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I'll give that a go at the gym today. I usually do 5x5 squats but don't want to be too tired when I go into one leg box squats.

do you think 5x5 squats with max effort then 2x8 1 leg box squats would be too much in one workout or would I get away with that?

it's really annoying that there isn't a running track around my area, I'll try those bounds at the park on grass instead.

thank you for your help 

well I did 3x5 squats then 2x8 one leg box squats. I think that's enough for now 

they seem like a good exercise. I have the same situation that I had when I used to do pistol squats, my right leg is far superior to my left but i still got it done, just much harder with my left leg.

 kind of strange how my right leg in definitely stronger but I find it easier to jump off my left and can get higher.

got some decent squats going today, did 160kg 4 times before failing on the 5th. I weigh 82kg at the moment and I've never squatted heavy weights in my life until recently.

I've tried to jump off 2 feet, it feels so wrong and I just don't understand how to do it (despite reading up on it and practicing) 1 foot just feels natural to me. I'd like to be able to do both but on the whole I'd prefer to be able to do one foot.

I think the depth I used at first was just above parallel. I then put a few 20kg plates on the bench to make it a bit higher so it'd be more like this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEGwhk-dZsc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEGwhk-dZsc</a>

next time I do them I'll get some video, probably monday.

I can do that, thank you 
I did wonder about foot placement when I was doing it, definitely easier when the foot is closer but not as productive.

hopefully that won't be the case for me. I know when I did them with my right leg i felt it in my hip flexor big time because I could do it with my foot a bit further out than my left.

personally I've not tried step ups with a bar (normally just dumbells in each hand) so I can't fully appreciate your position but unless there's a serious balance issue I would have thought it might just be in your head but who knows, I'll have to give that a try as well and see for myself.

anyway, I'll get some video of me doing one leg box squats in the next few days

update monday: started doing squats today and had that old familiar feeling of pain in my left knee. I tried a few more just to be sure but then stopped after that cos it wasn't just a momentary thing. although it's not too bad I'm going to rest it for a week and then get the video next week. hopefully the pain won't be there next time. I think perhaps i didn't warm up enough.

hopefully that won't be the case for me. I know when I did them with my right leg i felt it in my hip flexor big time because I could do it with my foot a bit further out than my left.

personally I've not tried step ups with a bar (normally just dumbells in each hand) so I can't fully appreciate your position but unless there's a serious balance issue I would have thought it might just be in your head but who knows, I'll have to give that a try as well and see for myself.

anyway, I'll get some video of me doing one leg box squats in the next few days

thats great man, just remember to start out light enough that you can maintain solid form, then progress the weight.  You can move the box height up once you get a base of strength from it and focus on more load and speed.

Quote from: LanceSTS on March 27, 2011, 02:26:41 pm

Quote from: Raptor on March 26, 2011, 08:19:05 am

It's interesting because whenever I have the foot away from the body I have the tendency to bend forward at the waist a lot so I can move the center of gravity forward and reach to my quads to initiate the movement, and do a good morning out of there as well (using more spinal erectors than glutes to do it).

Another interesting thing I discovered is that I tried to do a step-up using a low bar placement on the back, and I couldn't do it. Like, literally. I couldn't even step on the "box" (3 or 4 plates actually)... I just couldn't imagine myself going up with that bar placement. That was really a WEIRD thing... and I wasn't even using a lot of weight. It happened using a 70-80 kg bar.

It sounds like youre trying to let the pelvis shift back to get the low/back and quads into it more, which is what happens w/ bounds and sprints as well in many athletes.  Being able to keep the pelvis in a neutral position while you apply force is by far a more optimal position for sprinting, single leg jumping, and bounding, but it takes some re programming in some cases.  I would say do some bounds and focus on staying tall, and only jumping as high as youre able to while keeping the pelvis in a good position.  Do the same with the single leg box squats.  It shouldnt take long for you to adjust once you start really focusing on it, and you will notice much better movement effeciency and power with bounds and jumps.

Yeah that's exactly what's going on I guess. It feels like that in maximal one-leg jumps too. I push my hips back AND down quite a bit and I feel the upperbody kind of going forward, but because I plant the jump leg so far away forward kind of compensates the upperbody bending forward and it looks like I have a straight upperbody position to the ground.

But it doesn't feel/don't know how to do it otherwise. I don't know what you mean by "pelvis neutral position" either. I mean, the hip joint is going to lower or raise or displace in some way no matter what, so... not sure exactly what you mean

  The first thing to do is pay attention to your bounding, neutral is pelvis not kicked back, not pushed too far forward, where optimal firing patterns can occur.  There will be a height/speed for almost everyone where you can no longer maintain that position, once you find it, you work at an intensity just below that.  Little cues to let you know when youre no longer in an optimal position is a.) leaning forward with the torso, b.) kicking the hips too far back or over arching.  You will see this happen on exercises like rdl's as well, once the load is heavy enough some athletes will over arch the back.  Basically, if the hips are not very close to directly under the torso, youre out of position.  Thats the whole big deal with the "penultimate, super jump magic technique, extreme gains, etc.", all the coaches are trying to convey is keeping good pelvic alignment for optimal jumping power.  Every time you bound think, stay tall, hips high and directly underneath the torso.  Repeat those mental cues to yourself, watch it on video, and youre on way to a better bound and single leg jump patterning at higher takeoff speeds.