Squatting Deeper - Don't Make These 2 Mistakes!

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Julie hits depth on a correctly executed squat.

Julie hits depth on a correctly executed squat.

When people are endeavoring to squat deeper - whether because their coach told them too or because they’ve recorded themselves on video and seen the disheartening proof of a “too-high” squat - we often see two mistakes:

  1. The lifter descends significantly faster than before without actually squatting deeper.

  2. The lifter leans over too much.

With regard to mistake #1, remember that going deeper doesn’t mean descending faster. In fact, 50% of the time, going down faster doesn’t change anything except the speed of the descent (yes, duh) and the other 50% of the time, the lifter actually cuts off his squat even higher when he tries to descend more quickly.

Julie makes mistake #2 as she leans over too much in an effort to achieve the proper depth. Note that the crease of her hips have not passed below the level of the top of her kneecap and are, in fact, well above height of the kneecap.

Julie makes mistake #2 as she leans over too much in an effort to achieve the proper depth. Note that the crease of her hips have not passed below the level of the top of her kneecap and are, in fact, well above height of the kneecap.

Mistake #2 - leaning over too much - comes from a misunderstanding of how depth is achieved. Depth is achieved when the crease of the hip passes just below the height of the top of the patella. In other words, you squat deeper by taking the hips lower - not by taking the bar lower. If the hips go lower, everything else above the hips goes lower as well - including the bar - but the reverse is not necessarily true. When starting your descent, leaning over (as you shove your knees out and reach back with your hips) is important, but once you’ve set your back angle by doing so, keep it constant - don’t lean over more than you already have.

If you struggle with either of these two mistakes, try the cues “stretch deep” or “reach deep” the next time you squat. With the “stretch deep” cue, you are reminding yourself that you will experience a stretch in the hips as you descend lower into the squat, and with the “reach deep” cue, you are reminding yourself that you reach downward with your hips - not the bar.

“Stretch deep” and “reach deep” - give these cues a try, and we hope they help you out!