It seems that "Box Squatting for Bodybuilding"garnered a lot of interest, so naturally I'm now bringing you part two. I had people emailing me for set and rep schemes of how I use box squatting for my bodybuilders to gain muscle. In this second part, I'll address how focusing on closed-chain kinetic movements based around hip dominant exercises will bring your legs to the next level and beyond. Get rid of the butterfly machines, leg extensions, leg curls and leg press. It's time to train like a rebel.
In addition to highlighting what the rep scheme should be for box squatting for bodybuilding purposes, I'll highlight some of my other favorite exercises to use for the lower body. When talking about which exercises to use to develop some serious wheels, you need to be aware of the function of the hip musculature. For our purposes, the hip musculature is the posterior chain muscles that either cross or attach to the hip. The main functions of these muscles are hip extension and hip stabilization when we're on one foot as seen in sprinting and single leg exercises. So with that out of the way, here is how I implement box squatting.
Many bodybuilders train with the assumption that they have to get a pump and train very high volume to get growth. This is only partly true. Let’s examine muscle growth before moving on. "An increase in muscle diameter is due to enlargement of individual muscle fibers by an increase in the number and size of individual myofibrils accompanied by an increase in the amount of connective tissue. This increase in muscle protein is produced by increased protein synthesis and decreased protein degradation" (Verkhoshansky 2009). There are two different types of muscular hypertrophy— functional and non-functional. The scientific names are sarcomere hypertrophy (functional) and sarcomplasmic hypertrophy (non-functional). The definitions are as follows (courtesy of Verkhoshansky):
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy: The volume of the non-contractile protein and semifluid plasma between the muscle fibers increases. Although the cross-sectional area of the muscle increases, the density of muscle fibers per unit area decreases and there isn't any corresponding increase in muscle strength.
Sarcomere hypertrophy: An increase in the size and number of sarcomeres, which comprises the myofibrils. These may be added in series or parallel with the existing myofibrils, although only the parallel growth will contribute to an increased ability to produce muscle tension. The area density of myofibrils increases and there is a significantly greater ability to exert muscular strength.
OK, all the boring stuff is done, but as you can probably tell from the above, we need a healthy dose of myofibrillar hypertrophy (the second one) to have that dense, hard muscle look. This type of muscle growth is what you will see from guys like Ronnie Coleman. He had a lot of dense muscle from years of “power bodybuilding.”
For box squatting, I implement a few different schemes. In one cycle, we'll perform 5 X 3–6 and in another, we'll follow the dynamic method of the conjugate system for 24 reps (12 X 2, 8 X 3 or 6 X 4). This is speed-strength and a weight of 60 percent max is appropriate. Move it as fast as possible on the way up! If it is slow, it is too heavy. Then, either on a second day of the week or the next week, depending where we are in the athlete’s year, I will have them perform box squats bodybuilding style with 4–5 sets for 12–20 reps.
The other exercises I highly recommend for the same purposes (i.e. being jacked with strength to boot) are the Bulgarian split squat and the one leg, two arm deadlift. The Bulgarian split squat with the front foot elevated is my favorite. Significant depth can be achieved if you get a great stretch in the hip flexors and work every muscle in the leg including the adductors and quads. If you took a freeze frame of the bottom position, it should look like an overexaggerated sprint— great hip range of motion with great hip extension. If you're a beginner with these, use just your body weight. If you're a moderate lifter, use goblet style ala Dan John’s recommendation. If you're an advanced lifter looking for a great challenge, use a heavier dumbbell in each hand. Go heavy some days and go for more volume on the others. Read your body. Strength leads to endurance. If you get strong in a movement, it will allow you to use more moderate weights for greater reps down the road, leading to greater hypertrophy.
The one leg, two arm deadlift is essentially a one leg Romanian deadlift. As you perform the movement, the leg that is planted on the ground will be highly stimulated from stabilizing because of a changing center of gravity. From the bottom position, you'll get great hip extension as you return to the starting position because the glutes will be fighting internal rotation of the hip. There is a lot going on in this exercise.
The other exercises I included in the last article, which are great for your ‘power bodybuilding’ program, are deadlifts (all variations), squats (all variations), and all types of lunges, including lateral lunges, step-ups, and tons of sled work. As my bodybuilders competitions get closer, and my own for that matter, I implement a lot of sprint work for conditioning to bring out more definition. Sprinting is the ultimate speed-strength work for the lower body.
It's time to start thinking outside the box in your training. I remember when I was first getting into the world of strength training back in high school. I bought a book titled Big Beyond Belief. It was more of an underground book, but I know Tom Platz and Fred Hatfield were in it. If you don't know who they are, they're two of the most legendary athletes in terms of leg development and strength in the history of strength sports. I distinctly remember the book saying that any movement in which you are moving through a plane of motion rather than staying fixed as you would when using a machine is far superior for stimulating muscle growth because of the higher demand placed on the central nervous system. Just a little more information to back up this type of training for muscle growth.