The Proper Way to Do Squats |
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Squats are fun!
Squats are perhaps one of the most misunderstood strength training exercises. They can be very beneficial if done properly, but there are a lot of misconceptions out there. If you’re not doings squats the right way, you can risk painful injury and you won’t be getting the full benefit of the exercise. Here are some tips on how to make sure you are doing squats the right way.
First, let’s talk about your posture. When you’ve got the bar behind your back, where are you looking? If you’re looking down, your back will be slightly rounded. If you’re looking up, your neck will start to strain. Both positions are wrong. Look straight ahead and make sure that your shoulders are square. You should be completely aligned with the bar behind you, feeling equal pressure on both shoulder blades.
You may need to check yourself as you go down and come back up. Once again, look straight forward and resist the urge to look down when you’re on the way down and up when you’re lifting the weight back up. This will result in either a neck injury or a knee injury if you do not keep your posture in the correct position. Adjust slightly and try to keep as centered as possible.
Next, it’s important to make sure that your knees are in the correct position. This is hard to do without looking down, so we recommend getting into the right position without the weight and doing a few stretches. Your knees should never cross your toes. Keep doing this until you get the feel for being either too far forward or too far back. This will help you make corrections without looking when you’re actually lifting.
Now, before we go any further, one of the most common squat misconceptions is that it is better to stop before your knees are fully flexed. In reality, this can lead to injury. Your knees are strongest when they are either fully flexed or fully straight. Stopping in between puts excess stress on your joints and will be painful.
It is also very important to remember that safety has to come first. If you are new to lifting in general or you have never done squats with weights before, you will need to work up to your capacity slowly. Add a little more weight every day until you get to the point where you should be. It’s better to go slow and avoid injury than to rush. You’ll also want to pace yourself. You may not be able to do twenty reps your first time out.
Squats are incredibly beneficial for your body and they will give your entire body a workout, if you are doing them correctly. Always remember to stretch before and after squatting to avoid injuring your knee or hip muscles. Make the right adjustments to your posture before adding the weight. If in doubt, use a Power Rack until you are more confident.
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This post deals with:knee injury, squats, strength training
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September 4th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Newbies can also perfect their squat technique by:
1. Performing bodyweight squats while facing a wall - Get nice and close to the wall - Your toes should be about 6 inches from the wall. Cross your arms across your chest, and by following the Lazy Man’s tips - SQUAT.
If anypart of you touches the wall, stop and back off an inch and try again.
2. Another trick is to perform overhead squats. Starting with a broomstick, press your arms overhead, reaching for the ceiling.
Now try squatting - always reaching for the ceiling. This will keep your spine elongated. You may find that you can’t go very deep and keep reaching for the ceiling. Give up depth for the time being. As your hips limber up and your leg strength improves, you will be able to go deeper and add some weight to the overhead lift.
September 5th, 2008 at 2:36 am
love squats and cant lose the oldschool HAMSTOCALF form.
that said Im sure age will be intervening here soon
GREAT POST on a too oft neglected exercise.
September 6th, 2008 at 9:53 am
[...] Man shares the right way to do squats. “Squats are perhaps one of the most misunderstood strength training exercises. They can be [...]
September 13th, 2008 at 11:18 am
[...] Lazy Man has some tips on the proper ways to do squats. [...]
September 15th, 2008 at 7:28 am
“Your knees should never cross your toes.”
This isn’t a hard and fast rule. While it does decrease knee torque slightly, it results in a huge increase in hip torque because your trunk must lean forward more to compensate. And that’s not a good thing for your hips or your lower back.
You shouldn’t have your knees go half a foot past your toes, but it’s perfectly acceptable for your knees to go past your toes a little if that’s a natural position for you. Everyone is proportioned differently. So while some can squat comfortably with the knees never passing the toes, others could risk a lower back or hip injury by sticking to that rule. What you don’t want to happen is to have your knees roll to the side. I’d worry a lot more about keeping your knees in position laterally than whether they go beyond the toes by a couple of inches.
We are born knowing how to squat. The torso is made to drop down low between the legs with the knees and feet going outward in a slight angle. It’s the bending-over-at-the-waist to pick up stuff that isn’t natural, even though most people do it. My two year old routinely squats down to pick up stuff from the floor (and sometimes put it in his mouth). He simply drops his torso down below his legs and maintains a neutral spine because it’s comfortable for him. His knees go past his toes because he’s proportioned like his old man. It’s just the way his body and mine are built.