Pause Squat vs Pin Squat vs Box Squat

As part of my power building program as well as my basic barbell program, at my gym and in my online coaching group I have my members do a lot of each of these movements as variations of the Squat.  I like all 3 of them, but I think they each serve a different purpose.  There may be other reasons why other coaches and trainees use them….so I don’t necessarily intend for this to be a comprehensive manifesto on the 3 squat variations, but instead, just some things to think about if you are considering introducing some variety into your squat programming.

In my power building program we are currently running a conjugate type of program that includes a Max Effort Lower Body day as part of the 5-day cycle.  On the Max Effort Day we typically do only variations of the Squat or the Deadlift.  The primary Squat and Deadlift are performed on a separate day which is our volume / speed day.  But on the Max Effort Day we work up to a 1-rep max on a variation of the Squat or Deadlift then follow that up with some back off sets based off today’s top single.  I alternate every week between a Squat and Deadlift variation.

For the Max Effort Squat day, we do a lot of pin squats and box squats.  I also use the box squat for sets of 5 on max effort deadlift days as an assistance exercise.

In my Basic Barbell program, we have a heavy squat day where I rotate reps weekly between sets of 8, sets of 5, and sets of 2.  Then we have a light squat day later in the week.  I give my members the option of simply performing light squats – or using a squat variation – such as pause squat, pin squats, or box squats.

So what is the purpose and usefulness of each variation and why pick one over another?

Pause Squats.  

• Simplicity.  No equipment is required, and you don’t have to mess with pin settings.  Many of my members train in extremely bare bones garage gym environments and actually don’t have sturdy enough boxes to squat down to and don’t have thick bumper plates to stack up.  Most have benches, which can be used for a box squat, but for many, the bench will be too high of a squat to be of much value.  Some cages have very wide hole spacing and pin settings might be either too high or too low for a good pin squat.  So if you want to keep variations down to the most utterly simple version possible….you just pause your squat in the hole for a 2-3 count and explode back up.
• Technical Refinement.  If you have issues with the bottom of your squat (knees caving, back rounding, chest collapsing, inconsistent depth, etc) these can help.  With a prolonged pause and a lighter weight a paused squat can really help the lifter get a feel for certain cues he or she may need to work on at the bottom of the squat
• Strength in the hole.  If you have any of the above issues, holding the correct squat position isometrically in the bottom of the hole for a prolonged 2-3 second (or even 5 second count) can build up strength in the muscle groups that may be giving way under load.
• Speed Training / Dynamic Effort.  If I’m prescribing lighter weights (say 60-70%) for speed work then I like to have my trainees pause briefly before initiating the ascent.  I find that for most, this slight pause helps lifters be more intentional about generating maximum speed out of the hole while maintaining good form and consistent depth.  Without the pause, some lifters have a tendency to cut depth off short in anticipation of the explosive concentric and/or just have issues with balance over the mid foot and things can get sloppy.
• Used on a “light” squat day, this is an excellent strategy to make a lighter weight serve a greater purpose other than just serving as a placeholder to maintain some volume and prevent detraining.  I think the more advanced you get, the less value there is in simply having a “light squat day.”  Make those extra sets and reps serve multiple purposes if possible.

Pin Squats

I find that pin squats are just a slightly different variation of a paused squat.  I personally find them much harder than a pause squat.

• Power out of the hole.  If you find yourself with a very low sticking point in the squat i.e. you get buried coming out of the bottom on heavy efforts, then pin squats might help you.  You might think that when the weight is intercepted by the pins it allows you some sort of rest or reprieve at the bottom that would make the movement easier than a regular pause squat.  But it’s really the opposite that is true.  While you aren’t holding that isometric contraction as hard in the bottom like in a true pause squat…the pins absolutely kill the stretch reflex.  Unless you are not pausing long enough or bouncing off the pins.  Don’t do that.  Pause and pause for at least a few beats to allow for the stretch reflex to be mitigated as much as possible.  That’s the idea here.  Without the stretch reflex you have to volitionally generate a ton of power out of the bottom of the squat.
• In fact, the pin squat might be equally or even more effective as a Deadlift supplemental movement as it is for squats.  The old University of Houston power lifting coach John Hudson, was an advocate of pins squats as the primary movement which built explosive leg drive off the floor in the deadlift – even more so than a deficit deadlift which tend to get all the credit in this department.  His results as a coach and lifter make me think he knew what he was talking about
• Learn to grind a slow rep.  Heavy pin squats move slow.  All heavy squats move slow – by definition – but pin squats seem like they rarely ever get out of first gear.  This has some value.  If you are a lifter that struggles with the mental and/or physical ability to really grind through super slow heavy reps, the pin squat can help you build up your skill set in this department without forcing you to actually train your competition squat maximally all the time – which can have diminishing returns done too frequently.
• Quad work for low-bar squatters.  For the most part, the pin squat allows you to keep the same mechanics as you would in your regular low-bar squat.  The one minor change is that it kinda kills your ability to drive up out of the hole with your hips as we would normally teach a low-bar squatter.  Pronounced hip drive in a pin squat can have the effect of causing the lifter to rotate his ass up while his chest stays down.  This is not good leverage and can even be dangerous.  We don’t want to goodmorning the bar off the pins, but more likely you will just get stuck.  The pin squats forces you to drive straight up into the bar and makes this variation of the low-bar squat much more quad dominant.  If you want to find out for yourself, just do a bunch of pin squats and your quads will be way more blown up than normal and your soreness pattern the next day will also reflect this change in mechanics.  So if you have under developed quads relative to your ass and hamstrings you might make pin squatting a more regular part of your training.

Box Squats

• Overload the Hamstrings.  I have a slightly different opinion on the Box Squat than many.  I actually don’t believe they help you build that much power out of the hole if you take them down to your normal squatting depth.  I understand that many do not share this opinion and that is fine if their experience has been different than mine.  But for a raw squatter who puts too much emphasis on box squatting, I find that he or she will actually lose the feel of the bottom of the squat, especially in the absence of regular “free squats.”  For power development out of the hole – I prefer pin or pause squats.  Instead I find that the key benefit of the Box Squat is strengthening of the hamstring – if you do them right.  The benefit of the Box, is that is allows you to sit much further back into the squat than you could in a regular squat or off the pins.  With the hips way back and the shins nearly vertical you put an enormous load onto the hamstrings in both the eccentric and concentric portion of the squat.  If you have underdeveloped hamstrings, more box squatting can help build up the hamstrings.  And you can do so in a way that is more effective than isolation movements like leg curls or glute ham raises, and that doesn’t put as much stress on the lower back.  I love RDLs, Stiff Leg Deadlifts, and Goodmornings for the hamstrings, but you can only do so much heavy hip extension variations in a given week before you exceed the ability of your low back to recover.  Box Squatting is less low-back intensive while still giving a major dose of heavy eccentric and concentric work to the hamstrings.
• Work around injury / inflammation.  For my clients that tend to build up inflammation in the knees easier than others (many of my older clients) or have a knee injury – box squatting can allow you to take a lot of pressure off the knees and shift even more of the load onto the hips.  A few years ago when I had a non-lifting related (don’t ask!) quad tendon strain, I could not perform a regular weighted squat for many weeks.  However, I was able to box squat with very minimal pain, and over the course of a few months, built my box squat up from a slow painful 135 lb squat to over 500 lbs without reaggravating the injury.

There are so many ways to program these lifts into your training plan that it would constitute an entirely new article or even series of articles.  I don’t think you need to arbitrarily and randomly toss all 3 variations into your training program at once.  Instead, think about your biggest struggles with your squat and figure out which variation might contribute most in your program.