The box squat - popularized by Westside Barbell - is a back squat where you sit completely onto a box at or below parallel, briefly release the stretch reflex, and drive up from a dead-ish stop. The wider stance and vertical shins push the work onto the hips, glutes and hamstrings, and the box guarantees identical depth on every rep. It teaches explosive concentric power, gives lifters with cranky knees a friendlier squat pattern, and makes depth objective instead of aspirational.
| Level (x Bodyweight) | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| beginner | 0.45x | 0.35x |
| novice | 0.9x | 0.65x |
| intermediate | 1.4x | 0.95x |
| advanced | 1.85x | 1.3x |
| elite | 2.3x | 1.65x |
1RM as a multiple of bodyweight.
Sit back, not down - shins stay vertical and the hips travel rearward until you're fully seated. Stay braced on the box (a relaxed spine under load is the one real danger here); pause a beat without rocking, then drive through the heels with everything. Explosiveness is the point: Westside uses 50-70% loads moving fast, though heavy box squats have their place. Box height at parallel for general strength, slightly below to attack weak depth. Never crash onto the box.
Progression: bodyweight box squats to a high box, then empty-bar work lowering the box to parallel, then load with the sit-pause-explode rhythm.
Enter your 1RM above to see your training percentages.
Log every result, see your progress over time, and know exactly where you stand.