Skip to main content

400 Pound Bottom Position Squat

Here's a video taken tonight of me doing a 405 pound bottom-position squat.  The BP squat is one of the best exercises you can ever do for building massive strength.  The problem is that most lifters do them incorrectly.  Because they lack either proper form or flexibility (or both), they end up doing partial squats.

This is how the exercise should be done.  Notice foot placement and bar placement.  It's tough to get low on a BP squat if the bar is too high and/or the stance is too narrow.


Labels:

Comments

  1. John P.January 4, 2013 at 6:04 PM

    Now that was impressive! You made it look like it was easy.

    Not only do I not have the strength to squat that much weight, I don't even think I could squeeze myself under the bar that low.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MikeJune 24, 2016 at 6:19 AM

    What kind of weight-rep scheme do you recommend for the bottom position squat with (almost) daily training? Started with 3x3 today using my SSB.

    ReplyDelete
  3. C.S. SloanJune 28, 2016 at 4:39 PM

    Anything similar to one of my "high-frequency" training schemes would work fine, as would the "30-Rep Workout" or, possibly, something along the lines of Big Jim Williams's "21-rep workout."

    ReplyDelete
  4. C.S. SloanJune 28, 2016 at 4:41 PM

    One other thing, Mike, don't JUST do BPS alone when training them high-frequency. Most lifters, myself included, will find them harder on the lower back—when starting really deep—than traditional squats. On the flip side, they ARE easier on your CNS.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MikeJuly 5, 2016 at 10:36 AM

    Thanks for the feedback.

    I found doing singles suits me better, so I've started doing the Justa singles routine. Having to set up fresh for each single is easier than to do reps with the BPS. When doing reps it was easy to get out of the groove.

    I am doing Kb C&P Russian Ladders beforehand and DLs afterwards depending on how my back feels.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Feel free to leave us some feedback on the article or any topics you would like us to cover in the future! Much Appreciated!

Popular posts from this blog

Classic Bodybuilding: Serge Nubret's "Chase the Pump" Training

For those of you who are my age or older, you can probably remember well the first time you saw the amazing physique of Serge Nubret: It was in the pseudo-documentary we all now know and love as “Pumping Iron.”  With the director and writers of Pumping Iron attempting to make out the film as a “David vs Goliath” with the young (but massive) Lou Ferrigno taking on the older “Goliath” in the form of Arnold Schwarzenegger, they had no idea that their whole half-true enterprise would crumble a bit with the entry of Serge Nubret. You took one look at Nubret and you knew there was no doubt that Ferrigno was out of his league with both Schwarzenegger and the Frenchmen.  (Nubret was French.) Nubret - to this day - had one of the most classically beautiful physiques of all-time.  Arnold, of course, won the whole thing, but Nubret easily came in 2nd. By the time I watched Pumping Iron sometime in the mid to late ‘80s, there was very little information that I could fin...
13 comments
Read more

High-Set, Low-Rep Workout Variations for Size and Strength

Variations in Training with 8 to 10 Sets of 3 to 5 Reps      I have written many times that I believe the best form of training—at least, when it comes to building boatloads of both massive size and serious strength—is high-set, low-rep training.  If someone is starting out with this method of lifting, I generally advise 8 to 10 sets of 3 to 5 reps.  The reps are low enough to build strength—if you want to be really strong and powerful, then it’s essential to do most of your training with 5 reps or lower.  For instance, in my recent Go Heavy or Go Home essay, I discussed Pavel Tsatsouline’s 7 “Russian rules” of strength training.  And rule #2 is “you must limit your reps to 5.”  But to build muscle mass, you need (along with the low reps) a volume high enough to generate a hypertrophic response.  That’s where the (relatively) high sets come in.  To paraphrase Pavel again: “If you get a pump with heavy weights, you’ll get b...
3 comments
Read more

Classic Bodybuilding: Bill Pearl's Arm Training Secrets

  The Old-School High-Set, Low-Rep Arm Building Secrets of the Great Bill Pearl! A young Pearl flexes his peaked biceps.  At the time, he would have used a method similar—if not the same—as what is written here. The other day, in my post on "Ageless Bodybuilding for the Young," I made a brief mention on how a young Bill Pearl trained.  And, although I have done a couple of Pearl pieces in the past, I thought this might be a good time to look at his arm training "secrets" since I think Pearl had something unique to offer the muscle-building world—and still does to this day.  (Just a brief mention that Pearl will also be instrumental in explaining some of the details in my Ageless Bodybuilding System in a future post.  Pearl, in fact, had a very  unique way of training as he got older that I believe a limited number of people are actually aware of.  But I got the scoop!  And  I digress—back to this post...) A lot of what I am going to write her...
3 comments
Read more