting and asks for a spot! I had watched him use good form at 135, decent at 185, but at 225 I noticed he lacked depth, about 3-5 inches above parallel, THE SECOND STORY!. I missed seeing his 315, but this spot he asked for was at 375 (why the hell he did 3 plates and 3 dimes was besides me, I mean use a quarter or a 35, you can't feel 10 pounds at that weight).

He takes his first rep! I'm ready to go down and up with the guy, but guess what? I'm still standing because he is squatting like 10 inches! He thinks he is in the basement, but now he is on THE FOURTH FLOOR! Each rep got progressingly worse!

Now I don't care how deep you squat, but why the hell does everyone say they go TO THE BASEMENT! It happens all of the time! (at least 19 out of 20 times) Don't even bother to tell me!

Here is the SOLUTION, I showed the same guy today with Doctor I train (he thinks he squats deep too). He was having trouble with depth, although the rest of the form was good!

While I can touch my ass to the ground on a smith squat, on a back squat, I prefer to use BOX SQUATS!

If your inflexible, these are called bench squats!

First, BE CAREFUL and BE WARMED UP!

The object is to use progressingly lower objects, like benches or boxes or stools to lightly touch your ass against on the bottom!

I started the Doc on about 18 inches, let him get use to it and then lowered it to about 14 inches! He could barely do 2/3 his normal weight! But at the end of 4 sets, he exclaimed, "WOW, I bet I just recruited more fibers than EVER before! I lowered his weight one more time and let him try 10 inches, not expecting him to make it, and he didn't, but now he has a goal!

And at least NOW HE KNOWS WHERE THE BASEMENT IS!


DP


p.s 1 and 1/4s work well for this too, providing that you pause in the hole! You should be able to do up towards 75-80% of your normal weight!
EDIT!

I should add: This technique requires an intermediate to advanced knowlegde of squatting and good knee stability and flexibility! If you're not an accomplished squatter, PLEASE, learn how to squat first and foremost, before employing these methods!


DP

p.s

Now in PL where is the ground floor! Well it kind of depends whether you are squatting for a record or not! As explained by the WPO president, it better be clear cut as to depth being attained!

If someone is industrious, they can quote the verbage from other organizations, I just thought a picture was worth a few dozen words!



Now I do want to point out, BB form will be slightly more upright, but the relation of the knee and the hip will be the same!

Also, in a box squat, or actually in our training, this is considered MINIMAL DEPTH, and I encourage you to go below the GROUND FLOOR if you can safely!

DP


Tan Girl is on the left in black!

w8lifter

Awesome

ponyboy

DP,

Would you be able to do these with a Smith Machine?

There is no squat or power rack at the Wellness Centre I run, but I'm concerned with the lack of natural shifting movement forward and back if I'm on a Smith...comments?

Dr. Pain

Yes, butt there are a few tricks!


First, place your feet well in front of the bar, until at the bottom, your back is pressed into the bar and almost fully vertical. This takes pressure off the lower back and knees, and shifts the emphasis to the quads and hips, it will eliminate a good part of the "roll" at the bottom!

Then, at a very light weight, look down (never at a heavier weight), and make sure your knees track in line with your toes (Q-angle). THEN NEVER LOOK DOWN AGAIN! Most will have to point their toes out somewhat. This is true for most leg exercises, KNEES TRACK IN LINE WITH THE TOES. There are exceptions for Imtermidiate and Advanced BBs using POF (point of flexion) routines.

Good Luck!

DP

Rob_NC

Man, you are chocked full of useful information. What's your background?

Regarding box or bench squats. Aren't they a bit dangerous? Meaning, if you suddenly collapse, get stuck, or accidently hit the bench too hard, you could cause spinal injury. Wouldn't using the safety bars to gauge your depth be a better alternative?

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

Dr. Pain

Read the post, the WARNINGS!

Yes, always use saftey bars, but unless your using a PL technique concerning partials (higher weight, just to feel it, supports set way high), you never want to TAP the supports! TOO DISTRACTING! Control your decent, never a hard bump, it's a light graze!

Backround? Someday soon?

DP

ActionMatt

I agree about the depth issue. All too often I see people doing "knee bends" then claiming that they have depth.

One thing I've use to help are just plain pause squats-- I've been squatting long enough know that I know my depth when I reach it, so I just put a 3-second pause there and blow it back up.

I do box squats on occasion, usually Westside-style. They help too.

ponyboy

Thanks DP, just tried it and it was awesome. Will definitely use it. Back felt fine.

found a good way to adjust height too...put a decline bench behind you and you can simply pull it out or push it in to adjust height since it is sloped. Just make sure it is secure so it can't slip backwards.

Michael Marx

Thanks for the lesson. It's good to see such detailed information.