The Pit Shark Belt Squat at SMARTER Team Training allows us to train the lower body without loading the spine. The squat movement can be progressively overloaded to maximize safety and productivity. From squats to lunges, deadlifts to RDL, calf training and more can be accomplished with this piece of equipment.

To ramp up the intensity, add the Band Tensioner to any of your sets during training. You can also change the lever arm to make adapting a set to accommodate for strength throughout an entire workout. This piece from Pit Shark is a favorite with many who train with us.

Pit Shark Short Frame Belt Squat

Pit Shark Short Frame Reverse Lunge

Pit Shark Short Frame Harness Squat To RDL

Pit Shark Short Frame Deck Lunge

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Coach Taylor’s go to exercise…

“Starting relatively light on the Pit Shark Belt Squat is an attention getter. Typically, the trainee knows something creative is coming at that point. Try doing four reps and then adding a 25 or a 45-pound plate. With no rest, complete four more reps and repeat. How heavy can you get with good reps? The goal is to reach muscular fatigue somewhere in the 15-20 rep range when this is done correctly.”– Rob Taylor, Jr., Founder and Owner of SMARTER Team Training

Alex keeps it creative with…

“The Pit Shark Belt Squat is an ideal piece of equipment for training young, old, injured, etc. athletes/clients because it does not load the spine and has handles for support – in that regard it is far superior to any standard barbell back squat. However, it is also an incredibly popular piece of equipment with our biggest and strongest athletes, who sometimes squat 1000+ lbs. on this piece of equipment. With this demographic, I like heavy ascending triples with a competition aspect between athletes. Start with 50% of the athlete’s 1RM and complete 3 repetitions – deep squats with a full range of motion. Add 45 lbs. and do 3 more (no rest between the triples). This continues until the athlete cannot cannot complete another rep with perfect form. Then, strip the weight to the starting number, and complete reps to failure once again. This is a perfect protocol for session with multiple big, strong athletes. Competition is who can get to the highest weight and also who can complete the most reps at the end.” – Alex Walsh, Performance Coach

Think outside the box when squatting…

“What I really love about the Pit Shark Belt Squat is the wide range of exercises that can be performed without compressing the spine. As well as the squat pattern, I really like using the Pit Shark for single leg squats and split squats. Superset the split squats with a trap bar deadlift for a really solid lower body session.” – Ade Parkes, Performance Coach

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