The 4 Major Squat Mistakes You’re Probably Making

The following is a guest post by Jonathan Weisman.

When it comes to butt exercises, you’d be hard-pressed to find any exercise that’s more effective than squats. Every woman should have squats as a core component of her fitness regimen. Remember, squats don’t just work your butt muscles, but also all of your major leg muscles and your back. That’s why it’s one of the most essential exercises you can do.

Of course, if you want to enjoy the full benefits of squatting—and you want to avoid getting seriously hurt—you have to make sure you’re doing your squats correctly. Unfortunately, most people don’t know how to properly squat, so they’re setting themselves up for some serious problems.

The good news is I’m going to tell you which mistakes you’re probably making and how to fix them. Let’s get started:

 

Mistake #1: Wearing the wrong shoes

Before you even attempt to squat, you need to make sure you’re wearing the right footwear. That’s right, the shoes you’re wearing matter when squatting. Don’t wear running shoes with compressible soles. This can interfere with your technique and even prevent you from building strength. Your best bet is to either squat barefoot or to use a minimal, barefoot-style shoe.

 

Mistake #2: Rushing into the squat

When you rush, you make mistakes, often with serious consequences. Too many times, people simply grab the bar and go into their squat without much attention to what they’re really doing. You need to take the extra time to properly set up your squat. Approach the bar correctly by ducking underneath it and squeezing your shoulder blades together tightly to create a solid area for the bar to rest on. You also want to squeeze the bar tightly while pulling down to help stabilize your spine.

 

Mistake #3: Not dropping down far enough into your squat

Chances are that you’re not covering the full range of motion that you should be during your squats. A lot of women only do partial squats, going maybe a quarter of the way down. That’s not a proper squat. You need to aim to squat at least to the point that your thighs are parallel to the floor. This will help activate all the targeted muscles, giving you stronger legs, back, and core.

 

Mistake #4: Using the mirror to check your form

This is the one that catches everybody by surprise. What’s wrong with using the mirror to check your squatting form? If you’re facing the mirror head on, you won’t be able to tell if your form is on point. And if you’re trying to look sideways at the mirror while squatting, you’re going to twist your neck and get injured. Want to check your form? Have someone shoot a video of you doing a squat, or just ask someone knowledgeable and qualified for feedback.

 

Time to fess up – How many of these squat mistakes have you been making? Leave a comment to let us know!

 

This is a guest post from Jonathan Weisman, founder of top-selling supplements Gluteboost and Biohack Pure.