Russian leg Killer

My trainer here comes up with some get plateau busters.

We are now doing squats with a twist that has my legs so sore I can't walk up stairs.

Take a padded bench and position it a step and half back and in the middle of the squat rack. Look to make sure that when you sit on the bench, your legs are at 90 degrees at the knee. Put on about 50-60% of weight you normally squat. Back out of the rack and position your legs on both sides of the bench. Sit down. Completely. Stand back up. Too easy, add weight. Repeat ten times.

This technique forces you to go deep and recruits maximum muscle fiber to get you back up after relaxing at the bottom. I would really recommend using a spotter, because you may not be able to get back up on number nine or ten if you have some decent weight of the bar. We do it with a spotter on each side of the bar in a round robin of sheer quadracep pain.

Try it, you'll wished we bombed them when we had the chance! :D

These are box squats. Powerlifters have been utilizing these for many years. It is definitely a great exercise, and you don't have to choose to set the bench/box/whatever height at parrallel. There are many other heights that are effective, below or above parallel.

I don't think this originated in Russia though. I thought i remember Louie Simmons saying in one of his articles that it originated from some gym in CA but i'm not sure on that, not that it really makes any difference.

I agree that it doesn't really matter who thought it up. Today is my third day after my leg work out and stairs are still a bitch. My legs feel like I was tied and beat for hours, which does actually doesn't sound all that bad...

my partner and i use a chair for the same thing, they are killer, we call em "sit downs" they are fantastic, partner complains of low back pain sometimes, but he doesnt wear a belt, i do and have never had a problem..........

I forgot to add one minor detail!

We do six sets of ten adding 10 kilos per set.

200lbs
220lbs
240lbs
260lbs
280lbs
300lbs

When you fail, you are sitting down, which is cool if you have two people you can get to help you get the fricking bar off your back. I have yet to put enough on the bar to fail, but it takes every thing I got to get 300lbs into motion... fricking veins bulging out, not a sight for the feight hearted.

I use a belt. Too much weight to screw around.

I'm surprised people are really worried about using a belt. I think these are much safer for your back because all you do is sit down.

When i started doing squats i used a belt religiously, but eventually once i got my form down, i didn't need it anymore.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Contender

my partner and i use a chair for the same thing, they are killer, we call em "sit downs" they are fantastic, partner complains of low back pain sometimes, but he doesnt wear a belt, i do and have never had a problem..........

---

Belts are a funkin fasion statment, I never wear a belt during squats, deads, anything. I have no problems with my back. belts are for people with weak abs



--- Sorry this was off topic but there is no correlation between the 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by abstrack

Belts are a funkin fasion statment, I never wear a belt during squats, deads, anything. I have no problems with my back. belts are for people with weak abs



--- Sorry this was off topic but there is no correlation between the 2

---

Ouch Bro.....lol,im not trying to make a fashion statement by any means i swear, we do ours on a smith machine, and i like the way the belt feels around my waist, however i dont belt for anything else if that matters.....and yes.......my abs are weak...........

I would never do these forms of exercise. Sitting down and relaxing with 300 lbs on your neck? common sense should tell all of you this would hurt your back. Contender no wonder your friend complains of lower back pain. If you want to "relax" during a squat use a power cage and put the bars below 90 degrees and let the bar rest on that not your relaxed back. And using a belt does have its uses. I put one on when I go over 600 for squats. It also takes the tension off your stabalizers so you take your obliques outta the equaztion. No need for a wider waist.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigol'legs

I would never do these forms of exercise. Sitting down and relaxing with 300 lbs on your neck? common sense should tell all of you this would hurt your back. Contender no wonder your friend complains of lower back pain. If you want to "relax" during a squat use a power cage and put the bars below 90 degrees and let the bar rest on that not your relaxed back. And using a belt does have its uses. I put one on when I go over 600 for squats. It also takes the tension off your stabalizers so you take your obliques outta the equaztion. No need for a wider waist.

---

You 'relax" your LEGS, not your back. You still need to use you back the whole time to maintain form. If you are putting the bar on your NECK with 600, you must have an amazing neck or chiropractor or both. I put the bar across my shoulders, there is a beautiful spot for it after all these squats.

I use a belt when I more than my body weight on the bar AND am working towards failure. Wierd sh*t can happen when you are tired and really pushing. I have heard the arguement about taking the tension off your stabilizers and keeping your waist thinner. Dunno.

My abs and legs, btw, are my strong points.

Again nothing new...im always hoping to read something new and exciting when you post "new russin blah blah" but now i wont anymore.

Box squats is a good way to hurt your lowerback and probly your whole spine. Nah regular squats for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by palme

Again nothing new...im always hoping to read something new and exciting when you post "new russin blah blah" but now i wont anymore.

Box squats is a good way to hurt your lowerback and probly your whole spine. Nah regular squats for me.

---

New is relative. I posted this exercise as something that I learned here. It is new for me. The intention was not to sell it as the greatest thing since sliced bread, but to get so feedback and to share...

He showed me this exercise when he noticed that I was not going as deep as I could/should/can when we had eight-ten plates on the bar. i have seen people put huge amounts of weight on the bar and barely do a f&^king curtsy. This eliminates that bs. It also seemed to recruit a lot of muscle. I was very sore from only 300 lbs. Obviously, squats will remain a staple, but i will add box squats (as i now know they are called) to my workouts periodically to get out of ruts (which is how it was posted, not as a end to motherhood and peanutbutter.)

Have you hurt your back doing box squats? Have you done them or are you just waiting until someone posts the exercise to end all exercises and then start working on your wheels?

If you know something about this exercise, Iwould really love to hear it. if you are looking for a miracle exercise that will prevent sweating, buy Muscle Media, they have a miracle a month.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by znak

New is relative. I posted this exercise as something that I learned here. It is new for me. The intention was not to sell it as the greatest thing since sliced bread, but to get so feedback and to share...

He showed me this exercise when he noticed that I was not going as deep as I could/should/can when we had eight-ten plates on the bar. i have seen people put huge amounts of weight on the bar and barely do a f&^king curtsy. This eliminates that bs. It also seemed to recruit a lot of muscle. I was very sore from only 300 lbs. Obviously, squats will remain a staple, but i will add box squats (as i now know they are called) to my workouts periodically to get out of ruts (which is how it was posted, not as a end to motherhood and peanutbutter.)

Have you hurt your back doing box squats? Have you done them or are you just waiting until someone posts the exercise to end all exercises and then start working on your wheels?

If you know something about this exercise, Iwould really love to hear it. if you are looking for a miracle exercise that will prevent sweating, buy Muscle Media, they have a miracle a month.

---

Im not flaming you, but if you havnt heard about negative traning and box squats before your not really "well read" about traning, or maybe im just to into it? :)
I do know people that have hurt their backs from box squats, this is why i dont do them. You can hurt yourself from any excercise so maybe i should stop em all? Or i can choose not to push my luck and use methods that will increase risk of injury.
But im glad your getting so much out of your workouts bro and having fun doing it!

Peace bro

Well znak you just keep doing whats working for you. But I believe if you keep following russian advice you will have to stay over there for some recovery theropy later on. I would hate to hear your post later "Broke...Ripped something following a russian work-out plan!" I to also believe my abs and legs are my strong points... post a pic and we'll compare 8)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigol'legs

I would never do these forms of exercise. Sitting down and relaxing with 300 lbs on your neck? common sense should tell all of you this would hurt your back. Contender no wonder your friend complains of lower back pain. If you want to "relax" during a squat use a power cage and put the bars below 90 degrees and let the bar rest on that not your relaxed back. And using a belt does have its uses. I put one on when I go over 600 for squats. It also takes the tension off your stabalizers so you take your obliques outta the equaztion. No need for a wider waist.

---

I don't think you guys understand the importance of the box and i'm surprised ppl are jumping to conclusions so fast(especially bigol'legs). I could talk about the importance of box squats but you probably wouldn't beleive me so i decided to post an excerpt from one of dave tate's articles.


Secret #6: Get on the box!

The greatest secret to our success at Westside is the use of the box squat. We don't do any full squatting at all, except for in competition. We haven't had any lifters over the past 15 years have any lower back or knee injuries, either. The only side effects we've seen with box squatting are big squats! The key is to do them properly. For more information on this, see my Squatting from Head to Toe article.

The benefits of the box are many. First, you can sit back further than you could without it. This places more stress on the posterior chain muscles. Second, you always know how low you're going. If you want to squat two inches below parallel then set your box up at that height. This way your body will always sit as low as it's conditioned. If you want to squat one inch high, then set the box higher. We suggest one inch below parallel since this is what's needed to pass in a powerlifting competition.

Third, squatting on a box breaks the eccentric/concentric chain. This is one of the best ways to develop explosive strength. Fourth, the box is great for teaching proper squatting technique. Most athletes and lifters have very poor squat technique because of bad coaching, muscle imbalances and flexibility. The box can work as a great aid to teaching the proper way to sit back into a squat.

I'll be the first to tell you that the competitive power squat isn't an easy thing to master. It takes many years of work and technique is very important. The stronger you get, the more you need better technique. One inch in the wrong direction and you'll miss the lift.


Full article at http://www.testosterone.net/html/body_149squat.html

Ok sab that artical is from a powerlifter. So thats the differance im talking about. I have never read an artical from a BB'r talking about doing box squats. The reason is (and I could totally be of base here) the reps. Power lifter go for mostly 4 rep sets and not more. BB'r go for reps and burn. (hehe at least I do). So all the points in that artical (except for maybe #1) does not apply. Not trying to be quick to jump on anything but this is my opinion.

I was really trying to prove to you guys that box squats are in fact safer then regular squats.

Bigol'legs, although PLers and BBers do have different goals, you would be surprised how advanced their training methods are. There is much a BBer can learn from a PLer. My training has improved by leaps and bounds since i began trying to understand many of the common PLing principles, and i am a bber. I think it is quite arrogant to simply dismiss something so easily.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by saboudian

Bigol'legs, although PLers and BBers do have different goals, you would be surprised how advanced their training methods are. There is much a BBer can learn from a PLer. My training has improved by leaps and bounds since i began trying to understand many of the common PLing principles, and i am a bber. I think it is quite arrogant to simply dismiss something so easily.

---

I wholeheartedly agree...i guess it's been about six months at least since I completed by 2.5 month westside routine, but DAMN! My journal is in this forum somewhere I believe, and though my ultimate goals are BB'ing in nature, I both learned and gained (physically) a GREAT deal from this style of training, particularly the manner in which PL'ers train the lower body. I have on occassion, in fact fairly frequently, seen a guy with a HUGE bench but they type of upper body that one would certainly not expect to generate such power. I have NEVER seen a guy with a big squat who did not have tree trunk sized legs. My hams absolutely exploded on westside and I utilize most of their principles in my hypertrophy oriented hamstring training to this day.

Fourth, the box is great for teaching proper squatting technique. Most athletes and lifters have very poor squat technique because of bad coaching, muscle imbalances and flexibility. The box can work as a great aid to teaching the proper way to sit back into a squat.

Bigol'legs- this article would seem to indicate that you will not have to hear later

"Broke...Ripped something following a russian work-out plan!"

"I to also believe my abs and legs are my strong points... post a pic and we'll compare." -- working on getting them scanned, doing the easiest things in this f%&^ing country can take forever though!

As I wrote earlier, my trainer had me do this exercise because he said that i was not going low enough and overemphasizing the importance of the weight on the bar.

I will also include a couple of pix of the dude training me, 55 years old, looks 20 and stronger than hell, been lifting 40 year INJURY FREE. He is almost always taking weight off the bar to improve my technique.

I really appreciate you dudes input. I learned a lot. :lift:

There are some Pl'ers in my guy and I talk with them frequently. I am an avide listener and I do take advice, im not one of those " Im doing everything right.". But box squats are not in my regiment for lifting. I also train intensly. One workout.... 16 Sets parallel pyramid squats superset with leg extensions. After I do 6 sets hack squats all the way down. My back upper and lower are extremly strong but I would not put the pressure of a 600 lbs bar on it. I can see going down past parallel and relaxing to explode up, but I'd recommend to anyone "use a power cage to relax". And ya I'm sure there are guys out there still training this way at 50+ but there are just as many lamed up with knee,back,leg injuries. 8) someone post that pic of the prolapse haha.

"in my guy <--- gym" sorry

It just seemed odd to me that everyone would slam it as being an extremely unsafe exercise, and when they find out that it safer(BTW, "relaxed" in this case means only relaxing your quads, as if you were doing a floor bench press, to relax your back on any squat would do extraordinary damage) then a regular squat, they turn their reasoning around once again and dismiss it once more.

BTW, in that article it did say that WSB Club has not had any injuries at all due to box squats in 15 yrs, remember that they also do em twice a week. If you've done these before, you would quickly realize why this is as i have found out.

If you don't do these, trust me it doesn't bother me. But I wouldn't want any new lifter to see statements claiming box squats are very unsafe and regular squats are the way to go. I started out doing regular squats, and I wish i had started out doing box squats instead.