6. Sit Back and Down

Now that we’re set-up, let’s get to the actual performance of the lift.

Your first movement when squatting should be sitting back with the hips. Too often novice squatters try to initiate the squat with their knees; all this does is result in knee problems and, worse yet, shallow squats. By sitting back, you distribute the weight evenly between your quads, glutes, and hamstrings, allowing you to perform the lift in an effortless, balanced fashion.

As you’re sitting back, you also want to push your knees out to the sides hard. Remember that the glutes are our primary hip extensors and abductors, so activate them early on as they’ll help you stay tight and get out of the hole.


8. Coming back from the depths

So you’re almost there, you’re coming up out of the bottom, but what do you do know? This is where a lot of people go wrong; so make sure to apply these principles to finish that squat.

As you’re coming up, most people have a tendency to think about pushing their heels through the floor; while this may work for some, I’d venture to say most elite squatters don’t let this thought cross their mind. Instead, they focus on forcing their chest up and pushing their back into the bar. It’s not a huge difference in thought process, but this cue is perfect in its simplicity and its effectiveness. After all, your goal is to move the bar, not your legs, right?

As well, you’ll also want to make sure you’re pushing your knees out hard to the side. This movement will really activate the muscles of the glutes, helping you finish the lift. Finally, keep the head, chest and eyes up throughout until you finish the lift.


* Grab the bar with a narrow hand-spacing near the shoulders (as close as flexibility will allow)
* Pull yourself underneath the bar, pointing the elbows down and resting the bar on your “muscle shelf”
* Get your feet and hips underneath the bar
* Take a big breath, then push aggressively into the bar while extending the hips and knees to un-rack it
* Take 3 steps to get set; one moderate step back, place the opposite foot, then place the lead foot
* Make sure the feet are in-line with each other and have the same amount of toe-flare. Your weight should be distributed through the middle of the foot or slightly towards the heels
* Lift the head and chest, then set the eyes on something above eye level
* Big breath, then Squat!
* Sit back and down, forcing the knees out hard
* Hit the hole at a comfortable pace, then use a little rebound to bounce out of the hole
* Push back into the bar, keeping the chest up and continue forcing the knees out hard
* Finish the squat, and then rack it


Flaw #2 - Tendency to cave-over during the lift
Solution – Bring your hands in, use the muscle beach effect, point elbows down

Flaw #3 - Knees cave in
Solution – Get some glutes

Flaw #5 - Weight shifts onto toes
Solution – Toe out more; get better hip mobility; get some posterior chain strength

Customization

If the body has not adapted to a greater torque force, injury can result. It is not necessary to avoid the torque force if the muscles and joint structures can adapt. See adaptation criteria. Of the hip and knee joint, the knee is more vulnerable to injury than the hip due to structural and functional differences. Certainly, if an individual has had a history of knee pain associated with these types of movements, the squat can be modified to to place more torque on the hip and consequently less on the knee joint. Based on the above analysis, this can be accomplished two ways. Simply by not squatting down all the way (e.g. 90°) both the knees and hip do not experience as great of torque forces. Although, this decrease is often off set by the tendency to add more weight to the exercise. Alternatively, by bending at the hip more than the knee, the knee will travel forward less, as in the powerlifting type squat. Recall, the quadriceps will not be exercises as intensely since there is less torque on the knee joint. In addition, since balance must be maintained over the feet, bending over not only transfers more torque to the hips, the torque forces through the spine (lower back) increase; another vulnerable joint for some. Certainly a compromise must be made to evenly distribute the torque force between the knee and the hip / lower back, particularly when both the knees and lower back are healthy.

If the ankle is not flexible enough to allow the knee to travel forward sufficiently, the back will need to be bent forward more to maintain the center of gravity within the foot base. Consequently the lower back with be subjected to greater torque forces. Squatting with the feet wide apart can alleviate part of the problem, allowing the back to be positioned more upright. This solution does not, however, distribute equal stresses on the quadriceps and glutes as would be possible with adequate ankle flexibility.

Until flexibility can be restored, a temporary solution is to elevate the ankles on a board or platform. This will allow the knees to travel forward the same distance as the hip travels backwards. Elevating the heels may present a risk to individuals with adequate ankle flexibility who have not adapted to greater torque forces through the knee. In which case, the knees can potentially travel forward more than what they are accustom. Even when elevating the heels with insufficient ankles flexibility, resistance should begin light and progress only 5-10% every workout until a true workout weight is achieved so joint adaption can occur.

Obviously, individuals who are at a higher risk for specific types of knee pain may choose to avoid certain exercises specifically designed to emphasis the quadriceps involvement by increased knee torque (e.g. front squats, sissy squats, safety squats, barbell hack squats, leg extensions). Likewise, individuals who are at a greater risk for particular types of lower back pain may choose to avoid certain exercises specifically designed to lower back involvement by increased lower back torque (e.g. squats, deadlifts) or hip torque (e.g. deep glute exercises).