This One Cue Will Change How You Squat Forever

If your squat feels inconsistent, inefficient, or harder than it should, you might be missing this. One cue can change how the entire lift feels and moves - try it today and build from there. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

10 TIPS to Help You DOMINATE the Starting Strength Squat

Want to improve your squat? Of course you do, and with that in mind, here are 10 quick tips to help you achieve your goal.

You can also check out the included videos to see these tips in action.

1. Position
Position the barbell below your traps and resting on your delts. It’s a very secure position as it is trapped - pun intended - by your traps from above and supported by your delts from below.

2. Stance Width
Take your stance with heels at roughly shoulder width. This is an excellent width to help you hit depth in the squat - not too narrow and not too wide.

3. Toe Angle
Point your toes our roughly 30°. You will be directing your knees to travel in this direction as you descend, so your feet function as arrows for the knees (or equivalently, your femurs). Again, this is useful for hitting depth in the squat and allows your adductors to contribute to the ascent of the squat as well.

4. Focal Point
Focus on a spot roughly four to six feet in front of you on the floor. This helps with your back angle - it helps you point your chest down as you start your descent, and it helps you stay leaned over (and thus drive your hips) coming up out of the hole. 

5. Breathing and Bracing
Before starting your descent, take a big breath, hold it, and clamp down on every muscle in your trunk - get tight like you’re going to be punched in the gut, and you’ll be doing a nice job of things. Hold that breath and tightness all the way down and all the way back up again until you finish the rep.

If the bar is moving - you’re not breathing.

6. Reach Back
As you start your descent, reach backward with your hips because . . .

7. Chest Down
. . . you’re going to point your chest at the floor as you descend, i.e., you’re going to lean over as you reach your hips back.

8. Knees Out
Additionally, as you descend, shove your knees out (i.e., apart from one another). Remember that your feet (specifically, your toes) are arrows for your knees, so your knees will travel forward and out in the same direction as your toes.

9. Hip Drive
When you hit the bottom of the squat (i.e., hip crease below the top of your patella), drive your hips up. Don’t think about driving your chest up. Drive your hips, and because you locked your back in rigid extension using tip #5, your chest and the bar will come up with your hips.

10. Stay in Your Lean
Stay leaned over a little longer than you think. You will “get vertical” eventually, i.e., your back angle will eventually become vertical (since you finish the squat in an upright position), but don’t try to get vertical right away as this makes makes for a weaker, harder, less efficient squat.

Stay in your lean.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

The ONE Thing Fitness Magazines WON'T Tell You About the Squat

There is ONE thing that fitness magazines and other "experts" will never tell you to do when squatting, and it's the one thing that will make your squat better. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks it down.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 03/20/23)

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

What No One Told You About Squatting (3 Minute Guide)

Struggling with your squat? In this quick 3-minute guide, you’ll learn the simple cues and setup steps most lifters never hear. No fluff, no mobility routines—just the essentials that make the squat finally click. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

One Clue to Identify a Bad Squat EARLY

Don’t be like this fool.

Are you making your squat harder, weaker, and less efficient than it should be? 

Here’s a tell-tale sign: if you’re trying to maintain a vertical torso (i.e., a vertical or upright back angle) as you descend, you’re making a mistake, so let’s fix it quickly.

The Problem
The error of trying to keep the torso upright during the descent of the squat is a common one, and it usually stems from confusing - whether consciously or subconsciously - the concept of a straight back with that of a vertical back.

Make no mistake - we want a straight back. We don’t want a rounded back (i.e., flexion), and we certainly don’t want an arched back (i.e., overextension) either. We simply want a straight, rigid back, which is extremely useful for efficiency of force transmission between you and the barbell.

However, the back will not always be - nor should it be - vertical during the squat itself. In fact, it won’t be vertical for most of the squat. Your back will be vertical at the start of the squat before you start your descent, and it will be vertical at the end of the squat when you finish standing up, but during the movement itself, the back will travel through a range of angles.

note that tyler has gotten correctly (and efficiently) leaned over as he descended into his squat.

The Solution
Trying to keep your torso vertical as you start makes the squat harder, weaker, less efficient, and even uncomfortable, and lifting heavy weights is already uncomfortable, so let’s not make the situation worse through inefficiency. To fix this issue, use the following cue as you start your descent:

“Hips back - chest down.”

As you begin the descent, reach your butt back as if you’re trying to touch the wall behind you while simultaneously pointing your chest down toward the floor. In other words, you lean over on purpose as you push your hips backward.

Using this leaned over position on the descent puts you in a stronger and more efficient position from which to drive up out of the bottom of the squat, and efficiency is always a good thing to have when squatting.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Why Your Squat Feels Off (But You Can't Explain Why)

Something about your squat just doesn’t feel right — but you can’t quite put your finger on it. In this short video, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains what’s really going on and gives you a few simple cues to fix it fast.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?