The squat is one of your body’s basic movement patterns.
In addition to strengthening the lower body, core & back, squats are great for overall, total body muscular strength.
Benefits of the squat:
✅Build strength in your lower body to more efficiently perform day to day activities
✅Improve posture & mobility
✅Improve balance & stability
✅Reduce the risk of injuries & knee & lower back pain
✅Get faster
✅Strengthen your entire body!
How to squat:
- Set up with your feet shoulder-width apart & your toes slightly pointed out.
- Begin the movement by breathing in & pushing your hips back as if you’re going to sit down onto something.
- Keep your spine neutral, chest lifted & shoulders down & back.
- As you squat down, keep your knees pressing outwards & over your feet. Your knees end up over your toes at the bottom.
- When your thighs are parallel to the floor in the bottom position, exhale & push through your feet and stand up, extending at your knees & hips.
Key points:
⚠️Your feet should be flat on the floor throughout the movement.
⚠️Your head should stay in line with the torso & neck remains neutral.
⚠️Your lower back stays neutral in the bottom (no excess arching or rounding).
Watch this video to see a full tutorial of the squat!
Squat Progression Model
When you hear the word squat, does your mind go straight to putting a bar on your back & knocking out some back squats?
You may not be ready for that progression of the exercise just yet.
The appropriate variation for you will be based on your:
✅Experience & skill level
✅Strength
✅Goals
✅Injury history
It’s important to start with the appropriate variation to:
✅Prevent injury
✅Learn proper form
✅Learn to engage the appropriate muscles groups
✅Building strength, stability & mobility
Starting with basics will help you to safely & strategically progress to more advanced variations!
Here’s a basic squat progression you can follow! Once you master the ability to do a variation perfectly & effectively, move on to the next!
Bodyweight Box Squat
⬇
TRX/Counterbalance Squat
⬇
Bodyweight Squat
⬇
Goblet Squat
⬇
Front Squat
⬇
Back Squat
⬇
Watch this video to see demos of each exercise in the progression model!
Improving Mobility & Stability for Squats
Squatting is a natural movement pattern for our bodies. However, we can lose the ability to correctly perform it as we develop muscles imbalances, tightness & weakness. To squat efficiently, you must have good hip mobility and stability.
Here is a routine you can go through to regain your ability to squat safely & effectively.
90 90 Hip Stretch
- Keep a neutral spine as you hinge forward & press your ankle & knee into the ground
- Rotate from your torso to face the back knee & press your ankle & knee into the ground
Calf & Ankle Mobilization
- Keep your heel on the ground
- Drive your front knee towards the wall
Hip Flexor Mobilization
- Tuck your tailbone & squeeze your glutes
- Press down into your front knee with your hands
- Maintain a neutral spine & stretch forward
Inner Thigh Mobilization
- Maintain a neutral spine as you sit your hips back towards your heel of the kneeling leg
- Rise to an upright position & fully extend your hips & squeeze your glutes
World’s Greatest Stretch
- Take a long lunge forward
- Place your hands to the inside of your front foot
- Keep the back knee extended as straight as you can
- Rotate your torso towards the front leg & reach towards the ceiling
- For a your front foot with your hands
- Straighten the front leg
- Place the back knee on the ground
- Reach your arm up & twist slightly
Squat to Stand
- Hinge at your hips & grab your toes to stretch your hamstrings
- Bend your knees & pull your butt down into a deep squat
- Keep your heels on the ground
- Drive your knees outward with your elbow
- Keep your chest lifted
- Maintain a neutral spine
Deep Squat with Counterbalance
- Keep chest open & shoulders back
- Lower body & core engaged in bottom position
- Neutral spine
Bird Dog Crunch
- Core engaged
- Neutral spine
- Reach one arm forward with thumb up
- Push opposite leg back with toes pulled back & dialed down towards ground
- Draw elbow & knee towards each other, round back, draw abs in
Bridge
- Drive through heels
- Squeeze glutes
There you have it! Get out there & get to squatting!
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please leave them in the comments section or reach out to me directly at jshahfitness@gmail.com or here.
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