Squats are indispensable for building more muscle at the gym. When you squat with a heavy barbell, your entire body undergoes stimulation, resulting in muscle growth.
On a lighter note, squats are often called the king of exercises because they entail hormonal advantages, such as releasing testosterone and building muscle in the entire body, not only in the legs.
However, many people fail to reap the full benefits of squatting at fitness centers, as they usually make ten common mistakes.
Here, we discuss those ten mistakes, describing what makes them bad, and ways to avoid them.
It often happens that people squat above parallel at the fitness studio. The practice reduces the strength building for your legs by limiting the range of motion.
In addition, the practice can hurt your knees because the force of the barbell will not shift onto your hips unless you reach parallel.
Therefore, you should ensure that your thighs are parallel to the ground while squatting.
You should not allow your knees to collapse inward while squatting. It can lead to damage to your ligaments. Instead, ensure that you point your knees toward your toes.
You might tend to lift your heels while descending in a squatting position. If you do so, the weight can shift forward, stressing your knees.
So, you should curl your toes upward to use your heels forcefully.
You might find yourself doing only one type of squat. If so, you need to avoid the practice. Instead, you should try out different squat types, targeting different muscles.
If you do not use safety bars, it is a mistake. So, you should avoid it. Ensure you use safety bars, setting them at a height where the barbell would be when you reach the bottom of your squat.
Avoid rounding your lower back. It can impart severe stress on your lumbar spine. Instead, ensure that you maintain a flat and neutral spine when squatting.
Some people do not use their glutes while squatting. Again, you should avoid that mistake. Instead, you should find ways to fire up and activate your glutes while squatting. Remember, the glutes are the strongest muscle in your body.
If you are a woman and prefer working out with females, you can join one of the best women’s fitness studios.
You might like to lift your hips faster than your shoulders while squatting. But beware, you can severely stress your lumbar spine while doing so. Therefore, ensure that you lift your hips and shoulders simultaneously.
Like many people, you might like to use the squat pad.
If so, you should avoid the practice. By doing so, you will not get the feel of the barbell. Consequently, the barbell will likely get elevated, preventing your upper traps from resisting heavier weights.
You should avoid squatting in the Smith Machine that puts you into a two-dimensional plane and elicits unnatural movement patterns. It also prevents you from reaping the full benefits of the squat.
You can reap the full benefits of squatting if you perform them without major mistakes, so try to avoid the common squatting mistakes outlined in this article.