The squat is one of the most technical lifts, there are numerous benefits of squatting. However, most people are just one mental or physical cue away from not only feeling more comfortable when squatting, but feeling stronger.
Mobilize Your Ankles
A critical component to squatting is being able to allow your knees to freely pass your toes. With tight ankles, this can become a major challenge. The best way to free up those ankles prior to squatting is to do Soleus mobilization prior to your squats. By kneeling on the ground, work on getting your knee past your toes, getting a deep stretch in your Soleus (lower part of your calve). By doing so you will find you are able to stay a bit more “upright” when you squat.
Fire up Your Core
Not properly using your core when you squat is like shooting a cannon our of a canoe. Prior to squatting it is important that we perform some core “activation”. I like to have my athletes perform 2-3 sets of Bird Dogs, this is a great way to work on bracing mechanics, before we get under the bar.
Start Slow
Your first set of squats should be with just the bar, your first set should be nice and slow. Do 5-8 reps, taking 10 seconds down then 5 seconds in the bottom position, slowing ascending for another 5 seconds. This is a great way to drill perfect technique while prepping your body to take on some more load.
