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?

3 Ways You're Ruining Your Squat

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 07/21/23)

Let’s cover a few mistakes that you might be making with your squat, and then let’s fix them fast.

Mistake #1: Trying to Stay Upright
When you squat, don’t confuse a vertical back with a straight back. We want a straight back - it’s more efficient - but we’re not all that interested in a vertical back. Of course, your back will be vertical at the beginning and the end of the squat (i.e., when you’re standing up), but throughout the squat, it will (and should) move through a range of angles.

To fix this problem, as you start your squat, reach back with your hips and simultaneously point your chest at the floor as you descend (watch the included video for a demonstration). In other words, get leaned over as you descend - it will put you in a stronger, more efficient position at the bottom of the squat so that you can effectively drive your hips up out of the hole. Trying to stay upright (and trying to get upright too soon on the ascent) simply makes your squat harder and less efficient than it should be.

Mistake #2: Not Shoving Your Knees Out
When you squat, your knees travel forward - after all, that’s what knees generally do when they bend, but you are also going to shove them sideways, i.e., you’re going to shove your femurs apart from one another. We don’t want your knees to travel only forward; instead, your knees are going to travel both forward and out (i.e., forward and sideways).

To accomplish this, take a stance with your heels roughly shoulder-width apart, and then point your toes out at about a 30 degree angle. As you start to descend, point your knees in the direction of your toes so that your femurs are parallel to your feet (again, watch the included video for a demonstration).

When you shove your knees out, you allow your adductors (i.e., your groin muscles) to contribute to the lift, and this makes for a stronger squat. Shoving your knees apart also means that you get your femurs out of the way of your hips and torso, and this, in turn, makes it easier to achieve proper depth in the squat.

Mistake #3: Arching Your Back
You don’t want an arched back; in other words, you don’t want your spine in a position of overextension. Granted, you don’t want a rounded or flexed back, but we certainly don’t want an arched back either. An arched back is neither a comfortable nor a strong position in which to support a heavy load. You simply want your back to be straight and rigid as this is very efficient for transferring force from your hips and legs to the barbell. Watch the included video for a demonstration of what to do (and what not to do).

If you find yourself arching your back before or during the squat, remind yourself to clamp down hard by contracting your abs as tightly as you can. If this doesn’t work, you may need to use an overcue and tell yourself to “round your back” just a bit. However, remember that this is an overcue and be conservative with its use - you don’t actually want a rounded back, but you may find that this helps you successfully achieve a straight back.

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.)

---

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?