Positioning Yourself to Squat

Before you get under the bar, let’s talk about how you position yourself for a squat.

Bar Placement: As discussed in the previous topic, bar position on the back affects the moment arms to the knee and to the hip. We demonstrated how moving the bar lower on the back shifts workload to your glutes, which generate tremendous power. Because of this, the low bar squat is the preferred approach to squatting for power.

• High Bar: The bar rests on top of your traps.
• Low Bar: The bar rests at the base of the upper traps and across the top of your delts. You will find a groove between the traps and the delts that locks the bar into place. The bar is also in firm contact with your back across its entire width.

Figure 1: Low bar position

Figure 2: High bar position

Now there are schools of thought that place the bar even lower on the back, across the back of the delts versus the top. I don’t typically promote this ultra-low bar position for the simple fact that you lose the bar stability created by tucking it into that groove between your traps and delts.

Hand Placement/Grip: Squatting big weights is all about creating tightness in the body. You can affect your upper body tightness by where you place your hands.

• Bringing your grip closer to your shoulders creates natural tension in your upper back, and provides better support to the bar.
• A wider grip creates less natural support to the bar, and allows your upper back to relax. If you use a wider grip, you must consciously work to create more tension in your upper back.

Generally speaking, I recommend bringing your hands in as close to your shoulders as your upper body mobility allows.

Note: If you have elbow or shoulder issues, you may need to use a wider grip to reduce the torque on them.

Foot Placement: Getting the right foot position is one of the most important aspects of a good squat. If you set your feet in the right place and keep the bar positioned over your center of gravity as you squat, everything else will fall into place. The challenging part is that the best foot position can differ from person to person depending on their body mechanics.

Start with the insides of your heels just wider than the outside of your hips and your toes pointed slightly outward. This position helps you open your hips so you can drop right into the hole. From this starting point, adjust your stance based on your body mechanics and mobility:

• A wider stance reduces the lift’s range of motion and increases emphasis on your hips (flexion, extension, rotation). Widening your stance is a good adjustment if you have proportionally long femurs, but it also can increase the propensity for knee valgus and can make it more difficult to hit full depth.
• A narrower stance may help lifters with limited hip mobility and lifters whose hip structures limit external rotation. If hip mobility does not allow you to reach depth with a stance just outside hip width, you may try moving your feet in so they are directly under the hips (legs straight down, no outward angle) and your toes pointed straight ahead. Note that this stance will create other challenges to your squat: your hips push farther back increasing your torso’s forward lean; it also reduces your hips’ external rotator involvement in the lift; and, of course, it increases the range of motion. I would limit this narrow stance, with heels inside your hip width to those whose hip structures do not allow full mobility with a wider stance.

My favorite tool for finding the right squat stance is the box squat. Using either no weight or just the bar, start with the stance outside hip width and squat to a below parallel box keeping the bar directly over your center of gravity down and up throughout the full ROM. With the correct stance for your body’s mechanics you should be able to squat through the full ROM with proper technique. Tweak your stance slightly until you find the right groove.

Head Position: Your head position is important, as your body tends to follow your head. It is, however, a matter of debate in the lifting community – should a lifter look up or look down. Regardless which camp you subscribe to, there are certain criteria you should follow:

• Your head should remain inline with your neck. Treat it as a rigid extension to your back, pack your head straight back into your neck while keeping your neck straight, and inline with your spine. This helps create rigidity in your upper back and neck and keeps your head positioned.
• Once you are under the bar, keep your focus fixed on a single point, don’t change your focus or head position during the squat.
• My personal preference is that your focus point be above the horizon. Looking down can create a tendency to drop your chest and lean forward as you come up. Keeping your head and focus point up throughout the ROM can help you keep your chest up as you squat.

Consistency is one of the most important traits of a successful lifter. It applies to your technique as much as it does your training habits. For optimum results practice setting the bar, your hands, your feet and your head the same for every set and every rep, no matter how heavy or light the weight is.