Chad Wesley Smith (317.5kg x10 Squat) shares some tips to improve your power out of the hole when squatting.
Pause Squats
- Chad’s lucky number is 7. So 7 seconds pause
- wide stance if you squat narrow
- narrow if you normally squat wide
Slow Decent Squat
- 7s again, so 7s down, then explode
Dead Squats
- we talked about Dead Squats here
- to eliminate the stretch reflex
I know Chad squats over 400 kgs and I only squat 280, but all my experience with paused squats and dead squats has led me to believe that they make you slower out of the hole. The problem for me is that stretch reflex is what really makes my squat powerful out of the hole. By training myself to squat without that reflex, I find I’m essentially training myself to ignore your greatest advantage coming out of the hole. All lifters are different, however; just look at Stan Efferding. He might as well be doing a paused squat or dead squat with how excruciatingly slow his decent is. Oly lifters tend to be strong out of the hole, and although sometimes you’ll see them do paused drills, their normal approach to squatting is to bounce out of the hole.
good point, everett, one I’ve heard before but forgot while watching this. Maybe I can add a bit for people…
I think paused and dead squats can make one slower out of the hole because using them in training, instead of squats with bounce, leaves the bounce untrained. But *always* utilizing the bounce in training probably leads to imbalances – a dependence on the bounce and systematic failures when the stretch reflex ends (top of the hole or just above).
At that point, should one compensate by rearrange their training to focus on developing the movement patterns in the weak area, or by continuing to do the same thing and trying further to overcome the weakness by advancing the strength to a level which can overcome the current weak point? Of course, in the latter, the weak aspect is still weak; at least as weak, maybe even weaker, in the relative sense.
I think the strategy which would allow for better gains in a given length of time would be to use paused and/or dead squats for a while to bring up that section of the lift, then return to focusing on utilizing the bounce.
I guess this probably applies different to different anatomies as well, I read recently (somewhere, maybe here on ATG) that those with proportionately short torso’s (long legs) are usually comfortable coming out of the hole due to the greater elastic potential, but the sudden drop in force when the stretch reflex ends leads to many failed lifts.
So maybe these squatting variations are better suited for the long-limbed lifter. While bounce focused variations (e.g. a double bounce or some call 1 1/4) squats might better serve the long-torsoed lifter.
From a weightlifting perspective for an intermediate who still needs to increase overall strength, I think dead squats might also assist the 1st pull, but perhaps the positions are too different.
So I wouldn’t dismiss these variations! Assess yourselves and if it seems worth a shot be prepared for a short term stall in overall squatting numbers until the bounce is well trained again.
Very good points from both of you.
> So maybe these squatting variations are better suited for the long-limbed lifter. While bounce focused variations (e.g. a double bounce or some call 1 1/4) squats might better serve the long-torsoed lifter.
I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but it makes sense.
I agree with this assessment!
7 seconds descent in a squat?
What the hell man, tearing up all KINDS of muscle fibers.
Stan Efferding actually takes 7 seconds on this 905, hah. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHrEOYyL7AE
You know what helped my squat massively at the bottom? Developing tight control in a deeeep bottom position, reducing hip joint pain, removing the flaw of hips going up first and more… SUMO deadlifts. Done not to lift maximum weight, but with the focus of pushing knees out to the sides and staying upright. The difference in my squats is incredible. I know squat like one of the Chinese weightlifters who use a wide stance.