How to Squat Like a Champ!
If you are anything like me, probably one of the most intimidating exercises you saw when you first set foot in the gym was the barbell squat. Time and time again we see individuals loading several plates onto the bar, dropping down and powering out of it like it’s just another day of the week. It’s easy to get intimidated by this exercise especially when some of us struggle to even perform a proper bodyweight squat.
The good news is that the hardest part of becoming good at squats is getting started in the first place, and overcoming that mental barrier. First of all ask yourself why you want to get good at the squat? Whenever there is a “Why?” behind your goal you are way more likely to accomplish it! So let’s start with the basic reasons of why you should do squats. The squat is the king of all compound movements, working nearly every muscle in your legs as well as works your core and back. It does so while also building mobility by working a greater range of motion than say the dead lift.
That’s the basics, but what does that mean for our daily life? If we utilize the proper range of motion it prevents and lowers joint pain. Every simple task from climbing a set of stairs to doing household chores becomes easier! On top of that squats build our bodies largest muscles and therefore more quickly increase our overall muscle mass. The more muscle we have on our frame the higher our metabolism is. A higher metabolism means we burn more calories literally in our sleep! These and whatever other reasons you have for wanting to become good at squats are important to keep in mind as you go through the process. That is what gets us through the struggles and tough sets! Mastering squats or adopting any exercise routine is as much a mental game as it is a physical game.
So how do we get on the right track and go from a squat novice to squatting heavy like a champ? When I say squat heavy, what that means is purely subjective! Squatting heavy means pushing yourself to lift the most weight you can with proper form for 2-8 repetitions. For some people that means a 400+ pound squat, for others it may just be the bar. Either way it is ok! Everyone starts somewhere!
While some often start by learning body weight squats, it could actually be more difficult for those with balance and stability issues. When you squat with weight over the center point of your foot you are taking a lot of that balance component out. Therefore do not hesitate to start by squatting a 45 pound bar, or even a smaller 15 pound training bar.
Think about squats like sitting in and out of a chair. Rather than focusing on bending your knees focus on getting your hips back. To get an idea of what that feels like, start out by doing box or bench squats with a box or bench to serve as a guide for your hips. Another tip to keep in mind is to brace for each squat almost like bracing for a punch. Fill your lungs with air and engage the core as much as possible. The more we use our breath, and our core the easier it will be to keep good form throughout the motion. Once you master the box or bench squat start working on improvising your range of motion, even if it is with a light weight.
Now here is where there seems to be a lot of debate. You hear advices ranging from “squat ass to the grass” to saying you don’t really even need to go more than a quarter of the way down. Well starting with the later, doing short quarter squats can build muscle in the quads but it can actually decrease our mobility and functional movement by creating stiffness. Whether you are doing shallow or deep squats, the position in the squat with the most stress on our knees is the quarter point. Quarter squats also do little in engaging our glutes and the abductor and adductor muscles in our legs. Therefore if you are looking to build functional movement and work multiple muscle groups it is important to learn to squat with your legs at least parallel to the ground. Going further than that can start to have diminishing and in some cases negative returns depending on our body anatomy. For those of us with deeper hip pockets, and/or poor hip and ankle mobility squatting to low can cause something famously known as the “butt-wink”. This occurs when our spine is no longer able to remain in a neutral position and therefore our body compensates with a posterior pelvic tilt.
When that tilt becomes too excessive it starts to put a lot more pressure on our lower back. When that happens, our glutes and abs are less engaged and injuries occur! So when learning to squat start by mastering parallel squats like you are sitting in a chair. Then with practice if you are able to start going lower, by all means do so.
Once you have the form and range of motion down it is time to start adding more weight to the bar and build muscle like a champ! As long as the form is solid and you are pushing yourself with every set, every squat that you do is going to have countless benefits.
So don’t let intimidation or lack of understanding be the reason you miss out on this life changing exercise! All of us humans have the natural ability to squat within us; we just need to find it within ourselves. Squats literally change lives, so start changing yours today!
Leo Gabriel, Revivalize Inc.
Sources:
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8604366/
[2] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31230110/
Go Back The good news is that the hardest part of becoming good at squats is getting started in the first place, and overcoming that mental barrier. First of all ask yourself why you want to get good at the squat? Whenever there is a “Why?” behind your goal you are way more likely to accomplish it! So let’s start with the basic reasons of why you should do squats. The squat is the king of all compound movements, working nearly every muscle in your legs as well as works your core and back. It does so while also building mobility by working a greater range of motion than say the dead lift.
That’s the basics, but what does that mean for our daily life? If we utilize the proper range of motion it prevents and lowers joint pain. Every simple task from climbing a set of stairs to doing household chores becomes easier! On top of that squats build our bodies largest muscles and therefore more quickly increase our overall muscle mass. The more muscle we have on our frame the higher our metabolism is. A higher metabolism means we burn more calories literally in our sleep! These and whatever other reasons you have for wanting to become good at squats are important to keep in mind as you go through the process. That is what gets us through the struggles and tough sets! Mastering squats or adopting any exercise routine is as much a mental game as it is a physical game.
So how do we get on the right track and go from a squat novice to squatting heavy like a champ? When I say squat heavy, what that means is purely subjective! Squatting heavy means pushing yourself to lift the most weight you can with proper form for 2-8 repetitions. For some people that means a 400+ pound squat, for others it may just be the bar. Either way it is ok! Everyone starts somewhere!
While some often start by learning body weight squats, it could actually be more difficult for those with balance and stability issues. When you squat with weight over the center point of your foot you are taking a lot of that balance component out. Therefore do not hesitate to start by squatting a 45 pound bar, or even a smaller 15 pound training bar.
Think about squats like sitting in and out of a chair. Rather than focusing on bending your knees focus on getting your hips back. To get an idea of what that feels like, start out by doing box or bench squats with a box or bench to serve as a guide for your hips. Another tip to keep in mind is to brace for each squat almost like bracing for a punch. Fill your lungs with air and engage the core as much as possible. The more we use our breath, and our core the easier it will be to keep good form throughout the motion. Once you master the box or bench squat start working on improvising your range of motion, even if it is with a light weight.
Now here is where there seems to be a lot of debate. You hear advices ranging from “squat ass to the grass” to saying you don’t really even need to go more than a quarter of the way down. Well starting with the later, doing short quarter squats can build muscle in the quads but it can actually decrease our mobility and functional movement by creating stiffness. Whether you are doing shallow or deep squats, the position in the squat with the most stress on our knees is the quarter point. Quarter squats also do little in engaging our glutes and the abductor and adductor muscles in our legs. Therefore if you are looking to build functional movement and work multiple muscle groups it is important to learn to squat with your legs at least parallel to the ground. Going further than that can start to have diminishing and in some cases negative returns depending on our body anatomy. For those of us with deeper hip pockets, and/or poor hip and ankle mobility squatting to low can cause something famously known as the “butt-wink”. This occurs when our spine is no longer able to remain in a neutral position and therefore our body compensates with a posterior pelvic tilt.
When that tilt becomes too excessive it starts to put a lot more pressure on our lower back. When that happens, our glutes and abs are less engaged and injuries occur! So when learning to squat start by mastering parallel squats like you are sitting in a chair. Then with practice if you are able to start going lower, by all means do so.
Once you have the form and range of motion down it is time to start adding more weight to the bar and build muscle like a champ! As long as the form is solid and you are pushing yourself with every set, every squat that you do is going to have countless benefits.
So don’t let intimidation or lack of understanding be the reason you miss out on this life changing exercise! All of us humans have the natural ability to squat within us; we just need to find it within ourselves. Squats literally change lives, so start changing yours today!
Leo Gabriel, Revivalize Inc.
Sources:
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8604366/
[2] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31230110/