The back squat might be one of the most widely performed exercises in the gym. From your gym rat, to newbs, to crossfit and powerlifting, you can find the back squat.
This means there is a lot of room for error. And while not every back squat pattern needs to be same, there are some common + helpful cues across the board.
Before viewing the cues, please note that even cueing is nuanced. One cue might work for one person while it completely throws off the movement and understanding for another client.
That does not mean that you gave a bad cue or that a cue is inherently terrible.
This is something I’ve seen in the past two years or so with polarizing content and it’s dangerous in my opinion.
Telling coaches that using the cue “keep your chest up” during a squat is a terrible cue is just ignorant.
Asking an athlete to drive the knees out might be the right cue for them. And it might not be. Only time in trial and error can change.
This is part of coaching – saying the same thing six different ways until the client or athlete grasps the correction.
If you are an athlete, embrace the long game. Understand that you may have to think about several different cues for the same issue until it clicks. That’s just the process of learning.
There is so much going on during a compound movement like the squat. You will likely only be able to focus on one or two things at a time.
Swipe through the graphics below, look at the cues, and then let me know in thee comments what you typically think about or what has been most helpful for you in honing in on your squats.
Happy squatting!
Do your movement patterns need some help? Struggling to self correct?
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