The back squat is one of the most important strength-training exercises. Weightlifters regularly use the back squat to build the muscles of the back, legs and hips.
Although it might seem like a simple exercise, most weightlifters don’t get as much out of the back squat as they could.
For me and the lifters I coach, there are several rules that have been effective in setting a proper squatting technique for weightlifting. In this post, I’ll talk about one rule that has been helpful in fixing my squat technique and understanding why my old squat technique wasn’t increasing my leg strength.
Rule #1: The squat should be a squat, not a good morning.
For lifters with decent flexibility and mobility, the positions they hit on the descent of the squat are nearly always good. There is relatively little stress on the quads during the descent, so the body places itself in the proper, balanced position.
Problems arise on the squat up. An ideal squat is performed with the same trajectory on the squat up as on the squat down. On the way up, the knees shouldn’t go further forward than they went on the way down, and the hips shouldn’t go further back.
Diagram 1 shows a stick figure squatting. The width of the rectangles around the stick figure in each position is the maximum amount of space used during the squat down. By remaining within the boundaries of the rectangle on the squat up, the stick figure keeps the correct squat positions.
For many lifters, the problem is that the body naturally tries to find the easiest way to squat by overusing muscles that are strong, while avoiding the use of weak muscles. This makes strong muscles stronger (to a point), and keeps weak muscles weak.
If a lifter’s back is strong but the legs are weak, the body will compensate by putting more of the responsibility of lifting the bar on the back, relieving the weak legs from having to do more work than they are capable. The squat becomes a hybrid between a good morning and a back squat, as demonstrated by the stick figures in the highlighted red boxes in the diagram below. The hips and head extend beyond the rectangle, placing more stress on the back, because of it’s exaggerated horizontal angle.
Most good-morning squatters believe that they’re doing a back squat that will make their weak legs stronger. Instead, their legs aren’t being stressed in this form of a squat, and thus won’t grow.
If you want to increase the olympic lifts, leg strength is mandatory. Be honest with yourself – when you squat, do you feel your quads working? Or are you feeling an all-around hip/back discomfort and not much strain on the legs? If it’s the latter, then your weak legs aren’t getting any stronger, while your overdeveloped hips and back are continuing to overwork.
Fixing this problem and developing strong legs and a good squat is actually pretty simple. First, a lifter needs to feel the right positions of a back squat. To do so:
- Take an empty bar and find a wall you can stand against.
- Face away from the wall. Stand close enough to the wall so that when squatting, the butt brushes up against the wall, but not so hard that the body gets pushed forward.
- Do a couple sets of squats in this position. If the hips are hitting the wall and you are pushed forward, concentrate on spreading the knees wider.
The wall will keep the hips from going back further than they were on the decent, and the body will be set in the position where the legs are forced to work as they should in a proper squat. Most good-morning squatters will feel their legs working more in this position with an empty bar than when they do heavy good-morning squats.
Once you’ve identified the muscles that should be working, try to squat with light weights (30-40% of maximum) for several sets without the wall. When doing so, ask someone to watch you to make sure the positions look correct. Imagine you are in a box like the stick figures and make sure you never leave this box when you’re squatting. Or, have someone stand behind you and block your hips from moving back further than they were during the descent.
***
It’s important to note that back squats don’t have to be absolutely perfect to make the legs work, but the closer a lifter is to staying within the rectangle, the more their legs will be forced to work. On ‘The Back-Squat-to-Good-Morning Scale’ below, the leftmost stick figure is the ideal. The second-to-left leftmost stick figures is allowable, hence it is still in the green. A back squat should never be ½ good morning.
When switching technique in any lift, the weights should be light at first. The muscles with the biggest potential for growth will get stressed and grow quickly. Within 1-2 months, you should be back to squatting your old good-morning squat maximums, but with good form.
***
Big thanks to Louise Yeung for the squat demonstrations! This article was originally posted on jtsstrength.com. Coming soon on Yashathoughts: Troubleshooting the squat part 2: Balance.
So low bar squats have no role here?.. nice shirt btw
Weightlifters should do a large variety of exercises during the base phase, which can include switching up the back squats – and using low bar back squats. For any type of squat, the weight balance shouldn’t shift backwards or forward, and the back angle should stay nearly constant. These are the 2 factors which would affect how far back the hips go, and whether the squat looks like a good morning. So, I’d think it would apply to any type of squat.
I hope this isn’t a dumb question. I am quite long legged, so my position at the knee is quite bent over. I can squat in the box as you describe. But is it beneficial to do a squat with a back angle same as the pulling position? Does it matter as long as the back angle is constant? My pulling stance is a bit narrower than my squat stance, if it matters.
Thanks Yasha
If you can keep the back angle constant, the legs are doing the work and will get stronger. By making the back more horizontal, you’re adding pressure on the back, and increasing it’s ability to not break under pressure. However, if you’re squatting less with this back angle than you would with a more vertical back angle, you aren’t working the legs as much as you could be. And if your legs are naturally weaker than they should be, like most long legged people, you should squat in a way that works the legs more, ideally at a heavier weight.
At Klokov’s camp he had us do the backsquat as you described as good morning. His deadlifts train legs as much as the squat. The backsquat trained the legs and the back.
I first read this on the JTS site and just wanted to let you know this has been a game changer! I always knew I had the flexibility to get into the right squat positions but it never occurred to me the reason that my back was hurting was from underdeveloped legs and glutes. Great article, will you be doing anything on Deadlifts, or the muscle clean? I enjoyed reading about the muscle snatch, again that has been a great exercise I would never have considered.
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, I will go over muscle cleans and deadlifts hopefully in the next few months.
when u draw the lines on video edit to box the lifter in a box…how far should you draw the box lines ve,from the lifter when u record him on camera?
The furthest her butt went back on the decent of the squat is where I drew the line, marking it as the furthest back the hips should go on the way back up. The line was just to show that her hips are going back further on the way up than on the way down. The other videos of her squatting make that line physical (either by placing her against the wall or my leg) so that she isn’t able to push her hips further back than where they went on the way down.
I didn’t see any mention about back position, with regards to neutral versus hyperextension during the squat. What is your opinion on the correct way to brace the lower back and prevent injury. I personally herniated a disc and have been having to rethink posture and back position at the bottom of a back squat.
The lower back should not be over arched. An moderate arch is needed, and should be kept uniform throughout the squat. I’ll write more about this in the future. For now I want to get enough other parts of the squat down, so that they can be referenced when I define what the squat should be.
Great article. So, when descend down, should we break at the hips first or not? Or do we just go “straight down?”
Thanks!
I personally do. To me, it feels like I’m putting myself into the position from which i can best go ‘straight down’ which is putting a slight bend in the hip.
Thanks! So, it’s a slight bend at the hips, right?
yes
Thanks, great site! I predict you will have #1 site on lifting by the end of summer.
Bar placement ultimately affects the back angle. If placing the bar low/lower than drawn on the stick figure images, the back angle would need to be more horizontal in order for the bar to align with middle section of the foot. Do you feel that would be the correct form with such bar placement (more horizontal back), or is it better to avoid placing the bar there altogether?
Both typical variations of the squat (high bar and low bar) are good and have slightly different advantages. You’re right, placing the bar lower on the back makes the back into a shorter lever, with which you can bend down further with less strain on the back. In this position the posterior chain is used more, and the quads are used less. When the bar is placed higher, the back will be more vertical and the quads will work more, which is beneficial for most athletes building strength through squatting, not specifically to build the biggest squat. If you want to squat more, squat like powerlifters (low bar). if you want to get stronger for most athletic movements, squat high bar. One isn’t better than the other, if you have the time – do both.
Hi, what if i intentionally do goodmorning squats to hit back more than quads, will continue doing this lead to serious injury ?
Not at all. use good form and right weights, and goodmorning-back squats can be a good exercise. I don’t recommend doing it often though, as it may set the motor patterns for your squats. This post wasn’t to say there’s only one way to squat, but for people to be aware that not all squats are equal or give same results.
Is this toe out excessive with this lady? I know a lot of coaches preach against it. Do you put any thought into it or leave it up to the lifter ?
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