The Beginner Series - Squat : The First Hurdle

A bit later this month but here we have an article all about the squat. 

This one was written by James Kennedy - our resident writer here. 

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The squat is one of the ‘Big 3’ lifts (Squat, Bench, Deadlift) and is the first lift done at a powerlifting competition. It is a key lift for everyone; for powerlifters, it’s part of the sport, for weightlifters it helps develop leg strength and explosiveness for the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. For bodybuilders, it is a key driver of lower body muscle growth in the quads and glutes, as well as the hamstrings and calves to a lesser extent. It is also an essential lift for athletes as improving squat strength will increase your vertical jump and sprint speed. 
To get the benefits of squats, it is important to perform the exercise safely, with proper form. In this article, I will outline the key points to set up for and perform the low-bar squat safely and properly, allowing you to lift the most and stay injury-free. 
Whilst there are many variations of the squat, all with slightly different techniques, this article will focus on the low bar squat. This squat variation is the one most commonly used by powerlifters, athletes, and bodybuilders as it allows you to lift the most weight, however, weightlifters should focus on the high-bar and front squats as these squat variations more closely mimic the bottom position of the snatch and clean and jerk.

The Set-Up 

The first stage of a successful squat is the setup - everything you do before you even lift the bar out of the rack. It is essential that you maintain upper body tension whilst performing the squat, to maximize the amount of weight you can lift. The perfect squat setup will create torso tension and put you in the proper position to complete the lift. 

1. Bar Placement

For the low-bar squat, the bar should be placed on the posterior deltoids - across the top of the shoulder blades. Actively pull the scapulae together - as if you’re holding a pencil between your shoulder blades. When you do this, it will feel like there is a groove across your back - this is where the bar should go for a low bar squat. 

1. Hand Position

The hands should be as close together as you can comfortably get them, whilst keeping your elbows inside your hands to maximize upper back tension. How close this is will depend on your shoulder mobility - the key here is to get them as close as possible. This makes it easier to maintain upper back tightness and keep the bar in a more stable, comfortable position. 

1. Wrist Position

Your wrists should be in a neutral - i.e. straight - position. The tighter you can get your upper back, the straighter your wrists will be. For lifters with low shoulder mobility, it is a key cue to keep in mind as having your wrists bent can cause discomfort in the wrist and elbow. If you begin to notice the bar sliding down your back or pain in your wrist and elbow during your squats, focus on maintaining as neutral a wrist position as you can. This will reduce the strain on the wrist and keep the bar in place across your upper back. 

1. Elbow Position

The elbows should be pulled down and to your sides - creating tension in the lats, making the torso rigid, and keeping the upper back tight. During set up, a useful cue to pull the elbows to your side is to try to pull them to the middle of your back - i.e. down and in. During the lift, there are two ways the elbows can be used to help finish the lift. Some lifters drive their elbows up, to maximize the stability of the bar on the upper back. Others prefer to drive their elbows forward, as this keeps them more upright as they ascend from the hole. Which cue works best for you will depend on shoulder mobility, where you are strongest in the squat, and how much muscle you have on your upper back. Play around with it and see what feels best!

1. Breathing and bracing for the squat 

Once you are positioned under the bar - but have not yet un-racked the bar - it is time to brace your core. 

When squatting, it is vital to maintain tension throughout the torso. If you fail to do this, as you approach the bottom of the squat you’ll be folded in half. Breathing and bracing for the squat - or any other major lift - is also key to making sure you can safely perform the lift. 

The first step is to make sure that your hips and ribs are aligned - i.e. don’t stick your bum out when you are setting up for the squat. Maintaining hips and rib alignment will allow you to maximize core and torso tension, and reduce injury risk due to spinal flexion. 
The second step is to brace your core and breathe into the brace. Firstly, breathe out completely. When you have emptied your lungs, tense your core muscles. Then breathe into your braced core. To do this you need to take what is known as a diaphragmatic breath - breath into your stomach, obliques, and waist, but keep your shoulders down. The legendary powerlifter Chad Wesley Smith describes this as creating ‘360 degree pressure’, attempting to push air into your obliques and making your waist as wide as possible. 

There are two cues to use to help with bracing - one for squatting with a belt and one for squatting without a belt. For squatting with a belt, take a deep breath and push your stomach and obliques into the belt. If you have done this properly you should feel like you’re about to pop. For those squatting beltless, take your deep breath and brace the core as if you’re about to be punched in the stomach. 

The Walkout

Now you have positioned the bar on your back, created tension through the upper body, and braced your core, it’s time to walk the bar out.

1. Walkout - Get your feet set under the bar - feet square and beneath the hips and shoulders. Unrack the bar by driving your shoulders aggressively into the bar. Start with the hips behind the bar, breathe into your stomach, brace, tense your back and drive the bar up off the hooks and pushing the floor away from you. You then need to walk the bar out - taking as few steps as possible. Your walkout should move you far enough away from the rack so that you won’t hit the squat rack as your squatting - but don’t walk a mile as it just wastes energy.
   
   
2. Stance Width.  Stance width will vary from lifter to lifter, depending on your mobility and hip structure. There are lots of ways you can assess whether you would be more suited to one stance or another; the simplest way however is to just try them out and see what feels best for you. 

If you’re new to squatting, try this with bodyweight squats. Start with your feet around shoulder-width apart and squat down. See if it feels better with a slightly wider or slightly narrower stance. Let your body tell you how to squat - it’s a natural movement we all do. Choose the stance which allows you to squat deepest and most comfortably. 
A secondary consideration for competitive powerlifters is seeing how wide you can stand while still hitting depth. In general - a wider squat stance will limit your range of motion, allowing you to lift greater weight. However, it is still possible to squat huge weights with a narrower, deeper squat - for example, Bryce Lewis.
3. Weight Distribution 
When squatting, you want to maintain full-body tension and balance through the lift. To do this, you should maintain three points of contact with the ground, the big toe, the pinky toe, and the heel with your body weight evenly distributed across all three points. By doing this you will remain balanced and keep your center of mass over mid-foot. 
The Descent 
Now it’s time to squat. There are two ways to initiate the squat movement - ‘sit-down’ and ‘sit-back’. There isn’t a huge difference in outcome based on which style you use - researchers have found that force and power output are broadly similar - so the style you feel most comfortable with is the one to use. 
The actual cues are quite self-explanatory. The sit-down movement begins by unlocking your hips and knees simultaneously and try to sit down between your heels whilst keeping your torso as upright as possible. In the sit-back method, you unlock the hips and push your hips backward as if you were sitting on a chair directly behind you, which deliberately allows you to incline your torso. 
Generally, the ‘sit-down’ technique allows you to squat deeper, with a greater range of motion around the knee leading to a greater muscle stimulus - as you’re lifting the same weight through a greater range of motion. This does require a greater degree of ankle mobility, as your knees will travel further forward. 
Those with limited mobility may therefore prefer to ‘sit back’. This technique will naturally limit your range of motion and is suited to those with a wider squat stance. For powerlifters, squatting with a wide stance to just below parallel is deep enough to get three white lights in a competition which is the point of the sport. The deliberately limited range of motion of the sit-back technique could be an advantage for powerlifters, however, as mentioned there is little difference in force production between the two techniques; find which one works for you. 
When you begin the descent, it is important to move as quickly as possible whilst maintaining control of the bar. This speed will vary between each lifter - the point is to be consistent in the descent and move as quickly as possible whilst maintaining proper tension throughout the body. Keep squatting until you can get no deeper - again this will vary greatly between each person, depending on mobility, hip structure, and stance. By squatting as deep as you can you will maximize your ‘bounce’ out of the bottom position (the hole), allowing you to lift more weight.

The Ascent
Sitting down with a weight on your back is the easy part - the challenge is standing back up.
Most lifters can squat down and begin the ascent, but they fail the lift somewhere above parallel - the so-called sticking point. This is usually just above parallel - broadly the midpoint of the lift. It is at this point that the focus on whole-body tension becomes essential; the goal of the squat set up, descent, and ascent is to put yourself in the best possible position to finish the lift once you reach your sticking point. There are a series of factors that enable you to maintain the correct positions and drive through your sticking point. 

1. Maintain a neutral head position throughout the lift. Maintaining a neutral head position throughout the lift is essential, as otherwise, you can curve the spine, increasing your injury risk. Personally, I pick a spot and stare at it (usually between the center referee’s feet in competition). By doing this, you help maximize the upper body tension, and make the body a single unit.
2. Drive your upper back into the bar as you begin the ascent. This action - driving your upper back and traps into the bar - will counter the bar pushing you forward and folding you over, as well as enabling your large hip extensor muscles to do the work of standing you back up. Some people will cue this as driving the chest-up, as trying to keep your chest up will force you to drive your back into the bar.
   
   
3. Keep your knees forward. During the descent of the squat, your knees will have traveled forward to some degree. Try to keep your knees in this position - think ‘knees out’ - as this will allow you to get the most out of your quad muscles during the ascent. If the knees don’t stay forward, the hips shoot up, and you will end up in a good morning position when you reach the sticking point of the squat
4. The sticking point - as you explode out the hole, driving your upper back into the bar and keeping your knees forward, you’ll start to slow down. At this point, the key thing to do is not to panic (must be a meme here right?). Keep driving your back into the bar by keeping your chest up and your knees forward. This will maximize the degree of hip extension, forcing you to stand back up and lock out the lift. 
5. Speed - lift each rep as quickly and explosively as you possibly can! This will help you develop power and make strength gains more quickly. 

Squat checklist
This article has gone through a lot of information about how to squat. Most factors come down to personal preference, so building a universal ‘checklist’ is challenging. The only two factors that are non-negotiable are don’t let your knees cave in and don’t let your spine round. In general, however, when doing any squat, the following pointers will help you lift the most weight:

• Maintain a tight upper back
  
• Keep your weight evenly distributed between the big toe, pinky toe, and heel
  
• Squat as deep as your mobility and stance will allow
  
• Keep your knees forward and chest up to drive your back into your bar as you stand up 
  

And finally, for the powerlifters, always always always wait for the rerack command!

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The All New Beginner Powerlifting Development Group. Click the image to find out more.