How to Squat 3

We are finishing up the squat series with this article. During our personal training sessions here in Charlotte we usually try to progress to unilateral work with legs and arms since our life primarily consists of those kind of movements.

In regards to the squat our progression can look like this:

  1. Body Weight Squat Assisted
  2. Body Weight Squat
  3. Goblet Squat
  4. Front Squat
  5. Elevated Rear Leg Split Squat
  6. Single Leg Squat

Like I mentioned before, my personal trainers and I usually do not use back squats or pistol squats due to the health risks. This progression above does not hold true for every client, since each clients capability is individually different, so we might have to use more regressions or might be able to progress faster. Unilateral work is highly important because it helps with a couple of things:

  1. Each limb has to work equally hard and “cheating” is more difficult
  2. The strength development is more balanced
  3. The aesthetic development is more symmetric

Important Queues with the rear leg elevated split squat:

  1. Place your rear leg on a bench or a stand designed for it
  2. Place the front foot about a foot length away from the pad
  3. Make sure the torso stays straight as you go down
  4. Lower the back leg to about 3 inches above the ground (half foam roller)
  5. Focus on driving the back knee “into the ground” and driving up through the front leg’s heel.


Important queues for the single leg squat:

  1. Start squatting over a higher box and move on to lower boxes, benches or split squat stands
  2. Use your arms as counter weight, possibly hold light dumbbells in your hands
  3. Make sure that the knee does not cave inwards
  4. You can squat also on a bench/box to have more room for the movement
  5. Keep the back straight while squatting
  6. Drive the thigh to parallel to the ground

I hope this blog post was helpful today. I am looking forward to hearing from you and get some feedback.



Head Trainer Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

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