The squat is one of the most used exercises in strength sessions. Its execution is tremendously complex, so controlling the different points where we can “get stuck” will make us improve our performance and avoid injuries. When we perform the squat we can be unable to move the load at different points of it. according to which be that point where we fail or it costs us more, there are recommended exercises to improve it specifically.
I stay down in the squat
You load the bar, take a breath, go down deep and there you stay without being able to climb an inch. We have the point of failure at the bottom, so the main defect is the initial take-off force. To work it, we must perform exercises that focus on that specific point of the squat.
Squat with pause (pause squat)
We normally perform the squat without pausing when we are at the lowest point. By doing it without pause, we take advantage of the reactive energy of our tissues. If we want to improve that lowest point of the squat we can pause just when we are at the lowest point and then push up.
To do it take a pause for about two or three seconds when you are at the lowest point, and then push the bar as fast as you can as if you wanted to jump.
Low box squat
We can use a jump box for this exercise, or other material such as a bench, step, etc. These materials have various heights that we can use according to our objectives. For past the point of failure at the bottom of the squat we will use a low boxthat is, a position that allows us to perform the deep squat.
Once we reach the box, we sit down, and from there we push the load towards the ceiling as fast as we can. In this way we continue focused on making the peak of force in the lowest part of the movement.
Anderson squat (pin squat)
In this exercise we must have a strength cage in which we can adjust the height of the bar. As in the previous exercises, we will place the bar to a height that matches our position deep squat.
The objective is to push the load off the blocks, and return to that position again to rest briefly and perform another repetition again. In this way we eliminate any type of help from our tissues and we focus all the force in the lower part of the movement.
The knees go inward (knee valgus)
One of the main (and most dangerous) problems with the squat is that when we are in the middle of the movement our knees tend to go in and get together. It can be due to two main factors: gluteal weakness or poor motor control. How can we solve it?
Squat with wide position (wide squat)
We can perform the squat with a wide position in a free form or to a box. In both cases the goal is open your legs wider than normal to learn how to prevent the knees from sinking inwards, while working the gluteus.
In this position our feet align with the knees more easily than when we do a narrower position. Can insert a pause at the bottom to give this squat variation an extra boost.
Globet squat with knee bands
This type of squat forces us to have a upright posture and focus on keeping your knees from rolling in. The elastic band located above the knees tends to bring the legs together, so we must exert force in the opposite direction.
It will be very useful for us to activate the gluteus to a greater extent, the muscle that causes the knees to go inwards, and to learn that when we perform a squat we must have the intention to separate the kneesas if we had an elastic band on.
Rounding of the upper back (hump)
The upper back hump round is more typical of the deadlift than the squat, but it’s also very present in this exercise. Here mainly influence lack of mobility that does not allow us to stand upright and a lack of motor control which makes us not know how to execute it. How can we improve it?
Front squat
The front squat is the queen of squat variations. If you have a lack of mobility in joints such as the hip, you will notice how the bar tends to roll forward and “want to fall off”. To avoid this we must be upright and with the trunk as vertical as possible.
This is a great exercise on its own, but also if we tend to round our upper back when we back squat. Go progressing from an empty bar (or PVC stick) to as many pounds as you can handle with good technique.
Squat with safety bar (safety bar squat)
The safety bar (or safety bar) is a bar that allows us to perform a back squat if we have a lack of mobility. The bar is supported in the same area as in the back squat, but it has some grips that will help us not round our upper back, while improving our squat.
Good morning with safety bar (safety bar good morning)
Another of the exercises that we can do with the safety bar to improve that rounding of the back before it can happen with the back squat is the good morning exercise with the bar. Us helps both position and strengthen the entire rear area of the body: dorsal, lumbar, gluteus and hamstrings.
Zercher squat
The Zercher squat is one of the least seen squat variations in commercial gyms. As we can see with its execution we must remain with the trunk as vertical as possible to be able to bear weight with the elbow socket.
We will have to pay attention at all times to prevent the upper back from rounding, since due to the position of the weight it will be very easy for this to happen. It is the litmus test for get away from the hump that can appear with the back squat once and for all.
I almost completed it, but I still have a few centimeters to finish it
Another possibility is that we have no problem in the lower part of the squat, we exceed the midpoint, but when we almost have it we get “stuck” and cannot complete the squat. In that case we will have to do exercises that help us in the final part of the movement. Which are?
Squat with chains
Chains are one of those rarely used accessories in commercial gyms, but extremely useful to improve the final point of the squat. The operation is simple: the more chain is in the air, the more the bar weighs; the more amount of chain is on the ground, the less the bar weighs.
When we go down to the deepest point of the squat, part of the chains is on the ground, which means that we don’t have to overcome that weight of the chains. Nevertheless, as we go up in the squat, more chains are left hangingor what is the same, we have more weight on the back.
What is the use of having a little load in the low position and more load in the high position? For focus the effort on the final part of the movement, once we have more weight due to the number of chains that are suspended. We can improve like this in this part of the squat.
Squat against elastic bands (band squat)
The elastic bands give the squat the same stimulus as the chains. As the elastic bands stretch they offer even more resistance. That translates into less effort at the bottom of the movement and more load at the end of it.
Both with the chains and with the elastic bands we obtain a variable load, very useful to improve the final point of the squat. As we extend our knees the load will be extra, so we will have to exert a lot of force to complete the full range of the exercise.
High rack squat (high pin squat)
Just as to improve strength at the bottom of the squat we can squat with the locks on a deep point, we can now improve the final part of the movement putting those cage latches a little higher.
We place the bar in the insurance with a position close to the end of the movement. We will focus on exerting force in that small range of motion, so that later we can gain improvement in completing those final inches of squat that we couldn’t complete before.
In Vitónica | How we could improve our squats and what are the five most common mistakes we make
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