Whether your goal is fat loss or packing on a few pounds of muscle, squats should definitely be in your arsenal.
Let me guess, you have probably heard multiple times over your lifting career or from others that squatting is bad for your back and knees. Well, that couldn’t be more wrong.
I am sure you’ve been in the gym, seen a dude who is all wrapped up in wraps and a belt like he is in a body cast, while blowing up chalk like he’s Lebron James ready to squat a sh*t tone of weight.
You see him get under the bar, take a wobbly step or two back, and barely bend his knees. Not to mention him screaming so the whole gym knows about his minor quarter squat accomplishment.
Afterwards, he’s pumped and freaking out over the inch of depth he accomplished and looking like a total moron.
Don’t be that person. If you aren’t familiar with this, go to a gym and just wait.
On a more serious note, hopefully I can persuade you to start squatting with good form in this article.
This isn’t a guide to show you how to get strong as all hell and break powerlifting records. This is a guide that is going to show you how to begin squatting properly with good form and technique. It is based on what I have learned from personal experience and from other professionals in the industry who have been doing this a lot longer than me.
So grab a pen and paper, maybe a coffee as well, and let’s get started.
Why the Squat is “The King of All Exercises” or at Least One of Them.
Some claim squats to be the king of all exercises.
Others claim that you shouldn’t do them at all.
I used to believe the latter. Before I really knew anything about fitness, I followed the typical bodybuilder “bro split” because the internet was flooded with articles and videos of bodybuilders. I looked up to them.
One thing remained constant… There was never one mention of squats.
My leg day consisted of endless amounts of drop sets and going to failure. Each workout consisted ofleg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses. My legs were left in the dust, always making it difficult to get out of bed the next day. Little did I know all that work still did not compare to a few sets of heavy squats.
In fact, I used to hate squats. They were a chore to me. That changed once I learned the benefit of them. I started practicing them as a skill, rather than another exercise.
The results were insane. Not only did I gain a tremendous amount of strength when I started squatting, but I built some amazing muscle as well. As a side note, I built a pretty nice booty in the process.
As a result, I think it is safe to say that squats are the king of all exercises when done correctly. Getting stronger in the gym and squatting a shit load of weight is not the only benefit of squatting. Squatting also carries over to everyday life as well.
The Benefits Of Squatting
Everyone should squat. Young, old, male, female, athlete, desk worker, etc..
For developing strength and muscle in the lower body, squats are one of the best, if not the best exercise. Squats give you the most bang for your buck results that carry over into everyday life.
There are many benefits that comes with a good squat:
- Builds a great deal of total body muscle (possibly more than any other movement)
- Improves everyday functional movements and performance
- Boosts the metabolism
- Builds nice toned and lean legs
Builds a Great Foundation of Muscle Around The Whole Body
Squatting builds some serious muscle mass AND strength. The legs contain a lot of muscles (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves) and the squat may be best exercise for all of those when done correctly.
Toned/muscular legs and butt are not a result of banded side steps, donkey kicks, leg extensions, adductor and abductor machines, or banded abduction glute bridges.
They are a result of squats.
The squat also works the upper body muscles such as the back and core. They work isometrically and help stabilize your upper body so that you do not get hurt.
Think of it like this: the legs are the muscles that run the engine, while the back and core muscles work to keep everything together so It doesn’t fall apart. It’s safe to say that this is an important carry over into everyday life.
And giving you a rocking body that you are confident in and proud of.
Improves Everyday Functional Movement and Performance
I think (almost) everyone should be able to squat no matter where you are at in life or how old you are.
Think about it, we all need to squat at some point in our lives and it’s a part of our evolution as a species. It is in our DNA.
Squats improve your posture, stability, mobility, and functional everyday strength. They are important.
I am not saying to go to a gym, put a bar on the back of your shoulders, slap on some weight, and start squatting. That would not be smart.
What I am saying is that you can and should be able to work yourself up to a deep full range of motion body squat.
Many activities in life require squatting. Sitting down in a chair, going poop, and picking things up is an example to name a few.
If you don’t squat and use the leg muscles and joints responsible, you will end up losing the ability to do so. The reason why modern society has difficulty squatting is because we don’t practice it.
Do you want to continue to move as you age or do you want to have aches and pains that get worse the older you get?
Squatting is Great for Promoting Good Posture
By starting to squat, you are turning on those muscles that have been dormant which is leading to poor posture, aches, and pains.
Squatting gets a bad reputation. Oftentimes you will hear people say that if you have a bad back and knees that you shouldn’t squat. They also say that squatting will lead to those issues.
Well, that is completely and utterly not true.
Here’s why:
When done properly, squatting should have no negative effect on your knees or lower back.
In fact, it may even help get rid of some of the pain you are experiencing.
The body is a system of muscles that need to work together properly in order to function to the best of its ability.
Most of the time chronic pain, the pain you experience over a long period of time, is due to weaknesses in other muscles.
When you have certain muscle groups that are weaker and not working as well as they should, it causes other muscle groups to have to take over for their job.
This compensation leads to chronic pain because the muscles that take over aren’t meant to be doing that job.
As you can see, it’s very important to have your body’s muscles working in sync with each other.
Squatting Boosts Your Metabolism
I would argue that squatting burns the most calories out of any movement. You are using your whole body to make sure you have good form to move heavy weight around. That requires a lot of energy from your body.
Remember how I said that squatting is one of the best muscle building exercise? Well, the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. This means more calories burned at rest, making it easier to lose fat and keep it off.
Builds Great Looking Legs
If you want the best looking legs possible, you need to squat. You can build some great looking legs from isolation exercises, but it will take more and still wont compare to the legs you’d have if you squat.
The squat works everything from the neck down. You are placing the weight on your shoulders, using your core and back to stabilize yourself, and using all your leg muscles to lower and lift the weight.
As for the lower part of the body, the squat works the quads which are the big muscles on the front of your legs. The posterior chain muscles, the muscles on the back of your body that are often neglected, are also worked. These muscles include the groin, hamstrings, and glutes (your butt).
All of them work together to perform a perfect, full range of motion squat, that will get you strong and also keep your lower back safe. As a result, you now have an aesthetically nice looking set of legs, butt,and overall body that you can show off and be proud of..
Why Squat When You Can Use Machines?
Let me start off by saying that I am not anti-machine training. They definitely have their place. The problem is that machines require a good connection to your muscles. You have to know how to use them properly to get a full affect out of a machine.
Exercise machines were made for gym convenience. To teach someone a machine is very simple. You get on the machine, and follow the movement pattern the machine is easy to do. Anyone can workout on a machine.
On the other hand, to teach someone how to squat requires knowledge, determination, hard work, and of course patience. It is something that can take months and even years to teach and learn.
That may not sound very appealing. However, going through the process is fun. Once you go from not being able to squat at all to squatting with a loaded bar on your back, you will be so happy you did. Being able to squat is a huge accomplishment.
Let me go in a little deeper here on my reasoning.
Machines, for the most part, work single body parts which is not the body’s preferred method of doing things. According to Mark Rippetoe, owner of Starting Strength, the body functions as a complete system and loves to be trained that way. Unfortunately, machines do not deliver this.
Barbells provide the body with proper movement patterns and will allow you to perform the squat in a full range of motion, therefore hitting all the muscles and joints potential to build.
Barbells allow the body to move in a way that the body was made to move in. Machines force the body to move in a way that the machine is made to move.
Additionally, barbell training requires coordination, balance, and stabilization which carries over into everyday life. Machines do not do not require any of these since it is on a fixed pulley system that takes out the balance and stability that would otherwise be required.
They make it easier to cheat your reps which further strengthens your imbalances.
I know they can be intimidating. But, like anything else, the more you practice them, the better you will get and the better your results will be.
Now It’s Time To Start Squatting
A properly done squat is completely safe for the knees and lower back no matter what anyone tells you.
Always start first without the bar. Learn the proper movement patterns and correct form first before adding on weight. Follow the steps below with only your body weight until you can perform a full squat with good form.
I am not talking a bout quarter squats. The goal is to have the ability to squat below parallel – this means squatting down to where your hips and butt are at or below your knees.
If you can’t squat deep enough with good form with the weight that you are using, then you need to lighten the load. It is better to have great form with light weight, than to have and form with heavy weight.
Bar Placement:
Believe it or not, bar placement is very important. When you are lifting heavy weight on your back, the last thing you want is the bar to be imbalanced and out of position. This is a great way to get hurt.
Start off by setting the bar at chest height and make sure the middle of the bar is directly in the middle of your chest. You would rather have the bar too low than too high. If the bar is too high, you’ll have to step on your tippy toes to get it off the rack and the bar could catch on the hooks. I’m sure you can imagine… not good.
(picture)
Another important point is you always want to be facing the bar and rack. Never unrack the bar when it’s behind you. When you re-rack the bar, you always want to be walking forward with the squat rack in front of you, and placing the bar back on the racks.
Now that you have the correct bar height, place the bar on your shoulders either in a high bar position or low bar position. This will be individualized to you based on what feels more comfortable. No matter what bar position you choose, the goal is to keep the bar over mid foot to maintain balance.
High Bar Placement
For a high bar squat, you will place it on the top of your shoulders and squeeze your shoulder blades together to secure the bar.
This method is great for a deeper squat and works more of your quads (the front of your legs) since your back will be more vertical.
Make sure to place the bar on your traps and not your spine. Before placing the bar on your shoulders squeeze your shoulder blades together nice and tight, then place the bar on the backs of your shoulders in this position.
Low Bar Placement
For a low bar squat, you will place it right underneath the bone on the back of your shoulder blade.
The low bar squat may be easier for you if you are a beginner. This bar position focuses more on your hamstrings and glutes since your back is slightly more horizontal than the high bar squat, which allows you to lift more weight.
Pick one that feels best to you and remember to keep that chest up to keep your back straight and prevent rounding of the back which will destroy your lower back. If the bar hurts your back when placed on your shoulders, then the bar position on your back is wrong.
Gripping The Bar & Lift Off
Grip the bar with both your hand and thumb over it. If you have poor shoulder mobility, you may have to take a wider grip than usual.
Now that you have gripped the bar, slide your hands towards your head and slightly lift those elbows back and up to squeeze your shoulder blades together to provide support for the bar on those upper back muscles.
What this should look like is a straight line between your wrist and forearms.
When you lift the bar off of the rack, make sure to stand underneath it and squat it up rather than lunging underneath it and picking it up.
This will ensure that you are in proper position and is a safe way to start the movement.
Take 1-2 steps back and you are now almost ready to squat.
Foot Placement:
Now that you have the bar on your shoulders and have taken a step or two back, it’s time to focus on your foot placement.
Your feet should be at or slightly wider than shoulder width apart and slightly turned out. The objective is to keep all of the balance on your mid foot throughout the whole movement.
Brace Your Core:
Make sure to keep everything nice and tight here. Before you squat down, I want you to imagine like someone is going to punch you in the stomach. Hold your breath, brace yourself, and this is how you should be throughout each rep. Breathe out when you come back up. Then repeat by bracing your core again. This is going to protect your lower back and almost act like a supportive cast.
On The Way Down:
Ok, now you have picked up the bar, fixed your feet into place, and have braced your core.
Before you go down into your squat, pick a spot on the ground to focus on. There should be a straight line from your butt to your head.
DO NOT look up at the ceiling when performing a squat. I was once told this during my high school days when I went to a football weight training session. At the time I did not know any better, but now I do. If you look up, you are putting a lot of pressure on your neck. Instead, pick a spot on the floor in front of you and stare at it. This will keep your whole back and neck in a straight line which is much safer.
Take a deep breath to brace your core like we talked about before and start the squat.
Sit back and down by sliding your hips back, bending at the knees (Imagine you are dropping down into a hole or like you are trying to sit on a toilet seat but do not want to touch it with your bare butt.)
Make sure to keep your knees in line with your toes the whole time. Act like you are spreading the floor apart with your feet if you are having a hard time with this.
You will know you are in correct form if the bar is directly over the middle of your foot, with your knees in line with your toes, and your back is as straight as you can get it (think of keeping your chest up). Your hips should be directly in line with your knees or a little lower.
Quick note: It is ok for your knees to go in front of your toes as long as your whole foot stays on the ground.
On The Way Up:
This is the hardest part of the movement and where most people get stuck. The bottom of the squat is known as the sticking point.
It is time to explode out of the hole. Use your butt to drive you up and make sure to keep that chest nice and tall. Do not let your heel come off the ground. This is very common and what leads to knee issues and pain. Focus on pushing the ground away from you through your heels.
Once you are close to the top of the squat, squeeze the butt to extend those hips. Always keep your body and core nice and tight and do not forget to keep your eyes at the one spot on the floor. Then repeat.
Re-Racking The Weight:
Congrats! You completed a set of squats. Now, it is time to re-rack the weight.
This is why it is important to be facing the squat rack. It can be very easy to be off balance while going backwards and miss the hooks.
When you go to put the weight back on the rack, make sure to rack it against the vertical parts on the rack rather than place it on the hooks.
How To Get A Deeper Squat
One of the main reasons you can’t squat with good depth and form is because you lack the mobility to do so.
It’s a result of the muscles and joints that are used during the squat being “turned off” from not using them.
How do you fix this? Simply by turning them back on through mobility drills that push your muscles and joints to new ranges of motion.
This is a guide on how to properly perform a full squat with good form and full range of motion for your body. I’m talking about full on ass to grass. Muscle is built both in the stretching phase (eccentric) and the shortening phase (concentric). So stretching the muscle by going down as deep as you can with good form is going to build more muscle. Whether you can do that right now does not really matter because you can work your way up to a deeper squat.
The best and most recommended squat depth that I have read and seen other coaches recommend falls somewhere between parallel (knees inline with hip) or ass to grass where your hips are below your knees. Both are great and require good form.
Here are a few benefits of having the ability to perform a deep squat:
- Gain more strength and muscle
- Activate your glutes and hamstrings more
- More Pressure taken off the knees
- Stronger lower back
- Improved mobility
Squatting with control is very important. What’s not as important is how many pounds you can squat. What’s important is how many pounds you can squat with good form.
Perfecting your squat form carries over into everyday life. If you practice good squat technique in the gym and eventually add weight to it, it will benefit you by carrying over into everyday life.
The right squat depth for you right now is the one where you can maintain perfect form. Eventually, the goal is to perform a deep squat but it is something that you will have to work on to get to.
Why You Have Poor Mobility
I briefly explained this in the last section so I will go a little further into detail now. A lack of mobility boils down to using certain muscles more than others – creating and promoting bad posture.
As a result, those muscles and joints that are usually used during a squat aren’t properly being activated. This tells the body that it doesn’t need to pay as much attention to those muscles and focuses the attention elsewhere. These muscles are essentially “turned off” and “disconnected” by your body’s brain and the central nervous system.
Stretching can help but it wont fix the range of motion issues. That is where working on mobility comes in.
Working on mobility drills helps you actively regain control of the range of motion required to perform a deeper squat by turning on those turned off muscles. They progressively keep pushing you past your range of motion that you have control over until you eventually gain full control back and can reach an optimal range of motion by yourself.
Stretching is passively working on your body’s range of motion like bringing your leg up towards your head with your hand.
Mobility actively works on your body’s range of motion like bringing your head towards your leg without using your hand.
This is done by performing mobility drills that target those weak points. Your muscles usually have the range of motion necessary for these movements (via stretching); it is just that you are not connected to that range of motion and can’t access it yet without assistance..
Good mobility is the “ability to move within a specified range of motion with control, tension, minimal injury risk and the ability to fire with close to full force without risk of injury.”
Your muscles are only able to move as much weight as your mobility allows.
This can and will result in more strength gains, more muscle growth, and a reduction in body aches and pains.
3 Common Problem Areas
For most people, mobility issues stem from 1-3 areas:
- The Upper Back/Shoulders/Neck
- The Hips
- The Ankles
The Upper Back/Shoulders/Neck:
Most commonly seen as forward head and shoulders. (Also known as upper crossed syndrome.) This results in too much bending forward and looking down based on being on our phones, computers, etc all day.
As a result, looking down becomes a part of our everyday life which causes our body to adapt by tightening the anterior and shoulder muscles and weakening your neck and upper back muscles.
What this does is cause the lower back (lumbar spine) to have to compensate for the jobs that those muscles are not doing. It does this by rounding (flexing) which is what we want to avoid while squatting to prevent an injury from happening.
This can be fixed through many drills that strengthen the backs of the shoulders, neck, and upper back.
One that I really like is the prone cobra. It is great for strengthening all of those weakened muscles that are a cause of the upper crossed-syndrome.
The Hips
Many people out there think it is their tight hamstrings that are preventing a deep squat. This is usually not true. Hamstrings don’t get very tight that easily. What usually happens is you have poor hip mobility.
One of the best stretches you can do to open this hips back up is the 90-90 stretch. There are progressions to make this more challenging and continue to improve your mobility.
The Ankles
Most of the time a limiting factor for people is a lack of ankle mobility which is the ability for your knees to go over your toes, which is essential for a deep squat.
The best ankle mobility drill is the combat stretch.
While you are working on your mobility drills, you can put plates under your heels for the time being until you improve your mobility to get the benefits of a deeper squat. This only acts as a band aid though and should only be used as you continue to work on your hip and ankle mobility.
Focus on working on your problem areas at least 2-3 times a week for 20-30 minutes. This can be done as an active rest day or before your workout to make sure you are priming your muscles for a proper movement. The focus should be on intent. Really feel those muscles work to wake them up.
Common Squatting Mistakes
It is important to do squats with correct form. The squat is a very complex movement that takes awhile to get down, so it’s very common to be making mistakes.
If you are making any of these mistakes, focus on fixing them before you add weight.
Luckily, you can nip them in the butt early on before building a bad habit.
1.Heels coming off the ground.
This will destroy your knees. Keep your whole foot on the ground, sit back, and push through your heels.
Your knees can go over your toes as long as your whole foot stays on the ground.
2.Knees caving in.
You want your knees to be in line with your toes when you squat down. Imagine spreading the floor apart with your feet.
If you’re still having trouble, put a band around your knees and spread it apart as you squat.
3.Bending too much at the waist and rounding your back.
This will destroy your lower back because it has to compensate for the job of the mid/upper back when the back is rounded.
Make sure to keep that chest up, the backs of your shoulders nice and tight, and sit back and down.
These are three common problems to that you may face when squatting.
Work on one at a time, fix it, and then move onto the next.
Start with no weight and gradually add some each week.
Different Types of Squats and Progressions
I am going to list a progression in squats from easiest to hardest therefore you can choose a version that you can do to switch things up.
The form and technique of the squat carries over to all variations as it is for the back squat as described above.
Quick note: If you are having trouble balancing or getting low enough, use a box, chair, bench, couch to perform a box squat. This should help you focus on sitting back and down rather than just bending straight at the knees.
Squat back and down on your platform, sit there for a few seconds, then stand back up.
- Prisoner/Bodyweight Squats: If you need help with these, place a stability ball between your back and the wall. This should help with depth and form.
- Squat with weight held out in front of you. This helps if you are having trouble with the forward lean and helps you sit back in the squat.
- Goblet Squat: Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of you close to your chest while keeing your elbows tucked into your body.
- Front Squat: Almost the same concept as a goblet squat except this version uses a barbell, which allows you to load on more weight.
- Back Squat: The king of all squats and the goal of squatting success. This is the end goal and will produce the best results.
- (Bonus) Split squats and lunges: Great for balance, stability, and coordination. Both are great accessory movements that you can load up, focus on one side of the body (unilaterally), and load the glutes and quads. This is also a great alternative that does not put a lot of strain on your lower back and neck and that you can really load up. They sucks but you should be doing them.
Now That You Know How To Squat, How Often Should You?:
Squatting more frequently can be beneficial for two reasons: practice and building muscle.
I would recommend squatting 1-3 times at most during the week.
With that said, just because you squat multiple times a week does not mean you should go hard every time. Your body still needs to recover to build the muscle.
- Have one hard day where you go super heavy (3-6 reps)
- Have one day where you go moderate (6-8 reps)
- Have one day where you go extremely light and focus on improving your form. (8-15 reps)
Frequency (the amount of times you complete an exercise) can be an awesome way to improve your squat and get better at it. Have you ever heard of the saying “practice makes perfect”? Well, the same applies to the squat. The more you do it and work on correct form, the better you will get at it.
Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is when the body repairs its muscle from exercise. This is when the body builds muscle. It can last up to 72 hours for people. For this reason, squatting more frequently can be beneficial as it keeps that MPS elevated longer, leading to more gains.
Start with one day for now. As you get more advanced, than begin to add in an extra day to two.
Ok, But Should You Go Light Or Heavy?
How about both. There are benefits to both heavy and light squats and each of them will build muscle. If you keep doing the same thing over and over again, your body will adapt and it won’t have any reason to change and grow.
You need to keep giving it a reason to change and grow. You can do this by switching up the number of reps you do.
For example, in the first month, go heavy (3-6 reps). In the second month go relatively moderate (8-12 reps), then go super light the 3rd month (12-15 reps) and repeat that cycle.
The heavier you go and the less reps you do, the longer your rest periods need to be to allow your body ro recover. Usually 3-5 minutes for the heaviest of sets.
The lighter you go and the more reps you do, the shorter your rest periods need to be. Usually 1-2 minutes for the lightest of sets.
Different rep ranges train different muscle fibers. Therefore to make sure you train all the fibers and to help them all grow, train in each rep range for a short period of time and then switch. Do not stay in a phase or rep range for more than 4-6 weeks.
Remember, to get stronger and build more muscle, you have to progressive overload the muscle. Once you hit the higher end of the rep range, increase the weight of the squat by 5-10 pounds and repeat. For example, if your rep range is 3-5 reps, you would not increase your weight until you can hit at least 5 reps with it.
The more experienced you become, you can start to add more volume through more frequency (number of days trained) or sets/reps/
Equally important, squatting with a full range of motion is important because it works the hips and muscles on the back of your body. If you only half squat or do not go down low enough, your quads will take over for most of the movement and put pressure on your knee.
Consequently, squatting carries over all of your other movements and exercises and will improve those as well.
As shown above, squatting is one of the best movements for overall total body strength .It also takes a lot out of you so make sure to listen to your body and not over do it.
Your Basic Squatting Plan:
Now that you have read through the whole article, you are ready to start squatting.
Remember, the goal is to be able to squat with a full range of motion. Your body is different from everyone else’s, so it is not fair to compare yourself to them and where they are at. Learning good squat form and progressing to a deep back squat may take a longer time for you. But, that is ok as long as you continue to work on it.
If you can’t squat, work on mobility while learning how to squat from easier versions and progress to harder versions as you get better at the moment.
Month #1
The goal is to always start with and perfect a bodyweight squat first and foremost. Continue to work on your shoulder, hip, and ankle mobility until you can do a bodyweight squat with really good form and improved range of motion. From there, move onto a weighted front squat, goblet squat, back squat. Use a box if you need to.
Month #2
For the second month, continue to work on your mobility and begin to introduce unilateral training, also known as single leg movements. This is where bringing in the lunges and split squats come into play to help strengthen each leg, improve balance, and stability.
Month #3
The final month, start squatting with a bar while continuing to work on unilateral moves and mobility and put it all together.
Here Is an Example:
Month 1: Body Weight Squats and Mobility 1-3 Days a Week
Month 2: Body Weight Squats and Mobility 1-3 Days a Week / Unilateral Training 1 Day a Week.
Month 3: Back Squats 1 Day a Week/ Unilateral Training 1 Day a Week / Mobility 2-3 Days a Week.
You will only get better at the squatting movement the more you practice.
I hope you found this article on how to squat helpful. If you could, it would mean a lot to me if you could share this with other people to see on facebook, instagram, or twitter. It helps out greatly!
If you have any questions, leave them down below and I would be happy to answer them for you.
Thanks a ton and goodluck squatting!
-Bob
P.S. If you are interested in a quick resource that is going to show you how to get started losing fat, building muscle, and getting stronger, download my free “Fat Loss Cheat Sheet”.