One of the keys to squatting is finding your own natural technique and nailing that form every time. If you've read my earlier speel about curing your duck feet when you squat, you'll know I squat with raised heels -- a decent pair of weightlifting shoes is a worthwhile investment. Elevated heels allows me to get into a comfortable position for my leverage and mobility, which is crucial so before going any further, please read or at least skim why people have to squat differently courtesy of themovementfix.com.
The above article is mandatory if you're new to squats.
...please go straight to the Introduction and read from there before returning here.
What you should have gotten from this article is simply this: we don't all squat the same. We can't due to bone length, socket depth, ball angle, pelvis shape the list is very broad. So don't worry about what the "experts" say -- find out your natural technique, your most comfortable position and start with that. Everything else will follow and no, you won't necessarily ingrain bad habits, especially not if you're open-minded and do consistent research. Trust me: the most advanced athletes in any given code are continually open to, and curious to learn, how to better themselves.
Be like them.
I've been squatting for several years but I'm still working on it, still perfecting form, still going strength to strength. Sometimes I go backwards. Sometimes form breaks down but that's all part of it. Allow yourself the journey. For the record I only high-bar back squat (refer below image for a comparison of where the bar is placed for high-bar vs low-bar). I also have a series of cues I go through when squatting; some I've borrowed from elsewhere, some I've developed myself, so let's start at the beginning and take what works for you.
SET UP
You'll have heard how people say sort your set up and it's true: sooner or later you'll find yourself repeating the same set of movements prior to getting under the bar and once you do, this becomes your go-to pre ritual. These aren't complicated but by normalizing them over and over, you create a groove. Groove is good. I always envision the actual squat-set prior to starting it. I have a series of reminders I repeat too, mental cues that produce physical action, which I "tick off" in my head as I'm setting up to walk the bar out (NOTE: always squat in the rack in case you get stuck).
When I'm under the bar, I wedge myself in to a nice, tight position. I do that now without thinking. I make sure my chest is high -- and even repeat this to myself -- and shoulder-blades squeezed back to create the necessary "shelf" for the bar. This keeps my upper body tight and under constant tension. That's what you want your back to be when squatting. My next cue is where I pull my elbows down and in towards my sides by saying to myself, "lock the top". Importantly, I feel this also engages my lats which helps stabilize the weight prior to walking it out and when squatting.
...yeah it's weird but it works (for me).
HAND POSITIONING
Have a mess round here with your hand spacing because it plays a key role. I find the closer my hands are to my shoulders, the tighter my back/upper body is. Some powerlifters squat this way too which is where I learnt it. The further out my hands are towards the plates the less tight I feel and the more it feels like I'm literally "balancing" the weight whilst my legs work. Having said that though, every now and then I go for a neutral "mid-grip" and that's okay too. It's what your most comfortable with and whether you feel tighter and stronger. That's all that matters.
Also, I always cue myself to squeeze the bar which sends the message to my body to "lock" in place and get hard. I've heard some people say you should imagine you're bending the bar but somehow, subconsciously, this just makes the bar seem heavier -- like I'm pulling it downward when I'm trying to push it upward. Doesn't work for me. Lastly, it's up to you as to whether you prefer the thumbless grip or your thumb around the bar. I've tried both and 90% of the time go with thumb around the bar; I think it gives me a sense of having greater bar-control.
...also, once you're ready to walk the bar out, don't shift hand-position. Find where you like your hands to be and stay there until you rack the bar at the end of the set. The last thing you want to do with a heavy weight on your shoulders is start adjusting hand position. That's a no-no. You want no wasted movement here so find it, keep it, let go of it once the bar is back in the rack. Cool?
THE WALK OUT
Once I've got under the bar I draw in a deep breath, take the weight and stand up for a second or so, letting it settle. I've no idea why. I tend to slide my right-foot back, my left-foot back, then my right-foot again into its final position followed by my left-foot into its final position, adjust where necessary. I'm not thinking anything now because I've done my mental prep. I just stay in the moment and also think-slash-feel my entire body into one tight unit. I never think about the weight. Instead, I think about the squat, that's my entire focus here (for the record, often walking the weight out is the hardest part of squatting as it's when you're most unstable I find).
FOOT POSITIONING
Somewhere in 2017 I realized the need to "think" my feet into a stronger position so that this becomes more and more automatic over time. Prior to that, I'd never really thought about making my feet tight. Nowadays I literally press the outside of my feet into the ground and visualise the arches lifting and strengthening -- they actually raise up a little when I do this. Not sure where I got that tip but think of your feet being strong too. Others prefer the "knees out" cue which is obviously knees out but also forces you to raise the foot arch. Scrunching the big toe is another go to as this does the same thing. Try before you buy kemosabe, try before you buy.
BREATHING
I take a breath into my stomach I mean, I literally gulp in and swallow as much air as possible and lock my gut -- sort've like when you're taking a dump and "squeeze" your stomach to get the last knuckle out. In case you don't know, by breathing air into the stomach it pushes from the centre outward, tightening round your spine. Which is good. It's also why people use weight belts: they give your core something to push up against and thus keep tight. Do I use a belt? Nah but then, I don't do particularly huge weights either. However, if you want to know more about it, there's a whole internet out there waiting to flagellate you with knowledge.
Let me also mention expelling air as there's two schools of thought here: one is that it's okay to expel the air as you're driving back up out of the hole into the starting position. However, nay-sayers make the observation this will weaken the upper body and thus is detrimental; personally I think it's okay if you can still control the weight and absolutely fine to employ when doing triples, doubles and singles. The second school of thought is you only expel/inhale air every time you get back to the top for the afore-mentioned reasons. It's your choice, kemosabe. Choose well.
THE DESCENT (INTO THE "HOLE")
On the descent I make sure I pull my elbows down towards the ground, again engaging the lats and basically just keeping shit tight. I keep a fairly neutral back and pretty much look straight ahead and down. Again, don't over think it. Now, I really have to stay present in each squat because I find it so fucking easy to drift off. It's my curse I guess so if you're like me, stay in the squat mentally and by that I mean be present, not thinking about anything else just focusing on the squat itself. Don't think about how heavy the weight is, just visualize your entire upper body as one solid piece above your legs.
When I descend my hips and knees break simultaneously. Some netspurts say break at the hips first whilst others say knees first but honestly, they both break at the same time but y'know what? Do what works for you. Like I said, find your groove and don't over-think things. Too much analysis leads to paralysis. I don't do the whole knees-out cue. Instead, I have found not purposefully pushing knees out creates a more neutral, forward-facing position I squat stronger with. Weird. My knees still go out and still track my toes, just not so much.
Have a practice and give it a go.
See what works for you.
My back is practically straight the entire time albeit leant forward a tad for obvious reasons. I rarely arch my back and before you say, "you're not supposed to do that anyway!" know that some people do. It works for them but definitely doesn't for me: a tight core is essential in squats and having a back arch puts it in a weaker position. As I said earlier, I look forward and down and no, I don't lose the weight and nor will you. Just know if you look upward you will naturally arch your back; this puts you out of your natural alignment so I recommend against doing it.
HOW LOW SHOULD YOU GO?
I change a bit. With lighter-to-moderate weights I will occasionally go ATG (Ass To Grass i.e. your hamstrings practically touch the back of your calves you're going so low) then next just above parallel and the one after that bang on parallel for no particular reason. It doesn't really bother me much but like I stated above, I have to keep present for each rep because I drift off, which is probably a bad idea with a big weight on you, huh? I'm always aware when I hit a nice squat and immediately try to emulate it with the squat following.
But.
To answer the question...
Parallel is just fine.
If you don't already know, there's bit of a "bounce" you can catch coming out of the hole (i.e. the lowest point in your squat where you then reverse the movement to drive upward). If you master this reflex, you can incorporate that into your lifting. It may be beneficial on long-rep sets but resist the urge to just "drop" down when descending -- don't even think about it with heavy-ass weight as this can lead to tragic consequences. Always control the weight down and drive it upward with everything God gave you and I mean everything: shoulders, arms, hands, torso and legs. Ball sac if you can manage it.
COMING BACK UP: The ascent
Always drive up hard. When I'm totally focused to the extent that I feel even my shoulders are driving the bar upward then man, I hit my reps. Sometimes I'm struggling on the third or fourth rep then bam, I find focus, and the last several reps are actually easier than the ones prior because I'm not grinding them out. Another clue from Allan Thrall is moving the pelvis forward as you ascend. Yep, as you're driving upward you can thrust your pelvis forward as well to generate strength from the hips.
...it's akin to dragging in a little bit of the posterior chain to help out.
What it does do is get your hips under the bar faster which is what you want -- otherwise you can end up doing a good-morning when, well, it actually isn't a good-morning at all if you end up doing one (a good-morning that is). Remember that: as you ascend, you want to move your hips under the bar at the same time your legs straighten, almost like you're reversing the process of knees/hips bending when you started your descent. A lot of this has to do with balance, with keeping the bar path over the mid-foot. Only practice grooves this but again, keep present man, keep present.
Oh, and talking about the mid-foot (thank you #megsquats), actively practice pushing upwards from the mid-foot. You will often and unconsciously shift your weight to the balls of your feet one rep then the heels the next rep. Every now and again I nearly tilt forward because I'm over-conscious of the weight on my back. Anyway, the point is you want to push from the mid-foot as this is the most stable -- and thus strongest -- position to push from. When you consider every thing from the ankle upwards is resting on the soles of your feet, you want to get that starting platform correct as possible.
In terms of knee buckle -- you may not get any but I usually do -- if they wobble a little or go in a bit isn't the end of the world. It's pretty normal. Just focus on both legs as pistons driving up evenly. Keep your knees out. Keep your feet strongly arched. Don't doubt your ability to hold the bar up. If doing high-bar, don't lean too far forward. Here's a deadlift cue I use which may benefit you when squatting: push the ground away. Don't think of pushing upward inasmuch as downward like you really are pushing the ground away.
HEAD SPACE
I don't spend any time thinking about much at all. I'm here now so let's do this shit. If I feel doubt about lifting the weight I recognise it for what it is, then discard it. I don't engage with doubt. So I guess you could say my mind is pretty blank most the time. When I'm really struggling under the bar fighting for breath, I don't think about that either, I just get the rep. Overwhelmingly this works. But not all the time and that's life, mate. Build a bridge and get over it. You can't let a bad lift convince you that it's a bad work-out. That there's crazy talk.
I was rewatching Brett Gibbs on Youtube training with someone else and as the other guy lined up to the bar, you could tell he was beginning to over-think it. He was focusing on his own doubt. Brett sensed this too and leapt straight in saying, "come on, come on, let's go." Over-thinking is a waste of time. It's paralysis by analysis. Do the lift and for the record, if I sound like some hardcore guy moving huge weights then trust me, I'm neither, but I know from experience that buying into doubt is downward spiral to a failed lift in seconds.
That doesn't mean I throw on weights I can't handle and pump myself up believing the impossible. That's three kinds of stupid right there. I'm Jo Average moving the sorts of weight the Brett Gibbs of the world warm-up with (if they can even be bothered, that is). That's not the point. The point is that even the most advanced athletes in any given code -- like the Brett Gibbs of the world -- are continually open to, and curious to learn, how to better themselves. So be like them. Be open to bettering yourself constantly. I hope this helps. Kia ora whanau.
△
© ironkiwi.nz