3 Common Squat Mistakes & How to Fix it!

The squat. It's one of those staple exercises that you should probably be throwing into your routine. It's one of those staple exercises that's been around forever. It's a basic human movement that we all need to get good at. Now, before we just jump right into the barbell back squat like I'm doing right here, alright, we should build up to this hard, complex movement with load on our back. Ryan Butler here with Reset U Fitness, and today, guys, I'm going to show you ways you can dial back your squat, regress your squat from a barbell back squat into something that's a little bit safer and easier for you to handle. All right, now a lot of times what happens, guys, when I watch people squat, right, I've been doing this for years now, there's a lot of issues that can come up. For instance, when you squat, sometimes you may shade to one side, okay, and you really get that like single leg imbalance. I've also seen people, you know, when they go down to squat, they kind of go up on their toes like this and put all the pressure their knees and get the knee pain, right? Or even when they're trying to sit here squatting and they just basically tip over, right? All these are pretty common issues that I've seen when squatting. So in order to dial it back, we've got to make sure that we find the right squat for us to make sure we stay pain-free. So if you feel like you're almost there to that barbell back squat but you're not quite to the perfect form that you want to be, the next step down that you can go to is a barbell front squat, right? So instead of having the bar on your back, you're gonna hold the go ahead and rest it on your shoulders. There's a few ways you can do this. You can put it up just like I have it right here. We can also go with the crossed arm method, or what I like to use for beginners actually is even just the straight arm method. So this is the front squat right here, guys, where you load the barbell in the front of your body and then you squat. Okay, this allows your spine to stay a little bit more upright because the weight is front-loaded versus being on your back, causing you to fall forward. The next progression after the barbell front squat would be the barbell zercher squat. All right, so for the barbell zercher squat, you're actually going to want to get the barbell right into the crook of your arms, right in there. I also like to go with the crossover hand method right there, kind of secure it in place. So this is another front-loaded squat, except the weight is a little bit lower down in a natural holded position or holding position. Um, again, it helps you just keep your spine more upright and straight. So here's the Zercher squat for you. Go down and then back up. Now notice I'm able to sit back a little bit more because the weight is in front of me and it's slightly going out to counterbalance me leaning forward. So the Zercher squat is a great exercise, guys. Kind of forgotten exercise that should be utilized more if the barbell back squat and the barbell front squat is not quite, uh, if you're not quite ready for those squats yet. After the Zercher squat, guys, if that is still maybe a little too difficult for you, there's another exercise that's quite similar to it. Instead of using a barbell though, you're going to be using a dumbbell. All right? And this is called the goblet squat. So a goblet squat can also be done using a kettlebell as well. Uh, for this instance, I'm using a dumbbell. How you want to hold it is hold it up at the top part of the dumbbell, Get your palms underneath it and it'll sit nicely, kind of like on a table right there. And then you grab the rest of the weight. All right. This one again allows you to keep the weight out in front of you a little bit more and keep your spine more neutral. So here you're going to want to tuck your shoulders, your elbows down, chest forward, head up, and go ahead and squat down for the goblet squat. Now what I always like to go to is elbows. To knees, kind of a good indicator for yourself how far to go down. So this is a much safer and a much easier regression down away from the barbell that allows you to grab a lighter weight. The next exercise, guys, is a box squat. Now, personally, I like adding this in earlier into the, the regressions, right? So preferably when you're doing a goblet squat an air squat, maybe a zurcher squat, we should throw a box behind you. All right, it's something you should dial in and learn before you progress to a barbell, essentially. So why we want to use a box, guys, for a box squat is primarily for the reason of trusting yourself, right? A lot of this— times when I see people squat is they don't have confidence in themselves to be able to sit back and hold their weight up. So The box is there kind of as a safety mechanism, kind of as like a little safety net for your mind just to say, okay, if I fall back, I got a chair right there, I got a box right there. So you're going to set up like you normally would for a squat, but instead of going all the way down, right, I'm going to represent this with the goblet squat. You're going to go down, touch your butt to the box, and then back up. All right, so, uh, lowers your range of motion to start. So you don't have to go down nearly as far, but it also gives you that trust that you have something back there to support you in case you do kind of fall back. All right, so there you have it, guys. That's the next regression. If you can't quite do a goblet squat or an air squat all the way yet, go ahead, add the box in and see if it makes it quite easier for you. And finally, guys, the last progression down. If you want to squat but maybe you're not quite confident enough to do all those other exercises, the barbell ones, the Zurcher, the goblet squat, right? And maybe the, the box squat just isn't for you yet, right? The final exercise you can do is a simple air squat. Okay, that just means your body weight. So you're going to be right here. I like to put my hands in front of my body similar to a goblet squat. All right, All right, and then you go down with no weight. Now here's a little cheat that I always like to tell my clients to, to help them keep their spine upright and their chest up and not falling forward on an air squat is when they have their hands right here is to go with a press away. All right, so you're going to lower yourself down and slowly press your arms away from your body and then bring them close as you go back up. All right, it just gives you again, similar to zerg squat, gives you that counterbalance that you need stay a little bit more upright in your squatting position. That's how you do it, guys. If you want to be able to squat pain-free and still be able to build muscles, right, be able to get really good at this squat, then try these exercises. But the number one thing you got to do is make sure that you are balanced out and utilizing all the proper muscles that you need to use. So if you have no idea if you're doing that, go ahead, talk to one of us at Reset U Fitness. That's what we're here for, guys. We're here to help you Dial in whatever's going on with your body. So I'm Ryan Butler, guys. Again, that is how you're going to squat for longevity right there and keep trying to progress yourself up. All right, until next time, talk to you later.