The Squat-A simple break down of a complex exercise

                As the director of high performance training at Level 10 Fitness inc., I deem the squat as one of the most important exercises for our athletes.   Before I go on, I want to re-iterate that there are numerous ways to execute this movement.  I will discuss the methods I use to teach our athletes and trainers and will touch on some of the corrections and cues that we use to enhance this exercise (keep in mind, these are just a few and that every person is different-use them as a rough guideline) at the end of the article.   Like all exercises, the squat and its variations do have an element of risk that comes along with it.  One of our key points when teaching any movement is following the correct progressions to ensure safety in conjunction with correct loading and periodization.  

               It is often overlooked or disregarded due to its complexity and taboo of injuring backs and knees.  In the ten years I have worked in this field, I have yet to have an athlete get injured from this movement.  Please use this as a coaching tool, you may already know it all or you may know squat (get it?).  I have always believed that successful coaches work and share with each other to help build on the common goal of increasing performance in athletes.  As always, there are many different philosophies on how this movement should be executed, the following has worked well for us at Level 10 Fitness Inc for over 15 years and I hope you give it a try.  As mentioned, this is a very technical and potentially dangerous movement if executed improperly, so please make sure to do so at your own risk with the aid of a professional to guide you through it.  Best of luck!!! 

Coaching points from the top down.

Bar position for the Back Squat:

• The pins should be set so the athlete must step under the bar to lift it off (we do not want them on their toes when they are lifting off the weight). If there is more than one athlete in the same rack, set the pins to the shorter athlete.
• The athlete should be instructed to grip the bar outside shoulder width or slightly wider.
• Step under the bar and place it just below the upper traps and just above the superior aspect of the shoulder blades. Make sure the bar is evenly placed and cue the athlete to squeeze the shoulder blades together to create "muscular shelf" for the bar to rest upon.
• No athlete should be allowed to use a pad or towel wrapped around the bar. This can cause slippage and throw off balance.
• Bar placement too high or too low will generally result in excessive trunk flexion and/or pain due to the boney prominences of the neck and shoulder blades.

Bar Position for the Front Squat:

• The pins should be set to the same height as for the back squat.
• The athlete should grip the bar with an overhand grip at approximately shoulder width. As the athlete steps under the bar, they should be instructed to switch their grip to an underhand by shooting their elbows up and through (clean grip). The finished bar placement should include the elbows facing the ceiling and the bar resting across the front delts.
• Most athletes have limited wrist flexibility, so if necessary, you may use straps to grip the bar. Instruct the athlete to grip the straps as close to the bar as possible so they are working on flexibility.
• I prefer the use of straps for this movement to the hands crossed position for gripping the bar. The front squat is a great precursor for your clean and jerk variations. It is also much more stable!

The Descent (Back Squat):

• Foot placement should be hip to shoulder width (slightly wider for larger athletes) with toes facing straight ahead to slightly outward.
• Head position should be neutral. In general, have the athlete keep their eyes fixed about 12-18'' from the base of the floor in front of the rack. I know traditional technique has taught us to look up to maintain a "flat back". I understand the rationale for this and it is still a great tool for teaching young athletes that seem to struggle with simple motor patterning. But the fact is, most elite athletes lack extension of their thoracic spine (postural issues). This lack of mobility causes the athlete to make up for their lack of mobility in their T-Spine by arching their lower back (this becomes even more evident when a load is placed on their spine). Forcing the head up can also cause neck strains!
• Back Posture. Traditionally, strength and conditioning coaches have told athletes to keep their backs "flat" while squatting. I believe the athlete should maintain a neutral back posture and the strength coach should take note if there are any excessive kyphotic or lordotic curvatures occurring throughout the movement then prescribe corrections before considering loading the bar. Kyphotic curve is generally treated with rolling of the T-Spine and pecs, pec stretching and low and mid trap work. Lordotic curve is generally treated with rolling and stretching of the hamstrings, hip flexors and TFL (tensor fascia latae) along with low ab strengthening and activation. ***There are some strength coaches that encourage the excessive lordotic curve (low bar squats) with the excessive neck extension (looking up). I can't tell you how much I dislike this form. As someone that no longer has any discs in their lower back, I can tell you this position puts unneeded stress on the discs (both upper and lower) and I strongly believe this compromising position makes it difficult to increase power. I am not one to believe the movements in the weight room should mimic those of the field of play, but I have never seen a sport where this posture will exhibit success.
• Have the athlete take a deep breath; push their bum back with the weight on their heels (try to maintain somewhat vertical shin angle). Push out on the knees as if you were splitting the earth and squat until your top of thigh is parallel to the ground (your knees should break your hips).
• Keep in mind that some forward bending (flexion) at the hip is not only ok, but is necessary to maintain a neutral spine to a top of thigh parallel squat depth. As a coaching guideline-in the bottom position the shoulders should roughly be in line with the knees and toes. Generally we cue the athlete not to let their knees shoot out over the toes, but if the athlete is flexible enough and has proper knee tracking with the weight distributed over their heels, they should be fine (Olympic lifting style).

The Descent (Front Squat):

• The same cues as a back squat for the most part. The major difference is instructing the athlete to keep their elbows up throughout the movement.
• o If you are working with taller/lean athletes (basketball and volleyball players with long torso's) I recommend starting with the front squat instead of the back squat.

The Ascent (Back Squat):

• As the athlete switches from the eccentric action to concentric, have them let their breath out, drive through the heels, push out on the knees and return to the start position.

The Ascent (Front Squat):

• The same cues as a back squat for the most part. Have the athlete drive their elbows up as they return to the start position to maintain posture.

The Squat:

With all the gimmicks and scientific review, I have yet to be convinced of a better exercise for developing athletes.   As of late, there are a few strength coaches that have abandoned the squat in its entirety because they believe (and there is scientific literature to support this) that it is primarily a low back movement as opposed to a leg movement.  These coaches have switched to a Bulgarian split squat (which is a great movement as well).  I am very open minded when it comes to program design and I utilize the split and single leg movements in my program as well.  But, if the concern is that it is a low back dominant exercise, we should also be concerned with the SI joint being compromised in the split variations.  A large population (not just athletes) suffer from some rotation of the hips and by being in a split position you inherently torque one hip flexor and one hamstring causing a pronounced rotation.  Just like any movement we do, the strength and conditioning coach must be weary of all these things before prescribing these exercises.  So if the low back does act as a prime mover, I keep it in consideration and do not follow my squats with a dead lift. If you have read any of my previous articles, you will know that I am not a big fan of the traditional dead lift.  Not because I dislike the movement, but because I find most athletes do not have the ability to perform it correctly and I deem the squat a more important exercise.  I would never shy away from a movement because I felt it was too hard to teach.  As I mentioned before, our situation does not give us enough contact hours with the athletes, so our time must be spent wisely.  I deem the squat and the Olympic lifts to be of more value for our athletes and if their technique in those is flawless, we look to use variations of the dead lifts that are much safer and easier to teach (keeping in mind how much lumbar spine load they are getting with their squats and Olympic lifts).

My final thoughts:

        SQUAT. (That means squat-period!)  It doesn't matter your age or technical ability, there are many forms of the squat that can be utilized by all populations.  Use progressions and volume with light loads or bodyweight to work on technique.  Keep in mind, that most athletes will not really show any flaws in form until you fatigue them in a given movement (through volume) or add an external load (this is the same for most movements including exercises in the weight room or running mechanics).  Once the flaw(s) are identified, correct them and remember that good quality repetitions are the key for mastering any skill.  Athletes that are having difficulty with a movement (squat or any other) will start every workout with a brief technical session with little or no load to get extra reps in until they are up to speed along with their corrective exercises.  Good luck in the squat rack and don't forget to take a look at some of the corrections we use for common flaws when squatting below.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at joe@level10fitness.ca.

Squat Corrections:

Yours in Strength,

Joe Mccullum