How to Improve Your squat form | Top Tips for Better Technique
Squats are one of the seven fundamental movement patterns that we use in our day-to-day lives. Knowing how to perform a proper squat will not only save you from future injuries, but even better; it will build your joints, muscles, and body to become stronger & functional for life.
The most common examples of a squat movement pattern used in our daily lives include sitting down in a chair, getting out of a car, and sitting on a toilet. All of these movements have similar knee and hip flexion demands. When these movement patterns are weak or imbalanced— this eventually creates injuries, pain, and poor health over time.
On the contrary, incorporating weight training for balanced joints and muscles can help you increase your longevity by up to 22%, as reported by Harvard in a study.
What Does a healthy squat pattern Look Like?
There is often debate on what is considered “proper” and “improper” form for the squat.
For example, the rule that “your knees should never pass your toes,” isn’t actually a strict rule for everyone. For some individuals, their knees can and will pass over their toes safely. We each have different anatomy (like hip structure, torso length, and limb length), and this is what creates variability in how a proper squat will look on each individual.
That said, there are some key areas to check in order to know whether your squat pattern is a healthy one for you! We’ll go through each of the important “checkpoints” for the squat.
SQUAT FORM CHECKPOINTS:
Feet
Knees
Hips
Spine
Shoulders
Head
Foot Position
Your feet are your base for the squat. You want to position them so that you’re sturdy and balanced. When first starting out, the best starting position for your feet is usually shoulder-width apart.
That said, you can also go for a wide or narrow foot position to target your muscles differently. As you get more comfortable with your standard foot stance, you can start switching your foot position every now and then. In doing so, this can provide benefits for both health and fitness goals. Make sure that you have your overall technique down with the squat before you play around with different stances and techniques.
Try a couple of these cues to help maintaining a strong and sturdy base at your feet:
“Screw your feet into the floor”
“Grip or claw at the floor with your toes”
“Drive through the floor with your heels” (but keep toes gripped)
All of these cues are meant to help you activate the nearly 30 muscles in your feet, which help to support your squat. You want to ensure that your feet have a strong arch, and that you feel support from the toes all the way to the heels. People oftentimes try to envision the foot as a tripod, by staying connected from the three major points: your big toe, pinky toe, and your heel. Generally, you want there to be more tension in the center and outsides of your feet.
Knee Position
Your knees should track in alignment with your toes. In order to know whether your knees are in a safe position, you need to look at the feet. If the knees and toes are pointing in the same direction, this is a good sign.
THE KNEES ARE TRACKING ON THE INSIDE OF THE BIG TOES. ANOTHER SIGN IS THAT THE FEET ARE COLLAPSING INWARDS, CAUSING INJURY RISK & INSTABILITY. THIS WILL OFTEN LEAD TO KNEE PAIN.
THE KNEES ARE TRACKING IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE TOES. YOU DON’T WANT THE KNEES TO PUSH OUT PAST THE PINKY TOES OR COLLAPSE IN PAST THE BIG TOES. A “SAFE RANGE” IS CONSIDERED TO BE IF THE INSIDE OF THE KNEES ARE TRACKING BETWEEN THE SECOND TOE AND PINKY TOE.
THE KNEES ARE TRACKING ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE PINKY TOES. ANOTHER SIGN IS THAT THE TOES ARE LOSING THEIR GRIP WITH THE FLOOR. THIS CAUSES INJURY RISK & INSTABILITY IN THE JOINTS.
The main cue to focus on here is to push your knees out. As long as your feet remain screwed into the ground, most people should be able to push their knees out as far as they can go, while still tracking with the toes. Doing this helps to enforce the connection with the ground. That said, you have to be sure that your hips are activated properly, too.
Hip Position
At the start of your squat, you need to create tension within your hips. This tension is created from the feet all the way to the hips. By gripping and screwing your feet into the floor, you are creating a stable position for the hips to activate, in order to begin the first portion of your squat.
You’ll begin your squat by pushing your hips back, then down. Try to envision that you’re sitting onto a chair. You’ll break at your knees and hips at the same time, so that you don’t bend your torso too far down or bring your knees too far forward.
Squat Depth
“Squat depth” refers to how far the hip joint travels below (or above) the knee joint at the bottom of the squat. Ideally a healthy squat for the standard person will be where the knee and hip joints align. This is also referred to as “reaching parallel” to the floor.
If you’re able to get deeper into your squat while maintaining this technique, then this can be beneficial in working and challenging your muscles. Whether you choose to do this is all dependent upon your individual goals and needs with training. For example, a powerlifting athlete would want to train with technique that goes lower than parallel to reach proper depth for a meet. This is because, in competition, the knee joint is required to go below the hip joint.
Individuals who are working through mobility restrictions or coming back from an injury may be safer by doing reduced range of motion squat variations. Examples of these would include quarter squats, box squats, or TRX squats to help you with safely building up to full range of motion.
Over time, the TRX or the box variation will begin to feel like its not as challenging as it used to be. Your form should look better by this point too. This is is when you can change the squat variation to challenge your range of motion. This may look like going from a TRX squat to a box squat, or going from a box squat to the paralell squat.
Spinal Position
Maintaining a “neutral spine” is important during a squat. This means that it will remain in its most natural position (from head to tailbone) throughout the entire movement.
Some cues to try for maintaining a neutral spine:
“Stack your ribcage over your pelvis.”
“Keep your ribs down and your pelvis neutral.”
Watch out for any rounding in the lower back or flaring of the chest throughout any of the phases of this movement.
When working with heavier weight, it’s important to learn how to properly brace in order to maintain a neutral spine.
Bracing
Protecting your core during a squat (especially a heavy one) requires proper bracing. When you brace, you are activating your deep core muscles to safely support the load you’re holding. This keeps your core compact and stable throughout your torso.
Some cues to try for proper bracing are:
“Pretend to blow out a candle.”
"Pretend you’re about to get punched.”
In doing so, you should feel 360° tension in your torso. With heavier loads, you’ll (1) inhale at the top of the squat and either (2a) exhale on the way back up from the bottom, or (2b) exhale once you’ve completed the rep at the top of the squat again. 2a works best for lighter loads or if you get lightheaded in this technique. 2b works great for much heavier loads, that are nearing your maximal weights.
Shoulder Position
Even though this is a lower body movement, we have to also consider our upper body, all the way through the head. The position of our shoulders can impact our spine, all the way down to our feet. Engaging the shoulders properly allows you to not only strengthen your legs safely, but also your core, and upper back too!
Your main cue to focus on here is to squeeze your shoulders down and back. Simultaneously, making sure to keep your chest up tall throughout.
If you’re performing a barbell back squat, allow the bar to sit on your upper traps rather than placing it directly on your neck or spine. Don’t let it sit on any bony muscle; the “meat” of your muscle squeezed back will properly support the bar. If you’re performing something more like a goblet squat (where the weight is held in front of you), you want to be sure to squeeze your back muscles even harder to maintain their optimal position, and to fight the resistance at your chest.
Some cues to try:
“Keep your chest up and your upper back tight.”
“Keep your armpits facing forward.”
Head Position
The final position to look at is your head! It should remain in alignment with your shoulders and spine throughout the entire movement. At the very end, you want to be sure to finish the squat with your head standing tall to completely finish the rep.
Some cues to try to help with the head position:
“Stand tall like a pencil.”
“Keep the crown of your head tall.”
“Drive your feet through the floor and head through the ceiling.”
Your gaze should be out in front of you. It’s helpful to find a spot on the floor further out in front of you. Doing this, instead of watching yourself in the mirror helps you to maintain proper form and balance.
How to Implement All Of These Cues (And Not Feel Overwhelmed By It All)
When you go to practice your squat, in theory, you want to be incorporating all of these cues at once. Each of these cues help to support your entire body to execute this lift. That said, implementing all of these cues is a skill and this requires practice. With practice, proper form becomes natural and subconscious (feels effortless).
When you’re first starting, it’s going to take some weeks or months of conscious effort to build a healthy squat pattern. If you’ve lived a sedentary lifestyle prior to this, then your squat pattern is likely weakened and the first step is to rebuild healthy movement. From there, you can work towards other goals like adding muscle, adding strength, or challenging yourself in other ways. The priority is to have a healthy squat foundation through form first.
When practicing these cues, some or none of them may come natural to you. This is a normal experience. Focus on just 1-2 cues at a time. A good place to start practicing is where you notice form breakdown. For example, if you notice that you’re not keeping your torso or spine upright, you can work on the cues like, “squeezing your shoulder blades back and keeping your chest up.” If you notice that your knees are caving in, you can try “pushing your knees out.”
Focusing on only one or two cues at a time helps you to focus and execute the movement better. Sometimes focusing on just one cue (like pushing your knees out) can fix form breakdown in multiple areas (like the arch collapsing in your feet).
As you get better with your technique and stronger, the original cues you were practicing will become more automatic. When this happens, you’ll be able to spend more time working on your next 1-2 cues. When your overall squat technique feels more automatic, this is when it’s safe to begin progressing your weight and challenging yourself more with strength, endurance, hypertrophy, or power.
Final Notes
Starting at the very beginning can feel overwhelming if you let it. The way you can avoid this pressure to be perfect and not mistakes is to keep reminding yourself that you don’t have to perfect. Focus on just 1-2 cues at a time, and you’ll nail your form in no time!
These are the 7 main cues to help you remember at each checkpoint:
Screw your feet into the floor
Push your knees out
Create tension in your hips
Keep your ribs down and pelvis neutral
Brace your core (as if you’re about to be punched)
Squeeze your shoulders down and back
Keep the crown of your head tall
In practicing this with your squats, you should see small progressions almost every week in your form, range of motion, and strength! Over time, all of these cues will become more automatic and easier to implement, which will result in much better squat form and technique.
If you’re looking for 1on1 guidance around your training technique and form, we’d love for you to apply for coaching below!
