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10 tips to improve your Squat immediately!
The Squat is perhaps the most important exercise an individual can perform during training to improve muscularity and strength. When done properly, the Squat is a full body work out that incorporates a large number of muscles to complete. When ever you hear some one refer to the squat as a “leg” routine, or see you Squatting and comments “Oh, you are doing legs”, that is a sign they do not know how to Squat properly.
Here are 10 quick and easy tips on how to squat correctly. Pay attention, and practise for perfection. This is the biggest key any one can give you to unlocking a stronger, more muscular body, and athletic body. For girls, don’t believe the myth Squatting with weights (and weight lifting in general) will magically turn your body more masculine. It won’t. It will make you look like this…
Reducing fat intake and cardio will not increase muscle mass. It can actually turn you into a “skinny fat” if you are not careful.
For the Fellas who need motivations…
Arnie is the King of weight lifting, and strong advocate of the Squat. He structured his weight training around the Squat to gain the muscle mass needed to shape with additional exercises.
Convinced? Good! Now let’s get to work!
1) Feet placement for balance can be critical!
Once a lifter is accustom to the Squat, the lifter will adjust foot placement to their specific liking. Often Powerlifters and bodybuilders who have been squatting for years will develop their own squatting style (whether sumo stance, shoulder width, or narrow for bounce at the bottom). For beginners, I would suggest feet shoulder width apart, with the toes pointing out on a 45 degree angle. This will help the lifter balance during the Squat. The feet point out on a 45 degree angle will also force the knees to flare outwards, instead of bow inwards, during the lift. Knees pushing out helps turn on the muscles up the posterior chain (the hamstrings and glutes).
2) Take a full breath of air and hold it!
I know your gym teacher taught you to blow out when you lift weights. Your gym teacher was wrong. Picture a large balloon. We are going to put a small rock on this large balloon. If the ballon is not fully inflated, the weight of the rock will push this balloon forward or backward, and change the form of the ballon. This is what happens when your body is not tight and full of air during the Squat.
When you Squat, it is important to take a full breath of air to inflate that balloon. Now the small rock will sit on the balloon, and not cause the balloon to pitch forward or backward, or loose it’s form.
3) Wrap the bar around your body!
I know, physically speaking, it is impossible to take the barbell, and wrap it around your body. However, when you place the barbell on the bottom of your traps and prepare to squat, I want you to try your hardest to do just that! Clinching the barbell and pulling inward as if attempting to bend the bar around your upper body will tighten your back and shoulders. Again, picture the large balloon. You need the balloon to keep it’s form and stay inflated to balance the small rock on top of it. If you are loose up top, you will pitch forward in your squat and loose form. This will put stress on the lower back.
Taking a full breath of air and clinching the barbell as if to wrap it around you will tighten your upper body up, and engage all the muscles in your core and back. This will greatly improve your balance, and also help strengthen your upper body and core, during the lift.
4) Point your elbows toward the ground!
After you have placed your feet, taken a breath of air, and tightened your upper body, a lifter should point their elbows toward the ground. The elbows should remain pointing towards the ground at all times. Picture your elbows as the steering wheel, and your upper body as the wheels. If your elbows point to the ground, your upper body is being directed to stay upright. If your elbows begin to point backwards on a 45 degree angle (which is the most common placement for those who Squat improperly), then the upper body will be directed to pitch forward. This will in turn put a lot of pressure on the lower back. The pressure on the lower back will then work it’s way down the chain and cause the body to adjust and put more pressure on your knees.
It is important to keep your chest out and facing forward. Have a friend look to see if your elbows are pointing to the ground or backwards on a 45 degree angle when you squat. Often lifters are unaware of the placement of their elbows. Or they begin with the elbows pointing down, but shift them on an angle as they Squat closer to parallel.
Keep your elbows pointing down, and your knuckles pointing toward the heavens. Also keep tension on the bar by trying to wrap the barbell around your body. This will keep your upper body tight at all times, and improve your balance!
5) Look up on a 45 degree angle!
When you keep your eye sight upward, and you sit back (with your knees not drifting past your toes, and you keep an arched back…you can sit in the bottom of a squat perfectly balanced
I see people looking at themselves in the mirror all the time when they squat. The best way to keep balance is to remain upright and tight. The body will naturally want to pitch forward with the weight of the barbell on your back as you Squat. Keeping your head tilted on a 45 degree angle upwards, with your eye sight the same, will help keep your upper body up right. Like a person who is beginning to drive, if they look one direction they automatically start steering toward that direction ever so slightly. This is the same with the Squat. Help direct your body in the right direction by controlling your head placement (wrestlers and other athletes already understand the need to keep your head up when lifting).
6) Break at the hips, not the knees!
You can see here that the person is starting to sit back by pushing their hips back, and not sitting straight down by pushing their knees forward.
The person then keeps sitting backward with the knees never pushing forward, or passing their toes. The person must arch their back to sit backwards.
Once you have completed steps 1-5, you are ready to start lowering into the squat (I know, you never thought there was so much to do with the upper body when Squatting, but now you see why I cringe when people think Squatting is for the legs only). Perhaps lowering into the Squat is not the right wording, as you are not so much lowering as you are sitting backwards.
Attempt to keep your knees in the same place while you break at the hips and push your butt backwards as if you are trying to touch an imaginary wall behind you with it. You keep sitting backward, not sitting straight down, reaching for that wall. The wall is not there, so you end up lowering downwards the further back you reach. This movement, when keeping your upper body tight, will cause you to feel as though your are coiling a spring. A tight upper body is critical to keeping balance. As is flaring your knees outward and not forward or inward.
7) Do not let your knees go past your toes!
A good indication you are not sitting backward, and are in fact sitting straight down too much, is if your knees are drifting past your toes. If that is the case, you are no longer loading up your hamstrings and glutes properly, your upper body is pitching forward too much, and your are putting extra pressure and strain on your lower back and knees.
Just like the elbows, ask a friend to watch you squat and to pay attention if your knees drift over your toes. If they are, a red flag should be set off that your are doing something wrong. Likely you need to tighten your upper body and sit further back in your Squat.
A good way to practise sitting back with the Squat is to grab a bench and to place it directly in the middle of the Squat rack. Your feet will be placed straddling the bench, and you will sit backward onto the bench. You do not sit down onto the bench! You never even touch the bench with our butt. You actually are aiming to touch the bench with your inner thighs. This will make you push your butt out and activate your glutes and hamstrings (which powerlifters call “the seat of power”). You merely touch the bench with your inner thighs as a marker for sitting backward, and rise back up as soon as they do touch.
Sitting back on a bench and touching the bench with your inner thighs, not your butt, will help you master sitting back during the Squat and keeping your knees back from drifting over your toes, and activating the glutes and hamstrings
Some times spreading the knees at the bottom of the Squat helps the lifter to achieve the proper depth while not letting their knees drift over their toes. It is at the bottom of the Squat that most lifters have problems keeping their knees back.
8) A flat back is not enough, a proper Squat is an arched back!
Most males Squat with a flat back when they first start. I have noticed it is not natural for them to arch their back when sitting backward into the Squat. This will limit the activation of the posterior chain (“The seat of Power”), and ultimately limit the strength and gains the lifter will get out of the lift. It will also put stress on the lower back. Arching the lower back will help the glutes and hamstrings turn on, and also keep the upper body tight and flexed. A flat back limits all of the above by taking the brunt of the lift. If mastering the arch in the lower back is a problem, I would suggest the lifter practise squatting onto a bench as mentioned in step 7. The lifter will be able to tell if they are squatting with the arch in the lower back or not by what hits the bench they are squatting over. If they touch the bench with their butt, they need to arch their lower back more. If they are touching the bench with their thighs, they are on point (again, you are not sitting onto the bench, you are just touching it and then coming back up).
Looking at this picture one more time, you can see that if the back was not arched than the person would be sitting on the box behind them with their butt. However, with the proper arch shown, they are touching the box with the insides of their thighs.
An arched back is important to squatting properly!
9) Drive upward when in “the hole”!
“The hole” is what powerlifters and bodybuilders call the bottom of the squat. It is important to understand that “the hole” is not a quarter of the way down, or halfway down. “The Hole” is just below parallel. That means you need to squat so the upper part of your leg is parallel to the ground, then the dip just a bit lower so the crook of your hip breaks parallel. That is a full Squat. No less. Any less than that, and you are training partials. Partials are also useful (even lock outs), but should never be mixed up with calling them Squats.
Here is a look at the dept a lifter must achieve for a proper Squat. The top of the leg runs parallel to the ground, and the hip actually break parallel. Video tape your Squat, or ask a friend to make sure you are getting low enough on your Squats!
Once a lifter is in the hole, they are at the most vulnerable part of the lift. They are also at the part of the lift that makes them work the most and in turn gives them the most gains and benefits. That is why it is important to always Squat into the hole, and break parallel with the crook of the hip. Like mentioned before, get a friend to see if you are Squatting low enough (along with if you are keeping your elbows pointing toward the ground, your knees back from your toes, and your head up, chest out).
Once you hit the hole, fire with everything you got to drive upward. Do not pitch forward. Concentrate your force to drive upward. Keeping your chest out, your elbows down, and your head pointing upward will all help with the direction of your drive. If you are looking forward, and your elbows are pointing backward on an angle, than your body is going to be pitched forward slightly. This makes it a lot harder to drive upward for your body. It makes the lift inefficient, and stresses the wrong parts of the lifter.
10) Wash, rinse, and repeat!
Once you have completed the lift, you go through steps 1-10 all over again for every single rep of every single set. That is the rule. That is the unspoken law. The one rep you get lazy can be the one time you injure yourself (especially when you start to move up in weight). Getting lazy with your set up will result in diminished results. Properly Squatting will increase muscularity and strength for your whole body, not just your legs! Your arms are flexed pulling on the bar. Your back and shoulder blades are tight and flexed from the pull on the bar. Your chest is out and head up, activating your core and midsection. Your sitting back on the Squat activates the full lower part of your body correctly and efficiently.
When you have mastered the Squat, these 10 steps will not take long to do. In fact, a lifter can set up a squat with all 10 points in a second between every rep once they have them down. However, it is important for a lifter to rehearse these steps with light weight until they have them to memory. To do so, have a friend watch your Squat from the side and to look for the following…
-Is your head up?
-Is your elbows pointing down?
-Did you take a big breath?
-Is your knees drifting over your toes? Are your knees flaring outward like they should in the hole?
-Are you breaking parallel with the crook of your hip?
Thats it for now. Now go Squat and you can thank me later when you see the results!!!
****The author, 6 Pack Lapadat, is a National Powerlifting Champion and Guinness World Record holder in the Squats. See bio section for more info on him!****
6 PACK – BACK at ST.LEO’s for the CAR FLIP,CAR SQUAT & GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
HERE WE GO!
Another Angle
YUP!
And he ripped off the bumper…!!!
Awesome Posters St. Leo’s
Wearing the 2012 “Do You Believe” 6 Pack T-Shirt
6 Pack signatures are priceless apparently.
After flipping a twelve hundred pound car, 6 Pack promised the kids at St. Leo’s School a Guinness World Record Attempt. Showing them that anything that you put your mind to, is attainable. Along with quotes from his first visit, “I can’t, won’t and impossible… those words don’t mean anything to us”, reinforces the message to the children that he will not quit on them.
Setting up for the 1 minute Squat record.
Exhausted, but the record is now broken!
As a show closer 6 Pack Lapadat decided he had enough gas left in the tank to squat the flipped car. Absolutely amazing to see so many feats of strength in one day. The kids at St. Leo’s were promised a memorable day, and I think they got it.
6 stays until the last child gets a 6 Pack signature.
Training for Car Flip at St. Leo’s
875lbs training tire
There it goes
After training acupuncture care of Stephan
Speaks for itself.
Stephan thinks he has the “Force”. The wires are sending an electric pulse through 6 Packs back.
*Photography courtesy of Emylee Aguas
6 Pack Lapadat Visits St. Leo’s – A Local Superhero
A captivated crowd at St. Leo’s School
Media filming 6 Pack Lapadat proposing a 3 Star Challenge to the children of St. Leo’s School
6 Pack Speaking with Toronto journalist
6 Pack & Louis Szpeflicki
6 Pack & Emylee Aguas
*Photography courtesy of Emylee Aguas
6 Pack Lapadats “Canada’s Got Talent” Audition Pics
North American B-25J Mitchell Bomber
C/O Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
9280 Airport Road
Mount Hope, Ontario
6 Pack Lapadat suiting up for incredible Bomber pull!
21 100lbs moving via 6 Pack
Made it through the first round.
*Photography courtesy of Emylee Aguas
6 Pack’s first appearance on Get Stuffed (video)
Here is a preview to 6 Pack’s first appearance on the new hit OLN TV show, Get Stuffed (tuesdays at 9pm)
Canada’s Got Talent Backstage Strongman interview: 6 Pack Lapadat
Canada’s Got Talent Strongman: 6 Pack Lapadat
Oli Thompson: Strongman/UFC MMA fighter
Oli Thompson (born 2 January, 1980) is a British strongman, mixed martial artist and former holder of the title Britain’s Strongest Man. Thompson is a member of Wolfslair MMA Academy. He is a former UCMMA Heavyweight Champion.
Early life
Thompson was born 2 January , 1980 in East Sussex. He played rugby union at English county level and decided to try weight training. Thus, when he was 19 he joined Physiques gym in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex and within a matter of weeks he had broken the gym record for dead-lifting with a 260 kg lift. This prompted him to start to focus more on a strict routine of weight and strength in order to become a strength athlete.
Strongman career
Thompson’s first competition was the 2001 UK’s Strongest Man qualifier. Although he did not qualify, he gained experience and remained focussed on only competing in professional level events. In 2002 he won Kent’s Strongest Man, taking first place in 5 out of 6 events. He went on to qualify in 2003 for Britain’s Strongest Man (“BSM”), and in 2004 surpassed all expectations when he came third. This earned him the right to compete alongside the top strength athletes in the world at the Moscow Super Series 2004 (known as the 2004 Russia Grand Prix, although in 2004 this was not part of the WSM Super Series and again later in the year at Europe’s Strongest Man in Poland.
In 2005 he opted to compete in the IFSA British Championships which was set up in direct rivalry with the BSM after IFSA parted company with the BSM and World’s Strongest Man competition organiser TWI. He finished second in that competition to Mark Felix.[1] Like many British strongmen he returned to the TWI British circuit in 2006 and won Britain’s Strongest Man that year. He also competed in the 2006 IFSA World Championship where he made the final and came 8th.[2] Disaster struck in February 2007, whilst he was training for the Mohegan Sun Super Series. He was deadlifting and he tore his biceps. Reportedly, he said that it did not hurt. He went on to say “No, there are no nerves in there, it didn’t hurt. I just heard it snap and I was just aware of it. You can feel it come up, but there’s no pain.”[2] Although the biceps was repaired Thompson has reported that it feels different and that “it’s just not quite as smooth.” Although he has said that he does not think it will ever be the same, he has also said that: “When I get to a competition, I won’t be holding back because of my arm. I’ve already won Britain’s Strongest Man – you don’t want to go down – you’ve got to try and win Britain’s Strongest Man again or it’s pointless. So I’ve got to win it really. That’ll be how I judge where I go from there – if I win it or not. Second place isn’t something I’ll be chuffed with.“[2] Thompson trained intensively with training partner Scott Reid[disambiguation needed 
], the 2007 Britain’s Strongest Man in the 105 kg weight class. He went on to qualify for the finals of Britain’s Strongest Man in 2008 and won his heat in the process. However, the injury was too proximate for him to fully challenge for the title in a field that was widely reported to have been one of the strongest ever.
Thompson had been closely associated with IFSA in the past but states that he always did what he wanted to do. Prior to the BSM 2008 he stated that “If I don’t qualify for Britain’s Strongest Man I may well end up doing the IFSA World Championships.”.[2]
As well as Thompson’s successful British finals, he also won the South England Strongest Man title three times (2003, 2004 and 2006) and Sussex Strongest Man on three consecutive occasions from 2003 to 2005. He has also competed in a number of Grand Prix events in Dubai, Latvia, Hungary.[2] Thompson, who is 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall and weighs 20st, is now in training for the world title in Helsinki in November. He is following in the footsteps of former British and Olympic shot-put champion Geoff Capes who twice won the world strongman title.
Mixed martial arts career
| Oli Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1980-01-02) January 2, 1980 (age 32) East Sussex, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg; 16.8 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Fighting out of | London, England |
| Team | ZT Fight School |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 12 |
| Wins | 9 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 5 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 3 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Oli Thompson made his MMA debut on 3 Feb 2009, defeating Ashley Pollard by a second round arm triangle choke. He has continued to fight since then, On 26 March 2011, after amassing a record of 7-2, with his only losses coming to future UFC heavyweight Rob Broughton and former UFC fighter Joe Vedepo, Thompson took on defending UCMMA champion Ben Smith at UCMMA 19. Thompson won via second round rear naked choke, becoming the new UCMMA Heavyweight Champion.[3] He then defended his title at UCMMA 21 – Stand Your Ground against boxer-turned mixed martial artist Mark Potter, again winning by rear naked choke, this time in the first round.[4]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Thompson signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was expected to make his debut against Philip De Fries at UFC 138.[5] However, Thompson was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Rob Broughton.[6]
Thompson made his official debut against UFC newcomer Shawn Jordan at UFC on FX 2. He lost the fight via TKO in the 2nd round after a back and forth fight.[7]
Thompson now looks set to face De Fries once again at UFC On Fox 4, in his second Octagon outing.[8]
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | [show] | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 matches | 9 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 2 |
| By submission | 5 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 9–3 |  Shawn Jordan |
TKO (knee and punches) | UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann | 02012-03-033 March 2012 | 2 | 3:53 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 9–2 |  Mark Potter |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | UCMMA 21 – Stand Your Ground | 02011-06-2626 June 2011 | 1 | 2:55 | London England | Defended UCMMA Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | 8–2 | Ben Smith |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | UCMMA – Lights Out | 02011-03-2626 March 2011 | 2 | 3:44 | London, England | Won UCMMA Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | 7–2 |  Nikki Kent |
TKO (punches) | ZTFN: Enter the Octagon | 02010-12-033 December 2010 | 1 | N/A | Hove, East Sussex | |
| Win | 6–2 |  Tomasz Czerwinski |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | ZTFN: Stand Your Ground | 02010-07-3131 July 2010 | 1 | N/A | Eastbourne, East Sussex | |
| Win | 5–2 | Ian Hawkins |
Decision (unanimous) | UCMMA – Feel the Pain | 02010-06-2020 June 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
| Loss | 4–2 | Rob Broughton |
Decision (unanimous) | ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide | 02010-01-3030 January 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Hove, England | |
| Loss | 4–1 | Joe Vedepo |
TKO (punches) | ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide | 02010-01-3030 January 2010 | 2 | 1:24 | Hove, England | |
| Win | 4–0 | Steve Day |
KO (punch) | ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide | 02010-01-3030 January 2010 | 1 | 1:07 | Hove, England | |
| Win | 3–0 | Tomasz Kamienczyk |
TKO (punches) | ZT Fight Night: Night of Champions | 02009-08-2121 August 2009 | 1 | N/A | Hove, England | |
| Win | 2–0 | Ashley Pollard |
Submission (punches) | ZT Fight Night 16: The Heat is on | 02009-06-1919 June 2009 | 1 | 2:19 | Hove, England | |
| Win | 1–0 | Ashley Pollard |
Submission (arm triangle choke) | ZT Fight Night 15 | 02009-04-033 April 2009 | 2 | N/A | Hove, England |
References
- ^ 20 June 2005 IFSA Strongman Press Release
- ^ a b c d e Interview with Oli Thompson
- ^ UCMMA Official Website: UCMMA 19 Results
- ^ http://www.fullmount.co.uk/index.php/mma-news/1-latest-news/1345-ucmma-21-results
- ^ “Sources: Thompson-De Fries Targeted for UFC 138 in England”. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Sources-Thompson-De-Fries-Targeted-for-UFC-138-in-England-34374. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
- ^ “After injuries, De Fries-Broughton slated for UFC 138”. mmajunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25705/after-injuries-de-fries-broughton-slated-for-ufc-138-brown-baczynski-at-ufc-139.mma. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ “UFC on FX 2:Alves vs. Kampmann”. mmajunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/event/876/ufc-on-fx-2.mma. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ “UK UFC News – Phil De Fries vs. Oli Thompson At UFC On Fox 4”. YourMMA.tv. http://www.yourmma.tv/news/details.asp/id/2157/phil-de-fries-vs-oli-thompson-ufc-on-fox-4.htm. Retrieved 09 May 2012.
External references
- UFC Profile
- IFSA Strongman rankings
- Pro Muscle Mag interview
- http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/sport/Thompson-set-for-Ultimate-Challenge.4905400.jp
- Sherdog MMA Profile
6 Pack Lapadat 