Three Squat Variations for Athletic Power and Vertical Jump Development
The squat is critical to long term athletic improvement. Heck, it’s important for any athletic improvement. No matter what your sport, or training goal is you should be squattin’ in some way, shape, or form. On top of all this, the more vertically oriented your sport is (volleyball, high jump, etc), the higher squatting is on the priority list in your training inventory.
When it comes to squatting, or any lift for that matter, we have options. A lot of options. A good rule for lifting for athletic development in terms of variety is as follows:
Multiple ranges of motion
Multiple percentages of 1RM
Multiple speeds of muscular contraction.
Multiple emphasis of muscular contraction
Using the following variables, the tool-set of an athlete’s training can be kept quite small. There isn’t as great of a need to constantly be switching around exercises (such as moving from squat to deadlift to step up to lunge etc.) when you have plenty of variety at your fingertips within a single exercise. In keeping with the “Nothing extra!” philosophy, coaches and athletes should choose an exercise that has a high correspondence with excellence in their sport and then vary that exercise slightly throughout the year.
Variety in training vital to the ultimate success of an athlete. Putting things into a box of one type of movement at one speed, and one range of motion is going to limit long term improvement in that exercise, freshness of the athlete, and long-term sporting improvement.
The squat is a keystone lift in an athletic arsenal, and to limit staleness, I have 3 general “sets” of squatting that I will use throughout the year. There are a few alterations within each of these sets, but they each have their own specific purpose, depending on which athletic quality is being developed.
Set 1: Full range of motion front or back squats.
Deep squatting is a foundation of athletic development.
Full ROM Squats
Movement Speed: Regarding eccentric (lowering phases) low for strength and fast for power. Concentric (up phase) should typically be faster.
Sets and Reps: 3-6 sets of 6-12 reps for base building. 3-8 sets of 2-5 reps for power.
%s of 1RM: 50-80% for base building. 60-85% for power.
Modifications: Bands, Chains, Weight releasers
Athletic Quality Developed: Muscle cross-sectional area. Intermuscular and intramuscular coordination of the CNS.
Full range of motion front and back squats are the foundation of strength for any athlete. Doing heavy half squats before an athlete can full squat well is kind of like painting the ceiling of the house before you put in the drywall, it just isn’t a good idea. Full squats will help to build large amounts of cross sectional muscle area in conjunction with mobility. Gains in muscle size last longer than strictly neural gains (think plyometrics), which allows the athlete to “use” that strength through more power oriented training down the road. Athletes should have mobile ankles, hips and groin/internal rotators to full squat correctly.
Set 2: Near-Parallel range of motion to box
The squat-to-a-box is NOT a box squat. The box is merely there for a depth reference point so athletes don’t turn into half or quarter squatters in order to beat their numbers each week.
“2/3 Depth” Squats
Movement Speed: Medium to High. Down phase can last up to 5 seconds. Athlete should use slower eccentrics and explode up through the concentric during phases where power is important.
Sets and Reps: 3-6 sets of 4-8 reps for strength. 3-7 sets of 2-5 reps for power.
%s of 1RM: 75-95% for strength. 60-85% for power.
Modifications: Bands, Chains, Weight releasers, Biometric Assessment (Timed reps or Tendo unit)
Athletic Quality Developed: Muscle cross-sectional area, but slightly less than the deep squat. Greater intermuscular and intramuscular coordination of the CNS specific to athletic needs.
Eventually, the need presents itself for higher loadings at ranges of motion and bar speeds that are closer to sport. When it comes to building raw power in the squat, I actually prefer a smaller range of motion. We don’t jump to ¼ squats quite yet (or ever), but by using a squat that is just a few inches high of parallel, I find that athletes can explode much harder out of the hole while still getting good leg and hip drive and minimal back involvement (as you go higher in a squat, the legs work less and the hips and back work more).
When it comes to building strength for my vertical athletes, I tend to wait until I get to the 2/3 range to get heavier than 90%. I do this for a couple of reasons. One is that this range of motion allows an athlete to go heavier without getting quite as worn out (slightly less muscle activation in the quads and lower time under tension), and the range of motion still isn’t that wearing on the spine. The second reason I like to use this type of squat to get a bit heavier in relation to the 1RM is that this range is going to have slightly more transfer to my vertical athletes (particularly track and field jumpers). More transfer and shorter recoveries allow the athlete to do more in their actual sport practice as well.
Set 3: Timed ½ Squats
I actually recommend a box slightly lower than this to achieve a 90 degree knee angle
Timed ½ Squats
Movement Speed: As fast as possible with no tempo.
Sets and Reps: 3-6 sets of 5-7 reps.
%s of 1RM: Bodyweight (likely 30-50% 1RM)
Modifications: Biometric
Athletic Quality Developed: Contraction/Relaxation capacity of the CNS regarding specific musculature. Rate of CNS signaling to muscle. Intermuscular and intramuscular coordination of the CNS.
When an athlete is getting ready to be maximally explosive, whether that be a track meet, basketball championship, or YouTube dunk video they want everyone to watch, timed ½ squats are straight up money in the bank for upping the movement ability of the athlete.
The timed ½ squat was developed by Polish Jumps coach Tadeus Starzynski, and was a common test for the Polish jump team. To perform the squat you will need to select a box that puts the athlete at a 90 degree knee bend at the bottom of the squat when first contact is made with the box (not when sitting down on it). This box is even higher than the 2/3 squat box. On command of the coach or training partner, the athlete performs 5-7 squats (Tadeus had his athletes do 7) as quickly as possible while the coach times them. The athlete must reach full extension each rep and also must not “slam” into the box but rather gently tap it. Slamming into the box limits the power and eccentric/concentric conversion torque of the athlete, so the coach/partner must make sure the athlete only uses the box as a depth guide.
The timed half squat blends power, speed, and agonist/antagonist contraction relaxation ability. Other exercises exist to enhance contraction/relaxation ability such as high-rep speed lifting (think Joe DeFranco’s 50-rep rhythm squats or speed bench presses), but because of the non-endurance nature of the timed squat and the greater power present in each rep, I think it can be used for a longer time frame than just peaking weeks.
Cautionary Note
Once you get to the ½ squat range, be warned that having a history of back issues can be a problem here, which is why I will typically make the most use of this type of squat when the athlete wants to be at their best, rather than throughout the whole season.
Conclusion:
There is nothing magic about these three types of squatting, they are simply the types of squatting I have found most useful over my years of training and coaching for the development of my athletes, particularly my track and field jumpers. The video below will give you a clear picture of what these three types of squats look like, as well as some useful coaching cues.
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