The Pause Squat: What, How, and Why
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In several of our previous articles, we’ve covered the pin squat, box squat, and tempo squat. Today, let’s briefly discuss the pause squat.
What is a pause squat?
A pause squat is a squat wherein you descend, pause for a moment at the bottom of the movement, and then squat the weight back up again.
How do you perform a pause squat?
You descend as you would in a normal squat - hips go back, knees go forward and out (staying in line with your toes), and your chest points down.
At the bottom of the squat, you’re simply going to pause in this position. A two-second pause at the bottom is very common, and make sure you’re not cheating the pause. If you’ve got a training partner to count aloud “one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two,” that’s ideal. If you don’t, be sure to remind yourself to count slowly in your head, or as some lifters do, you can simply count to three or four instead since most people count fast under a challenging load.
After the pause, drive the hips up out of the hole as you would in a normal squat and continue your ascent.
Why might you do pause squats or where might you see them in your programming?
Let’s say your coach has programmed you within a Heavy-Light-Medium structure or something similar - in this case, you might see a pause squat show up as a medium day squat or a light day squat (the loading and volume need to be carefully managed - especially if it’s a light day squat).
Due to the pause at the bottom, the pause squat - like the pin squat and box squat - eliminates the stretch reflex (the “bounce”) out of the bottom, so it’s a disadvantaged squat, and thus you’ll need to use a lighter weight than with your regular squat, so it fits the bill for a medium or light squat. However, as with the pin squat and box squat, remember that “lighter” does not necessarily mean easy.
The pause squat can also be useful for a number of other reasons - one of which is that it can help a lifter focus on a specific aspect of his technique. For example, if Billy is working on hitting the correct position at the bottom of the squat, this forces him to spend some quality time in that position and allows him to focus on being leaned over, having the hips back, keeping the knees out, etc.
If Billy has the highly specific medical condition known as grumpy knees, the pause squat can provide a valuable way to squat as it eliminates the stretch reflex out of the bottom. Make no mistake - the “bounce” that you normally use in the squat is very productive and makes for a more effective and efficient muscular contraction, but if you’ve got knees that are giving you some problems, you might find that the pause squat works quite well for you.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
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"This Made Him Look STUPID!" | Squat Mistake
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Quit making this mistake. It looks silly, it’s pointless, and it can cause a problem, so let’s fix it fast.
Figure 1: don’t do this.
The Mistake
What’s the mistake? It is that of looking for the hooks (AKA “j-hooks”) when racking the squat. After all, unless you have an incredibly cruel training partner, the hooks didn’t go anywhere while you were squatting, so there’s no need for you to look sideways for them when racking the barbell at the end of your set (Figure 1).
Why is This a Problem?
Looking for the hooks is unnecessary, it’s a waste of time and energy, and it makes you look like a newbie. Additionally - and most importantly - it increases the chance that someday (probably not today, but someday), you’re going to end up as a great candidate for a YouTube fail video because - while you’re going to make the hook that you’re looking for - you’re eventually going to miss the hook that you’re not looking for.
You Don’t Really Care About the Hooks Anyway, Right?
It’s useful to remember that you don’t aim for the hooks anyway - you simply want to get the bar to hit the uprights and then stay in contact with the uprights as you slide the bar down a few inches until it’s resting on the hooks.
figure 2: this . . . is much better.
How to Fix the Problem
With this in mind, when you finish your set of squats, keep looking at the same focal point you used when squatting (on the floor roughly four to six feet in front of you) and walk straight ahead until the bar runs into the uprights (Figure 2). You’ll know because . . . you’ll stop moving.
Once you’ve hit the uprights, and assuming that you’ve set your hooks at a reasonable height (and if you’re not sure, be sure to watch the included video below), maintain bar contact with the uprights while you use your legs to dip down slightly until the bar is sitting in the hooks.
This last point is worth repeating - as long as you maintain contact with the uprights, you’ll end up with the bar correctly resting in the hooks every single time.
Put simply, be smart. Looking at the hooks when racking the bar is unnecessary, it’s a waste of time and effort, and it increases the chance that you’re going to do something silly like end up with half a barbell still on your back when you think it’s completely back on the hooks.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)
If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.
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Starting Strength Squat/Low Bar Squat | Fix Your HIPS and KNEES!
/Is the timing of your hips and knees ruining your squat? In this video - our sixth in a series of Saturday Shorts on fixing the squat - Phil and Becky quickly discuss and demonstrate how to solve this problem.
(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 09/03/22)
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?
Never Make This Squat Mistake Again (fast fix)
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Today’s topic is a mistake that is all too common - even in a few experienced lifters. It’s an error that is awfully silly, borderline dangerous, and fantastically simple to correct.
The mistake is that of setting your j-hooks - or simply “hooks” - too high.
Why This Happens
There are a number of reasons this occurs; first, a lifter simply might not have a good idea of where to set the hooks. Second, the lifter is ignorant of the downsides of setting the hooks too high. Third, the lifter is lazy and doesn’t like to stand the barbell up any more than necessary when unracking it from the hooks. There are perhaps other reasons, but this list suffices for now.
If you’d rather watch a video on this topic as well as see this mistake in action, be sure to check out the included video.
figure 1: there’s dumb . . . and then there’s this guy. don’t be this guy.
Why This is a Silly Mistake
You don’t ever want to finish a heavy set of squats (or bench press, but let’s focus on the squat) and then have to tiptoe the bar back into the rack because the hooks are too high.
You’re tired at the end of the set, and you should never have to do a calf raise to rack the bar (see Figure 1). Additionally, putting yourself in this position means you run the risk of failing to rack the bar and thus creating a rather catastrophic, YouTube-fail worthy disaster.
Where Should You Set the Hooks?
Set the hooks so that the bar sits roughly at the height of your mid-sternum.
When in doubt, err on the side of setting the hooks slightly too low rather than too high - if it’s a little low, you can always dip down a bit more to unrack the bar. Those few inches represent the top few inches of the squat, which is the easiest part of the lift anyway, so it’s not difficult to get a little bit lower, get under the bar, and then stand it up.
By setting the hooks at this height, you never need to look at the hooks when you rack the bar at the end of the set (a habit which is problematic all by itself - check out the included video). Simply keep looking at the same focal point you used while squatting and walk the bar straight ahead until the bar makes contact with both uprights. At this point - if you’ve set your hooks at a reasonable height - you can then merely dip down slightly, allowing the bar to slide down the uprights, and the bar ends up back in the hooks.
This makes for an effective, efficient, and safe way to rack the bar, and you reap the additional benefit of looking like you know what you’re doing (because you do!).
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)