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In the Gym

Previously, we discussed the decisions you have to make when adding squats into your routine. I answered some of the most common questions that will prepare you for the best squatting workout. In this post I’ll be discussing the finer details of performing the squat itself.

How Should I Warm Up for Squats?

When preparing for squats, you should focus on mobility for the ankles, hips, and back. You can dedicate more focus to the areas you struggle with. I have attached a sample warm-up, including variations for back and front squats.

This squat warm-up is broken down into two parts: general preparation, and warm-up sets. General preparation is anything before we actually start squatting, while the warm-up sets are the sets where we are building up to our working weight for the day. There is an art to increasing the weight in just the right away to prepare you for your working weight without fatiguing you. It will be individual to each person, but here is one example for an 80kg squat:

1. General Preparation work

2. Empty bar (20kg) squats x5

3. 45kg squats x 3

4. 55kg squats x3

5. 65kg squats x1

6. 75kg squats x1

7. First working set.

This provides plenty of sets to warm-up, practice, and get acclimated to the weight you’ll be using for today. If you go from bodyweight straight to 80kg, the weight will feel like such a shock to the system that you will likely spend the first few reps getting used to it. This results in many people not hitting their usual squat depth until they’ve done a few reps.

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Where Should the Bar Be?

Front squats – across the shoulders and collar bone, not on the hands. The arms should be elevated enough to keep the bar snug to the shoulders. Don’t try to hold the bar.

Struggling with this? A zombie squat is a good way to warm-up and test that the bar is in the right place for front squatting, as you won’t even be able to unrack the bar if the positioning isn’t right. Note: this is usually just used as a gauge of front squat positioning rather than an exercise, which is why we didn’t include it in our list of squats last time. However, you can use it in your squat workout if you’re confident you can stay upright.

Back Squats – between the bony landmarks of the shoulder blades and the neck bones. In this middle ground there should be a softer muscular region where the bar can sit.

Won’t This Be Uncomfortable?

In the beginning, these positions may be a little uncomfortable, but this is all the more reason to build up slowly. If it’s super uncomfortable, something may be wrong with your setup.

Shouldn’t I Just Wear a Squat Pad?

Squat pads move the bar further up and behind the body, increasing the lever of the weight on your back and cranking your shoulders back. This is can be uncomfortable and unstable, and stop you from bracing properly.

I have had some clients who have insisted on making it work but I would not recommend it.

What About Low Bar Squatting?

I don’t have a huge deal of experience with low bar squats, but as the name suggests, the bar sits lower on your back to bring the weight closer to your centre of mass. This reduces the length of the lever of your back, making for less load there. This could be beneficial for people who lean forward more (see last week’s breakdown), but it’s lless common to see a low bar squats outside of powerlifting. Clients who have tried it have told me it was uncomfortable on the elbow and wrist, as it requires a lot of mobility there.

This video from Squat University discusses the low bar squat in far better detail if you’d like to learn more.

• Having the bar too low will cause you to do half a squat just to get started.
• Having the bar too high will cause you to unrack in an unstable position, by making you go on tiptoes or hunch your shoulders.

These two faults will cost you energy and prevent you from starting in the strongest position possible.

Where Should My Hands be on the Bar for Back Squats?

This comes down to personal taste and mobility.

• A wide hand position will be more comfortable on the shoulders, but you will have less leverage to brace against the bar.
• A narrow hand position is great for pulling your back tight, but requires more mobility. It can also be a double-edged sword if you wriggle your arms on a tough rep, as this can pitch you forward.

A good rule of thumb is to start somewhere between these two extremes, and then customise based on comfort. I find my happy medium by placing my hands far enough that I could just touch my shoulders with my thumbs.

Where Should My Feet Be When I Squat?

Again, this depends:

• A very wide stance provide more of a hole for your hips to sit into, but going too wide may be tough on the groin. It may also cause a bit of boney pinching around the hip socket.
• A narrow stance is impressive as it requires great mobility in the ankles. As a result, this is often presented as a “gold-standard” squat technique. However, the structure of your hip and ankle joints can prevent you from squatting this way. By all means work on your mobility, but know that it may not change your squat much. Find what works for you in the meantime.

The rule of thumb on this one is:

• Feet just outside hip-width apart.
• Toes turned slightly out, as if pointing at 10 and 2 on a clock-face.
• If your feet swivel out as you squat, experiment with this new position. It may be more suited to your body.
• Make sure your knees point in the same direction as your toes. If you can’t get your knees to track with your toes, try bringing the feet back in slightly.

Keep fiddling with foot width and foot rotation to get the best of both worlds.

How Should I Breathe During Squats?

When loading the spine, it’s important to brace. This creates a more rigid spine and improves your ability to push against the bar.

Bracing is a difficult task to describe, so I’ve tried to make this video to explain it better:

Essentially, bracing is a way of creating internal pressure similar to a well-pumped tyre around your mid-section. However, it would be impractical to hold your breath the whole time you squat! Here is my preferred strategy:

• Brace 1 – As you take the weight of the bar to unrack and get into position.
• Release 1 – As you adjust your feet and prepare for the first rep. Take as many breaths as you want before you start, but don’t hesitate for too long either. Three breaths is a good rule.
• Brace 2 – Just before you start to squat. Keep the bracing held until you get back up to the top again.
• Release 2 – When that rep is finished, take as many breaths as you need.
• Brace 3 – When you prepare for the next rep. Repeat the pattern for as many reps as required. As before, the three-breath rule can be useful, however you might need more breaths when going for high reps!

What Sets and Reps Should I Use for Squatting?

There is no right answer to this question – it depends on your exercise history, the type of squat you’re performing, and about a million other factors.

Personally, I like to stay around 6 reps or lower most of the time, because I’m aiming to improve my strength. I try not to go above 10 reps very often, because the element of cardiovascular discomfort will come to dominate the set rather than leg strength and technique. But never say never! I have been known to go up to 20 reps on special occasions…

Whatever sets and reps you do, make sure you’re keeping 1 or 2 reps in reserve. I’ve spoken more about this here.

How Can I Vary My Squat Routine?

Squats take a long time to master, so you should stick at them. As one of the fundamental movement patterns, it’s hard to think of a reason to ever stop doing them completely. However, there’s no reason you can’t shake things up from time to time.

I’m a big fan of paused squats. As the name suggests, you pause at the lowest part of the squat before returning to the top. The pause doesn’t have to be anything masochistic; but it should be long enough that you lose the spring that normally rebounds up. I usually programme these at about 80% of the weight my clients would use on a regular squat. However, this will vary so build up gradually.

1.5 Squats can be great if you tip over as you stand up, like I do:

You may not ever get a completely upright squat, but this is great if you’re tipping forward to the point of failing lifts. Warning: these are tough, and you should start very light.

Overhead squats can be a great exercise as it challenges whole-body mobility. However, I tend not to spend too much time progressing it because:

1. Part of the limiting factor will be your overhead strength, which is not the main focus of squatting;
2. As discussed, not everyone’s squat will be 100% upright. This can put the shoulders into an unstable position.

That being said, they will make you far more aware of your squat positioning.

Only do overhead squats if you can confidently hold the bar over the crown of the head, and even then go very light. I tend to only use them in the warmup, or for 2 sets before other types of squat. The exception to this is if you’re training to perform the Olympic Snatch. Even if you are, many Olympic Weightlifting clubs limit their time of the overhead squat in favour other exercises.

Time To Squat

That’s about all the questions I’ve received about squats! I will happily make a part 3 if there are enough other questions.

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