5 Dangerous Mistakes People Make While Doing Squats
Squats are, beyond doubt, one of the best, most basic exercises you can do. While the majority of people do this with a barbell, even doing it without additional encumbrance will do the trick. In other words, it’s the backbone of a calisthenic routine, as well. Those who argue that it’s too easy without a barbell just haven’t done enough squats in a series.
However, this is an insanely hard exercise. Even with your own body weight, even while in a top condition, after a while, you’ll start feeling fatigued. The reason behind this is that it’s one of the calisthenic exercises where you’re supposed to lift a major portion of your body weight. The second one is the fact that these muscles are amongst the largest in your body. This means that they burn a lot of calories, consume a lot of oxygen, and, as such, drain you out of energy rather quickly.
Moreover, due to the fact that the majority of people consider this to be one of their strongest exercises (one where they can add the most weight to the bar), this is where major injuries happen all the time. In order to avoid these incidents and stay safe while doing squats, here are five dangerous mistakes people commonly make.
1. Not going low enough
One of the biggest myths lies in the fact that parallel squats are bad for your knees. This is what makes people squat above the parallel. So, what’s the origin of this myth? It’s hard to say but it’s likely that the fact that doing squats this way is easier might be partially responsible for this. Remember, the force of the barbell doesn’t shift onto your hips until you reach the parallel. This means that by not going low enough, you’re actually slowing down your progress. Remember, parallel squats are not bad for your knees and they are far more effective.
2. Not using safety bars
There’s a reason why every quality squat rack has some safety bars. Still, some people are so confident that they avoid using them altogether. This is reckless and completely outlandish. Setting up these bars takes a couple of minutes, and the protection that you get could make a massive difference. The key thing lies in placing it at the just-right height. To determine this, start with an empty barbell and go all the way down (remember, no such thing as too low). This is where your safety bars need to be. This will give you more maneuvering room and offer you a chance to rest the bar for a while until you’re ready to go up again.
3. Collapsing your knees in
A potentially fatal mistake that a lot of people make while squatting is allowing their knees to collapse inward during a squat. This puts extra stress on your knee and causes damage to your ligaments. Your knees need to point in the same direction as your toes. This problem usually occurs due to the fact that people watch too many squatting posture guides on YouTube and try to emulate what they see on the screen. There are a couple of reasons why this is such a bad idea. First of all, everyone’s body composition is different. The best way to find YOUR best squatting pose is to assume a position that you would be in if you were to jump in place.
4. Lifting your heels
This happens to a lot of people and it causes the weight to shift forward. The problem with this habit is that it increases the difficulty of the squat, potentially leading to a complete collapse. In order to avoid this, you need to curl your toes upward while going down, which will force your heels to remain firmly on the ground. Needless to say, this increases your strength and potency during this exercise, as well as boosts your overall performance. Most importantly, it increases your safety. Once you start adding weights to the bar, the significance of this will grow exponentially.
5. Rounding your lower back
Out of all the mistakes that you could be making while squatting, this one is the riskiest one. It puts extra pressure on your spine and even if it doesn’t just cause a snap, it will drastically erode some of your discs. It also puts so much stress on your lumbar region. Now, one of the best ways to avoid this is to have a spotter or stand in the spot where you can see the mirror on the side. Naturally, start either with a small weight or without any added weight whatsoever. Remember, this is a test run. Then, try to establish whether you have a habit of rounding your back or not. This is something that could save you in the long run.
In conclusion
In the end, learning how to properly do squats is one of the most important things in reaching any fitness goal. Sure, in theory, leg press works a similar group of muscles and it’s a bit safer but the effects are not quite the same. Squats boost your overall preparedness, increase your core strength, give you an increase in your balancing abilities. Make sure to start with the proper technique and gradually increase the encumbrance so that this extra effort doesn’t spoil your technique. With these tips in mind and with the awareness of the above-listed five mistakes, you should be set and ready to go.
