The Squatting Mistakes You Have To Avoid

Squats are one exercise that you have to do in order to stay fit and sexy. You should do it at least once a week, and of course, on your leg day. I’ve shown you the Full Leg Workout Routine and how to get sexy legs, where we’ve seen why the squats are so important. Also, I’ve shown you How To Squat Right giving you an ultimate guide on nailing the squat. But I’ve never warned you of it’s side effects, if you are not doing it right. Because of that I wanted to give you the squatting mistakes you have to avoid. Let’s get started!

Not Placing The Bar Right

The first thing that you can do wrong is not placing the bar right. Depending on whether you’re doing a high bar or low bar squat, the bar’s position will vary. The most common way to squat is a high bar where the bar should be placed on your upper traps.
The mistake is that many of us are placing the bar on our neck, not on the traps. This can cause neck pain, and also not nailing the rest of the squatting process right.

Lifting Your Heels

Many of us will lift their heels as they descend. This is really wrong, because it shifts the weight forward, increases the difficulty, and stresses your knees. Your heels must remain in contact with the floor throughout the entire movement, so keep them down to the floor.

You Don’t Go Low Enough

Many of us still squat above parallel. This reduces the strength in your legs because it limits your range of motion. Also not going low enough hurts your knees, because the force of the barbell won’t shift onto your hips until you reach parallel. Going down parallel or lower is okay if you can tolerate it, but anything less is unacceptable.

Getting Your Knees In

Squatting doesn’t hurt your knees, but doing mistakes while squatting can hurt your knees. You shouldn’t make your knees work harder than your hips, and this can happen if you don’t keep your knees out. Getting them in as you squat will stress your knees and damage the ligaments. So push them out as you squat, to prevent injuries.

Rounding Your Back

You should always maintain a flat, neutral spine back when squatting. If you don’t keep your back flat, you’ll putt your lumbar spine in danger. You can get exposed to serious injuries, and really strong lower back pain.
So, to avoid this, you should use a weightlifting belt. Also, if it helps, keep your head up, as you go up (this usually works for me).

Not Breathing Right

And last, but not least, is the breathing. Many people make this mistake, because they think breathing is not important. But believe me, breathing is one really important thing, especially while doing tough exercises such as squatting.

You should inhale before you drop down. It should be a deep breath into your belly. As you inhale into your belly, you should simultaneously tighten your abs, so that your core is tight all the way down. You should breathe out as you’re making your way back up.