Monday, June 16, 2008

Squat. And don't die.

After my squat rant the other day, Charlotte asks:

I love lower body work. I really do. But please tell me how to do heavy squats without getting hemorrhoids. Not trying to be gross. Just saying it took a good six weeks to recover from my last 1-rep max.


She raises an excellent point. Squatting is one of the best things you can do for your body because it involves so many muscles working together to do so many things all at once. Unfortunately, this also means that if you're doing something wrong, you have the opportunity to mess yourself up in so many different ways.

So how do you squat safely? Follow my simple, patent-pending 4-step program:

1 - Learn technique.

The squat is the most technically complex of the "slow lifts." It's worth taking some time to understand exactly what you should be doing before loading up a bar and putting it on your back.

If you can afford it and can find a good coach in your area, in-person training is the best way to learn. If you can't get one-on-one training, then there are plenty of resources out there. Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe is generally regarded as the Holy Gospel of Strength Training and will tell you everything you need to know about the squat, deadlift, bench press, press, power clean and other lifts. There are plenty of useful videos out there in the inter-webs, too. I'd recommend the Squat Rx videos.

2 - Practice.

As with any physical skill, learning to squat takes practice. Use a light weight -- the empty bar works just fine -- and practice doing all the things you learned to do from your extensive study of technique.

If you have access to a video camera, tape yourself squatting and then watch it to make sure your body is really doing what you think it's doing. You can even post the video online and ask for people to critique your form -- the Crossfit Message Boards and Rippetoe's thread over at Strength Mill are two great places for this.

3 - Take it slow

Once you feel comfortable with the movement and have a reasonable degree of certainty that you're doing it correctly, increase the weight in a CONTROLLED, GRADUAL and METHODICAL way. Increase your weight by a set increment between workouts: 10 pounds at the beginning, moving down to 5 pound or even 2.5 pound increases once the weight starts getting heavier. Making big jumps in weight that your body isn't prepared for (even though you think it is) is a great way to injure yourself.

4 - Rinse and repeat

Tiger Woods is possibly the greatest golfer ever, and his swing causes golf aficionados to drool all over their Nike Dri-Fit polos. But no two swings he's ever taken were identical, and he's completely re-tooled his swing more than once.

Squatting is no different -- even when you've been doing it for years, your squat is constantly changing and you need to be constantly monitoring your form to make sure everything is going well. Once you think you've gotten the squat down pat, take occasional form check videos to make sure you're really still on track, or ask a knowledgeable coach or friend to watch you squat. "Form creep" happens to everyone, and the earlier you spot and correct the little things that start to go wrong, the better off you'll be.

5 - BONUS! A few assorted tips

Some tips for safe & fun squatting for the entire family:


  • Always warm up before squatting. A general warm-up to break a light sweat plus a set or two of light squats before your "work sets" will go a long way to keep you safe.

  • No 1 rep maxes for beginners! Hate to call Charlotte out like this, but she probably shouldn't have been doing a 1 rep max in the first place. Things WILL go wrong in a 1 rep max attempt, and you should have a good deal of experience under the bar before even attempting one. Unless you're training to compete in a strength sport, 1 rep maxes aren't really ever necessary in your training. And many competitive lifters don't attempt a true 1 rep max outside of meets, anyway.

  • Always have some sort of spotter handy. This can mean that you have the safety bars in a power rack or squat rack set to a height that will catch the bar if you get stuck at the bottom of a squat, or just that you have a friend who knows how to safely spot you standing by watching you in case things get out of hand.



Take the time to learn to squat safely and correctly, and you'll reap the benefits for years. Try to do too much weight too soon without learning proper form, and you might end up like this guy.

4 comments:

Charlotte said...

Thanks Lucas! I'm in total agreement with you in that I probably shouldn't have doing my max yet. If you recall, I was doing it because Andrew called me "skinny fat" and then challenged me to do the Rippetoe standards test. Which I did. And I proved (I think) that I've got a fair amount of muscle. Sadly, I also proved what can happen when one adds too much weight too quickly. Sigh.

Great tips!
PS> I have read Starting Strength:)

Anonymous said...

I love the squat.

one of the biggest reasons I miss training with my husband as he and I could CRANK EM OUT.

alone? Im half as good.

MizFit

PJNOIR said...

Squats are GREAT. I never had a roid problem due to them although I have had roids when I was younger and ate crap most of the time.
Squats and DEADLIFTS are the two best lifts/exercises you can do. They are not Lower body lifts. Both lifts use more different full body muscles than anything else. go for it. ps- as a diabetic- these two lifts drop my sugar numbers lower and well past the workout. Blood pressure down too. Squats and Deadlifts are tops!

PJNOIR said...

Please.... Tiger has always had a repeatable swing and they were always identical. He changed his swing in order to simplify the moving parts under pressure. ALL pga pros have repeatable golf strokes- they bank their earnings on it.