Things that have worked for the athletes I coach who have a stubborn squat (usually due to limb lengths making it much harder).
Here’s why I think these tips are valuable :
1). Box squats can be set at a height that you can control, too often people free fall into the bottom of the squat with zero tension and then can’t re-establish it, box squats keep you honest and punish way worse for doing that. Use box squats to build the skill of keeping tension and balance as you approach the hole. No pause squats are not the same.
2). Pairing seated jumps with squats encourages better intent, instead of grinding out of the hole try to go from zero to 60 as fast as you can. You can load up the seated jumps too.
3). Your back and ass play a big role in your squat, having a strong hinge and solid back will let you hold positions way better. Strong legs and a weak back f*ck up your squat just as much as having strong hips and back and no legs.
4). Try to squat fast and heavy when you squat to full depth, you’re trying to build the skill of squatting well, if you don’t squat well grinding out loads of <2RIR reps where the bar speed is glacial isn’t making you better it’s just reinforcing what you don’t want to happen.
If you keep pulling higher and higher you leave nothing to pull under.
If you don’t actively pull under you fall at the same speed the bar does, hence why it’s crashing, it’s beating you down into the squat.
If you can time it so you use your legs and traps to pull UP, then aggressively pull down with the arms you’ll find you can meet the bar before it hits the bottom.
If you’re new to my page you probably don’t know what my experience in weightlifting is (or why you should listen to me)
This is my own lifting career in a nutshell :
8 years competing
8 national events (3 English champs 5
British champs)
4 medals 🥈 🥈 🥉 🥉
1 bomb out (cutting to 85 was an awful idea).
I think practicing what you preach is important; the absolute level you get to is less important than how hard you push yourself to perform at your absolute limit, by pushing yourself you don’t just prove to other you’re invested in the sport you also learn a LOT that you can’t learn by justifying and observing.
As a club @ronin_strength_uk we have taken probably 20+ people to national events as juniors; seniors and masters and had medals throughout.
Easy exercise to include in your warm ups.
Low effort, high(ish) reps. Build some elasticity and balance in the bottom of the squat.
It’s also fun. And training is (meant to be) fun.
We work on aggressive extension in high volumes with weightlifting. The opposite movement is front side compression, flexion of the hip and spine.
Stuff like the L-sit that pulls your hips and back into this position can be a missing link in your accessories.
This particular variation works well for creating some strength around the shoulder as well.
Some useful rules of thumb to check if your second pulling power is indeed powerful or not:
Your hang power snatch and block power snatch are around 80% of the corresponding full lifts.
The same goes for power cleans from hang and block.
You can broad jump over your standing reach (go see @benthebounce page for this one).
You can push press about 70-75% of your best split jerk and you can power jerk about 90% of it.
These are some exercises I think it’s useful to have comparisons, ratios, acknowledged relationships between so you can see if you’re actually powerfully in your second pull.
There must be an ongoing contradiction in your head.
Both be very proud and impressed by what you can do and also treat it as if it’s as normal as brushing your teeth in the morning.
Every weight that’s bigger than what you currently lift can’t be treated as a big weight forever. That’s too stressful, that’s too much pressure to deal with as you get stronger.
Be intentional with trying to make old PB’s and ‘good days’ become everyday sh*t.
Striking this balance is hard, but it’s one of the best things you can do if you want to be more competitive and keep pushing the envelope as you become a more seasoned athlete.
Good posture, good foot pressure and a bar that moves close to the body are things you need to get right before you worry about smaller details.
Don’t step over pounds to pick up pennies.
