This corrective variation is awesome for squat re-patterning. It can be useful for times when you are not feeling completely in control of your squat and owning your positions.
Tips
- Think of the pause as a ‘hold and contract’ rather than just a pause.
- During the pauses, do a systems check to make sure everything is engaged. Your weight is balanced properly throughout your foot, bar path is clean, and everything is awake that should be.
- If you are hypermobile, try to avoid sinking into your joints and hanging out at the bottom of the squat. Control your descent and without losing tension, pause an inch or two out of the hole.
- Pause near any location that you are experiencing difficulty or feeling out of control.
Where This Fits
These work well as a supplemental lift. They can also make a decent a main lift during phases when the squat needs some extra TLC (particularly for hypermobile folk).
Lower rep ranges work best due to the amount of time under tension.
This can also be a great variation to use in squat warm-ups.
Th elevator protocol works nicely on the bench, too!
Conclusion
My own squat had kind of taken a vacation on me before taking the above video. Being hypermobile myself, I had been falling through the bottom like a rock in a pond. This free-falling sensation finally manifested in a sense of panic under the bar, a loss of control, and eventually, dwindling squat performance. A round of elevator squats cleaned things up nicely.