Squat Failure

[Firehawk]

How tall is the box?

[MAURER]

hard to say, it was a couple days ago and i never thought about it at the time. i'd say about 18-20 inches maybe?

[Firehawk]

That's a super high box. I'm 6'3 and a 12-14" box (if i remember correctly) puts me at parallel.

[MAURER]

yeah on second thought, i don't think it was that high lol. maybe 12-14 inches like you said.

[westside24]

I just watch in the mirror... I dont know nothing about boxes, but yea when I look in the mirror I get just below parallel. which in my opinion is good enough, but i am, and have been striving to get, TO THE Bottom! Like ass touches ground then back up, as if you were taking a caveman style s!!!

[maverick]

I've found in my time squatting heavy that even the mirror can be deceptive when judging depth. Just my opinion.

[MAURER]

i dunno i used the box today. i'd say it was 14 inches. felt like i should lower it to 12 inches but it seemed reasonably deep.

[ixoyc]

i'm 5'7", so were like pretty much the same height. a foot is way to high for people our size. ya gotta go down into the single digits...maybe a 10 depending on how long your legs are. i used a 6 or 7 inch (depending on what was available). you don't have to go that low, but i'm just trying to give you a frame of reference.


also as maverick pointed out, i also see it all the time when guys go heavier. they cut their range of motion down so much that they begin doing quarter inch squats. their back starts collapsing so then they think there low because their chest is resting on their knees...and you know the rest of the story...

my suggestion would be prying (don't know if i spelled it right). i belive pierini mentioned this to me a while back. anyways it where you really just stretch out your hip area...trying to loosen it up and make it more flexible.

[Firehawk]

There is nothing wrong with diong high box squats. In fact it can sometimes benefit you if you expect to max the following week. Doing heavier weight off high boxes can make your body get used to that heavier weight. Unfortunately, high box squats do nothing for deep box squats. Just sink your butt as low as you can, try to make it touch your calves, and then you know you're going deep.

[MAURER]

i dunno even if i just go with my bodyweight, going lower than 10 inches above ground makes my hips really uncomfortable.

[Firehawk]

By uncomfortable do you mean tight? Tight can be good (some will argue this). Tight means you get out of the hole easier...using less muscle, meaning more weight. Tight can be negative in terms of flexibility, but we can let others talk about that. I don't stretch nearly to what I should, and until I get an injury from not stretching, I"ll probably never buy into it LOL...i know it sounds bad, but I'm just being honest.

I'd love to see your squat form if you haev the ability to post a vid. Also, You live in NJ eh, Doesn't Dan C live in NJ? Thought he did...

[MAURER]

i don't know how i'd get a vid posted unfortunately. what i can tell you is i keep my legs a bit further than shoulder width, not ridiculously wide though. i keep my toes pointed slightly out. i try to make the movement as though im sitting back into a chair. i do think that the tightness helps me move a bit more weight, my lack of flexibility acts kind of like a spring lol.

[Firehawk]

Mine does, too.