I read a Frederic Delavier’s book « Strength Training Anatomy » and I learned good stuff.
Box squat is often used by powerlifters to gain strength to do squat.
This exercise involves doing a squat sitting on a bench for 1-2 seconds and returning to the standing position .
In classic squat the tension accumulated in the muscles during the negative phase when you get down (as a stretched elastic ) and this tension restored during the positive phase when you get up. With box squat, sitting on the bench relaxed thighs muscle, there is not tension accumulated when you get down to be used when you get up.
For the same weight, quadriceps should provide more effort for box squat than classic squat. It’s a great exercise to target work on thighs.
This exercise can be included in a training program for people who have long legs and don’t feel their quadriceps work with classic squat.
Starting squat in sitting position allows push automatisms for the classic squat which has the effect of having the positive phase to get up faster and more powerful.
Attention : It’s necessary to be careful for this exercise in controlling the movement to get down to sit gently on the bench. If get down too fast, the butt crash on the bench and this can create serious trauma due to shock and excessive compression of spinal joints.
Note: There are special benches adaptable for different morphologies with a very padded seat to limit the risk of spinal injuries and the possibility of adjusting the height. To have a good execution of the movement, it’s necessary to have your back slightly incline. If your back is too vertical at start of the bench, the exercise will be impossible to do.
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-Steph