The proper squat

I see a lot of people do a squat wrong.

Thougth I would share a few tips.

1) Get below paralell. NO IT IS NOT BAD FOR YOUR KNEES. Staying above parallel is bad for your knees. When you reach depth, you must reverse the direction of the weight, this greatly increases the force on the body. When you are at or below parallel, this weight transfers to your hips, when you are above paralell and squatting wrong, this weight is a shearing force that transfers to your knees. THAT IS A BAD THING!! Your hips can take it, your knees.. not so much.

2) Do not rest the bar on your spine or neck. Try to rest the bar across your shoulders between the middle and rear deltoids. Grip the bar TIGHT and imagine bending it around your body like Superman would. Literally try to be bending that bar around you as you squat. This will lock your upper body tight, and cause your clavicles to flair out, creating a gab between the barbell and your spine. The barbell should NOT be on your spine, EVER.

3) Do not extend your knees past your toes. Sit back in your squat. Put a bench behind you if you need to practice sitting back onto the bench. Box squats are a great training tool. Your knees should not poke out past your toes. See point one about shearing force.

These are the "Big Three" I see people doing wrong all the time.

If you really want to learn to master the squat, deadlift and benchpress and the actual science as to why you should do these things from one of the best trainers in the world, check out Mark Rippetoe's "Starting Strength" which is a great reference for beginners, but also for experienced lifters. It is one of the bibles of lifting heavy.

PS - Forget spotters, learn to use the squat rails in a power tower, or a squat rack. Spotters are not much help unless you have 2 spotters.