Doing negatives for squats can be challenging, especially if you don't have a partner to help.
Negative training with the squat normally involves either a LOT of help from a spotter (if you have one) or removing and re-adding weight plates if you don't have a spotter.
With the second one, you perform the eccentric, set the bar on the rails of the power rack, take weight plates off, squat the weight back up to the top, put the plates back on, then repeat. This takes a long time to do and really interrupts the flow of the set.
This technique eliminates that resetting by changing the range of motion at the bottom. You'll have full range of motion on the way down, and about half for the way up.
This improved leverage allows you to re-squat a weight up that you just did a negative with for the way down, all without touching the plates.
How To Do Elevation Change Squat Negatives For Strength Development...
To perform this technique, you'll need a few things (other than a barbell). You'll need a power rack and either a stack of rubberized bumper plates or a few Step risers or platforms.
Because what you're going to do, instead of changing weights to reset the bar, you'll be changing the range of motion.
This will take a little experimentation with the setup but once you get it set, you're good to go.
I've got two stacks of 3 bumper plates set up inside the rack (45, 35, 35).
If you have a Step platform or riser, that will work as well, though those tend to be a thinner in width.
The safety rails should be set at a height where, when you're standing on the plates, you can get down into a full squat.
Now, start with the bar on the rails and your feet on the floor. Get under the bar...you're going to squat it up from the rails (Anderson Squat style).
Now step up onto the plates or platform.
Stand on top of the plates.
Now perform a negative rep of the squat.
The negative of a squat is a two-part movement...the first half to two-thirds is stronger, so it's just a controlled lowering of the weight.
Once you hit the point where your leverage is weaker, slow down even more and try to actively push UP against the weight as it bears you down. This is a fight, not just lowering under control.
With that in mind, the weight you use should not be super heavy...it should be hovering right around your current 1 RM (go no more than 5-10% above it).
The way I like to teach this is that you want to do a "silent squat." In other words, don't drop the bar down onto the rails...set it down as gently and silently as possible. Ideally, it shouldn't even make a noise (though as you get a few reps under your belt, that will likely change).
Now with the bar resting on the rails, get out from underneath it, roll it back a bit, get BACK under it, squat it back up and repeat the sequence.
Because the range of motion is shorter due to rail height, you'll be able to squat it back up fairly easily.
This gives you a very fast reset of the bar for the next rep.
Again, with the negative, fight it HARD in that bottom portion of the exercise...and above all, make sure the plates you're standing on are solid and well-gripping and won't shift under you.
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