Powerlifting - The Squat

Squatting involves a heavy barbell being loaded across the trapezius and shoulders and the lifter bending at hip and knee to lower the whole body to a position where the upper legs are slightly below parallel to the floor with the back maintained in a straight position with an arch in the spinal erectors, then rise back up to the start position. The lowering portion is the eccentric phase whilst the rising back up is the concentric portion.

To begin the squat, load a barbell up in the power rack or squat rack. Walk into the rack and position yourself with the bar resting on the trapezius muscles - not the neck itself! Take a wide hand grip and a medium to wide stance. Lift up to take the bar off the rack (with the help of spotters if necessary) and take one or two steps backwards. Bending at the waist and knees, whilst keeping the back flat, lower the bar towards the ground making sure not to allow the knees to come too far forward of the toes (to avoid stress being placed on the knee cap). Keep the weight driving through the heels of the feet and do not allow the bar to make you fall forward. To assist with this, fix the gaze at a point between eye level when standing and the ceiling and keep your head fixed in place. Don’t look down and forward else the bar may well follow you! At the bottom of the squat the upper legs should be slightly below parallel to the ground. At this point most of the weight is being supported by the glutes and hamstrings (this is why people who don’t squat all the way down often have poor hamstrings!) From here drive the weight up by contracting the hamstrings and quadriceps and thrusting the hips forward at the top. For correct breathing, suck air into your belly at the start of the lift, then lower down holding your breath if possible. After a short pause at the bottom, breath out strongly to aid in the exertion of all that force to bring the weight back up to lockout. Some may find this difficult at first and should instead breathe in whilst lowering and breathe out on rising

The Stretch Reflex - as discussed in the bench press article, the stretch reflex occurs when a muscle is stretched close to its maximum, for instance in the eccentric portion of an exercise. This reflex makes the muscle that is stretched contract forcefully which aids in the concentric portion of a movement. Since there is no mandatory pause at the bottom of a competition squat (unlike a competition bench press) the stretch reflex does aid in the performance of a squat. In the case of this lift, the stretch reflex occurs in the hamstrings and quadriceps since at the bottom of the squat they are stretched, so contract via the stretch reflex to aid in returning the lifter to the upright position. The use of knee wraps creates a further stretch reflex - this time in the material of the wraps. A similar effect is caused by wearing a tight squat suit. All of these things assist in getting the lifter out of that ‘dead zone’ at the bottom of the lift.

There are few specialist methods of training for the squat (as opposed to negative reps, partials, lockout work, for bench and deadlift). Some powerlifters train with the bands that fix from the bar to the rack, but for the most part it’s as simple as squatting heavy and often! As usual Periodization is the best method of training going from high numbers of sets and reps to low ones whilst progressively increasing weight. The section below details a typical periodization program for the squat which is very similar to that for the bench press.

A Training Program For Squat

Perform Squats for the following number of sets and reps over a 12 week period

10 sets of 10 reps for two weeks
9 sets of 9 reps for two weeks
8 sets of 8 reps for two weeks
7 sets of 7 reps for two weeks
6 sets of 6 reps for two weeks
5 sets of 5 reps for two weeks

As the reps go down, increase the weights. Peform the workout once a week only. For the first two weeks, ten sets of ten squats is probably taxing enough for the legs without including ancilliary movments. At either week 3 or 5 try to bring in movements like leg extensions and leg curls to improve overall leg strength. The leg press can be used in moderation also. A typical leg workout would be as follows:

Squats See Above
Leg Extensions 3 x 8-12
Leg Curls 3 x 8
Leg Presses (every other week) 3 x 8

Once the twelve week program has finished, take a week off to allow the body to recover then start again. This kind of periodization trainig will pay off better for most in the long run than training flat out doing low reps and heavy weights all of the time. The most important aspect of squat training, especially for competition, is to make sure to go below parallel with the thighs. Not only is this the only way that a lift will be passed in competition but it is also less hazardous to the knees than half squats since at the bottom the stress is loaded onto the glutes and hamstrings whereas in half squats the knees take the stress. Many of those guys you hear complaining of knee injuries from squatting have their poor form to really blame rather than the squat itself.

June 19th, 2007