Squat

FieldGuide

Few things you can do in the gym require as much practice, coordination, and coaching or give you as much practical benefit as a well-executed squat.

Setup

This guide adheres to the low bar squat mechanics. The low bar squat is more technically challenging than a high-bar or “Olympic” squat, but it also allows you to lift more weight when you do it correctly. More weight (lifted well) = better strength gains.

Grip (1) Find the correct bar position:

Reach around the outside ofyour shoulder and find thebony protrusion that is thespine of your scapula. Presshard.

(2) Take your grip: Start with your hands about

shoulder-width apart, your thumbs on top of the bar, and your wrists straight.

(3) Duck under the bar, positioning it just below the place that you pressed on your shoulder blade. (You may need to widen your grip to get the bar in the correct position.)

Squat the Bar Out of the Rack With the bar in the correct position, lift your chest and pinch your shoulder blades together to create a “shelf” for the bar to sit on. Take a big breath and squat the bar out of the rack as if it is a full rep. This will help you stay tight and keep the bar in place for the entire set. Take two steps back to clear the rack.

Eyes down & “Brace!”

Keep your focus on the floor a few feet in front of you. Before you squat, squeeze your abs like are bracing for a punch to the stomach. Take a big breath and hold it. Squeeze everything tight, but do not try to overextend your back. Now you are ready to squat.

Execution

The bar wants to travel in a straight vertical line, down then up. Your goal is to arrange your body segments to allow it to do so, while maintaining your balance on the middle of y0ur foot. This is easier said than done.

Hips and Knees at the Same Time Start every rep with by smoothly bending your hips and knees at the same time. Many lifters get out of position by either sending the hips back without bending their knees or vice versa. Think “Smooth and Controlled” to start.

Knees forward and Set Reach your knees forward to track in the same direction that your toes are pointing. At about the halfway mark: Hold your knees in place. From here, nothing moves forward for the rest of the squat.

Hips Back and Bend Over Reach your hips back continuously during the descent. This will force you to bend over like you are pointing your chest at the floor.

Depth by Feel

Since you can’t watch yourself squat, learn what depth feels like: If your knees are in place, depth will be the point at which you cannot reach back farther and cannot go deeper without “unsqueezing” something. Video your lift and confirm your depth visually between sets: Hip crease below the top of your knee.

To Bounce or Not To Bounce For now, do not try to “bounce” out of the bottom. Instead, focus on a quick turnaround from down to up, with absolutely no pause at the bottom. Thinking about going “UP!” on your way down can help.

Hips to the Ceiling Drive your hips to the ceiling while maintaining a constant back angle on the way up.

Finish Tall Stand with your hips and knees fully extended. Breathe. And Repeat!

Tips and Tricks

The Balance Framework Every cue and every element of the squat has to conform to a single principle. You must stay “in balance” during the entire movement. This means that your weight is centered on the middle of your foot. It can help to think of being “heavy on your whole foot” and to practice finding your balance by sitting at the bottom of the squat (with a lighter weight) and paying specific attention to how your weight is distributed on your foot. Learning to feel and control your balance is key to a great squat.

Slow Everything Down Most people try to squat too quickly while working on form issues. Slow down. Mastering the squat means going from conscious control to unconscious action. Going slow, especially on the descent, allows you to think while you squat. Take a count of “3” to get to the bottom of the lift. As the weight on the bar goes up and you get

better at squatting, the speed of your squat will naturally increase.

Warm-up Reps are Practice Reps From your first rep with an empty bar, on every workout, practice your squat. Start slow, feel your balance, and make adjustments. If you don’t have a coach, video yourself so that you can see the effect of different changes to how the squat feels.

Troubleshooting

Knee Slide If your knees slide forward at the bottom of the squat, you will loose tightness and often will be out of position for the correct use of your hips on the way up. Possible Causes:

(1) You are too vertical on the way down: Point your chest at the floor and bend over. Make sure your hips do not drop toward your calves at the bottom, keep them back.

(2) Squatting too Deep: Try slowing down as you approach the bottom. Stay tight. Don’t try to go deeper if you have to “bounce” or lose tightness to do so.

(3) Make sure your knees are reaching forward and getting set in place early in the movement.

Depth Squatting too high? Check the following

(1) Stance: A too narrow or too wide stance can cause depth issues. Make sure your stance is about

shoulder width and your toes are pointed out slightly.

(2) Knees out: your knees must be out so that your hips can drop between your thighs. This will often be accompanied by knee slide.

(3) Commitment: Stay consistent and committed to the correct depth as you add weight to the bar.

On your toes on the way up Sometimes lifters will lift their chest early and “dive forward” onto their toes on the way up. If you are on your toes, you aren’t using your hips correctly. Drive your HIPS UP while keeping your CHEST POINTED AT THE FLOOR. This will help you use your hips and maintain a constant back angle on the way up.

Arm Pain Elbow and shoulder pain often accompany a weak bar position. Get your chest up and shoulder blades pinched. Then work to maintain that chest-up position throughout the movement while keeping your elbows down. Continued arm pain will require that you have someone check your bar position and grip.

Assistance Lifts

The Following assistance lifts training different aspects of the squat, not only providing the varied stress of supplemental movements, but acting as skill work to help you improve your squat.

Tempo Squat Taking a count of 3 or 4 to get to the bottom or the top. Tempo squats force you to slow down and feel the different parts of the movement. These not only make relatively light squats more difficult, they offer the opportunity to practice controlling your balance during the squat.

Pin Squat Learning to pin squat teaches the use of your hips better than most other variations. If your hips drop forward or you allow the bar to move out of its vertical bar path, the pin squat will let you know.

Paused Squat The paused squat forces you to stay tight at the bottom of the movement. This is generally useful, but can help with depth issues if you consistently squat too deep.