Squat—The Right Way for a Reason
By: Josh Bryant
Question: My goal is to become as strong as possible. A big bodybuilder at the gym said I should squat the weight up slowly to feel the muscles work. Should I do this?
Hell no! You should squat the weight up faster than the Tijuana Two Step. A more explosive squat is a stronger squat. Descent speed will vary but it needs to be consistent; lifters must learn to commit to the descent and keep their descent speed the same to build a repeatable movement pattern.
As you squat the barbell up your objective needs to be to stay as tight as possible while moving the barbell from point A to Point B with perfect technique. Here is a little experiment to try. Walk over to the dumbbell rack and slowly lift a 30-pound dumbbell. Then snatch the dumbbell quickly off the rack. Lifting the weight faster will make it feel lighter. Furthermore, the less time under tension, the better chance you have making a lift.
When squatting heavy your intent needs to be to lift the weight as fast as possible on the concentric portion of the rep! Besides being more likely to complete the rep, this intent will help you gain many explosive strength adaptations. Even when lifting lighter weights, you can get maximal strength adaptations because your muscles and nervous system know the force you produced not the weight on the bar, remember force is simply mass x acceleration.
Even from a bodybuilding standpoint, which is not your stated goal, you will benefit because the greater amounts of force you produce training this way produce greater amounts of muscle tension and recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers, which have the most potential for growth.
When performing squats for strength, your objective is not to feel muscles working—it is lift the weight as explosively as possible and build technique!
Now that we have that straightened out, let’s look at four more common squat mistakes and what we can do to fix them.
Walkout
Waltz Across Texas is a classic country and western song but it sure as hell is what you want to avoid in the squat! Instead of walking multiple steps, the safest and most effective way to squat is to minimize your walkout. A walkout should be no more than three steps, step one gets you out of the rack, step two sets your first foot and step three places the opposite foot in the squat position. Some advanced lifters avoid the Waltz and do the squats rendition of the two step by stepping back with one foot then doing the same thing with the other.
In-depth Analysis of Muscle vs. Movement by Author, Josh Bryant
Uneven Bar Placement
I have hosted seminars from Okinawa to Oklahoma and a consistent problem is even bar placement, even for more advanced lifters. The issue with an asymmetrical bar placement is the more the bar is placed toward the right or left of center, the more weight will be shifted to that side. Of course, one side will have to take more of the load and it may even cause you to rotate. Focus when you grip the barbell and use references points to make sure you are aligned evenly every time. Preferably a training partner will let you know and adjust you as needed; if you train alone you can always video from a rear view. Proper alignment will lead to the completion of your assignment, a huge squat!
Depth
With strength being your primary objective, it’s a fair bet to say that one day you may compete in powerlifting. Even if not for the sake of comparative numbers for your own personal records and gauging against other lifters, it’s essential that you squat to proper depth. Half squats produce half-assed results; squat below parallel. Make this habitual every set, every rep, squat down to just slightly below parallel and hit the exact same spot every single time. Build the skill of strength through repetition.
Final Thoughts
Squats have been called the king of the lifts by many for size and strength. Incorrectly performed, squats quickly make their kingship reduce to serfdom or worse. You have the will and I have just given you the way to avoid the most common squat mistakes.
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