Box squat
Log this in the trackerA squat to a box, which fixes the depth and teaches sitting back into the hips.
What it is
A squat where you sit to a box at a set height, pause, and stand. The box makes depth identical every rep and shifts more work to the hips and hamstrings.
Muscles worked
Primary: Glutes, Quadriceps. Secondary: Hamstrings, Adductors, Core.
How to perform it
- Set a box that puts you at or just below parallel and stand a step in front of it.
- Brace, then sit back with the hips rather than straight down.
- Touch the box under control and pause without relaxing your trunk.
- Drive up through the whole foot, leading with the chest and hips together.
Common form faults
- Crashing onto the box and rocking back. Lower the last inch under control. The box marks depth, it does not catch you.
- Relaxing on the box and losing the brace. Stay tight through the pause; the point is to start the ascent from a dead stop, not from a rest.
Programming
3 to 8 reps for strength work. Useful for standardising depth, for teaching a hip-driven squat and for training around knee irritation.
Plan your training
Variations & substitutions
Frequently asked questions
- Does the box squat carry over to a normal squat?
- Yes, particularly for people who lose position out of the hole, because the pause removes the stretch reflex and forces the muscles to start the rep.
- How low should the box be?
- Parallel is the usual reference. Lower boxes demand more from the hips and more control; higher boxes let you overload the top.