Light touch to box

[38SS]

Mark R - thank you for the great books (have them all) and participating in this forum.

My question - is it OK to squat down to a light touch on a box simply to confirm proper squat depth? Specifically, I tend to struggle being consistent with the depth of my squats. One set I go too deep, the next slightly too high.

I don't remember where I picked up from but I find that if I do my squats over a small cardboard box about 12 inches high, go just go down to a light touch, it solves my consistency problems. I hit just below parallel every time. Instead of worrying depth I can focus on hip drive, etc. With good timing, I really don't have a pause at the bottom.

Horrible thing to do?

[Mark Rippetoe]

If you get in the habit of feeling for the box, you will never learn to feel for the bottom of the squat.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

I sometimes use a band across the bottom of the rack or a dynamax med. ball but not for too long. People tend to relax a bit at the bottom of the squat when they are reaching for an object instead of rebounding against the tension in their hamstrings. This sometimes causes the knees to get shoved forward and also slows down progression to heavier weights.

[38SS]

Thank you. I will work on this.

Any "cues" or suggestion for feeling the bottom of the squat (don't recall one in SS). Now, I tend to feel for my top of my hips to dip below my knees - but that tends to bring me too low and lose tension in my hamstrings.

Probably, just need to suck it up and focus more.

[Mark Rippetoe]

KSC, as usual, is dead on the money. The "bottom" is felt when everything in the posterior chain gets tight and the rebound occurs. If you have done everything correctly -- knees out, ass back, back angle correct -- you will feel it at the bottom and know you're there. If you lose tension in the hamstrings, your knees have gone forward and probably in.