Squat Form Deconstructed Part 1 – Overview of the Squat

Squats have long been a staple in the strength and conditioning world. They are a core component of training programs for both novice lifters and competitive athletes. Despite how ubiquitous the squat is, most people lack a deep understanding of everything involved in the movement pattern and what it takes to have good squat form. The squat is a complex coordinated movement that requires a great deal of mobility and stability at multiple joints throughout the body. This series will take you through each component of the squat. By the end, you will have a much better understanding of the movement and how you can squat with maximal benefit and minimal risk. In this article, I will go through a high-level overview of the squat so that we are all on the same page before getting into the nitty gritty details.

What is a Squat?

This may seem like a silly question, but I think it’s important to define the squat and specifically which variations will be discussed in this series. Our working squat definition is – a combined movement that lowers one’s body toward the ground, bringing the buttocks closer to the heels as if to crouch or sit. While there are many squat variations, we will be focusing on only double-limb squats with the feet aligned with one another in the frontal plane (the plane that splits your body in half front-to-back). Although much of the information from this article applies to other stance orientations such as split-stance and single-leg squats, these variations include additional biomechanical requirements that I will not be focusing heavily on here.

Squat FOrm – Involved Joints

As mentioned above, the squat is a complicated movement pattern that involves synchronized motion at multiple joints throughout the body. I’m going to focus on the major joints in this series as this is where the bulk of issues arise. The major joint complexes involved in the squat are the joints of the spine, hips, knees, and ankles. Other joints may be involved to varying degrees depending on the specific variation you are using (i.e. shoulders for barbell back squat; elbow and wrist for barbell front squat), but these four are at play in all squat types. Good squat form depends on sufficient mobility and stability at each of these regions. Limitations in one area will often cause overload and breakdown in another. Next, I’ll quickly go over the movement at each of these major joint regions.

The Spine in a Squat

The spine should remain stable when squatting, maintaining a relatively constant position. Although the angle of the spine changes due to movement at other joints, the joints within the spine should not move much at all. This stability allows the load that you are lifting to transfer entirely to the lower body without excess stress on the spine. The muscles of the trunk provide stability, but do not produce the movement.

The Hips in a Squat

During the eccentric (lowering) phase of a squat, the hip joints are moving into flexion (narrowing the angle between thighs and belly). As you move into the concentric (lifting) phase, the hip joints move into extension (opening the angle between thighs and belly). In addition to these sagittal plane (the plane splitting your body in half right-to-left) motions, the hip joints also move into relative internal rotation during the eccentric phase, and relative external rotation during the concentric phase.

The Knees in a Squat

While squatting, your knees move into flexion (bending) on the way down and into extension (straightening) on the way up. Full range of motion into flexion requires some internal rotation of the tibia (lower leg) relative to the femur (thigh bone) at the knee joint, while full range of extension requires some external rotation of the tibia relative to the femur at the knee joint. This also involves motion of the patella (knee cap) distally (toward the foot) during the eccentric phase, and proximally (toward the hip) during the concentric phase.

The Ankles in a Squat

As you drop down into a squat, your knees move forward over your toes. This creates relative dorsiflexion (closing the angle between the tops of the feet and the shins). Coming back up from a squat, this is reversed and the ankle moves in the direction of plantar flexion (opening the angle between the tops of the feet and the shins).