Half Back Squat with Isometric Hold
Overview
The term isometric means that there is a contraction of muscles surrounding a joint but there is no change of joint angle. The purpose of this variation of the squat is to help the athlete learn to brace and stabilise the body under load. The bracing applies not only to the legs but also to the upper body. This contributes to the athlete’s performance capability.
The squat is performed to half depth and a bench or box can be used as a depth guide. However, during the isometric hold, the athlete should not sit on or touch the bench or box. The isometric hold in the half squat position should last for a count of 5.
Key Coaching Points
- Focus on your posture by breathing in, raising your chest, and strongly tensing the muscles of your back to maintain spinal shape (see Figure 1).
- Set a target depth using a bench, box, stack of weight plates or blocks so that your femur is comfortably above parallel for the first two sets. See Figure 2 for an explanation of parallel depth.
- For your third and subsequent sets, reduce the target depth so that your femur is just above parallel. This will be difficult; therefore, avoid being overambitious until you have learned the exercise well. You can alter your target depth by adding or removing weights placed on top of a box, or by standing on boards of different thicknesses.
- Lower yourself slowly to the target depth but do not sit on it.
- Perform sets of 2 or 3 reps, each holding the position for a count of 5 to develop isometric strength.
- Keep intensities at 60-90% of maximum Clean and Jerk until proficiency is gained.
