Issue 086
March 2012
It may be the best weight-lifting exercise for fighters, so why is it very few athletes know how to do it properly?
Paul McVeigh
Pro fighter & sports scientist
TUF 14 cast member Paul McVeigh is a sports scientist and a pro fighter, ranked as the number-one bantamweight in Europe.
Ever heard someone say, ‘The squat is the king of all exercises’? It definitely covers a lot of cool bases. It’s a big compound movement that recruits practically every muscle in the body. It is great for those looking to put on muscle, lose fat and get stronger, so practically everyone in the world right?
Unfortunately, it is also one of the most poorly executed exercises. The way we live today is tailor-made for killing the squat movement pattern. We sit too much, slouch all the time and everything we need to reach for is at hip height. Below I will outline a warm-up that will get the depth and technique back into your squat and then outline some technique pointers for the lift itself.
Why so many don’t know squat
In a commercial gym, if you find someone who is not benching or doing a million bicep curl variations you will have witnessed a rare event. But even if you strike gold and find a squatter it might not be pretty. They will probably have too much weight on the bar; have too much forward lean, a lower back that rounds at the bottom, and heels that pop up.
The most common culprits causing this disaster squat are tight adductors, immobile ankles, tight hip flexors and hip internal rotation deficit (that’s the ability of the femur to rotate within the hip capsule).
The warm-up right addresses these problems and can often completely clean up the squat movement pattern in less than five minutes. If problems still occur this warm-up should become a daily routine combined with some foam rolling and stretching of the hip muscles.
Squatting preparation
Triangle hip internal rotation mobilization
Improves hip internal rotation
Kneeling adductor dips
Increases range of motion in the adductors
Walking lunge with rotation
Increases hip flexor
Ankle mob kneeling
Increases ankle
Goblet squat with three-second isometric hold
Integrates new into the squatting position.
Squat Technique
There are many different squat variations. The first loaded squat variation I use with new athletes is the goblet squat. This exercise is a very powerful tool in coaching the squat pattern. It is easy to do and everyone who is not limited by a mobility or stability problem gets it.
From there we move to the front squat. Over the years I have found that starting with the front squat instead of the back squat eliminates a lot of the forward lean problems as the athlete has to maintain a more upright posture with the front squat or risk dropping the bar.
With the front squat the athlete can choose to use the clean grip or the cross grip. Both are cool and it depends on which is more comfortable. Whichever grip is used, the bar should be tight to the neck resting on the platform created by the shoulder girdle. You should be able to remove your hands and still keep the bar in place.
Once the grip is chosen the athlete removes the bar from the rack and takes a step back. Chest is up, feet are just outside shoulder-width apart and the toes are pointing out about 30 degrees.
Now you are ready to go:
1. Take a big breath and lift your chest.
2. Think about sitting back to initiate the movement
3. Drive your knees out as you descend and keep those elbows up.
4. Go as low as you can without pain or losing your lower back arch.
5. Drive back up as quickly as you can
6. Maintain knees-out and chest-up position
7. Squeeze your glutes hard at the top of the lift.
The set-up has to be perfect every time, particularly when you start moving mega weight. As you gain more experience you will pick up subtle technique points that will help improve the lift.
As with so many things, consistency is the key. If your technique is excellent and you squat regularly you will certainly become stronger and scarier, and few things are scarier than a guy who can squat mountains and make it look easy.
