Squat tips?

Bendiz_
Bendiz_ Posts: 278 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I would appreciate it if someone could help me out a little bit with my squats. I feel like I have always struggled with doing squats. I have had PT lessons for this purpose too, but I still feel clumsy doing them, and I'm not really progressing.

I can't go further than a little above parallel doing them with my heels to the ground (and my heels really want to lift off). If I elevate my heels by 0.8inches (2cm), it turns into a different movement, and I can sit down with my butt almost touching the ground for quite a while. When I try to do squats without weights and try to go below parallel, I just fall over backward.

I feel like the 0.8inch elevated squat also feels 100% safer for my back (which tends to hurt when I try to do regular squats). Any tips on making it feel natural to do squats without needing to elevate my heels? I really want to be able to do a full squat.

Would really appreciate it if someone has any tips on this :)
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Replies

  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,608 Member
    There are some experienced PTs and lifters here who will give you advice but - physically you might just not have the mobility to squat *kitten* to grass without wearing lifters or squatting with your heels up on small plates. To go low on squats you need good ankle mobility and hip mobility - you can defo work on those, but maybe see if you can borrow a pair of lifters to try. Ultimately, unless you want to compete, squatting to your natural limit is still good for you. And even a lot of powerlifters wear lifters to get the depth.

    Also worth considering if you’re squatting high bar or low bar, as they have different back positions and one may suit you better than the other (high bar you tend to squat more upright, low bar powerlifting style can have more of a forward lean).
  • Bendiz_
    Bendiz_ Posts: 278 Member
    claireychn074 wrote: »
    There are some experienced PTs and lifters here who will give you advice but - physically you might just not have the mobility to squat *kitten* to grass without wearing lifters or squatting with your heels up on small plates. To go low on squats you need good ankle mobility and hip mobility - you can defo work on those, but maybe see if you can borrow a pair of lifters to try. Ultimately, unless you want to compete, squatting to your natural limit is still good for you. And even a lot of powerlifters wear lifters to get the depth.

    Also worth considering if you’re squatting high bar or low bar, as they have different back positions and one may suit you better than the other (high bar you tend to squat more upright, low bar powerlifting style can have more of a forward lean).

    Thanks a lot for the insightful reply. I have no plan to compete, I just want to make it feel more natural to stay in a squat position so that strength is my limiting factor and not the movement itself. It's so much fun to push yourself to improve both technically and strength-wise. I feel like I prefer to have somewhat of a wide stance and a low bar. I do some mobility exercises for the posterior chain everyday, so I'll add in some hip and ankle mobility exercises to do too! Thank you for your advice :)
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,608 Member
    Ultimately if you want a low squat, you will need to work gradually on getting low and being comfortable in that position - without any weight to start with. I’m hypermobile and a weightlifter so I can get low naturally, but I’ve seen people with limited mobility get lower - it just depends on how much you want it.

    A good ankle exercise is to put your foot up on a high plate (25kg bumper) and lunge into that foot, so that your knee goes over your toes. When that becomes easy, you can push down on your knee or put a weight on your knee BUT you need to be gentle - it’s easy to hurt your ankle ligaments. Google banded ankle stretches and you’ll find similar variations. Be wary of back pain as that could be hip mobility, butt wink or even knees caving in as much as posterior chain - film yourself from the side and check your form. Good luck!
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,848 Member
    As mentioned above, hip mobility and ankle mobility work should help. You may also have to figure out your best legs angle for a deeper squat, which will depend on the hip sockets you were born with. That's one reason why Eastern Europeans are better at Olympic weightlifting. There are a couple of ways you can figure out the best angle for yourself. If you can't find it, I can dig up a YT vid or two for you.

    Also as mentioned above, look out for that dreaded butt wink. You definitely don't want that. Record yourself to confirm that's not happening as you try to go deeper.
  • Bendiz_
    Bendiz_ Posts: 278 Member
    claireychn074 wrote: »
    Ultimately if you want a low squat, you will need to work gradually on getting low and being comfortable in that position - without any weight to start with. I’m hypermobile and a weightlifter so I can get low naturally, but I’ve seen people with limited mobility get lower - it just depends on how much you want it.

    A good ankle exercise is to put your foot up on a high plate (25kg bumper) and lunge into that foot, so that your knee goes over your toes. When that becomes easy, you can push down on your knee or put a weight on your knee BUT you need to be gentle - it’s easy to hurt your ankle ligaments. Google banded ankle stretches and you’ll find similar variations. Be wary of back pain as that could be hip mobility, butt wink or even knees caving in as much as posterior chain - film yourself from the side and check your form. Good luck!

    Thank you so much for taking your time to write this! I appreciate it a lot. I'll practice and train my ankle + hip mobility and film myself to see what to correct and if my mobility in this position improves. Thank you, thank you <3 I'm coming for that low squat 👀
  • Bendiz_
    Bendiz_ Posts: 278 Member
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    As mentioned above, hip mobility and ankle mobility work should help. You may also have to figure out your best legs angle for a deeper squat, which will depend on the hip sockets you were born with. That's one reason why Eastern Europeans are better at Olympic weightlifting. There are a couple of ways you can figure out the best angle for yourself. If you can't find it, I can dig up a YT vid or two for you.

    Also as mentioned above, look out for that dreaded butt wink. You definitely don't want that. Record yourself to confirm that's not happening as you try to go deeper.

    That is an excellent tip! I've noticed that I have literally no way of going below parallel with a too-narrow stance. I'll check out some videos and record myself when squatting :) Thanks!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    Without seeing your actual squat I can only make a guess. As mentioned you may not have the flexibility to keep your heels down when you squat below parallel. I would say try getting weight lifting shows since they have lifted heels already. Some of my clients don't squat well with bar squats so we use the hex bar instead for them and they do much better because they don't lean either way too much. Also experiment with foot width spacing to find out what's more comfortable.


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  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    edited October 2022
    Another thing: What are you trying to do with your back while you squat? Do you try to keep it as vertical as possible? Asking because the ratio between upper and lower body length, and the ratio between upper and lower legs plays a big role on how your squat will look like. I for example can't squat with a half vertical upper body because my anatomy means I will fall over backwards if I do. Unless I lift my heals. My lower legs are relatively short compared to my thighs, and hence my bum goes very far to the back. So I need to use my upper body as counterweight a lot more. Lifting my heals prolongs my lower legs and hence I can squat more upright.

    Another thought: when I was on vacation in China many years ago I saw people everywhere squatting down to rest. Feet flat on the ground, eat lunch or rest a bit, then get up and walk on. Ok, I am hypermobile thus this was never much of a problem for me. But I taught students to do the same when out on fieldwork in rubbish weather. Why not try it for a moment every day. You'll eventually get more flexible.
  • capgordon1293
    capgordon1293 Posts: 149 Member
    Hey there I hear u I have same issues with squats but definitely find doing them without shoes on and even putting heals on small weight plates lying flat to stop heals lifting . But most of all don't rush take ur time
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,630 Member
    Personally, my depth is much lower when I do sumo squats with my feet VERY wide apart. Started doing them because they're easier on my knees, but kept doing them for the depth.
  • serpentegena
    serpentegena Posts: 43 Member
    I see nobody here has mentioned a Smith machine. It changed my life for squats! On the Smith machine, the barbell moves along a rail, helping you to better anchor your movement without falling over backwards, and it decouples your stabilizing muscles a little. Maybe you won't necessarily adopt it, but I think at least trying to do your squats on a Smith machine might help you ascertain what is preventing you from going any lower. If you feel like you're more stable using it, then it might have simply been a matter of balance. If it's still the same, maybe you're doing the dreaded butt wink...?

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