27 May Improve Your Squat In TWO Minutes!

By: Brian Carroll

Even if you only take and apply one or two of the following things to your squat form or approach, I’m willing to bet that your squat will be better almost right away. Form is SO important, and each of us are built differently with different leverages.

Like I’ve talked about at great length, have a mental checklist for the main lifts that become automatic with time. Make every rep the same, and really focus on the areas that you struggle with as it takes time to dial in.

Take what applies to you, and use it. Get a little bit better each day. Best of luck!

MAIN LIFT COACHING CUES
SQUAT:
Below parallel, held at the top, and controlled back into the rack.

APPROACH:
• Tighten your belt, and approach the bar with every muscle in your body as tight as possible.
• Unrack the bar with your body lined up straight under it.
• Walk it out slowly, reemphasizing the tightness of your body.
• Make sure your feet are lined up as evenly as possible.
• Be conscious of your lifter’s wedge, gripping the floor like a monkey and bending the bar.

GRIP:
• Get your hands as close to your shoulders as possible. If you have mobility issues, try to move them closer with each successive set.
• Grip the bar tightly with your hands to keep your upper body tight.
TAKEAWAY:
• Think “controlled, but strong and firm” when you unrack the bar.
• Don’t unrack the bar with one foot forward. Walk up, then insert yourself under it with a parallel stance.
• Walk the weight out by taking one step back with either foot.

STANCE:
• Know your leverages. If you have short femurs like me, you won’t be able to start out in a very wide stance.
• Conversely, if you have long legs and a shorter torso, you’ll be able to squat wider.
• Wide stance squatting involves your glutes, hips, and hamstrings a lot more than squatting with a narrow stance.
• If you have a strong posterior chain, wide stance squatting helps take advantage of this strength.

FOOT POSITION:
• Stand with an outward toe angle, with your heels slightly in, then make changes from there.
• Depending on your physiology, you may have problems hitting depth if you don’t have your feet in a modified “turned-out” position.
• Use trial-and-error to figure out the best position from which you can drive from your heels at the bottom of the lift.

HEAD POSITION:
• Don’t look straight up or directly forward.
• Focus on the point where the wall meets the ceiling.

SITTING BACK:
• Assume the correct position, with your elbows locked down, and your head and chest up.
• Once you’ve walked the bar out, your first action should be to push your butt back. Do this before you bend your knees.
• Breaking your hips first is a much more natural motion than doing so with your knees.
• This is another place for your hip hinge. Use it, and save your back.
• From a narrower stance, you’ll have to descend more quickly because you’re recruiting less muscle.
• Descending quickly from a wide stance won’t give you any additional advantage.
• Take a small breath, making sure your entire body is tight, then take a larger breath and start your descent.
• Hold that breath the entire way down, maintaining stiffness and pushing into your belly.

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Brian Carroll

Owner and Founder at PowerRackStrength.com

Brian is a retired world-class powerlifter with over two decades of world-class powerlifting. From 1999 to 2020, Brian Carroll was a competitive powerlifter, one of the most accomplished lifters in the sport's history. Brian started off competing in bench press competitions 'raw,' then, shortly into the journey, he gravitated toward equipped lifting as there were no "raw" categories then. You only had to choose from single-ply (USPF) and Multi-ply (APF/WPC). Brian went on to total 2730 at 275 and 2651 at 242 with more than ten times his body weight in three different classes (220, 242, 275), and both bench pressed and deadlifted over 800 pounds in two other weight classes. He's totaled 2600 over 20 times in 2 different weight classes in his career. With 60 squats of 1000lbs or more officially, this is the most in powerlifting history, regardless of weight class or federation, by anyone not named David Hoff. Brian realized many ups and downs during his 20+ years competing. After ten years of high-level powerlifting competition and an all-time World Record squat at 220 with 1030, in 2009, Brian was competing for a Police academy scholarship. On a hot and humid July morning, Brian, hurdling over a barricade at 275lbs, landed on, fell, and hurt his back. After years of back pain and failed therapy, Brian met with world-renowned back specialist Prof McGill in 2013, which changed his trajectory more than he could have imagined. In 2017, Brian Carroll and Prof McGill authored the best-selling book about Brian's triumphant comeback to powerlifting in Gift of Injury. Most recently (10.3.20) -Brian set the highest squat of all time (regardless of weight class) with 1306 lbs – being the first man to break the 1300lb squat barrier at a bodyweight of 303 lbs.

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