How do you know if your doing a squat right?
soldiergrl_101
Posts: 2,205 Member
My friend told me that I am not doing squats right, although she is not in very good shape so no offense to her but Id rather have a second opinion. She says that when you squat your *kitten* has to touch the floor...I have scoliosis so not only does that hurt my back but it is very difficult to get down that low. How do I know if I am doing a squat right. If I don't feel it the next day does that mean I did it in correctly?
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Rainbows fly out your backend uncontrollably.
If she's not in good shape, has no history of coaching athletes, then just consider the source and ignore it. No value to the input.
For example, your *kitten* has to touch the floor... no. Here, want to see a good squat from someone who will bury anyone with knowledge?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kawBY5p29fQ
It's lowbar, keep that in mind, but it's bullet proof knowledge.
If you did your squat session well, your hams and *kitten* are sore.0 -
That was very informative thank you, a few more questions though... how many seconds should I hold each squat for? How many sets/reps should I do. And will any of this help me if I don't have a bar and weights to use along with my squats?0
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Depends.soldiergrl_101 wrote: »That was very informative thank you, a few more questions though... how many seconds should I hold each squat for? How many sets/reps should I do. And will any of this help me if I don't have a bar and weights to use along with my squats?
Is it a normal squat or a pause squat?
A normal squat I go down then go up. A pause squat, I go down, sit for a second or two, and then go up. Both do two different things, one preserves energy to help in the concentric aspect of the lift, the other does not conserve or transfer that energy from the eccentric portion.
Sets and reps are up to you and your goals. I'm not a person to ask for volume advice. I routinely squat for over 100 working reps a session. My concepts of volume are skewed.
Look at something like Stronglifts. For a work portion of the lifting, you'll do 5 sets of 5.
Will any of this help for unweighted squats? No. Unweighted squats are great as a body movement though, and a conditioning exercise.
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If you are doing body weight squats you can do many more than if you are doing weighted squats. When I do body weight squats I typically do 3-4 sets of 20. How long you hold at the bottom of a squat depends on you. I usually don't hold at the bottom of a squat it's a 2 count down and a 2 count up. I do wall chairs for about 90 seconds times 3 instead of holding squats. Hope this helps, good luck!0
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branflakes1980 wrote: »If you are doing body weight squats you can do many more than if you are doing weighted squats. When I do body weight squats I typically do 3-4 sets of 20. How long you hold at the bottom of a squat depends on you. I usually don't hold at the bottom of a squat it's a 2 count down and a 2 count up. I do wall chairs for about 90 seconds times 3 instead of holding squats. Hope this helps, good luck!
Yeah, you're right, body weight and the concept of volume can be ignored.
I usually use them as a "grease the groove" type warmup, and do a few sets of 100 reps at a time. It gets grindy, but it's an excellent warmup.0 -
It's not so much about time/seconds as much as it is controlling the weight/movement. Be intentional with the lift, don't just drop under the weight and bounce back up... control it on the way down and on the way up.soldiergrl_101 wrote: »how many seconds should I hold each squat for?
Depends on your goals. 3-5 sets of 5-10 is never a bad starting point.soldiergrl_101 wrote: »How many sets/reps should I do.
Not significantly. Anythign is better than nothing, but your legs are used to carrying you around. There are creative ways to add weight though if you don't have a bar/plates... fill a backpack and hold it to your chest, hold dumbbells/kettlebells or something similarly heavy, do single leg squats (though, I'd get the basic movement down first before starting single legs), etc.soldiergrl_101 wrote: »And will any of this help me if I don't have a bar and weights to use along with my squats?
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Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?0
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yopeeps025 wrote: »Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
Not significantly, at least for me.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
Not significantly, at least for me.
If you are doing plain old back squats and your form is dead on then your quads should feel significantly less than your glutes and hams (atleast this is true for me). However, switch it up to some bulgarian split squats and them quads will be on fire
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I usually use them as a "grease the groove" type warmup, and do a few sets of 100 reps at a time. It gets grindy, but it's an excellent warmup.
you do 100's of body weight squats to warm up? how long does that take you? jeepers- I do 3-5 min of jump rope and jump straight under 95 pounds for warm up sets and then stretching.
I'm extremely quad dominate- I never feel it in my *kitten* and hams. I think I feel butt more for front squats- but today I am in quad DOMS world because of my high rep sets of pause squats.Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
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I usually use them as a "grease the groove" type warmup, and do a few sets of 100 reps at a time. It gets grindy, but it's an excellent warmup.
you do 100's of body weight squats to warm up? how long does that take you? jeepers- I do 3-5 min of jump rope and jump straight under 95 pounds for warm up sets and then stretching.
I'm extremely quad dominate- I never feel it in my *kitten* and hams. I think I feel butt more for front squats- but today I am in quad DOMS world because of my high rep sets of pause squats.Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
I guess I remember looking at my stats that my hams are way stronger than my quads.
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The scoliosis could make a difference how you approach squatting and other weight lifting exercises. It would be a good idea to get a referral from your doc to a sports PT and discuss your goals and any possible adaptations.soldiergrl_101 wrote: »I have scoliosis so not only does that hurt my back but it is very difficult to get down that low.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »I usually use them as a "grease the groove" type warmup, and do a few sets of 100 reps at a time. It gets grindy, but it's an excellent warmup.
you do 100's of body weight squats to warm up? how long does that take you? jeepers- I do 3-5 min of jump rope and jump straight under 95 pounds for warm up sets and then stretching.
I'm extremely quad dominate- I never feel it in my *kitten* and hams. I think I feel butt more for front squats- but today I am in quad DOMS world because of my high rep sets of pause squats.Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
I guess I remember looking at my stats that my hams are way stronger than my quads.
what do you mean?
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branflakes1980 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
Not significantly, at least for me.
If you are doing plain old back squats and your form is dead on then your quads should feel significantly less than your glutes and hams (atleast this is true for me). However, switch it up to some bulgarian split squats and them quads will be on fire
^^^^This, I usually do the bulgarian splits to work the quads after doing my regular squats. This is actually recommended in Wendler's 5/3/1 book as an a good accessory exercise on squat day.0 -
When I squat I lower my hips until they are parallel with my knees, and I don't let my knees go forward past my toes. I take in a big gulp of air as I start to go down and hold it in until I reach the bottom, then exhale on my way back up. I keep my shoulders back, my abs tight, and my back very straight throughout the movement.0
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The first set is always pretty quick, a couple minutes? I know I'm about ready when I'm breathing more than squatting, and then I'll also know that I'm in the mental space for a squat session. Those last ones could be 5 minutes? Maybe more? I only do a few sets though. Also, I don't do that on days I'm testing where my 1RM might be.you do 100's of body weight squats to warm up? how long does that take you? jeepers- I do 3-5 min of jump rope and jump straight under 95 pounds for warm up sets and then stretching.
I'll do 135# for 20s or 30s, a 2-3 sets.
I "was" quad dominant, but then invested a lot of work into my glutes and hams, and now I'm primarily feeling those after squat sessions. Ham curls, GHDs, hip thrusters.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »I usually use them as a "grease the groove" type warmup, and do a few sets of 100 reps at a time. It gets grindy, but it's an excellent warmup.
you do 100's of body weight squats to warm up? how long does that take you? jeepers- I do 3-5 min of jump rope and jump straight under 95 pounds for warm up sets and then stretching.
I'm extremely quad dominate- I never feel it in my *kitten* and hams. I think I feel butt more for front squats- but today I am in quad DOMS world because of my high rep sets of pause squats.Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
I guess I remember looking at my stats that my hams are way stronger than my quads.
what do you mean?
I can deadlift a lot more than squat and I have been squatting for way longer than I have been deadlifting.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »I usually use them as a "grease the groove" type warmup, and do a few sets of 100 reps at a time. It gets grindy, but it's an excellent warmup.
you do 100's of body weight squats to warm up? how long does that take you? jeepers- I do 3-5 min of jump rope and jump straight under 95 pounds for warm up sets and then stretching.
I'm extremely quad dominate- I never feel it in my *kitten* and hams. I think I feel butt more for front squats- but today I am in quad DOMS world because of my high rep sets of pause squats.Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
I guess I remember looking at my stats that my hams are way stronger than my quads.
what do you mean?
I can deadlift a lot more than squat and I have been squatting for way longer than I have been deadlifting.
most people can DL more than they can squat. That's pretty normal."was" quad dominant, but then invested a lot of work into my glutes and hams, and now I'm primarily feeling those after squat sessions. Ham curls, GHDs, hip thrusters.
you know it's funny- I an feel it sometimes in my butt at the bottom- but it's more of a stretch than I feel like it's working- it feels nothing like when I'm driving up from a hip thruster- I feel my butt mostly at the top for a squeeze- rather than pushing me up at out of the hole- which is perhaps why I struggle so much- My quads are pulling me up rather than my *kitten* pushing me up.0 -
To the original poster, unless you are looking to seriously bulk up, that is not the way you do squats. You knees should never go past you toes. That puts a lot of stress on you knees and leads to arthritis. The easiest way to think about a squat is to pretend there is a chair behind you. Stick your but way out and lower yourself to the "chair." Your knee does not bend more than 90 degrees. Keep you back in a straight line. It doesn't need to be vertical but not curving forward either. Holding or not holding at the bottom is more about endurance verses strength training. I would do multiple sets until your form starts to deteriorate. That's when you stop.0
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yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »I usually use them as a "grease the groove" type warmup, and do a few sets of 100 reps at a time. It gets grindy, but it's an excellent warmup.
you do 100's of body weight squats to warm up? how long does that take you? jeepers- I do 3-5 min of jump rope and jump straight under 95 pounds for warm up sets and then stretching.
I'm extremely quad dominate- I never feel it in my *kitten* and hams. I think I feel butt more for front squats- but today I am in quad DOMS world because of my high rep sets of pause squats.Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
I guess I remember looking at my stats that my hams are way stronger than my quads.
what do you mean?
I can deadlift a lot more than squat and I have been squatting for way longer than I have been deadlifting.
most people can DL more than they can squat. That's pretty normal.
I have been squatting at least two years more than my deadlift though. I do not think I have been deadlifting for a full year yet and it is still a lot more than squat.
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For a squat to be considered a squat your thighs are parallel to the floor. Going A2G is not necessary and can in fact cause some strain / tension on the quadricep tendon and that can really f-up your world if that is damaged. My advise to you would be to get on the net and search for Mark Rippatoe. The man is one of the best coaches around for teaching lifts. From there you will need to have someone video you squatting. There are plenty of guys and girls here on MFP that if you upload the video someone can take a look and give you some feedback.0
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I do StrongLifts 5x5 when I do get to the gym -- there are quite a few videos on the web showing the proper form for exercises0
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yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »I usually use them as a "grease the groove" type warmup, and do a few sets of 100 reps at a time. It gets grindy, but it's an excellent warmup.
you do 100's of body weight squats to warm up? how long does that take you? jeepers- I do 3-5 min of jump rope and jump straight under 95 pounds for warm up sets and then stretching.
I'm extremely quad dominate- I never feel it in my *kitten* and hams. I think I feel butt more for front squats- but today I am in quad DOMS world because of my high rep sets of pause squats.Hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in your quads?
I guess I remember looking at my stats that my hams are way stronger than my quads.
what do you mean?
I can deadlift a lot more than squat and I have been squatting for way longer than I have been deadlifting.
I would never be able to squat as much as I DL because my knees would spontaniously combust. LOL! I think what you were trying to say is that DL's are for working your hams and squats are for working your quads? This is not accurate as with a squat both muscles are engaged but depending on the kind of squat and your form determines what muscles are being worked more. I have come to realize that due to my scoliosis as well as some hideous knee problems I will never be able to pull huge #'s while squatting, but I also believe that most people will always be able to DL more than they squat just due to the engineering and movements involved for each exercise.
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DiamondRubyMom wrote: »To the original poster, unless you are looking to seriously bulk up, that is not the way you do squats. You knees should never go past you toes. That puts a lot of stress on you knees and leads to arthritis. The easiest way to think about a squat is to pretend there is a chair behind you. Stick your but way out and lower yourself to the "chair." Your knee does not bend more than 90 degrees. Keep you back in a straight line. It doesn't need to be vertical but not curving forward either. Holding or not holding at the bottom is more about endurance verses strength training. I would do multiple sets until your form starts to deteriorate. That's when you stop.
Please, don't give advice on something you know nothing about, Jon Snow.0 -
DiamondRubyMom wrote: »To the original poster, unless you are looking to seriously bulk up, that is not the way you do squats. You knees should never go past you toes. That puts a lot of stress on you knees and leads to arthritis. The easiest way to think about a squat is to pretend there is a chair behind you. Stick your but way out and lower yourself to the "chair." Your knee does not bend more than 90 degrees. Keep you back in a straight line. It doesn't need to be vertical but not curving forward either. Holding or not holding at the bottom is more about endurance verses strength training. I would do multiple sets until your form starts to deteriorate. That's when you stop.
Please, don't give advice on something you know nothing about, Jon Snow.
Newbie mistake
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yopeeps025 wrote: »DiamondRubyMom wrote: »To the original poster, unless you are looking to seriously bulk up, that is not the way you do squats. You knees should never go past you toes. That puts a lot of stress on you knees and leads to arthritis. The easiest way to think about a squat is to pretend there is a chair behind you. Stick your but way out and lower yourself to the "chair." Your knee does not bend more than 90 degrees. Keep you back in a straight line. It doesn't need to be vertical but not curving forward either. Holding or not holding at the bottom is more about endurance verses strength training. I would do multiple sets until your form starts to deteriorate. That's when you stop.
Please, don't give advice on something you know nothing about, Jon Snow.
Newbie mistake
Or someone who thinks it is funny to try to cause someone to harm themselves.
Their advice can end up with someone getting an MRI and some physical therapy.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »DiamondRubyMom wrote: »To the original poster, unless you are looking to seriously bulk up, that is not the way you do squats. You knees should never go past you toes. That puts a lot of stress on you knees and leads to arthritis. The easiest way to think about a squat is to pretend there is a chair behind you. Stick your but way out and lower yourself to the "chair." Your knee does not bend more than 90 degrees. Keep you back in a straight line. It doesn't need to be vertical but not curving forward either. Holding or not holding at the bottom is more about endurance verses strength training. I would do multiple sets until your form starts to deteriorate. That's when you stop.
Please, don't give advice on something you know nothing about, Jon Snow.
Newbie mistake
Or someone who thinks it is funny to try to cause someone to harm themselves.
Their advice can end up with someone getting an MRI and some physical therapy.
Nah I think they just are a newbie at squatting. Don't you remember I used to think the knee not pass toe crap until in put up a photo of my ATG and clearly showed knees passing the toes.
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DiamondRubyMom wrote: »To the original poster, unless you are looking to seriously bulk up, that is not the way you do squats. You knees should never go past you toes. That puts a lot of stress on you knees and leads to arthritis. The easiest way to think about a squat is to pretend there is a chair behind you. Stick your but way out and lower yourself to the "chair." Your knee does not bend more than 90 degrees. Keep you back in a straight line. It doesn't need to be vertical but not curving forward either. Holding or not holding at the bottom is more about endurance verses strength training. I would do multiple sets until your form starts to deteriorate. That's when you stop.
please. just. don't.
well he said his hams were doing more of the work for the squat and that statistically his hams were stronger than his quads and I was asking WTF he meant and he said- well I can DL more than I can squat.I think what you were trying to say is that DL's are for working your hams and squats are for working your quads? This is not accurate as with a squat both muscles are engaged but depending on the kind of squat and your form determines what muscles are being worked more.
But that really doesn't mean anything- I'm a quad driven squatter but I still DL more than I can squat =- like I said- that's completely normal- usually someone's a genetic freak or on something else or have an issue physically that they can out squat their own DL.0 -
DiamondRubyMom wrote: »To the original poster, unless you are looking to seriously bulk up, that is not the way you do squats. You knees should never go past you toes. That puts a lot of stress on you knees and leads to arthritis. The easiest way to think about a squat is to pretend there is a chair behind you. Stick your but way out and lower yourself to the "chair." Your knee does not bend more than 90 degrees. Keep you back in a straight line. It doesn't need to be vertical but not curving forward either. Holding or not holding at the bottom is more about endurance verses strength training. I would do multiple sets until your form starts to deteriorate. That's when you stop.
please. just. don't.
well he said his hams were doing more of the work for the squat and that statistically his hams were stronger than his quads and I was asking WTF he meant and he said- well I can DL more than I can squat.I think what you were trying to say is that DL's are for working your hams and squats are for working your quads? This is not accurate as with a squat both muscles are engaged but depending on the kind of squat and your form determines what muscles are being worked more.
But that really doesn't mean anything- I'm a quad driven squatter but I still DL more than I can squat =- like I said- that's completely normal- usually someone's a genetic freak or on something else or have an issue physically that they can out squat their own DL.
Actually I said hams and booty. What about actually feeling it in the quads. I was hinting that I feel squats in my quads.
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Just to reinforce what's been said...
- Don't need *kitten* to the floor, that's *kitten* stupid, just get your legs to parallel for optimal activation of the prime movers
- Results are individualized, if you're just starting squats you will likely feel it everywhere, but you should definitely feel your hamstrings and glutes. You should feel your quads as well.
- Pausing... a good squat can have about a 1-sec pause at the bottom but that's not a paused squat. For a true paused squat, look at 3 to 5 seconds, but honestly since you're a beginner I would say just shoot for the 1-sec paused then come out of the hole, you don't need paused squats yet if at all. Paused squats are good for developing strength out of the hole or for helping with athletic movements, but right now you just need to squat.
- Programming... find something pre-built for you such as StrongLifts5x5, Starting Strenght, New Rules, or 5/3/1 - 5's Progression (Beyond 5/3/1 book).0
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