Pause Squats, Worst Squat Variation?

00:00 - Intro

01:45 - To Improve the Squat

05:11 - Aches and Pains

09:13 - Improving Positions

11:53 - A New Stimulus

13:02 - Taking A Break

15:53 - Squat Programs

[nancyj]

I pause squat in competition to mock my opponents.

[-Azure.EXE-]

Klokov and Clarence atg pause squats are such an aesthetic movement. I do them exclusively for fun and to remind myself that the weight I'm pause squatting used to be something I had to bounce out of. Just sit there for a few seconds and contemplate life

[albupavel]

1 week after saying "ok, thanks" to the romanian coach and doing what he told me i strained my quad. (squat/front squat every day)
On the other hand, this was the most enjoyable training week i ever had, and the most welcomed i ever felt in a gym.

[a.julian]

I was actually going to make a video about pause squats because it got me out of a plateau at 365lbs and got me to 405 after using them for just a couple months even though I had been stuck at 365lbs for over 6 months. It eliminates the stretch reflex and strengthened my squat at the bottom of my squat.

[EMarinoTrumpet]

I guess it comes down to your goals. Sure for weightlifting the bounce is important. For a regular person bouncing may not matter as much. Good video!

[Aeklypsis]

Primary reason for Pause Squats: Being able to train around an injury or chronic pain in the hips (esp. adductor or hamstring related)

Secondary reason: For people who don't care about max squat but care about the deadlift (i.e. Strongmen, Deadlift specialists) it is a great way to train your lower body with lower weight, mitigating some fatigue, while getting a ton of carryover to the deadlift because you're starting from a deadstop.
Also the Strongman Squat Lift has a very diminished stretch reflex so squatting with a pause in the offseason will probably keep you more primed.

Tertiary reason: You have positioning problems at the bottom and practicing the normal squat again and again doesn't seem to work (usually happens with people who aren't built for squats). Pause Squats or even tempo work can really help.

[TurquoiseHammer]

Great video on a topic that isn't often touched on. I remember back right in the beginning of my training, I asked Bryce Lewis what he would suggest for a novice lifter experiencing "butt wiggle" in the early concentric phase of the squat. He recommended a cycle of pause squats, and it worked like a charm. I still consider it some of the simplest yet most effective advice I've ever received.
Nowadays, as someone with lax proximal tibiofubular ligaments, pause squats are a necessity to keep my cycle afloat. I cannot recover from normal back squatting over 90% more than once a week. With pause, I can reach 90% or even 95% doubles and give my ligaments an off day. This is a very specific condition not many lifters have to deal with, but there's a whole community around it who treat the pause squat as a boon.

[bigguyu]

Stretch reflex is something that a lot of people dismiss as cheating but in reality it takes a lot of work to develop the stability and strength to be able to absorb force in the bottom position without losing tightness. Regular squats are even more challenging in a way since you have to think about technique more

[Yokatosh]

I love the little edits. I usually just listen to these videos but I'm watching this one and laughing 😂

[BrandoLewis]

Pause front squats for mobility in the catch. Lovely video.

[DredFulProductions]

I love pause squats. This is definitely some information to take into consideration when looking into training for 1RM.

[ericmarkowitz]

Pause squatting helped me immensely with mitigating knee drift (excess hip drive) and more effectively using my quads to get out of the hole.

[montgomeryharr]

I just ran a pause squat program and something it has done has made me positionally stronger.
I couldn't get the hang of controlling my descent and would tip forward on the bounce.
I'm implementing some of my findings from my pause squats in the normal squat in terms of the controlled descent and it's working wonders.

[Jmack]

Pause squats are my number 1 variations. It helps fix technique issues(not necessarily positioning, more so the actual technique of coming out the hole), helps with 99% of raw lifters weak point, good for load management/fatigue management, helps with proprioception in terms of depth, helps with confidence in the hole, is specific, and highly accessible. You just have to make sure you don’t get in the habit of pausing during competition squats

I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to only do a variation or variations without the competition movement for even moderate periods of time tho, so keeping in comp squats is probably why I have so much success with them.

[willpancake]

You've convinced me I've been pause squatting for too long, thanks

[NerdLifts]

I use pause squats once a week. Great for me. I smashed through my plateaus, and they add great variation to my routine. I use 80-85% of my one rep max during pause squats. Three max reps. Trick is to try and keep it heavy.

[TomInIreland]

I only pause squat cos I enjoy it. I train for myself and have no intention of ever competing in anything again.

[SpiritintheSky.]

Very intelligent. You really know what you're talking about and that's greatly appreciated.

[AtakanBerkBrant]

I've changed my 3x5(3 times a week) regular squats with pause squats because of knee pain and pause squats didn't only fix my knee pain but my squat weights went higher faster than ever

[slowcyclist]

I mainly pause squat because it just feels natural, and it helps in real life when I need to lift stuff up from the floor.