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The Box Squat is one of the many variations of the Squat popularized by Louie Simmons. If you never heard of him before, he’s the only lifter over the age of 50 to Squat 920 pounds. He’s also head of Westside Barbell.
From a safety & performance standpoint, Box Squats are superior to Squats. Many coaches have replaced Squats by Box Squats for those reasons. Here’s how to perform Box Squats with proper technique.
What Are Box Squats? Grab a box on which your hips end up lower than your knees when sitting. Squat down by sitting on the box. No bouncing, no touch & go. Sit back on the box in a controlled way. Then come back up.
Check Boris “Squat RX” Bachman’s video on the Box Squat. Notice his hips move back first on the way down. Notice also his shins stay perpendicular to the floor. And he doesn’t bounce off the box.
Benefits of Box Squats. Many of you will struggle to do Squats correctly. While giving up an exercise too early is never the option, switching to Box Squats can allow for safer & faster progress. Benefits:
- Enforce Proper Technique. You can’t cheat depth and you learn to sit back by moving your hips first. Box Squats also improve hip mobility.
- Develop Hip Power. Box Squats have you start from a dead stop in the bottom position. This develops a strong, explosive posterior chain.
- Safer. Rounding the lower back on Squats is common. While you still can do it on Box Squats, it’s much harder and often goes away faster.
Getting The Box. Grab a box on which your hips end up below your knees when sitting. A box big enough for your glutes to sit on. Best is a box that allows for different heights so you can vary depth.
- Plates. Bumper plates are thicker thus work better. But you’ll need a lot of plates to get the right height, gym people might not be happy.
- Be Creative. Aerobic box. Or plyometric jump box. Or build a wooden box. If it’s robust, it works. I use stones. A bench is usually too high.
- Adjustable Box. Elite FTS sells a box you can adjust at different heights. You’ll find more info at their site.
Low bar position on Box Squat. Notice the tight upper-back.
Box Squat Starting Position. The starting position on Box Squats is similar as for Squats. Although you’ll use a slightly wider stance.
- Low Bar. High bar doesn’t work for Box Squats. Put the bar low, on top of your scapular spine. If this position feels hard: thoracic mobility.
- Narrow Grip. Makes it easier to keep your upper-back tight, which adds strength. Do shoulder dislocations if you struggle with this position.
- Foot Stance. Doesn’t need to be a sumo stance, but should definitely be wider than your shoulder-width. Feet turned out about 30°.
- Tight Upper-back. Imagine you try to squeeze a pen between your shoulder-blades. Keep this position during the whole lift.
- Chest Up. Make a big chest and keep it up. This together with the tight upper-back will prevent your back to bend.
- Look Forward. Fix a point in front of you during the whole lift. Don’t look up or down: look forward. If it’s a mirror: look through it.
- Push Your Abs Out. Increases lower back stability. Push your abs out as if someone was going to punch you in your stomach.
How to Squat Down on The Box. Lower yourself by moving your hips first. Your knees should hardly move during Box Squats, it all comes from your hips. Read the article on how NOT to Squat.
- Sit Back. Lead by pushing your hips back as far as you can. Think sitting on a toilet. Your knees don’t move, your hips move back.
- Shins Perpendicular. Or even past perpendicular to the floor. You’ll get this by moving your hips first. Push them back as far as you can.
- Knees Out. Your upper-thighs must stay inline with your feet to avoid knee injuries. Push your knees out, point them where your toes point.
- Sit on The Box. Do not let yourself fall on the box. Lower yourself under control. Not slow, and not a touch & go. It should be controlled.
- Stay Tight. Don’t relax your muscles, it can cause back injuries. Keep all your muscles tight on the box.
How to Squat off The Box. Stay tight, keep your chest up and look forward. Squat up by thinking hips up, do not lean forward.
- Heels on The Floor. Curl your toes. Heels on the floor so you don’t lose balance. Push from the outer side of your feet (wear Chuck Taylor’s!)
- Explode. You can’t do Box Squats slow. Squat up by exploding from your hips. That’s how Box Squats build hip power.
Common Box Squat Mistakes. Box Squats - like any weight lifting exercise - can mess with your lower back if you don’t do them correctly. The key is to sit on the box and stay tight. Do not bounce or relax.
- Bouncing off The Box. Sandwiches your spine between the bar & the box, causing back injuries. Lower yourself under control. Sit on the box.
- Relaxing on The Box. Your spine gets the whole load as surrounding muscles can’t provide support. Stay tight, push your abs out.
- Knees Forward. Kills posterior chain strength. Keep your shins (past) perpendicular to the floor. Lower yourself by pushing your hips back.
- Rocking Forward. Can’t use your glutes effectively this way and risk back injury. Squat up by moving your hips up. Keep your torso still.
- Leaning Forward. Can make your back round. Look forward, big chest, shoulder-blades back & down, arch your back, push your abs out, Squat.
- Knees In. Puts uneven compressive forces on your knee joint. Push your knees out from start to finish. Keep your thighs inline with your feet.
More on Box Squats. Here are some extra articles on the Box Squat written by the Westside Barbell guys. Read them, you can never have enough info.
- Why You Should Box Squat & Box Squatting by Louie Simmons. 2 guides on Box Squats written by Louie Simmons himself.
- Squatting from Head to Toe by Dave Tate. He squats 900 pounds and was trained by Louie Simmons.
- EliteFTS Exercise Index Squat and Deadlift. 114mins DVD on Squat & Deadlift technique, including Box Squats. Watch the trailer.
One variation of the Box Squat is the Box Front Squat. Technique is similar to Box Squats, but using a clean grip. Great exercise, I might write about in the future. Subscribe to automatically get free updates (and a free eBook).
Mehdi,
Thanks again for yet another good article!! I got a question, Can I switch to box squat as I am leaning forward/slightly GMing on regular squat??
My old high school football coach loved the box - squats, box jumps, etc. I quit doing them after college and my squat form is just horrible. Thanks for reminding me to get back to the box!
I think I’ll add some box squats the next time I hit the gym and see what happens. Never really heard of it, but it looks really interesting. Thanks!
@Hemram4u
You can still lean forward on box squats. Front Squats would be a better idea, but you should know what you’re doing before messing with a program. Stick with squats and keep practicing.
@Jason/Alex
You’re welcome. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for bringing up box squats. I’ve been doing them for a while and they not only train you to be explosive out of the hole but also train your senses in knowing when your at/below parallel.
Would you recommend replacing squats with box squats entirely, or perhaps alternating between the two? I’ve been unable to improve my squat form beyond a certain point and am looking for something new to try. I’m a tall guy with long legs and can’t seem to prevent my back from rounding out near the bottom. It sounds like box squats could help me.
Great article as always Mehdi. Quick question, I learned box squats with ‘touch and go’ style, your butt hits the box and then you come back up, using the box mainly as a reference for height. Good to know the right technique for building power is to do a full stop, I will be trying this out soon, starting with less weight than I normally squat to get used to it.
If I have really tight hip flexors and low mobility around the hip area is it a good idea to do box squats. I’ve been just sticking to dynamic stretches and wasn’t sure of I should get somewhat loose before moving off of them.
I’m tall with a barrel chest, forward head posture, and outward facing feet. Some combination of those things makes it really hard for me to do regular squats. I just don’t get low enough for a full range of motion.
What do you think about goblet squats? I’ve switched to those and can get good depth with proper form. I definitely feel the burn in all the right places.
A guide to “alternate exercises when the regular way doesn’t work for you” might be a cool ebook
I’ve never heard of this squatting method - and can hardly wait to give it a try tomorrow at the gym. Squats are a great exercise that boost even my upper body strength will the hormones the large muscles affected release.
Will squatting cause hemorroids to form because of all the blood pressure and weight?
Correct me if I am wrong but I have heard nothing but bad things about box squatting. We even have posters in our gym that says nobody should ever attempt a box squat with ANY weight. It should only be used with an empty bar for training purposes as a failed box squat will compress your spine.
I am a new reader to your site and I own the Starting Strength book and I didn’t see Rippetoe mention anything about box squatting. I figured since you have read and promote his book you wouldn’t be giving false/dangerous information. Am I missing something?
I did a quick search and found this forum which appears to have Mark Rippetoe himself giving advice about the box squat. http://www.strengthmill.net/forum/showthread.php?t=916. He seems to look at it as an aid for a beginner and shouldn’t be used after that.
In the video, the guy says that if you need to rock to get out of the squat then the box is probably too low for you. Wouldn’t that mean though that you aren’t using your glutes enough and should decrease the weight?
@Josh/Matthew/Nathan
You could alternate between box squats & front squats, that’s one thing I do when I see people keep getting problems with their lower back rounding.
However: being tall is not an excuse, and switching an exercise too soon is also not an excuse. Box Squats/Front Squats have their own technique, you can mess things up there too.
@Grambo
Touch & go is tricky, if it the touch & go is too brutal, especially with heavier weights, you risk back injuries. Go with the correct technique.
@Nathan
Have never really done goblet squats, so can’t give you an opinion.
@thenonhacker
If you push the air in your belly out of your bottom maybe. But you’re not meant to do that, you’re doing a squat, you’re not taking a s***.
@Mark
This is StrongLifts.com, not StartingStrength.com. I’ve read many more books/dvds, and built my own experience.
Yes some say box squats are bad for your back. It’s no different than people saying deadlifts are bad for your back or squats bad for your knees. Any exercise is bad if you don’t do it correctly. So start light, focus on proper technique, add weight systematically.
You’re active on strengthmill. Louie Simmons has a Q/A section there, ask him his opinion about Box Squats.
@elVarouza
Start with the box at a height where hips are just below knee level. Avoid leaning forward on way up. If it keeps happening, lower the weight.
Mehdi,
I was interested in the explosive element of the box squat. Can I build explosiveness from the hole sticking to the regular squat as part of th 5×5 program? I find that sometimes I am able to be more exploisive, while other times I’m striving to explode, but really just inching the bar up from ATG.
Mehdi,
Thanks for including the safety aspect of this exercise. It is not common knowledge to the lay-person out there. This exercise can really hurt you if you do it improperly. It involves total body control, core strength and of course leg power and coordination. The box can injure anything and everything from your sacrum, coccyx, lower spine, spinal column, disc,etc. As well as cause undue extension stress on your knees. The fulcrum power need with this movement magnifies the extension portion since your not fully flexing the knee.
A great exercise.. just heed caution to the novice. Start with light weights and master the movement first.
Another great article. Thanks.
Great post Mehdi. I’ve been thinking about putting these into my routine and looks like I have a clear idea where to start off. Thanks a ton.
1 concern…
Isn’t it possible to compress the vertabra and discs of the back by landing on a box? Heavy weight with no where to go sounds like a recipe for a serious compression injury.
Wouldn’t this be similar to boxcars on a train that stops abruptly?
(chunka chunka clang!!)
thx
Rob
Rob, I think the idea here is that you have to remain tight in the core with your back straight the entire time. If you relax (breath out, stop tensing your stomach muscles) and let your back take the load, compression would be a huge risk. That is why it is advised by Mehdi and others to start light on box squats and work your way up, don’t take your max squat weight and try it on a box for the first time.
I tried these today for the first time - and like them. Will be a part of my weekly routine from now on.
@bigkevo
StrongLifts 5×5 main goal is to teach your correct technique. Best way to do that is to do an exercise a lot. So stick with squats for now, and build speed by lifting as fast as you can on the way up, power using power cleans. When you get stronger, then add exercises for more specific gains. Right now, you don’t need it, technique is more important.
@Rob
Any weight lifting exercise will hurt your back if you don’t do it correctly. Read grambo’s comments, and the last paragraph of the article “Common Box Squat Mistakes”.
@Strong One/Eric Kim
You’re welcome, thanks for reading.
I have been having a sharp pain in my right hip just before breaking parallel.I am using correct technique and it still hurts(about 2 1/2 weeks now).When I go as light as 135 lbs.(easy warmup weight) I almost lose control of the bar from my hip wanting to give up. Should I do box squats and force it to cooporate?
My 2 cents @ Matt
I’m not abundantly clear on your history as a lifter or the problem you’re having, but it sounds like squatting below parallel might be recent priority in your routine?
If so (at least I found this to be true) 135 is going to be pretty heavy on the infrastructure around your hips if you aren’t used to breaking through parallel with good form to squat down to full depth. Your hips just might not be ready to handle that load through the full range of motion.
I’d drop the weight as low as I need to–even if it’s just a broomstick–to work toward full depth with good technique and without pain. Work on your mobility and form first. Once you can do that, then start putting some weight back on the bar.
For what it’s worth, I found box squats with a slightly wider stance immensely helpful at improving hip mobility and technique in the squat rack.
Thanks for the info. J.B. It is true that I haven’t been squatting for very long and the ripe old age of forty might be coming to haunt me as well.
I was able to do up to 275 at 170 body weight for a few months.I haven’t been real good about doing a decent warm up until today and it seemed to help some;however, I had to dump the 225lbs behind my back. I have looked at getting some groove briefs from monstermuscle.com and doing the stretches listed on this site.Thanks again
You didn’t say how much weight people were supposed to use. Louis uses what 50 to max 65% (maybe 70 %?) of his max 1RM regular raw back squat for doubles ?