As a personal trainer, I see people bastardizing their exercise form on a daily basis. It used to really bother me but I’ve pretty much accepted the fact these circus acts will continue long after I’m gone. However, before I sing my swan song, I still want to do something to curtail these weight room miscues. So, in this article, I will cover a mistake I commonly see when people perform a barbell back squat.
The mistake that I repeatedly see on the barbell back squat is a horizontal elbow position. This means that when an individual sets up to squat, their elbows are pointing back as opposed to pointing down towards the ground. Of course, this isn’t anything earth shattering but it is a very ineffective way to squat because there is absolutely no tightness in the upper back and lats. Further, it puts the lifter in a disadvantageous position because when the weight gets heavy enough, it’s going to pull them forward and most likely, make them miss the lift.
So, what cues or advice would I give someone with this type of squat form? First, I would verbally cue them to keep their elbows directly under the bar at all times during the squat. This will allow them to be at a more biomechanically sound position and would not be setting them up to collapse at any point during the movement. I have seen this work in multiple instances and know it can be beneficial if put to proper use. As a quick aside, I personally don’t like the cue of pulling the bar down on your back during a squat. I know this is a popular phrase used by the powerlifting community but I never found it to have any merit for myself. I’ve squatted 635 raw and the last thing I need to be thinking about at that time is putting more weight on my spine by pulling down on the bar!
Once I am done cueing a client on keeping their elbows pointing down towards the floor, I would then have them perform the actual movement to see if it fixes the problem. It might be a simple fix or it might be a difficult task because of the prevalence of upper cross syndrome (i.e. tight chest, weak mid-back) in today’s society. If this is the case, they would then be a prime candidate for static stretching and self-myofascial release of their pecs. To see some examples, check them out here and here, respectively. The intention is that these drills will relieve some of the tension existing in the chest fibers and hopefully, give the lifter more mobility. Besides these recommendations, I would advocate for thoracic spine mobility drills here to improve extension and rotation in their upper back since they are probably suffering from some degree of kyphosis. Last, there would need to be a heavy emphasis placed on upper back and mid-back strengthening. Row variations, face pulls, band pull-aparts, pulldown variations, etc. should be the bread and butter of the workout program. A ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 pulling-to-pressing exercises would be a solid place to start in order for this imbalance to be rectified sooner rather than later.
If you want to see this “elbows down” cue in action from someone in powerlifting who is really strong, check out Ben Pollack’s squat (and his 2039 total @ 198 Raw) here. His squat form is definitely unorthodox, but it fits his body’s levers and strong points and he has mastered it with world record perfection.
Overall, thanks for reading and please let me know if you have any questions or comments. Take care and as always…SETTLE DOWN, SLACKERS!!!