Tip Speed Squats and Pause Squats Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness TrainingVideos Tip Speed Squats and Pause Squats Boost your squat numbers by learning to impart maximal velocity to the bar Here are two ways to do it by Chad Wesley Smith November 2, 2017April 5, 2021 Tags Exercise Coaching, Powerlifting & Strength, Squat, Tips Speed Squats Speed squats – also called compensatory acceleration squats – will ingrain your technique, build your work capacity, and give you practice imparting maximal velocity to the bar. Your speed squats will be performed after your heaviest set of squats and done on controlled rest periods to improve your general fitness. It's imperative that you always try to move the bar as fast as possible during these sets – I try to do the whole set in one breath. Take a huge breath into your belly before beginning the initial descent and hold it throughout the set. Think about trying to perform 1 rep per second, so aim to perform a set of 4 reps in 4 seconds or under. These sets are also the best time to perfect your technique, so while speed is critical, speed with optimal technique is even more important. One of the most common errors made by people when squatting maximal loads is lowering the bar too slowly or slower than you would during lighter sets; use these sets to become more comfortable without a quick descent. Pause Squats Right out of the hole is the most common place that raw lifters miss squats. To train the explosive strength qualities needed to improve this area of your squat, pause squats are a simple (but not easy) answer. We'll do pause squats with 7, 5 and 3-second pauses in the bottom position. These long pauses will teach you to "turn it on" coming out of the hole, while building strength in the hips and back. Paused work will also teach your body to find its strongest position and improve your ability to replicate this position during regular squatting. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip The Best Bench Press for Athletes Close grip or traditional grip? If an athlete wants to transfer strength into power, here's what science says is the best choice. Athletic Performance, Bench Press, Tips, Training Jake Tuura March 8 Training I Bodybuilder 3 - Legs - Wednesday Build muscle as fast as humanly possible — week after week — until you see a body in the mirror that you barely recognize. Exercise Programs, Legs Christian Thibaudeau April 26 Training One Exercise for Thick Triceps and a Big Bench Press Struggle to lock out during the bench press? Want a monstrous set of triceps? Master this hybrid exercise. Here's how to do it. Arms, Bench Press, Powerlifting & Strength Christian Thibaudeau March 28 Training Tip Train Abs First Impressive abs aren't just made in the kitchen. They're grown through intentional and regular hypertrophy training. Here's how to make sure that happens. Tips, Training Tim Henriques July 12