Photo: Westhavencrossfit.com
If the pushup is king of upper body exercises, then the squat is the queen of lower body ones. It builds floor-up power in the quads, glutes, hamstrings and other major muscle groups, improves spinal and trunk stability and is transferable to just about every sport. If you’re doing it right, that is. But many of us aren’t and as a result have either picked up an injury that’s kept us from getting back in the rack, chronic pain or just a distaste for the movement. Here are several fixes to common mechanical errors that can jeopardize your squatting:
Screw your Feet into the Ground
When you do a pushup, you should screw your hands into the ground to create stabilizing torque at the shoulder. The hip is a similar joint so we need to apply the same principle during the squat. Screwing your feet into the ground will not only create stability at the hip joint, but will also help set and maintain a solid relationship between your lumbar spine (lower back) and pelvis so you’re not opening up yourself to disc injuries and other spinal issues. To do it, simply stand with your feet neutral (toes pointing straight ahead), or at the very least, t no more than a 12-degree angle, as anything more will result in you reducing torque. Once your feet are set, rotate the left one counter-clockwise and the right one clockwise. Feel how this makes the muscles around your hips and outer butt (yep, that’s a thing) more active. Aim to keep this activation throughout your squat.
Nerdfitness.com
Get Your Upper Body Involved
As with any exercise, if you set up well you’ll have more chance of finishing well. With the squat, you should get your torso upright once you get into the rack, place your hands just a bit beyond shoulder width apart and imagine you’re trying to pull the bar apart. This will get your shoulders involved. Also try to pull your shoulder blades back and down. Yes, the squat is primarily a lower body exercise but if you can organize your thoracic (upper) spine, you’ll do a better job of protecting your lower back, an area where people are often vulnerable during the squat. You can also squeeze your butt to set your torso in an upright and stable position.
Breathe Better
Once you’ve taken the steps above, breath in and then perform a full exhale. Brace your abs and then take a breath in, maintaining ab tension. Hold it as you walk the bar back out from the rack. Once your feet are set and you’re ready to squat, repeat the bracing and breathing sequence: Squeeze your butt, inhale and exhale again, clench your abs and take another breath in. Hold it while you go down into the squat, keeping your abs tight. Then forcefully exhale as you come up, keeping your torso as upright as possible.
Prevent the Butt Wink
Ah the dreaded butt wink. Wait, what?! You know, that weird thing your butt does when you go down to a certain depth in your squat and your lower back starts to round. It doesn’t just look weird, but also subjects your spine to shearing forces and compromises your ability to power out of the hole (as squatters often call the bottom position of the exercise). It could be that you’re just unstable in this section of the lift, but what’s more likely is that you’re lacking range of motion in your hamstrings and hips. To sort out your hamstrings, sit on a plyo box or hard chair and place a lacrosse ball under your hamstring, just above the knee. Slide side to side across the ball a few times, then try extending and flexing your leg a bit. Repeat as you move the ball up toward your butt. To improve your hip extension, do the couch stretch described in this story.
Photo: Breakingmuscle.com
Shove your Knees Out
Nothing is going to trash your knees like being in a valgus position when you squat. In layman’s terms, this means letting your foot arch and knee collapse inward. Like your knee ligaments in tact? Then you’ve got to put that valgus knee to the sword right now! One of the best cues to do so is to make sure you’re forcing your knees outwards throughout the entire lift. Trying to shove your knees out while keeping your feet screwed into the ground will help, but if you can’t resist the inward knee collapse, you’re probably going too heavy and need to drop the weight down until you’ve sorted out your technique. Remember, big egos in the weight room keep only one group of people happy: knee and spine surgeons.
