Reactive Squat With Bands

Best Use For Improving Vertical Jump

The reactive versions of weighted exercises are designed to overload the eccentric portion of the lift in a manner similar to the way depth jumps overload the eccentric portion of that type of jump. As such a reactive squat is best used for developing eccentric strength and reactivity.

The bands increase the effectiveness of this exercise by increasing the eccentric acceleration. This forces you to work harder to absorb those forces, which ultimately leads to better eccentric strength gains.

Technique Tips

Reactive lifts like this one are essentially a drop and catch motion. The emphasis is on the speed of the drop so you will need to use a much lighter weight in order to safely catch it. You start in a standing up position and then as rapidly as possible you drop down into the bottom position. The deliberate extra downward speed requires you to work that much harder to stop and stabilize the weight which is where the eccentric overloading comes in.

Once you have stabilized the bar at the bottom (i.e. caught it), then you want to as rapidly as possible reverse the direction of the bar and complete the lift. Try and spend as little time at the bottom position as possible to really get the most out of this type of lifting.

As mentioned the bands add an increased element of eccentric speed to the lifts to increase their effectiveness. It doesn't change the way you perform the lifts though.

Alternative Exercises

Some good alternatives to the reactive squat are

Reactive Trap Bar Deadlift

Reactive Split Squats

Split Squat With Bands

Reactive Trap Bar Deadlifts with a Power jumper