# Box Squat (Bodyweight, to a Bench): how to do it

- Main muscles: quads, glutes
- Also works: hamstrings
- Equipment: bench
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/bodyweight_box_squat/d305f55552/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Stand in front of a bench, feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Push your hips back and lift your arms forward as you lower.
3. Touch the bench lightly with your backside; do not sit down fully.
4. Push through your whole foot to stand up tall.

## Cues

- Reach forward as you sit back.
- Touch and go; keep your weight in your feet.
- Knees follow your toes.

## Common mistakes

- Dropping onto the bench instead of lowering slowly.
- Rocking back and swinging up to stand.
- Letting your knees fall inward as you rise.

## Starting position

A flat bench (or sturdy chair without arms) stands just behind the heels, so the backside meets its front edge when the thighs are about parallel to the floor. Heels about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out a little, whole foot flat. Stand tall, arms relaxed at the sides, eyes forward. This is a sit-to-stand pattern for beginners and older clients.

## The movement

Push the hips back and down while the knees bend forward. As the hips go back, the arms rise forward to about shoulder height to balance the body. Lower under control until the backside lightly touches the bench: no dropping onto it, no rocking back and no relaxing on it. Hold the touch for a moment with the weight still in the feet, then lean the chest slightly forward and stand up by pushing through the whole foot. The arms lower to the sides as the body reaches standing. The knees stay in line with the toes and the heels stay down.

## End position

Bottom: backside resting lightly on the bench, thighs about parallel. A standard 43–45 cm bench or chair (the CDC test chair is 17 in) stops the thighs a little above parallel, which is the easier starting point for most beginners.

## Tempo

1.8 s down, 0.5 s light touch, 1.6 s up, short stand at the top.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stance, heel to heel | 1.0 × shoulder width | 0.9–1.2 × | [3] [4] |
| Toe-out, each foot | 10° | 0–20° | [3] [4] |
| Thigh angle from vertical at the bottom | 90° (parallel) | 80–95° | [3] |
| Shin lean from vertical at the bottom | 33° | 25–38° |  |
| Arm elevation at the bottom | 88° (shoulder height) | 70–95° | [1] |
| Weight on the bench during the touch | light touch, feet loaded | no visible sag |  |
| Trunk rocking back on the bench | 0° | ≤ 3° |  |
| Heel lift | 0 cm | 0 cm | [3] |

## Sources

1. [ACE, Training Progressions for Obese Clients](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/pros/expert-articles/5296/exercises-for-obese-clients-training-progressions-to-try/)
2. [CDC STEADI, Assessment: 30-Second Chair Stand](https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/STEADI-Assessment-30Sec-508.pdf)
3. [ACE, Bodyweight Squat](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/135/bodyweight-squat/)
4. [Myer et al. 2014, Strength Cond J, "The back squat: a proposed assessment of functional deficits and technical factors that limit performance"](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4262933/)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/bodyweight-box-squat