Should You Squat With a Bounce at the Bottom?
Data from trained lifters show how adding a bounce affects your force, velocity, progress, and injury risk in the gym.
Feeling stuck at the bottom of your squat? This study explores how using a "bounce" at the turnaround point can change how your body and barbell behave, giving data-driven insights to lifters looking for more power without more risk.
Key Points
Aim
The research investigated whether the bounce squat technique (adding a controlled "bounce" at the squat’s bottom) affects ground reaction force (GRF) and barbell kinematics during the back squat, compared to traditional techniques. It also examined how descent velocity and loading interact with bounce technique, and whether barbell movement data could predict GRF at the turnaround point.
Methods
Participants: 36 trained lifters (16 female, 20 male) with at least 2 years of resistance training and back squat experience.
Design: Two separate lab sessions.
Session 1: Bounce vs. no bounce, under moderate (70% 1RM) and heavy (80% 1RM) loads.
Session 2: Bounce vs. no bounce, under fast and slow descent conditions at 70% 1RM.
Measurements: Each lifter’s ground reaction force (via force plates) and barbell velocity/power (using a linear position transducer) were analysed using linear mixed-effect models.
Results
Bounce Technique:
Increased GRF by 19–22%, showing much higher force at the sticking point (turnaround).
Enhanced early concentric barbell velocity (Vpeak1), which helps lifters break through the sticking region.
Slightly reduced late concentric velocity (Vpeak2), meaning the lift can slow down in the final phase.
Increased Pmean (mean power) and Vmean (mean velocity); decreased Pmax (maximum power)—important if the goal is explosive rather than sustained power.
Load:
Raising load from 70% to 80% 1RM decreased velocity and power metrics except for a minor increase in GRF.
Technical consistency is key—unintended technique changes with heavier loads can sneakily introduce bounce-like effects and spike GRF.
Descent Velocity:
Faster descent slightly improved mean and late-phase velocity, without affecting early force or velocity at the turnaround.
Sex Differences:
No differences observed in GRF or barbell kinematics between male and female lifters, aside from females producing less mean power (likely due to lighter absolute loads).
Predicting GRF:
Barbell kinematic data could reasonably estimate GRF (RMSE ~89N), although systematic underestimation occurred—useful for wearable device and VBT monitoring.
