Here are some tips to ensure you have the correct technique when doing squats.
1) Find Your Footing:
Positioning your feet wide, like a sumo squat, will target the glutes and inner quads. A narrow stance will focus on the outer area of the legs and develop more quad sweep.
2) Head In The Game:
Never look down, because glancing downward will flex your cervical spine and put pressure on the disks in your neck.
3) Watch Your Weight:
Do not trade form for weight. A bunch of plates jammed onto the bar might boost your ego, but it will not improve your legs. Go lighter and perfect the mechanics until your form is perfect.
4) How Low Should You Go:
Descend until you upper legs are parallel to the ground. Stopping short of that position can detract from full upper-leg development.
5) Ramp up the Reps:
Consistency with reps could short-change growth. The majority should fall into the 8-12 rep range. The legs respond well to higher reps, but don’t hesitate to ramp it up to 15 reps if you feel inclined.
6) Rest Remix:
Two to three minutes rest between sets should be plenty of time to recover. Just as you do with reps, mix it up. Shorter rest periods of a minute or 30 seconds will exhaust the muscle, allow for a larger build up of lactic acid and cause the body to release more growth hormone.
7) Wrap It Up:
In the past, it was widely believed that knee wraps prohibited muscle activity, because of the reliance on the wraps’ elasticity. A Study conducted by a University in Georgia, shows that wraps do not interfere with muscle growth and may even allow you to go heavier.
8) Belt It Out:
Use a weight belt when squatting up to or exceeding 80% of your one-rep max. An added benefit of a belt is it can further increase pressure in the abdominal cavity for better stabilisation of the spine.
9) Knees and Toes:
You’ve heard it all before. Extending your knees over your toes will cause injury. Not necessarily. A new study shows that trying to prevent this actually placed more stress on the lower back, and that the knees experienced less stress when they did extend past the toes.
10) Partial Squats:
Develop bigger teardrop muscles by performing only the upper half of the movement with heavier weight, as this is when the muscle receives most of the stress. Do two or three sets of these before moving onto full squats.
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