3 Common Mistakes in the Squat

The squat is an often debated lift, high bar or low bar, wide stance or narrow, box squats or free, so on and so on. Regardless of squatting style, there are a few mistakes we see coming up over and over again with athletes in any sport at Juggernaut Seminars and Clinics.

Lack of tension in the set up of the squat will doom you from the start. The setup should be a miserably uncomfortable position because of the extreme tension you’re creating throughout the body. Falling forward in the squat is often a symptom of lack of tension in the setup.

Another key aspect of a big squat is creating great tension through the core. Often the cue, ‘big air in your belly’ or ‘abs out into the belt’ is used but it is an improper cue and not only diminishes performance but can also lead to injury by putting your low back into extension. We want to create 360 degrees of pressure through the torso by circumferential expansion. Learn more about breathing and how it can enhance performance from Juggernaut’s resident breathing expert, Ryan Brown, in his video Breathing 101, his webinar Breathe Your Way To Better Movement and at his Movement Specialty Clinics.

The final common mistake we see in the squat that you can simply fix and immediately add pounds to your squat, is a lack of confidence in the eccentric portion of the lift. Lifters feel a heavy weight on their back and get intimidated, causing them to descend slower with a max weight than with a submaximal load. Approach every weight with purpose and hit the bottom of the lift with confidence to fully exploit the stretch reflex out of the hole.

Go more in depth with these squatting tips with this video from American Record holding raw squatter, Chad Wesley Smith in this video…

Learn more about the squat from Chad in his new ebook, Juggernaut Raw Squat Handbook, available only in the Amazon Kindle store…