I Know Squat - Part 2: Proper Squatting Technique

I Know Squat - Part 2: Proper Squatting Technique
By Fred Hatfield, Ph.D., MSS

Welcome back to our series on the Philosophy of Squat. In this installment Dr. Squat takes a look at what proper squat technique should look like along with a few suggestions for those times when you can’t squat due to injury or other act of nature that keeps you out of the power rack. Read, learn, grow…

In disproving the more persistent myths about squats in part one of this series, we’ve exposed some of the more important points of proper technique. For example, it’s clear that there are several ways to perform the squat, but you must identify your training objectives before choosing the technique.

Powerlifters, for instance, use a technique during competition that in no way resembles the one that bodybuilders or athletes should use in training. But non-powerlifters are often guilty of mimicking that contest technique because more weight can be hoisted.

The feet are spread beyond shoulder width, and the thighs barely break parallel when the lift is completed. The bar is carried as far down the back as rules permit, just below the deltoid muscles, and a considerable amount of forward lean is used to allow the legs to share the load with the gluteus and hamstring muscles.

The weight distribution and better leverage afforded by the bar position and wider stance allow the powerlifter to squat with as much as 20 percent more weight than the upright technique allows.

Athletes have their own particular way of squatting, although the difference is not so much in position as it is in speed of movement. Athletes interested in developing explosive power (for jumping, running, kicking, tackling and the like) typically use explosive movements in their weight training, particularly in squatting.

This is referred to as compensatory acceleration training, and it requires that maximum effort be exerted against the bar throughout the entire range of motion. For example, near the top of a squat movement, the weight is easier to move because of improved leverage. Athletes compensate for the improved leverage by accelerating the bar, thereby applying maximum overload in the full range of motion. Such explosiveness also leaves you with a degree of motor learning – training explosively literally teaches the athlete to be more explosive.

So what constitutes good squatting technique? This part of the series sets down the important points of proper squatting form for athletes in all sports. But the theory behind the technique tips isn’t all that simple. For example, what about the isolation principle? This important theory states that it will be easier to apply adaptive overload if a muscle is isolated. Implicit is the notion that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Relating this analogy to anatomical terms, if a group of muscles act to move a weight, the strength of the movement can be measured by the strength of the weakest muscle in the group. While the stronger muscles in the group may get some benefit, the overall gain to the group will be minimal.

This would appear to be a strong argument in favor of the leg curl and leg extension exercises over squats for overall leg development. But is it really? Because of the peculiar arrangement of the leg muscles’ insertion and origin points (three of the quadriceps and 2 of the hamstrings span two joints, the hip and knee), it’s impossible to get sufficient intensity of effort during maximum isolation movements, such as leg curls and leg extensions. The leverages involved in squatting generate more intensity of effort than do the isolation movements and overload is more easily achieved. It takes both intensity and isolation to maximize the benefits of overload. The squat’s efficient mix of isolation and intensity will yield improvements in both size as well as strength much faster than will any other leg exercises.

TRAINING FOR MAXIMUM SQUATTING POWER

Despite the fact that they have been much maligned by physicians who rarely have the opportunity to observe "healthy" people (they usually only see sick people), squats are the single most effective leg exercise ever conceived. This is true whether your training goals are those of a bodybuilder, power athlete, endurance athlete or fitness freak.

Proper technique for the Bodybuilder’s Squat

Position the bar on the squat racks at a height approximately three to five inches lower than your shoulders.
With at least one spotter standing by (preferably two, especially if attempting a heavy squat), position your hands evenly on the bar and, with your feet squarely under the bar, lift it from the rack with the legs.
Step back just enough to avoid bumping the rack during the exercise, and position feet at no more than a bit more than shoulder width.
The weight should remain centered over the back half of the feet, not on the heels or toes.
Slowly descend into a near-bottom position, keeping the torso and back erect so that the hips remain under the bar at all times. Do NOT allow the hips to drift backward or the torso to incline forward.
A check on proper position is to ensure that the angles formed at the knee joint and hip joint are close to being equal.
Do NOT relax or drop swiftly into a rock-bottom position. Keep the muscles contracted and stop just short of the bottom.
Rise out of the squat position following the same path that you descended -- the torso and back remain erect and the hips remain under the bar throughout the ascent.
Repeat the squat movement for the required number of reps.
The use of supportive devices is not advised except in cases where the weight is extremely heavy.
When returning the bar to the rack, have your spotter(s) carefully guide you in, being sure that the hands are not in the way of the bar or racks. Your fatigued state will diminish your control over the heavy weight.

A Word of Caution

In all honestly, however, and in deference to the good docs who eschew squats, they have to be done VERY carefully or they could result in injury. Several things must accounted for and even then injuries can occur. Here are a few things that even those with the best technique must look out for and cope with:

The chance of leaning forward or rounding your back under heavy loads is always a problem
Falling off balance forward or backward also jeopardizes your safety during heavy squatting
Your shoulder girdle, shoulders, wrists and elbows often take a beating holding the straight bar firmly in position during heavy squats
Missing a squat attempt is something that happens to all of us from time to time, sometimes with dire consequences
Discomfort to the back of the neck (typically at the 7th cervical vertebra) where the bar sits is a problem that some, especially powerlifters, all shrug off as part of the game
Individual anatomical peculiarities often make it extremely difficult -- if not impossible -- to assume the most efficient stance in order to derive maximum benefit from squats
Not being able to squat because of the lack of competent spotters has been one of my personal gripes
Perhaps the most dangerous part of squatting is the need to take several steps backward to set up, and then return to the rack after squatting. This factor alone accounts for over 75 percent of all squatting-related injuries!

Despite these problems, all of us, at least those schooled in the Philosophy of Squat, put up with them and get on with the business of learning good technique, taking proper precautions, and doing what we know is best for us. We squat no matter what because it has always been thought of as best to do so. That we've gotten by and made progress with conventional squats is due in no small measure to the fact that squats are a necessary part of our training. It's what we do.

Of course, the ubiquitous weekend warrior who suffers an injury will opt to completely eliminate squatting from their training. But impassioned gym goers - those of you with more than half a brain and more than your fair share of heart - will find a way around whatever injuries you may have until the problem is solved. The best way around problems with squatting is to find other means of training your legs that eliminate trauma to the injured area.

Here are a few leg exercises (including some unique squatting techniques) which may provide both protection from and ways around injuries:

-Lunge Squats

There are many variations to the squat movement. One extremely important one is the "lunge" squat. Lunge squats can be done to the left, right or forward, placing the weight on the lead leg. The quad muscles of the lead leg are targeted with both front and side lunges. Side lunges also target the groin muscles (especially the adductor gracilis of the opposite leg).

-Twisting Squats

From a front lunge position, you can "twist" to the opposite side of your lead leg while ascending from the lunge position. This is an exercise that I had originally developed for athletes like down-linemen or shot putters who are required to explode laterally out of a lunge or squat position. Other athletes can benefit too, in that fuller leg development is achieved in the sartorius and adductor muscles of the upper leg.

"Twisting squats," as they're called, requires a special harness to wear on your chest and shoulders to hold the short bar in place. DO NOT attempt to do twisting squats with a long bar, or with the bar placed on your shoulders! Loss of control in this exercise can mean groin, knee and low back injury.

-Hack Squats and Leg Presses

Hack squat machines and leg press machines come in handy if 1) you haven't learned how to do squats properly yet, 2) you don't have a safety squat bar, 3) you don't have a spotter to help you do squats, or 4) if your back is tired or injured and you can't do regular squats. They're good substitutes for regular or safety squats, but NOT a replacement for them.

Hack squat machines come outfitted with a weighted sled that rolls up and down on tracks or slides on linear bearings, and shoulder pads so you can support the weight while squatting. Leg press machines' padded shoulder supports are stationary, on the other hand, and a sled device similar to those used on hack squat machines is pressed upward at varying angles, depending upon the design of the specific leg press machine.

-Stiff Legged Deadlifts

A lot of powerlifters ill advisedly use stiff-legged deadlifts to exercise their lower back. Because your lower back is more efficiently and effectively developed with back extensions, there is no need to do any other off-season exercise for your lower back, and ESPECIALLY not stiff legged deadlifts!

However, stiff-legged deadlifts are particularly effective for developing your hamstrings (the back of your upper legs). The traditional way of performing this exercise is to lower the weighted bar all the way down to your bootstraps while standing on a platform or bench with stiff legs (or knees slightly bent). In this way, it's believed, you'll get maximum effect on your hams. This may be true to a degree, but you're also going to unnecessarily expose your lumbar spine to injury. Those intervertebral discs down there come loose all too easily!

I submit that there's a better way. With barbell in hand, poke both your butt and belly outward. In this position, you look kind of like one of the "Keystone Cops" you see in the 1920s movies. This variation of stiff-legged deadlifts has thus become known as "Keystone Deadlifts."

This seemingly strange position will pre-stretch your hamstrings because of the forward tilt of your pelvis the position entails. Then, while maintaining this position, slowly lower the barbell to around your knees, keeping the bar close to your legs during the descent and ascent.

You must NOT go more than an inch or two below your knees. By the time you reach your (slightly unlocked) knees, your hip joints have fully flexed, and any further lowering of the bar is accomplished ONLY through eccentric hyperflexion of your spine -- a NO-NO!

You will feel a decided "burn" in your hams and glutes when keystones are done correctly. You should feel virtually no discomfort or stress in your lower back.
If you do, experiment with the movement until you feel no discomfort at all. Invariably, a slight adjustment in your position will correct the problem.

The nice thing about doing stiff legged deadlifts this way is that you can use a far heavier weight, thereby getting better adaptive stress applied to the targeted hamstring muscles. All without any low back trauma at all!

One more important caution: NEVER do this exercise explosively! You'll risk pulling a hamstring or blowing out a lumbar disc.

-Leg Extensions and Leg Curls

These two exercises are favorites of your common bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts. While they may be "ok" for them, they are decidedly useless for healthy trainees. Eliminate them from your training except during times when, due to injury, they're the only movements you can perform safely and pain-free.

Editor’s note: Look for the next part of Dr Squat’s series in the coming weeks…