Squatting Technique

UPDATE (2020/04/01): Since going to a gym is currently ill-advised and I do not have weights at home, I have been practicing technique using body weight. In order to get the intensity up, I have been doing Arithmetic Progression Squats (APS), which are more commonly known as "death by air squat" . A nice feature of this workout is that the first few sets give time to warm up and focus on perfecting technique. Also, the load on individual reps is low enough that you can sense where you are over-underutilizing a muscle group before an injury is imminent. I have not tried geometric progressions.

A friend of mine told me I was spending too much time learning how to squat rather than just doing it. They are probably right.

Unfortunately, I'd picked up the excellent Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, and I was not to be deterred in learning the safest technique to improve strength. Here are some of my notes on squatting:

• lifter + barbell center-of-mass should remain over mid foot
• a lower bar allows for a more horizontal back at the bottom
• front squats exert the butt more and hamstrings less
• the bar should sit under the spine of the scapula
• effect of low-bar compared to high-bar squats:
• higher hamstring load
• more horizontal back angle
• more open knee angle
• movement path is similar to dead lift & power clean
• shoulder-width knees + 30° toes + knees out ⇒ groin stretch and activation
• squat depth: hips go below level with top of patellas
• exercise: no weight squat
• back should be about 45° at the bottom
• at the bottom, think hips up, not forward
• keep neck in natural alignment -- think of squeezing a tennis ball with chin
• eye-gaze: 4-5 feet in front of toes
• narrower hands ⇒ more posterior shoulder flexion and keeps thoracic spine extended + straight
• wrists: hands above bar. They do not carry weight
• tighten muscles before lifting from rack
• always face towards the rack -- forwards when re-racking
• take only one step back from the rack