Tuesday 25 October 2011

How to Squat

Something most people dont know about squats is, that they arent for your legs.
THEY ARE FOR YOUR ENTIRE BODY STUPID.

What is a squat, in simple terms?

Bend through your knees with the bar on your back until your hips come lower than parallel. Once your hip joint is lower then your knee bounce back up again. You've just completed a squat.
Shut up, its not that simple.


How to Unrack The Bar.
Always step backwards, You'll mess up your face if it slams you head first into the ground.

- Set the bar in the Power Rack at about mid-chest level.
- Put your feet directly under the bar.
- Step underneath the bar and put it on you back.
- Tighten everything and Squat up to unrack the bar.
- One step back with one leg, one step back with the other leg.

Now Squat.

Thats pretty much it.














Just kidding.

When I first started squating, I used to do a hundred little checks before I actually performed the squat. I call this my Setup

How to setup for your squat.
Chest Up. The low bar position becomes easier with a low bar position. You can also tighten your upper-back better as a result.

Forward Look. Look at the ceiling and your neck will hurt. Keep your head inline with your torso, but don't start looking at your feet.

Bar Position. Put the bar low, below the bone at the top of your shoulder-blades and on your back muscles - NOT on your spine.

Grip Width. Narrow grip makes it easier to tighten your upper-back. Do lots of shoulder dislocations if this position feels uncomfortable.

Thumbless Grip. Put your thumbs on top of the bar, next to your fingers. You'll be able to keep your wrists inline with your forearms.

Straight Wrists. Your back supports the weight, not your hands. Keep your wrists inline with your forearm, never bend them.

Tight Upper-back. Bring your shoulder-blades together. Tightening the upper-back gives the bar a solid base to rest on.

Elbows Back. Don’t let them come forward. Pushing your elbows back prevents elbows injuries. Back doesn't mean "up" by the way.

Foot Stance. A narrow stance doesn't work for the low bar Squat. Heels should be shoulder-width apart. If your lower back rounds, go wider.

Toes Out. Point your toes out at about 30 degrees. Your toes must always follow your knees or you'll get knee injuries.


For my other lifting tutorials, Click Here
For my personal secret to abs, Click Here

For any more info I'd check out EliteFitnessSystem's Youtube channel.

2 comments:

  1. Just looked at your motivation page, boy do I remember shirt-on-at-the-pool times :D

    ReplyDelete