Pin Squats for Strongman
Whether you are looking to bring up your lagging loading events or simply boost your squat numbers, you want to think about adding pin squats to your program.
What are Pin Squats?
Pin squats are a variation on the squat where you set the pins on your rack or spotter arms to a certain depth and allow the bar to rest on it prior to standing back up. Unlike their cousin the pause squat, the key to these is that you allow the pins to carry the weight of the bar for long enough that you have to generate force from an unloaded position.
Why you should include them.
One of the biggest differences between a pin squat and a regular one, is that you are unable to use what is called the stretch-shortening cycle or stretch reflex. This is where you can produce more force if you are “rebounding” out of a movement, like bouncing out of the bottom of a squat or bouncing the bar off of your chest in a bench press. In the sport of strongman there are many instances where you will have to move weight from a dead stop, like in pick and load events. Training without the rebound effect will help you develop more strength from that position which can allow you to put more initial velocity on the loads you are moving.
Stretch-Shortening Cycle. From Seiberl, 2021
Most of the time when people fail in a loading event (assuming they have picked the implement) it is at least part of the way up rather at the bottom. Though many athletes and coaches assume that the solution might be to work on strength at that position, building more velocity from the start will allow you to push through that sticking point. Think about it like comparing a push press and a strict press, the point of the push is to put more power in it from the bottom to drive the bar through the rest of the movement.
Beyond the benefit of building strength at the bottom of your range of motion, the pin squat has some other benefits. It forces you to pay more attention to your body positioning, forcing you to be more upright when you squat. Many lifters who find they have problems with forward lean in their squat like in the picture below might learn how to maintain better position with pin squats. They might be relying on that stretch-shortening cycle to generate enough power to right themselves back up, which will not be an option when starting from from the bottom of the lift. You will instantly feel the need to get under the bar more to stay balanced before standing back up.
Picture above: See how on the left the athlete lets himself stay behind the bar, leading to the weight being further horizontally from his mid-foot and causing his hips to come up prematurely. He would most likely not get away with this in a pin squat without losing his balance. In the picture to the right, he has gotten more of his body under the bar and maintains a more upright position as he stands up.
Executing Pin Squats.
Due to the factors mentioned above, we recommend setting the pins to the bottom of your squat. In general you can start with “powerlifting depth” or with your hip crease in line with the top of your knee like in the picture below. Since loading events might start from that height or even lower, it is recommended to go as low as you can safely get to based on your mobility.
Then squat down until the bar stops on the pins, as gently as possible. I like a 1 count here to be sure that all of the weight is off your back. Follow your normal mechanics for whichever squat variation you are doing.
Set your pins or spotter arms so that the bar rests on them at the bottom of your deepest squat.
Squat down and gently rest the bar on the pins for at least a 1 count. Be sure the weight is completely off your back.
Make sure you are tight before standing back up with the bar like the second half of a normal squat.
Note: Follow all of your normal mechanics for whichever squat variation you are doing.
Variations
Zercher Squats: These may have more carryover to heavy loading events since the bar is directly in front of you. Great if you do not have access to implements or want to save time and effort.
Yoke Squats: A great variation since you can use the uprights as “pins”. It is also never a bad idea to get more time under a yoke crossbar since it is one of the only things strongman athletes actually have to put on their back anyway.
Axle Squats: These have similar benefits to yoke squats, but if you don’t have a yoke.
Front Squats: Also may have more carryover than regular squats to loading events. Additionally I like to take any chance I can get to hammer down the front rack position.
Programming Pin Squats
You can go about programming pin squats in a couple different ways. One way is to simply make them your squat movement for a given block and really try to push the weight with heavy triples, doubles, and singles over your program. Another method is to leave in your regular squat progression and include pin squats as an accessory with sets of 5-10 at around 60-70% of your max squat to hammer down the movement pattern. This route might be the best if you need a regular squat in your program, but want to work on positioning and strength out of the hole or you want to try one of the variations like the zercher squat.
References
Photo: Seiberl, W et al. Editorial: The Stretch-Shortening Cycle of Active Muscle and Muscle-Tendon Complex: What, Why and How It Increases Muscle Performance? (2021). Front. Physiol. 20 May, 2021
