Top 5 Accessory Exercises for the Squat: New for 2019

A few years ago I wrote the Top 5 Series.
Top 5 Assistance/Accessory Exercises for the Squat 
Top 5 Assistance/Accessory Exercises for the Bench Press 
Top 5 Assistance/Accessory Exercises for the Deadlift 
Top 5 Exercise for Your Girder
Top 5 Exercise That Carry Over to Everything
My Top 5 Exercises That Carry Over to Everything Part 2

And it was received pretty well. So with that in mind, I decided to update a few of my lists for 2019.
As I sat and reviewed the choices I made then, I decided that I didn’t want to make any changes, rather expand on the ones I had.
The original articles were for Assistance and Accessory work.
This series is for accessory work only.
What’s the difference you say?
Great question.
Assistance work is what you do as a second exercise, or maybe a third.
It is a heavy, compound movement, and often, a variation of a classic lift.
Classic example: 3 Board Bench Press for 5 sets of 5 after your main exercise 

Accessory work is usually third, fourth or later in the training session. It will usually be higher reps and may or may not be single joint.
Classic example: Lat Pulldowns for 4 sets of 15 after benching
Now that you get the idea, in my first article Top 5 Assistance/Accessory Exercises for the Squat  the exercises I chose were:

• Box Squats
• Safety Bar Goodmornings
• GHR
• Walking Lunges
• Heavy Prowler  Pushes

I stand by this list!
BUT:
I want to add only Accessory work here, exercises you would do as third, fourth or more as mentioned before.
And, I am not taking the ones listed above off (GHR, Walking Lunge, Prowler) because they are killer.
You get 5 new ones to add in.

And here they are, my Top 5 Accessory Exercises for the Squat: New for 2019 in no particular order.

1. High Box Step Ups:
Why?
Well, most of us neglect the shit out of single leg work and we shouldn’t. Single limb work helps to correct bi lateral strength deficits, and plain old suck.
They are hard as balls, and as she says, hard is good.
Why a high box?
Easy, more work.
And, they work the entire leg!

Quads, hams, calves, fancy named side leg muscles, everything.
Pro Tip: Start on a low box, and work your way up until you can control it on a box where your hip crease is at least 90 degrees.
Pro Tip 2: Pick up your toes on the leg that you are pushing off. This makes the load go to the working leg a lot more.
Higher reps also suck.

2. Safety Bar Back Raise
Why?
It works the ass and hamstrings to death, plus the added bonus: Upper Back strength.
These are pretty simple. The best way to see is to watch the video below.

3. Kettlebell Swings
I don’t care if you agree.
Why?
Swings are awesome, and a primal movement.
It’s a hip hinge and any chance we get to grease that groove and reinforce our rooting, pushing knees out and hinging all while getting Strong(er) is a win.
Swings also are great for GPP.

Might as well kill two birds with one stone right?

4. Hatfield Back Raise
Why?
See above. Because Fred said so.

And, it is one of the best, if not the best exercises to build your erectors with no damaging shear force on the lumbar region.
Strong spinal erectors are critical for a big squat and deadlift.

Strong erectors also reduce the risk of injury to your lower back.
Be on the lookout for a new SpudInc strap coming soon for these.

5. Front Foot Elevated Split Squat
Why?

Because you are not doing them.
You’ve probably done these with your rear foot elevated right?
Well kids, these are much harder than they look and they do a lot.

And they don’t need a ton of weight to be effective.
Anytime we can get a positive response without using a ton of weight, we are adding longevity to the training career.
This exercise builds strength in the quads and improves hip mobility and balance.
Seems like a formula for a bigger squat to me.

And there it is.

My Top 5 Accessory Exercises for the Squat: New for 2019. Add them in and keep the reps above 8.

Then, watch your squat go up.
Thank me later.
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