Squat – Execution

Following the tips in the previous sections you’ve efficiently and effectively walked a heavy bar out

Once you’re set up in your stance and under the bar, don’t waste time (over)thinking the lift. If you find yourself hesitating to start your reps, set yourself a rep limit of no more than three breaths then go. Between subsequent reps in the set just take your next breath and go.

In competition, take small breaths until you get the ‘Squat’ command, then on your next breathing cycle take your bracing breath and start your squat.

• Breath and Brace. Take another deep breath and brace, as described above.
• Keep pushing out against the floor as you squat down.
  • By pushing out against the floor, your knees should stay out and your hips open letting you easily drop into the hole (if this doesn’t happen, then you may have other issues that need to be troubleshot).
  • I don’t coach ‘hips back’ as some of the old school powerlifters. There are times when this is an effective approach, but for most lifters, I’ve found the squats are most effective by simply sitting down, as if sitting into a chair.
• As you descend, keep the bar moving in a straight line over your shoe laces as if it were on rails (if it actually is on rails, you are on a Smith Press…and there is obviously something wrong with you…).
• Your descent should be a quick, but controlled tempo.
• Keep your head and chest up, and your back flat throughout entire lift.
• Squat to depth. Every rep from your lightest warm-up to your heaviest working set should be to proper depth, best case 1-2″ below parallel.
  • This will ensure you will get three white lights in competition.
  • If you are not a competitive powerlifter, 1-2″ will give you the maximum muscle activation – squatting deeper than that results in a negligible increase in activation at best.
  • ‘Below Parallel’ means the top surface of your thigh at the hip is below the top surface of your knee.
  • If you have an issue with lumbar flexion (‘butt wink’) at the bottom of your squat, you may want to limit your depth to the point the flexion starts until the issue is corrected. In most cases, you should be able to squat at least to parallel before the lumbar begins flexing to greatly.
• Drive the weight back up explosively.
  • Push your elbows forward and drive your hips forward hard as you start back up.
  • The bar and your hips should come up at the same rate, maintaining the same back/hip angle. Your hips should not shift back or up ahead of the bar. Your head and chest should stay up as you come back up.
  • Your knees should remain out, and inline with your feet.
  • Snake your air out as you come up. Don’t exhale suddenly at any point during the lift. Exhaling suddenly as you lift will reduce your stability, at the top it can increase your chance of blacking out.

• Complete the lift by locking out your knees and hips, and bringing your back fully erect.
  • Drive up powerfully and push your hips forward to a hard lockout. Don’t let off once you’re past the sticking point and know you’ll finish the lift – try to give 100% of your power even if it’s an 80% weight.
• Come to a complete stop fully locked out and control the weight before beginning the next repetition or racking the weight. Begin the next rep by breathing and bracing and re-tightening your shoulder blades.