Thread: Slap to the Face

Going ATG is also easier on the knees.

And hell yes, I go all the way down. I just did a PR of 305. The trainer spotting me seemed shocked that I went all the way down. Which I understand. The vast majority of people doing squats (itself a low percentage of gym goers) only go down about a third of the way. But hey, they get to use more weight.

What resources have you been using to learn proper squat technique?

Dave Tate's stuff on the squat is awesome (look around on EliteFTS website). Helped me a tonne recently when i've been re-learning the squat. Added 15lbs and 7 reps just by fixing my stance and putting a few simple technique errors right.

Originally Posted by m11

What resources have you been using to learn proper squat technique?

Webster's Dictionary


Will do Gaz.

Fix Your Squat: Follow These 3 Easy Tips



1.) Drive your head back into the bar out of the hole. This should actually be the first thing you do when you reverse the weight.



2.) Pull your elbows down and to the front. Think of trying to bend the bar around your back to touch your knees with the bar sleeves. It obviously won’t happen, but that’s what you should aim to do.



3.) Make sure your upper back is tight before you unrack the weight. I see this a lot. Guys get under the bar with no thought as to how they setup. Start the movement correctly, and it’s much easier to finish it correctly.

How about his stance.. Seems a little wide for me?

When I started ATG is when I started to see my quads grow.

Originally Posted by ceazur

How about his stance.. Seems a little wide for me?

Me, too. I place my feet on foot-width outside my shoulders (feet rotated 45 degrees outward).

Originally Posted by Walnutz

When I started ATG is when I started to see my quads grow.

Quite likely your glutes and abductors, too.

Originally Posted by DOMS

Me, too. I place my feet on foot-width outside my shoulders (feet rotated 45 degrees outward).

Alright great. Can't wait till my next push day. Whats the shortest amount of time I should wait between leg days? 100 hours?

Originally Posted by ceazur

How about his stance.. Seems a little wide for me?

I use that exact same stance. It is the only way I know way i can squat properly.

Me too, i have since realised. So much more comfortable.

Originally Posted by KelJu

I use that exact same stance. It is the only way I know way i can squat properly.

It's my understanding that it's the best way for tall people to squat. From your pics, you look tall, so it makes sense.

Originally Posted by DOMS

It's my understanding that it's the best way for tall people to squat. From your pics, you look tall, so it makes sense.

I'm 6'3'' so maybe it is the key to success for me.

So you're tall and you want to squat big.
Lifting is the only sport where it pays to be short, and for us tall guys, squatting is one of the exercises where we're most handicapped. But that doesn't mean that we can't have humongous squats! It just means we have to work a little harder to get there.
So, let's go ahead and jump right into it. I'd like to talk to you about what you should do to start working towards squatting more weight.
Tip #1: Make sure that your stance is wide. When you squat, you really need to make sure that you have a pretty wide stance. This helps compensate for our height, because it brings us lower to the ground, and gives us a more stable base to push off of. This means that you're stronger and you have to move the weight a shorter distance.
Sounds like we're well on our way to improving our squat! But ok, you might've already known that one, so here's...
Tip #2: Start doing front squats instead of regular squats. This isn't forever, it's just for a little while. See, the problem with squatting for us tall folk is that we have trouble activating the right muscles. As a result our quads are actually under trained, because our backs and glutes do so much of the work. So, as a result we're limited by our quadricep strength. So what do we do?
We do an exercise that really hits on the quadriceps, the front squat. Trust me, start front squatting and you'll start seeing some huge gains in quadricep strength.
Tip #3: Start doing reverse hyper extensions. If your gym doesn't have a reverse hyper machine, well then find a new gym. These are the single best accessory exercise for squatting. They really blast the glutes and back in a way that no other exercise does. If you've never done reverse hypers before, then just using this tip alone you could probably see some increase in your squat.
I can't say enough... the best exercise that you're not doing right now is the reverse hyper extension.
Seriously, try it, tell me if I'm wrong.
Anyways, give those tips a try and you should start to see an increase in your squat. I really hope that you put these tips to use.

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Originally Posted by ceazur

I'm 6'3'' so maybe it is the key to success for me.

Oh hell yes, you should be doing it sumo-style. I'm thin on the details (because I'm only 5'10" and didn't need to know), but it has to do with lever mechanics, center of gravity, and ROM (tall people have to move the weight farther).

Originally Posted by DOMS

Oh hell yes, you should be doing it sumo-style. I'm thin on the details (because I'm only 5'10" and didn't need to know), but it has to do with lever mechanics, center of gravity, and ROM (tall people have to move the weight farther).

So the width no matter how far apart I spread, doesn't matter? or is there a point that is "too far"

Originally Posted by ceazur

So the width no matter how far apart I spread, doesn't matter? or is there a point that is "too far"

The wider the stance, the closer you start to the ground and the less distance (shorter ROM) you have to use.

Stand up straight with your feet together, measure the distance from your belt-line to the floor. Then place your feet wide apart (sumo-style) and then measure the distance from your belt-line to the floor.

Some good advice but everyone here missed one key point...

There are different reasons to squat.

The pictures and majority of the advice here is pointing towards a powerlifting style squat which is great for building your posterior chain and to get you squatting heavy. It will do little for your quad development compared to a closer stance deeper squat.

I'm 6'2" and I squat with this style(off a box) when I'm going heavy...up to 1rm in the 400's. BUT if I'm squatting for the purpose of developing size in my quads I go ass in the grass front squats with a close stance where I can squeeze out sets of 5-6 with 225.

I guess it comes down to you're goals, size and asthetics or strength, I alternate between the two myself and sometimes do my heavy box squatting first then deep front squats after. Best of both worlds

I've recently started doing the ass to the grass squats with about half the weight I was doing previously. So I'm going to have to work my way back up.

Anyway, I just use a regular stance and I'm 6'1". It's the stance I'm used to and others either just don't feel right or are too awkward for me. So it's just feet slightly wider than shoulder width, feet angled out a little and away we go.

I'm relativly short(well not lying down)at 5'10.I tend to switch back and forth between wide and closer stances.I also tend to agree that it is dependant upon what your goals are.The key in my opinion is that you perform each rep as low and correct as you can and try to improve from work out -work out.Squats can humble you in a hurry.

It is good that you are doing increasing your range of motion, but you don't [I]need[I] to go completely ATG to do a squat correctly. But if that is what you want to do, by all means go ahead, just be wary of your form, lower backs tend to round and the sacral region tend to "suck forward" when people go all the way down.

I don't think you need to squat with a really wide stance either, do what works for you. I am not super tall (6'), but I have very long legs and a short torso. While sumo deadlifting works great for me, sumo squats do not.

Props on fixing your form, the sooner the better!

Thanks all. I will just try out a few different stances today and figure out which one i like more

Originally Posted by ceazur

Thanks all. I will just try out a few different stances today and figure out which one i like more

Hell no. You're going to do it my way and like it.