Is it normal to belt squat a little higher than parallel? I’ve been filming my belt squats and they’re at best thigh parallel not patella above hip crease (let’s call that depth). I’ve even tried a narrower stance. I’m thinking the mechanics of the belt squat make hitting depth hard (or maybe that’s just an excuse). I’ve seen a few videos online and folks don’t seem to hit depth when they belt squat. My setup is like this JˣSquat™ | Belt Squat | Sorinex Exercise Equipment though I don’t have the fancy sorinex version!
Anyone had the same issue or thoughts on why it would be hard to hit depth or is it just something I need to work on?
My next steps were going to be filming all my warmups and focusing on depth to see if it’s just a problem at higher loads and to figure out how to adjust my stance. I am keen to get the belt squat hitting depth as I imagine that would maximize the carryover to bar squatting.
You could always set up some up or otherwise improvise some low Pylo boxes and hang the weight in between to get more depth. Depending on your set up however, I envisage things getting dicey if you need to bail for some reason with a decent weight.
I personally find standing on a couple of pieces 2" timber plank off cuts and having the shackles of the (SPUD) belt tight on the bar - no slack chain - good enough depth wise. At least using a landmine set up.
You could also use 25 lb plates for more ROM.
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Not so sure about carryover to the squat unless you had some specific quad strength deficiency that was holding you back. If your chasing a bigger squat specifically, probably better to focus on a squat variation - paused - tempo - SSB and etc - rather than an assistance movement. The mechanics of a belt squat (at least with a landmine setup) are - clearly - way different to a regular squat.
I dont think hitting ‘three whites’ depth on a belt squat will make much difference either way.
How long have you been using the belt squat? I use the Wenning Belt Squat machine, so I’m not sure how helpful this will be for you…I had a hard time adjusting to it, as it felt nothing like a traditional squat at first. I had to make quite a few adjustments and it took a few weeks to get the hang of it. I ended up reaching out to Matt Wenning who helped me work out a few things, primarily foot positioning, pushing knees out, and sitting back more. You might try playing around with your setup a little more and maybe you will have some luck.
Similarly to the Wenning Machine and the sorinex that I linked, I have a beam that you hook the belt on to. The beam can go lower than I am, standing on platforms, so it’s not a tool problem but a me problem.
I dont think hitting ‘three whites’ depth on a belt squat will make much difference either way.
I get the this is all arbitrary and minutae probably doesn’t much matter. I’d probably have given the same advice but in the first instance I’m keen to see if I can achieve the range of motion, especially if the only thing holding me back is position/ loading/ will. The exercise is new to me.
How long have you been using the belt squat?
Only 4 weeks, once a week for for 6 working sets of 8 plus warm ups (Hypertrophy II). The Wenning machine looks to have the same mechanics that mine has, i.e. a beam that pivots, with an attachment at the none-pivot end to attach the belt.
foot positioning, pushing knees out, and sitting back more
I think these, along with loading and distance from the hook, are the variables that I need to play with before I accept not getting to depth. I appreciate you’ve been through a similar situation which is what I was hoping to find. I was curious if anyone had achieved depth on a belt squat and from your feedback it sounds possible.
It’s not a big deal either way. I like belt squats, it’s something different. I’ll keep doing them, even above parallel if I have to but i’d like to (arbitrarily) try to hit depth rather than (arbitrarily) not.