The king of leg exercises meets the king of butt exercises. If you thought of the deadlift there, we're sorry to break it to you. The squat is the number one most anabolic lift.
However, there's plenty of room for error in a movement that involves so many important joints and muscle groups, so it's important to do it right! Let's talk about how to perform the perfect squat.
Make Sure It's Safe
Let's be clear and say that squatting is one of the most natural musculoskeletal movements that your body can make and under most circumstances, they are entirely safe. However, there are certain conditions that can make squatting unsafe.
Let's briefly go down the line from top to bottom. If you have issues with your wrists, avoid front squats unless you use a cross grip in front. Don't put your wrists in a compromising position if you don't have to.
If you have upper-crossed syndrome or another postural disorder related to your spine, talk to your doctor or physical therapist before performing heavy squats. You may want to work on some postural stretches and corrective exercises before hitting the rack.
If you have scoliosis, any hip displacement, or lower back pain, that doesn't necessarily mean you can't squat. However, it's best to make sure that you get approved by a professional and start your training as lightly as possible before building up.
Lastly, there are a lot of issues involving the lower body that can hinder your ability to squat. Knock knees, lower-crossed syndrome, flat feet, Achilles tendonitis, and more.
If you perform the squat with proper form, which we will discuss how to do, and you discover that your knees are going too far in or out at the bottom, you may either need to adjust your footing or work on correcting these issues before hitting the heavy weights.
Always, no matter how healthy you are, test your squat without weights to make sure you are able to do them with the proper form. This is one of the lifts where people go the heaviest, so don't put yourself in a dangerous situation if you aren't yet comfortable.
Warm Up
Who warms up anymore, right? No, seriously, warm up. The squat is arguably the king lift for bringing in so much musculature into one movement. However, it also brings in a lot of joints and, oh yeah, your spine.
Getting your core and your legs warmed up is important for this exercise, as well as preparing your central and peripheral nervous systems for action. Do some dynamic stretching beforehand, as this will give you the same benefit as static stretching without temporarily reducing strength.
Then, you can do some planks, air squats, lunges, sit-ups, or any other exercise that involves the muscle groups related to the squat.
Perform The Perfect Squat
This is the most important part for every reader, no matter how advanced, strong, or prepared their body may be. The most important thing to remember is to never sacrifice form for a new personal record or a heavier weight. Proper form starts with the position on the bar.
Holding The Bar
We are discussing the back squat, not the front squat. The back squat is one of the most functional movements the kinetic chain is capable of performing.
To grip the bar, you want to rest it on your trapezius muscles and not your spine. You will grab the bar in a comfortable position beyond your shoulder width, step under the bar, and lift it off the rack onto the muscles on either side of your neck.
While the bar is resting on your shoulders, take note of how it is sitting. Start out with a lighter weight to get used to this. Just the barbell with no additional weight is perfect. How does it feel? Are your shoulders pulling forward? Do you feel that you keep your back straight the whole way down and up? If so, it's time to adjust your feet.
Footing
45 degrees, 45 degrees, and 45 degrees. These are all the angles that you need to remember for your footing. Read it again if you need to.
Your feet should be facing outward at a, you guessed it, 45-degree angle. If you have flat feet or duck feet (feet that naturally face outward), then you should talk to a doctor or physical therapist. Assuming that's your only problem, you may be able to increase the angle accordingly to avoid internal rotation of the knees.
The Drop
Just before you start going down, make sure your core is tight, your back is straight, and you have total control over the bar. On the way down, try to keep your back pointed as close to vertically as possible (it won't be verticle, so don't worry).
You want to keep your chest pointed straight forward but not your shoulders. If your shoulders go too far forward, the exercise turns into a "good morning", which puts a lot more stress on your lower back and hamstrings and is meant to be done with a much lighter weight than the squat.
You want to feel this in your quads (the fronts of your thighs) and your glutes (butt). Pay attention to your quads as you get to the bottom of the lift. They should become parallel with the floor before standing back up.
The Lift
Okay, you got it down, now it's time to get it up! From the parallel position, you are going to try to stand up. Try to prevent your shoulders from pushing forward as this will bring the bar to the back of your neck and increase the strain on your spine significantly.
Hold the bar in place and stand up, keeping your chest out and your core tight. Follow the natural movement of your body until you've reached the top. Ideally, as with nearly all lifts, the path of the bar will form a straight, verticle line and nothing more.
If your back is arching forward too much, lower the weight or start implementing posture exercises into your regular workout routine.
How To Fail
Failure on a rep is nothing to be ashamed of. The only thing to be ashamed of is an injury caused by an ego lift. Don't push your body beyond its limits. If you need to fail, it's important to know how.
If you can't finish a rep, that's why you have the safety guards at the bottom to catch the bar. Pro-tip: don't put your phone on here! The last thing you need is to make a decision between your phone and your spine.
In order to bail on a rep, you need to drop the bar. Don't go down with it, as this may bring you below parallel and put your lower back in a compromising position, especially if the guards are set too low. Let go of the bar and walk, duck slightly, and walk forward as quickly as possible.
Practice this move without a bar. Drop your hands, dip your shoulders down by bending your knees (quickly), and walk forward immediately. The bar will roll off the back of your shoulders and land on the guards, minimizing the risk of injury.
If your gym gets mad at you for making noise, let them know that it was for your safety. If they still give you problems, find a new gym. Safety is the most important part of lifting.
Get The Right Shoes
The truth is, if you're going to be doing a proper squat, you'll need the right pair of squatting shoes. If you're squatting in the wrong shoes, the effects can ripple up your body and cause problems.
Squatting in running shoes could be like squatting on a bed. The soft soles could potentially lead to injury. If you're squatting in the usual pair of lifting shoes, your feet may not be at the proper angle without even realizing it, as these types of shoes are designed to have your feet facing forward during the lift.
Get Building!
Now that you know how to perform the perfect squat, remember that it's the number one lift for building muscle. That means that someone who does curls will get bigger biceps if they do squats with them.
Make sure you're performing them right, that you have the right equipment, and that you keep challenging yourself in a safe way! Stay up to date with our latest fitness news and stay big everybody!
