Image Credit: physicsman
Squatting is the best way you can build overall muscle mass. Period.
There are a lot of people out there who fear the squat. They think that doing the leg press machines or squats on a smith machine will somehow be safer. Using these machines is just like using any other machine in the gym.
The advantage of using a machine is that you really don’t have to know what you are doing. The machine forces you to do an exercise in a certain way and along the machine’s motion path.
While machines might be easier to use, you simply get less benefit out of them. Using free weights is the key to building your base of muscle, no matter what muscles you’re working. The bench press is better than a bench press machine, and doing real squats beats the squat machine or the leg press machine. That’s all there is to it.
Doing squats properly will work about 75% of the muscles on your body either directly or indirectly. And regardless of what others will tell you, squats are a safe exercise as long as you do them right.
In fact, squatting correctly will strengthen your knees and back muscles in a way that makes future injuries less likely. Let’s walk through the squatting movement in detail:
1. Start with the bar: Yes, just the bar. Practice for a while and get a feeling for how this movement should work. Pay special attention to your squat stance, keeping your knees out, keeping the back alignment, and going all the way to the bottom. Once you get this movement down, start adding the weight on a little bit with each set.
2. Get ready: Set up the squat power rack first. Make sure the catch bars are set low enough so that you can squat all the way down. Also be sure that the catch bars are not too low so that you can set a heavy weight down on them if you get stuck at the bottom.
You should also adjust the rack so that the bar is held at about the level of your chest. The bar should not be higher than your sternum to start out, and shoulder level is too high. You don’t want to have to go up on your toes to set the bar down when you’re done with a heavy set.
Set the bar so that you get under it with bent knees, and can easily lift it out of the rack by straightening your legs.
3. Place the bar: The best place to put the bar is on your rear deltoids (the back of your shoulder muscle). You should feel the bar just above the top of your shoulder blades. You don’t need to use pads or anything like that as a beginner. Placing padding on the bar can make balance more difficult. Your shoulders will strengthen and squatting will become more comfortable as you find the right spot for the bar without any padding.
4. Take the right stance: Lift the bar out of racks and take one step back. You’ll get the right stance for squats by placing the knees at about shoulder width and pointing the toes outward at about 30 degrees.
5. Lower yourself with form: Keep your form as you start to lower yourself downward. You’ll have to pay attention to your knees so that they stay pointing outward as you lower yourself and press back upward. Don’t let them collapse inward with your knees pointing straight forward.
Keep the bar in place so that it is directly above the middle of your foot throughout the entire range of motion. Don’t lean forward.
6. Go all the way down: Go all the way to the rock-bottom of your squat. Don’t be one of those sissies who want to look tough by doing more weight and only going half way down. Going to the bottom will involve your hamstrings and buttocks in the movement much more than a half squat will.
Getting the full range of motion is not dangerous if you keep good form. Some Powerlifters are living proof of this, as they do literally thousands of squats all the way to the bottom with very heavy weights.
7. Keep your feet flat: You shouldn’t be pressing the weight through the toes, the front of foot, or from the inside edge of your foot. If you are placing more weight on the insides of your foot, it probably means that your knees aren’t pointing out as much as they should be. Push the weight upwards through your heels.
8. Align your back: Do not lean forward with a heavy weight on your back. Letting your lower back round or bend forward is dangerous for your lower back muscles. Your back should have an arch to it. The best way to get this arch is to pull your chest up and let your butt come out a bit (not too much).
You won’t be leaning forward, but your back won’t be vertical either.
9. Rise at the hips: Press your tailbone upward as you complete the movement. Be careful not to let your hips rise up faster than your shoulders, as this will make your back more horizontal and can lead to injury.
Learn to squat the right way, and your whole body will see the benefits. It’s one of the best movements for changing your body type in the least amount of time. With a little practice, squatting properly will keep you safe and also help you to avoid future injuries.
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January 11th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Hey Jason,
One training tip I felt helps me a lot when I am teaching people to squat is the cue to ‘drift your hips back’ as they want to start descending. It’s an easy cue for people to use, and it means straight away they get their bum active, and are sitting back in the squat a lot more.
Good point about pushing through the heels, most people miss this, another great way to activate the glutes.
January 11th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I find it very hard to do a “good” squat because i cant go down to much. I find that i cant go down even if im not using any weight. I dont know why, maybe its because of the way that I am built? Is it still okay if i do 1/2 squats?
I find that i can go lower if i have a wider stance…so should i increase my stance?
thanks in advance m8
January 11th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Lauren- I thought about your cue and I agree that it can work well, especially for people that lean forward too much. Great advice.
A.J.- Alot of people have the same trouble when squatting. 1/2 squats aren’t going to damage you, but they aren’t going to help as much either. The bottom of the movement is where the hamstrings and glutes really come into play, and alot of the benefit of the squat comes with the full range of motion.
Check your stance and see if you’re pointing your toes straight forward. If you put your heels at shoulder width, then your toes will be slightly wider than shoulder width. If you have long legs, you might need a wider stance, and that’s fine. A little time in front of a mirror with a broomstick for a bar can help you see what you’re doing (I’ve done this before too) as well as increasing your flexibility. Best of luck.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
Great post! Printing this out and bringing it to the gym would be a great idea for those learning the squat.
Only one thing I’d add: People often think hip width and shoulder width are the same, but they’re not! If your feet are set at shoulder-width, they’ll be a bit outside of your hips, and most people need to be cued to spread their feet more to get to shoulder width until they get the feel of it.
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Lucas-
That’s actually a really great point that you bring up. People actually need to make the connection that feet right below the hips and below the shoulders is not to same thing. You make a great point that I think will be helpful to other readers.
April 8th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
ive been training for eight months and i was doing good with squats in the beginning. as soon as i could get the bar up to my traps without them hurting, i took it all the way to 155 lbs, just in the third month. yet lately, ive been decreasing in my squat big times, im down to 100 lbs, and i even fear the exercise now, what can i do?
April 9th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Angel- It’s unusual to be dropping weight like that. If you’re working out regularly, you wouldn’t lose strength, but rather plateau. That makes me feel like you’ve had an injury of some sort or are having some form issues develop over time.
Fear not the squat. Take off some more weight and go down to 80 if you need to in order to get your form perfect. Don’t worry about the weight when you’re perfecting your form. Even an empty bar is ok. Form first, weight second.
The most common mistakes are not keeping your knees out or leaning forward too much. Use a digital camera and the video function to get a video of yourself from the front and side, check your form. If the form is perfect, keep it perfect as you add just 5 pounds to the bar every workout.
Stay patient. Keeping your form perfect as you increase the weight is very important while you’re learning. When the gains stop for 3 consecutive workouts, take 10-15% of the weight off the bar and start adding five pounds each time again. This linear format should work for a long time before you need other forms of periodization. Keep it up, as the squat will pay off big time in the long run once you get it down solid.
January 17th, 2009 at 2:59 am
Dear Sir.
Thank you for all of this good informaion. I really appreciated because I have been working out for over 20 years by I still have skinny legs. Having said that I would really appreciate if you could send me a video on my e mail on how to perform this famous squats because in writting is kind of hard to follow them. So please do send me a email video on what is the best form to execute them. This will be greatly appriciated not only by me but also by a million more people. Please do send step by step video on the best way on how to perform squats excercises.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Hello,
I am a 49 yr old woman who is overweight and need to get my body healthy. I have arthritis in my knees and have been having a lot of pain. I do cardio video (R. Simmons) but instead of on the floor I ride a stationary bike and do the arm movements. My question, I live in a small town and don’t have a lot of money for gyms, so how can i incorporate weight training into my workout? Also, will my knee muscles eventually strengthen enough to do the squats? I really need help here….I don’t really know how to go about losing weight and toning and shaping. I am 5′9″ and weigh 242. I need lots of help.
Thanks, I will look forward to the reply.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Hi Donna,
First of all, before I give any advice, I need to let you know that I am not a medical profession in any way – always see your doctor before trying anything, because I can’t possibly know all the intricacies of your health.
But I can say with confidence that your knees will strengthen to the point where you can do squats. But not from the bike. If you want to practice swats, just start doing them with no extra weight at all. How many can you do? Make sure you focus on form first. Then just add a broom handle instead of weights.
I tend to see people on the bikes really just “coasting”. Lots of recent studies are showing that the best cardio work is intervals – make sure there are long periods (-3 minutes) where you are working so hard you aren’t sure you can go on. Then ease up for 5 minutes. Then repeat. You’ll lose weight faster on 30 minutes of this a day compared to an hour of just coasting at a moderate pace.
Do other readers have advice for Donna?