Tip of the Week: Squat Form

[TheMac]

<font color="red"> Going as low as possible during a squat is one the best methods for acheiving fully developed legs. With this in mind not everyone's body structure is created equal. Here are a few tips to help you on your way to powerfull legs:

1. Always keep the bar directly above your feet. The longer your femur (your thigh bone) is the greater you will have to lean in order to keep the barbell in the proper position.

2. Have the bar rested on your traps not your neck. As easy as this sounds i see a lot of people who place the barbell too high. Most likely if you need a pad on the barbell you haven't found the right spot yet.

3. Look up and keep your back strait. Never let your back round during a squat or you put yourself at a very great risk of injury. The easiest way to do this is to as high up as possible during the lift.

4. Use your transverse abdominis to stabilze your core. There are 2 ways to do this :
-suck your stomach in
-push your stomach out

Find out which one works best for you. Personally i push out during a squat and suck in during all other exercises.

5. Squat back and not down. This is probably the number one reason people hurt their knees doing squats. The easiest way to remember the motion is squating down on a toilet, as awkward as it sounds this is the correct form.

Remember your knees should never come passed your toes.

Here's a good trick Endless came up with to practice if you have a training parter:
Have your partner put the arch of his foot at the toe of one of your feet (he will be standing in front of you and off to one side, but his leg should be out in front of you with his foot going sideways so your feet form a "T") When you squat down, do not allow your knee to push his knee...you can touch it, but don't push it.

6. Knees out not in. Inward rotation is another very dangerous motion for your knees. Pushing your knees out on the other hand will trigger your adductors more making the lift a lot safer and stronger.

7. Squat don't sit! Gone of the days of sitting, practice your squat every time you sit down and I promise the form will become automatic in no time.

Keep these tips in mind and you will have that squat you always wanted sooner than you think! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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[4 His Glory]

Good stuff!

Awesome post!!!!!!!

[rickck48]

That is one of the best explained squat posts I've seen. Excellent jobs even for us laymen (hardlearners)!! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[TheMac]

glad you guys liked it [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

If you have any other questions about squats feel free to ask in this thread. I find the squat one of the hardest lifts to master (second to only olympic lifts), I am still trying to play around with depth myself, too low and i "bottom out" which pushes my knees too far forward for comfort but this will be different for every person so it is one part of the lift you will have to find out for yourself [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Verye good post Mac!! Any tips for very tall guys?

[DORIAN JR]

Very good post Mac!! Any tips for very tall guys?

[Adam Knowlden]

Great article Mac!!

[TasteLikeChicken]

If you should not go past your knees, how can sissy squats, hack squats and so forth be healthy?

[CraZy-T!]

I'm also curious in this subject too... there is so much anecdotal "proof" out there supporting both sides of the 90 degree argument. The question gets asked on the boards quite frequently also, and no one really knows how to reply. It'd be really nice if we could come to a consensus!

Wouldn't this be the best form to research and dig up some studies on it? I'm starting tonight! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]