Some Thoughts on Form - The Squat

Photo by Sam Sabourin Unsplash

Usually, when I add pictures in these posts, they are just a way of helping the reader get a quick visual of the general topic in some way. This time, however, we will be doing something slightly different. We're going to use this picture in order to point out some things about form.

Whenever you do heavy resistance training, particularly when you're doing compound movements with a barbell, form is very important. Perhaps we should start with a "compound movement" and go from there.

A compound movement is one which requires multiple muscle groups for a single movement. Years ago, the opposite (isolation movements) were all the rage. People would find ways to isolate a single specific muscle group, such as biceps curls. Even when I would do lat pull-downs, I tried to focus on using only the lat muscles and not include biceps, rhomboids, rotator cuff or anything like that. In fact, I actually prided myself on my ability to focus on using only the muscle I wanted to use.

More modern understand has moved toward compound movements in order to work the most muscles with a single movement. The squat is a fantastic example of a compound movement as it uses quite a number of different muscles to perform correctly. But, we're not here for an anatomy lesson, so let's get back to talking about form.

In order to perform a squat correctly (and safely) there are certain aspects that must be adhered to. We can see several discrepancies in the picture above and we will cover a couple of really obvious ones so that you can know what you're looking for. If you are working out alone, it is important that you use a mirror or video yourself doing the movement in order to get an "outsider's" view of your form. Not everyone is able to know exactly how every part of their body is positioned to that level of detail.

The first thing to point out from this picture is the feet. His feet are pointed slightly outward. In order to perform a squat properly, the heels should be about shoulder width apart (and it looks as though his probably are...at least close enough) and the toes should be pointed outward much more than they are. The angle you should be looking for is about 30 degrees. That's actually a pretty decent amount. Probably more than you might think is comfortable or correct. To get there, try pointing your toes out at about 45 degrees and then bring them back in just a bit.

Moving up from the floor, we can see that his knees are outside the angle of his toes. On the one hand, his knees are probably at the correct angle for a properly performed squat. But, because his toes are not far enough out, this can cause problems with the knees and lead to injury. The knees (and the entire femur) should be in line with the feet. Both feet and knees should be pointing in the same direction. In most cases, people's knees tend toward buckling inward rather than outward in this example. In any case, the knees should align with the toes. 

Continuing up from the floor, his squat depth isn't terrible. He is down below parallel, which is good. Below parallel means that the "corner" of the hip is below the knee cap. Looks like he nailed that. 

Next, we get to the back angle. Now, to address this, we'll have to skip one area that we'll come back to. His back angle looks a bit too vertical. This is probably not because of his feed or knees or anything like that. From what I can see, it's probably because the bar is too high on the shoulders. You want to keep the bar directly over the middle of the foot in order to keep in balance. When the bar is set a bit lower, across the ridge of the scapulae, this moves the center of gravity a bit further back, requiring a steeper back angle in order to keep the load over the mid-foot. With the bar too high, the center of gravity is too far forward during the squat, forcing to vertical of a back to stay in balance. 

The effect of this is that the hamstrings will not be in the best position to help. This can also lead to knee injury because part of what the hamstrings do during the squat is pull the tibia (lower leg) inward as the quadriceps try to pull them outward. It is a stabilization issue for the knee. Ultimately, if the hamstrings cannot hold the tibia in, it can move outward and put stress on the ACL and PCL which could tear under heavy loads like this.

Now we'll look at the hand position. Notice the hands with the thumb hooked around the bar, opposite the other fingers and the wrist bent back. This will result in the lifter allowing a portion of the load to be carried by the arms. If that happens, the bottom joint responsible for bearing that weight will be the elbows. Because squats train the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, etc. (some of the largest muscles in the body) they tend to be very heavy lifts. Your elbow is not made to handle that sort of weight and neither is the wrist. The proper hand position is with the palm of the hand on top of the bar and all the fingers over the top. The hands do not hold the bar in place, the back does.

This grip can cause some discomfort, at least it does for me. I have been working on loosening up my pectorals in order to get proper hand placement on the bar, but to do that, I have to move my hands outward on the bar toward the plates (not on the plates). Over time, I should be able to gradually move my hands in closer to my body where they should be. 

Lastly, we get to the top, the head. Where are his eyes? His eyes are looking up. When you look up, the tendency is to use the quadriceps to provide the bulk of the power coming up out of a squat, but this is not a quadriceps exercise. They are certainly loaded during the squat, but the primary movement is with the hips, using primarily the glutes. Looking up will cause you to lose power, lose hip drive and put a lot of pressure on your knees again, because the pull from the quads. 

Instead, pick a spot on the floor a few feet in front of you and focus on that spot. This keeps your head and neck in a nice, neutral position so that your spine is in alignment all the way up. Keeping your eyes down makes it easier to focus on pushing your hips upward out of the bottom of the squat and when you put all these pieces together, you can generate the maximum amount of force and work the maximum amount of muscle for the best efficiency of the movement. 

Notice, as well, how so many of these pieces are tied together. The hamstrings work with the quads to protect the knee, but they also help you with hip drive as they pull against the pelvis. The eyes affect your back angle and your hip drive. Your feet affect where your knees should go and proper placement ensures that the hip adductors (the muscles on the inside of the thigh that pull your knees back together) are worked properly. It is all one, united system with all of the individual parts working together to perform a single movement. If one part of the system breaks down, it affects other parts of the system.

If you want to get stronger and learn to do things like squats with proper form so that you can get stronger and stay safe and injury free, contact me and we'll work something out.