Squat Progression

Nick Smoot-Owner of Smoot Fitness

Smootfitness.com

 

If I had to pick one exercise to do for the rest of my life, I think I would choose the squat.  Squats are a fundamental movement pattern needed for virtually every activity you do in life, have a tremendous impact on metabolic rate and the cardiovascular system, and are a full body exercise unrivaled in their ability to pack on size and strength to the lower body.

Now although squats are a movement that everyone should inherently be able to perform, large amounts of sitting, inactivity, and consistent integration of faulty movement patterns have led to major limitations in mobility and flexibility, and most people have the lost the ability and/or motor control to squat with proper form.  Should these people abandon squats for the remainder of their lifting careers, and lose out on all of the benefits that the movement provides?  Hell No!  They just need to work on correcting their mobility and flexibility restrictions, and implement a squat progression that moves from simple to more advanced squat variations.

 

Motor Control

The first step in reclaiming your ability to squat is to develop the motor control to squat with proper form.  If you don’t know what a proper squat should look and feel like, there is no way of determining what is restricting you from getting in to a better position or squatting with a full range of motion.  Your inability to squat could simply stem from the fact that you don’t actually know how to do it.

Below is a list of the fundamentals of squatting technique.  No matter the squat variation being performed, the basic motor pattern should stay the same.

• 1. Maintain a neutral spine and stabilize the core (squeeze the glutes and contract the abs) in the starting position.

 

• 2. The feet should be turned out 0-15 degrees.  No duck squats.

 

• 3. Load the hamstrings when you initiate the movement, and shoot the hips back and down (Break at the hips before or at the same time as you break at the knees; never break at the knees first).

 

• 4. Try to maintain a neutral spine (no flexion or overextension) and upright torso position (there will be some forward lean) throughout the duration of the lift, and minimize (not stop completely) anterior translation of the knees (knees going out past your toes).

 

• 5. Spread the knees as you sink your hips between your legs (knees should track over your toes).

 

• 6. Squeeze the glutes as hard as you can and keep pushing your knees out as you return to the starting position.

Different load placements (bar placed on the traps, on the front delts, a bar held overhead) will emphasize different muscle groups and create different mobility demands, but the fundamentals of the squatting pattern remain the same.  Learning to squat properly will maximize performance, minimize the risk of injury, and carry over in to many other activities (jumping and landing, running, etc.) done on a daily basis.

 

Mobility and Flexibility Training

I wrote an article on mobility a while ago that can be read HERE, but I will touch on just a few of the major points.  There are three major components to overall mobility and flexibility:

• Joint Capsule
• Soft Tissue/Fascia
• Muscle Dynamics

The joint capsule can be cleared up with a resistance band that distracts (pulls apart) two joint surfaces, soft tissue restrictions can be cleared up with a foam roller or lacrosse ball, and muscle dynamics (length, tension) can be improved through stretches that bias the movement patterns you are attempting to change.  In my own experience, most people’s mobility/flexibility limitations in the squat arise from restrictions at the hips, ankles, and thoracic spine, so it might be a good idea to start with more focus on those areas of the body.

How you structure your mobility work is up to you, but I recommend foam rolling for 10-15 minutes the night before you train a specific muscle group(s), going through a solid dynamic warm up before you train (for a solid article on warm ups, click HERE), and doing some stretching and joint distractions as your cool down after your workout.  However you choose to set it up, understand that it takes a long time to regain lost mobility/flexibility, so stay patient and consistent, and you will slowly start to see noticeable improve in your squat depth and overall technique.

 

 

Squatting Progression

This is the squat progression I used when I was learning to squat, and the one I like to use with my clients.  Start with bodyweight or goblet squats, and work your way up from there.

 

1. Bodyweight Squats

The bodyweight squat is the foundation that every other squat variation is built upon.  From squatting to use the bathroom and sitting in a chair, to picking something up off the ground or squatting before you jump, the bodyweight squat is a movement you perform every day of your life.  If you can’t squat with good form using nothing but bodyweight, your form will only get worse when you add an external load to the equation, so make sure you have the bodyweight squat down packed before you move on to the other squat variations.

 

2. Goblet Squats

Goblet squats were popularized by Strength Coach Dan John, and are one of the best exercises for grooving proper squatting technique.  The weight (kettlebell or dumbbell) is loaded anteriorly (held at chest level), acting as a counterbalance that makes it easier to hit depth while maintaining an upright torso.

 

3. Front Squats

Front squats are a step up from goblet squats because of a higher bar placement, increased strength demands (loaded barbell vs. dumbbell or kettlebell), and increased mobility requirements. The weight is loaded anteriorly (barbell placed on the front delts), making it easier to maintain an upright torso and placing more emphasis on the anterior chain of the body (quads, abs, etc.).  Front squats do not require the same level of shoulder mobility as back squats, and an athlete will simply dump the weight if the load is too high (instead of grinding it out with crappy form like they would doing back squats).

 

4. Box Squats

Ok so I didn’t say this earlier, but a box can be used with any of the previous squat variations to help teach proper squatting technique (the box forces you sit back and down.  If you don’t, you will fall straight on your ass).  Now box squats with the bar placed posteriorly (on the traps or posterior delts), requires a lot of shoulder mobility (external rotation and abduction), requires more thoracic spine mobility because of increased torso lean (resulting from the bar being placed on your upper back/traps), and requires much more “tightness” because you resume the lift in the bottom position from a dead stop.   Box squats lead to tremendous growth in the posterior chain (hamstrings/glutes, lower back, etc.), give the lifter something to sit back on (aiding in technique development) and varying box heights allow you to increase depth as your mobility improves.

 

5. Barbell Back Squats

The barbell back squat is the “king of all exercises;” period.  The only real difference between a back squat and back box squat is that there is no box to sit back on (increasing the demands on motor control), and the ascent is not started from a stopped position.  The mobility requirements are largely the same.  Taking a wider stance with a low bar position will increase torso lean and emphasize the glutes and hamstrings, and taking a narrower stance with a high bar position will decrease torso lean and emphasize the quadriceps.  Progressive overload is the main determinant of strength gain and muscle growth, and no other squat variation can be loaded as much as the back squat.

 

6. Overhead Squats

Last but not least, the overhead squat.  The overhead squat is the most challenging squat variation from a mobility and strength standpoint because of the stability/mobility requirements at the shoulder, the core strength needed to prevent overextension of the spine, and the fact that the center of mass moves upward (weight held above your head).   I don’t include overhead squats in to my routine very often as they aren’t specific to my goals, but they will have a descent carryover to all of the other squat variations.

 

Summing Up

One of my favorite quotes from Strength Coach Martin Rooney is that “back squats must be earned.”  You don’t run before you walk, so why do weighted squats before you learn to do them with your own bodyweight?  It takes a lot of work, patience, and consistency, but you are fully capable of regaining your ability to squat with proper form.  So what are you waiting for?  Develop motor control, start working on your mobility and flexibility restrictions, figure out your starting point in the squat progression (whichever variation you can do currently with proper form), and start squatting!