Squat Form...Tuck my butt???

JTick

So, I was at the gym tonight, and there was a guy there squatting. I am still pretty new to lifting, and even though I *think* my form is correct, I am not very confident in the gym yet so I always watch other people to see if I can learn anything (even if it's what NOT to do!).

He was doing front squats (Bar was in front of him, is that the correct name?), while I do back squats, so I'm not sure if there's a difference in form. He was dropping down, and then at the lowest part, he tucked his butt under and rolled his back some to get lower before coming back up. Is this correct? Should I be doing that? I try to keep my back neutral, not arched either way. However, most of my learning has been from these forums and from YouTube and Google, so if I am doing something wrong I want to correct myself before getting hurt.

Thanks!

GetSoda

that's butt wink its bad don't do it.

c8linmarie

New to squats as well. Bumping in hopes of seeing more answers or suggestions.

phjorg1

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080618162125/startingstrength/images/8/8b/Squat_Bar_Placement.jpg

follow that.

3dogsrunning

that's butt wink its bad don't do it.

I am so intrigued.

MrsSenecal

Butt Wink???? Thats a new one and I love it!

usmcmp

No! Tucking is bad! Don't do it. Once you hit the point where the tuck starts to happen that is the lowest point you should go.

michellekicks

No! Tucking is bad! Don't do it. Once you hit the point where the tuck starts to happen that is the lowest point you should go.

Yeah that's what I've been told too...

DancingMoosie

I was wondering about form on squats, too. Is it supposed to feel like you are sticking your butt out at the bottom? Then squeeze and a slight tuck at the top? I'm trying to "find" my glutes and firm them up:)

JTick

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080618162125/startingstrength/images/8/8b/Squat_Bar_Placement.jpg

follow that.

This is awesome, thank you so much. I tend to place my bar just a bit low (it hurts my spine up higher), and according to that chart it is why I lean forward just a smidgen, but I still keep my back straight. It looks like my form is good according to that.

Also butt wink...that is hilarious!!!!!!

JTick

I was wondering about form on squats, too. Is it supposed to feel like you are sticking your butt out at the bottom? Then squeeze and a slight tuck at the top? I'm trying to "find" my glutes and firm them up:)

My understanding is that in order to hit your glutes, you need to make sure your dropping below parallel. I can only do that with a slightly wide stance because of knee problems, but I can definitely tell in my butt the next day if I managed to hit my glutes. I don't *think* you're ever supposed to tuck in a squat whether you're dropping or standing.

phjorg1

I was wondering about form on squats, too. Is it supposed to feel like you are sticking your butt out at the bottom? Then squeeze and a slight tuck at the top? I'm trying to "find" my glutes and firm them up:)

there is no need to squeeze anything outside of engage your core for spinal stability. Flexing your butt is not the same as placing a resistance load on your butt. This is one of those silly things people read one in a magazine that has no basis in reality. You're not doing anything by trying to flex your butt during a squat.

If you're not feeling it in your butt, you're either not going low enough, or not lifting enough. posterior chain doesn't fully activate until you break parallel, it's job is to stop the load, and fire to start it moving again from the pocket, so if you're not low enough, then it's not firing, so no bum work. And if it's not heavy enough, then your posterior chain has nothing to stop. too light a resistance, so no work done.

edit: as for form, the pic i posted has the basic forms. in terms of doing a squat, think of it like sitting in a chair, than standing up again. And in fact, this is normally the starter way to teach people. It's called box squats. Grab a step thats below your knee, and squat down and stand up from that

fortunateflyer

Just chiming in to agree with everyone else that the butt wink is bad. Even if he was doing olympic front squats he still shouldn't tuck his back under at the bottom.

Happy squatting!!

Mrsallypants

It's called posterior pelvic tilt which means your lumbar spine flexes under a heavy load. Not a good thing.

Link explains it more: http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/q-a-fixing-the-tuck-under-when-squatting-part-i/

bms34b

Uh....it's already been said a bunch, but as someone who herniated a disk and went through physical therapy to finally get better, keep that butt out and back flat. Engage your pilates muscles! (If anyone knows what I mean, I'm tellin you, they're the key to back support)

DaniH826

Butt tucking means he failed to tighten his core all the way through the movement. Not good for your spine, so don't do it. Keep your core tight the whole time, and use hip drive to come up from the "hole" at the bottom of the squat. There's no such thing as "relaxing" when doing a loaded squat.

Dude needs to either work on core strength if that's his issue, or focus on keeping his lower back straight if he was just being lazy or somebody taught him wrong.

Slightly wide stance when squatting is completely fine (it's a squat after all, not a "sit" ... ever seen a small child squat?), always go down to parallel or below. Shove your knees out but not over your toes.

usmcmp

Butt tucking means he failed to tighten his core all the way through the movement. Not good for your spine, so don't do it. Keep your core tight the whole time, and use hip drive to come up from the "hole" at the bottom of the squat. There's no such thing as "relaxing" when doing a loaded squat.

Dude needs to either work on core strength if that's his issue, or focus on keeping his lower back straight if he was just being lazy or somebody taught him wrong.

Slightly wide stance when squatting is completely fine (it's a squat after all, not a "sit" ... ever seen a small child squat?), always go down to parallel or below. Shove your knees out but not over your toes.

I agree with everything except the not allowing knees past toes.

"A study done by Fry AC, Smith JC, Schilling BK. (Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat. J Strength Cond Res. 2003 Nov;17(4):629-33) examined joint kinetics during back squats under two conditions. The first condition placed a board in front of the participants’ shins, which restricted forward displacement of the knee. In the second condition, movement wasn’t restricted at all. They squatted normally and the knees were allowed to pass the toes.

The researchers found that restricting the forward excursion of the knees during the squat (not allowing the knees to go over toes) increased anterior lean of the trunk and promoted an increased “internal angle at the knees and ankles.”

The results showed a 22% decrease in knee torque and a 1070% increase in hip torque! That stress has to go somewhere. Keeping the knees behind the toes definitely reduces the forces on the knee, but those forces were transferred more than tenfold to the hips and lower back."

dandur

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/whats-the-proper-way-to-squat-qa.html

Lyle talks about butt wink here.

HelloDan

So just to go completely against the flow, 'buttwink' is massively overrated, and over thought.
A slight loss of lumbar extension (lordosis) is not really a big deal, losing all extension and going into flexion is bad.

Some degree of rotation of the pelvis is natural as you squat down, if you want to keep your torso vertical (as in a front squat), it just depends on how much it happens. To keep the torso vertical, either the butt will tuck under slightly, or the spine will have to extend more - if either of these are exaggerated you could herniate a disc posteriorly or anteriorly! So just because going into lots of flexion is bad, don't assume that going into full extension is the answer!

It's also odd that many trainers blame it on tight hamstrings, but if your hamstrings are so tight that with ~90* flexion at the knee and at the hip they pull on the pelvis, you would have difficulty standing upright when both the knee and the hips are extended. So it's unlikely to be that, unless you have posterior pelvic tilt, and tightness just standing up.

Its worth making sure it's not a restriction of the pelvis and femur coming into contact (basically your hip and leg meeting, so that you physically cannot flex your hips any more), in which case normally a wider stance and pushing knees out will help make space.

bumblebums

Yep, it's a butt wink.

I wouldn't worry too much about what other people at the gym do--certainly do not imitate them.

But you might want to make a video of yourself squatting, from the back and from the side, to check your own form. Your back is supposed to be in slight extension throughout the squat--meaning a slight arch, not hugely overextended "female cat looking for company" sort of thing. Extremes of spinal flexion and extension are not good for the spine; butt winks can cause a problem if you are susceptible to back pain.

If you are curious about squat form, get a kindle sample of the Starting Strength book (unless you're old skool and read things on paper):

http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-3rd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0982522738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373564731&sr=8-1&keywords=starting+strength

You will get an entire in-depth chapter on squat form, what to look for and how to correct problems. (I think you also get a fair bit of the deadlift chapter, if not the whole thing).

thatonegirlwiththestuff

He had bad form. But honestly, learning to squat correctly takes time. I am STILL working on it over a year later.

DeniseNichole76

Easy as this, poke your booty out like you are going to sit on a chair, Knees over ankles, and your back should stay shape. Keep your form true and you will have a great booty!!!!

BusyRaeNOTBusty

No! Tucking is bad! Don't do it. Once you hit the point where the tuck starts to happen that is the lowest point you should go.

Yeah that's what I've been told too...

This. If you can't go low enough without the wink, you need to work on flexibility.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I was wondering about form on squats, too. Is it supposed to feel like you are sticking your butt out at the bottom? Then squeeze and a slight tuck at the top? I'm trying to "find" my glutes and firm them up:)

The reason some people (or me) seem to "squeeze" the butt at the top is not to really squeeze it, but about half way up you should focus on pushing your hips forward instead of "up". This is call "hip-thrust" and can lead to better performance. If you focus on pushing forward you usually end up kind of squeezing at the top.

j6o4

Form depends on which type of back squats you're doing.

High bar or olympic style of squating you break at the knees.

Low bar squats you break at the hips, kinda of like sitting into it.

Tips - when you squat pretend there is a rubber band wrapped around you're knees and try to break it when you squat down, in other words show you're crotch. This should help you bring in your glutes when you're squating. Got this tip from Elliott Hulse off of youtube and it really helped me get pass parallel on my squats.