The squat is a foundation of strength training, yet it is also one of the most debated exercises. Should you squat with a free-weight barbell or on a Smith machine? Wear a belt or go without? How deep should you go? This article covers both technique and different training methods — from hypertrophy to jumping ability — and gives you specific guidance on incorporating squats into your program.
How split squats differ from standard squats
Another familiar squat variation is the split squat. In this variation, your feet are roughly shoulder-width apart, with one foot forward and the other back. The stance resembles the split position Olympic weightlifters jump into when they bring the barbell to their shoulders for the jerk and drive it overhead.
Lower yourself by bending your front leg until your knee moves slightly past your toes. Your front shin should tilt forward by about 10 degrees from vertical rather than remain perpendicular to the floor. Keep your torso upright as you lower yourself.
Co-activation of the hamstrings becomes even more important in split squats, as the eccentric phase often takes you deeper than in a standard squat. This depends on how long a step forward you take in the lunge. During the eccentric phase of a squat, the hamstrings help protect the knee joint (1).
Smith machine vs. free-weight barbell: why choose free-weight squats
Frankly, so-called personal trainers who are certain of themselves despite their patchy knowledge often put people on a Smith machine to squat. Put simply, this is an appalling and damaging approach. The main justification is usually: “We’ll start you off squatting on the Smith machine, then switch to standard squats once you’re strong enough.”
Even setting aside the fact that doing something correctly from the start is much easier than relearning it later, several other factors come into play. The Smith machine completely stabilizes the barbell for you. As a result, you never learn to balance the barbell or control your center of gravity. These are essential skills for squatting.
The Smith machine reduces or eliminates tension in the synergist muscles, which in turn increases the risk of injury. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Free weights allow much more natural movement and produce considerably greater gains in functional strength (2).
On a Smith machine, the barbell simply moves vertically up and down — yet nobody actually squats exactly like that. You cannot position your body and joints at the most favorable angles during the squat (3). Squatting on a Smith machine also requires an excessively upright torso. This position reduces the contribution of the spinal erectors and hamstrings too much.
All of this would be fine, of course, if you were controlling the movement with your own muscles. But the Smith machine directly prevents the hamstrings from doing their job and protecting the knee joint. Another mistake people make on the Smith machine is letting their knees travel far beyond their toes. As mentioned earlier, this increases harmful shear forces on the knee joint.
Should you use a lifting belt when squatting?
There is considerable debate over whether you should use a belt at all when squatting. Some sources emphasize the need for a belt, while others argue the exact opposite. The truth is that wearing a belt has both advantages and disadvantages.
Using a belt during squats increases intra-abdominal pressure, which helps stabilize the spine and reduces harmful compressive forces on it. However, back muscle activity is also reduced when wearing a belt (4). And it is not just the back muscles — activity decreases across all the trunk muscles, meaning they receive less training load when you use a belt (5).
Supporters of belts, meanwhile, argue that a properly designed lifting belt can actually improve your explosive strength and movement speed without compromising squat technique or joint range of motion (6).
Squatting for hypertrophy
You can incorporate squats into your training program in several ways and for different purposes. If you are a bodybuilder squatting for hypertrophy, you have several rep ranges to choose from. You simply need to plan carefully when to use each one.
Although squatting will increase body weight to some degree and improve strength and jumping ability regardless, there is one thing you should understand. The more specific your program and rep range, the better and more targeted your results will be. If you are untrained, almost any program will produce results at first, but that soon changes — without adjustments, progress becomes minimal (7).
If you want to squat to gain mass, the approach is both simple and somewhat complex. Your response to different rep ranges depends on your muscle fiber composition, training experience and biomechanics. Bodybuilders whose main concern is muscle mass should also squat heavy — this recruits fast-twitch muscle fibers, which have the greatest growth potential.
However, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy also makes an important contribution to overall muscle mass. You should therefore also squat with lighter weights and perform longer sets. In practice, this means alternating blocks of heavy, low-rep training with blocks of lighter, high-rep training in your program.
Training frequency is another major question, though the answer often depends very much on the individual. Despite these individual differences, a general rule applies: the greater your training volume (the number of sets and repetitions), including the time your muscles spend under tension (TUT), the more recovery you need before your next workout. This allows supercompensation to occur fully.
A word of caution about long sets of squats: the longer the set, the more you lean forward, particularly during the middle and final repetitions. On the one hand, this might seem beneficial, as it increases the involvement of the hamstrings in the squat and therefore in protecting the knee joint. On the other hand, leaning further forward takes load off the quadriceps and increases the risk of injury (8).
Squats for improving jumping ability
If you want to use squats to improve your jumping ability, you should not rely on squats alone. You should also perform specific assistance exercises that directly complement both the squat and the jumping ability you want to develop.
Because jumping requires you to produce a large amount of force in very little time, squats should be used specifically to increase muscle strength and power. This also increases muscle cross-sectional area: muscle strength, cross-sectional area and the force a muscle produces are positively correlated (9).
If your specific goal is to build muscle strength and power through squats to improve your jumping ability, you should train in a way that stimulates your muscles to produce force rapidly and explosively during the squat (10, 11, 12). This is done using the so-called dynamic effort method: you try to rise from the squat with maximum speed and power, using submaximal rather than maximal weights (50–70%). So far, this method has been shown to provide the most favorable muscular stimulus for improving jumping ability (13).
A program that includes heavy squats, ballistic squats (or exercises with similar effects) and plyometric exercises once a week each, in separate workouts for a total of 3 workouts per week, should provide the maximum stimulus for developing jumping ability. This allows for adequate recovery and supercompensation (14, 15).
Squats for increasing your 1RM and conjugate training
There are also several ways to increase your squat 1RM (one-repetition maximum). The most common approach is traditional periodization: over the course of a program designed for a set period, training intensity (the weights used) increases while the rep count per set decreases. Powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters use this type of periodization in much the same way.
Opinions differ on whether you should squat to failure. Some recommend going to complete failure; others advise ending the set as soon as proper technique begins to break down, leaving a little in reserve. There is no substantial scientific evidence that training to complete failure provides a greater muscular stimulus than traditional volume training that stops short of failure.
The most complex and controversial approach is the so-called conjugate training method. As the translator understands it, this is also the basis of the Westside system. The idea is as follows: in one workout, you train the squat to develop maximum muscular power (the dynamic effort method, using submaximal weights — speed training). In the next workout, just 72 hours later, you train the same muscles at maximum intensity (heavy weights), using exercises with effects similar to those of the squat (squats, deadlifts and good mornings, along with their variations).
This approach is based on long-term research by A. S. Prilepin, one of the best-known sports physiologists of the former Soviet Union (16). Louie Simmons’ Westside system follows the same principles.
The method relies on compensatory acceleration, in which you try to produce as much force and power as possible, rising from the squat at maximum speed. As the program progresses, your improved ability to accelerate and increased strength, expressed as your 1RM, begin to complement each other.
Chains and resistance bands are also useful in this so-called acceleration training. They all encourage acceleration and force you to work even harder to accelerate maximally. When using Prilepin’s approach, you should train the squat on dynamic effort day in short sets (17), but perform a large number of them: 10–12 sets of 2–6 repetitions. The training weight should be 50–70% of your 1-repetition maximum in the squat. Rest periods should be relatively short (45–75 seconds), and squats are often performed using a box (box squats).
Box squats interrupt the eccentric–concentric sequence. This eliminates the contribution of muscle stretch and the additional force it provides, forcing you to rise from a complete dead stop without using the elastic forces of the muscle structures.
The second workout trains the same muscles, but the exercises are not always squats themselves; various exercises with similar effects are also used. You perform very short sets at high intensity, usually 5–10 sets of 1–3 repetitions at an intensity of 90% or more. The aim of this training day is to improve intramuscular neuromuscular coordination.
Improvements in intramuscular neuromuscular coordination involve recruiting additional motor units. The timing of motor unit activation becomes better regulated, allowing motor units to work more synchronously. Motor unit firing rates also become better regulated: the excitation threshold of large motor units improves, so the frequency required to recruit them decreases. This approach allows you to continue training at maximum intensity week after week, varying and switching exercises to maintain the stimulus.
In one microcycle, squat variations might include box squats, squats from the safety pins in a power rack (rack squats), or front squats. In the next microcycle, these can be replaced with other exercises: standing or seated good mornings, as well as good mornings from the safety pins in a power rack. In the third microcycle, you can use deadlifts and their variations—deadlifts with different stance widths (conventional and sumo), deadlifts from a platform, and so on. Wraps and resistance bands are also welcome on the second day to increase intensity further.
Assistance exercises and identifying weak points in your squat
Assistance work matters. Squats engage the quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors and extensors, abdominals, and spinal erectors. If you cannot rise from the bottom position of the squat, that does not mean all of these muscles have failed you. Most likely, only 1–2 links in the chain have let you down. Identify the weak point and bring it up to strength with additional exercises or a greater training load.
A further note from the translator on something not mentioned in this article but included in the approach described: the so-called repeated effort method (repetitive method). This is split between the dynamic effort day and the maximum effort day. It involves adding assistance exercises in the 6–12 rep range, using 60–85% of your 1RM. The main aim is to improve muscular endurance and maintain the muscles’ ability to tolerate lactate.
In general, it is difficult to say that if squatter X fails a squat, the failure is specifically due to weakness in muscle Y. There are, however, some general guidelines that are likely to hold true in many cases.
If you struggle to rise from the bottom of a squat, this points to weak hip extensors and flexors or an inability to accelerate. The latter results from inhibition by the Golgi tendon organ—the muscles involved in the squat have never experienced much of a stretch effect. In this case, train with lighter weights and fast reps, particularly on the way up.
If you tend to lean forward during a squat and dump the barbell over your head (this happens when you try to rise from a squat, lack the strength to complete it, lean forward, and throw the barbell over your head onto the floor in front of you), this primarily indicates poor technique. Weak hamstrings and spinal erectors are also largely to blame.
If you place the barbell across your upper back, shake and sway, and cannot establish a stable position or keep your body upright even while simply standing in the starting position, this points to weak abdominals.
The points above apply provided you understand and maintain reasonably correct technique. The simple truth is this: if you cannot squat with proper technique, put your ego aside and reduce the weight and/or strengthen your weak points. Otherwise, injury is guaranteed.
Safety and proper technique are essential both for squats and for other exercises. With a few safety precautions and pointers in mind, virtually anyone can learn to squat effectively. The rewards you get from squatting are worth the effort. Squat heavy, squat often, and most of all—squat safely and with proper technique.
Frequently asked questions about squatting
Are Smith machine squats suitable for beginners?
No. The Smith machine stabilizes the barbell for you and prevents you from developing balance and control of your center of gravity, while also increasing the risk of injury. It is better to learn with a free barbell from the start—initially using a lighter weight and working with a competent spotter.
Do I need to wear a lifting belt when squatting?
Not always. A belt increases intra-abdominal pressure and stabilizes the spine during heavy single-rep lifts, but it also reduces core muscle activity. Go without a belt for lighter sets and technique practice—this develops core strength.
How many times a week can I squat?
It depends on volume. A paired training schedule separates the heavy and dynamic days by 72 hours, allowing for 2 squat days a week. In a program designed to improve jumping ability, you can spread the volume across 3 days—a heavy squat day, a ballistic squat day, and a plyometric day. As volume increases, recovery time must also increase.
References
1. Biomed Sci Instrum 1997;33:360-5 Co-activation of the hamstrings and quadriceps during the lunge exercise. Hefzy MS, al Khazim M, Harrison L
2. Stone, M. H., Johnson, R. L., & Carter, D. R. (1979). A short-term comparison of two different methods of resistance training on leg strength and power. Athletic Training, 14, 158-160.
3. Phys Ther 1995 Feb;75(2):133-44 Neuromuscular coordination of squat lifting, II: Individual differences. Scholz JP, McMillan AG
4. Lander, J.E., Hundley, J.R., and Simonton, R.L. The effectiveness of weight-belts during multiple repetitions of the squat exercise. Med Sci Sports Exercise. 24(5):603-609. 1992.
5. The Effectiveness of Weight-belts During the Squat Exercise. Lander, JE, Simonton, RL, and Giacobbe JKF. Med Sci Sports Exercise. 22(1):117-126. 1990.
6. Attila J. Zink, William C. Whiting, William J. Vincent, and McLaine, A.J. The effects of a weight belt on trunk and leg muscle activity and joint kinematics during the squat exercise. 1999. Journal of Str Con Res.
7. Influence of two different modes of resistance training in female subjects. Hisaeda H; Miyagawa K; Kuno S; unaga T; Muraoka I
8. Lander, JE, Hundley, JR, and Simonton, Rl. The Effectiveness of weight-belts during multiple repetitions of the squat exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 24(5): 603-609. 1992.
9. Force-velocity relationships and fatigability of strength and endurance-trained subjects. Kanehisa H; Ikegawa S; unaga T Choi, J. Y., Takahashi, H., Itai, Y., & Takamatsu, K. (1997).
10. Comparison of training effects between power-up type and bulk-up type in strength training. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29(5), Supplement abstract 54.
11. Hellebrandt, F. A. (1972). The physiology of motor learning. In R. N. Singer (Ed.), Readings in motor learning (pp. 397-409). Philadelphia, PA: Lea & Febiger.
12. Christina, R. W. (1996). Major determinants of the transfer of training: Implications for enhancing sport performance. In K-W. Kim (Ed.), Human performance determinants in sport (pp. 25-52). Seoul, Korea: Korean Society of Sport Psychology.
13. Wilson, G. J., Newton, R. U., Murphy, A. J., & Humphries, B. J. (1994). The optimal training load for the development of dynamic athletic performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 25(11), 1279-1286.
14. Morrissey, M. C., Harman, E. A., & Johnson, M. J. (1995). Resistance training modes: Specificity and effectiveness. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 27, 648-660.
15. Kraemer, W. J., & Newton, R. U. (1994). Training for improved vertical jump. Sports Science Exchange, 7(6), 1-12.
16. A. S Prelepin. 1969. Preparation of elite Soviet Athletes. Technical Report #1012-62, Moscow: All-Union Research Institute of Physical Culture.
17. Ariel, B.G., 1974. Biomechanical analysis of the knee joint during deep knee bends with a heavy load. Biomechanics. IV(1):44-52.
Author: Janar Rückenberg (translation)
Source:Turg.Fitness.ee
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