Let’s start from the basis that there is no perfect universal squat: there is a perfect squat for you. And is that getting a good performance in this exercise depends on many factors: from the type of squat you are doing to your own anatomy. But we can take into account a series of tips that can be applied to everyone when it comes to getting a good squat.
What is the ideal depth of the squat? How should the initial position be? These and other tips to get a perfect squat.
Look for the ideal initial posture: although it is usual to talk about separating the legs to a width a little greater than that of our hips, with the tips of the feet directed slightly towards the outside, this advice does not stop being quite general. There is no standard width to place the legs, but it will depend on each person. Explosive explains to us in this video how we can identify which is the ideal width for us, placing ourselves in quadruped and establishing from there the measurement.
Place the weight on your heels: especially when we do squats in the air (without weight) it is common to put the weight of our body on the tip of the feet and bend the back too far forward. A trick that can serve us is to visualize ourselves trying to push the floor with our heels , thus avoiding putting the weight forward. A trained core, in addition, will help us to keep our back straight and correct posture.
Use your breathing to facilitate exercise: proper breathing can help you perform the movement correctly, and even move more weight. When doing a squat, while we are standing and before starting the movement we take air, we keep it inside (intra-abdominal breathing, not pectoral) as we go down and release it gently while we are going up. The fact of keeping the air in the descent helps us to maintain the tension throughout the movement and to take a proper posture.
Find your ideal depth: the ideal is to go as low as we can, as long as we can maintain a correct posture. The depth of our squat will depend on many factors : the range of motion of our hips and our ankles, whether or not we have the muscles of the posterior chain shortened, our own anatomy (a person with a very long femur in relationship with the tibia may be much lower). Taking these factors into account and working on them we can also increase the depth of our squat.
Do not round the back: throwing the shoulders forward and rounding the back is a common failure when performing the squat. Remember that during the whole journey you must keep your back straight and well aligned: the shoulders back and down, the head in front and a correct breathing as we have indicated before will help us in this task.