Squat mechanics 101

If there is one movement that is massively influenced by individual body-type, it’s the squat. Do you have long legs and a short torso? Then you probably have to lean forward quite a bit when squatting just to keep the center of gravity over your feet and not fall on your ass. For those with short legs and a longer torso on the other hand, an upright torso position is the way to be stable and strong. Both of these techniques are totally fine, but they result in vastly different muscular (and strength) development from what is considered to be exactly the same exercise. Lucky for us though, these differences typically result in quite predictable sticking points within the squat. And those sticking points are combated quite easily with the right selection of exercises.

The squat can be divided into roughly two movement phases: the bottom and the top phase. The bottom phase is quite literally the bottom half of the movement, from the 'bounce' out of the hole up to the point where the hips are just above the knees. Strong quads and adductors are needed here. The top phase then naturally starts at the point where the hips are just above the knees, up to standing fully erect. Where strong legs are an asset in the bottom of the squat, a strong back and hips are what help drive you through the top phase.

Unfortunately these two phases are a bit harder to distinguish than in the deadlift, because the squat allows for more room to wiggle. In other words: technique usually breaks down well before the barbell stops moving. Those that are weak in the bottom tend to not immediately stall once they're out of the bottom bounce, but ‘fall forward’ instead, and kind of ‘good morning’ the weight back up. A.k.a. the unintentional stripper squat. On the contrary, those who struggle with the top phase tend to easily blast their way up to well above thighs-parallel-to-the-floor, to only come to a grinding halt (and often collapse their upper backs) quite high up.

Similar to dealing with sticking points in the bench press or deadlift, being slow or weak in a particular phase of the squat means that training squatting variations which accentuate that particular phase will work wonders. Also, strengthening the muscles associated with that phase will naturally help.

Let’s talk exercise selection.

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Low sticking point:

How to identify: Massive slow down shortly after the bottom bounce; tendency to ‘fall forward’ in the bottom while accelerating again at the top of the lift. Usually accompanied by a comparatively strong deadlift and average squat. Notorious among long-legged lifters.

Weakness: Quads (and possibly the adductors)

Effective strategy: Squats that either accentuate the bottom portion of the lift, or squats that force moving with an upright torso

Typical go-to's: Front squats, safety bar squats, low box squats, Anderson front squats, bottom paused squats, close stance squats with a high bar position, close stance leg press, hack squat, Bulgarian split squats

Example lift for working on a low sticking point: Anderson front squat

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High sticking point:

How to identify: Really fast 'out of the hole', with a tendency to stall two thirds of the way up. Often accompanied by a collapsing upper back. Often seen in those with strong squats and comparatively weak deadlifts. Notorious among short-legged lifters.

Weakness: Back (and hips)

Effective strategy: Squats that accentuate the top part of the movement, lots and lots of good mornings, targeted hip extension work

Typical go-to's: Squats against bands, partial deadlifts, good mornings (also off pins), SSB good mornings, bent hip good mornings, box squats, hip thrusts, back extensions

Example lift for working on a high sticking point: Good Morning

That concludes the powerlifting trilogy! It may be a bit more difficult to spot your own weak point within this lift compared to the bench press or deadlift, but I assure you that it will be well worth the effort. Just take a minute to analyze your technique, and then pick the exercises for your new program accordingly. When I originally struggled hard to squat over 200kg, years ago, I used the guidelines laid out in this article to train much more efficiently, and eventually made it to the 260kg mark. Now, let’s see if we can get you to 265kg. :-)

Good luck!

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