Squatting (properly) is probably the most important component to fitness and life. How so, you may ask…
How do you get in a chair? by properly squatting.
How do you get on the toilet? by properly squatting.
How do you properly pick a box up from the ground? by properly squatting.
Yet strangely enough, when we step into the fitness arena, we sometimes forget how to squat properly. The most common mistakes a coach sees are:
1) Not squatting low enough – Where should your butt be at the bottom of a squat? Basically, ANYWHERE below parallel with your knee. I don’t care if you’re air squatting as fast as you can, it’s not really a squat unless it’s down there.
2) Feet are too narrow – How on earth is your butt supposed to drop if it has nowhere to go? Which also leads me to…
3) Knees track ahead of toes – this is where injuries can happen – if your knees are too far forward, you’re placing additional strain on them. You’re also not using your knees in a manner that they would be used in the real world. Just think about where you would utilize a narrow squat that lets your knees track really far forward.
4) Chest caves in – pushing your chest to the ground doesn’t mean your butt is getting lower as well. I’ve seen squats where a client’s chest was actually lower to the ground than their butt was.
Sometimes there are serious flexibility issues that need to be overcome to develop an awesome squat, and if you’re one of the inflexible, there’s hope for you yet; but for the vast majority of people, we just need to remind ourselves that not all squats are created equal, and that we just need to take a moment to focus on doing it right rather than just getting it done.
Happy squatting.