March/April 2020 - 26

Perfect Form
The Squat: a More Detailed Look
By Daniel Flahie, MSEd., CSCS
Contributing Writer
I
n my first article of this series, I
gave a quick introduction of what to
look for to keep your athletes safe
when performing squats, deadlifts,
and cleans. It was broad and basic
and only pointed out some major
issues that can be easily noticed. Over
the course of the next three articles, I
will focus on one lift at a time and dive
deeper into many mechanical faults
that can take place and talk on what
coaches should strive towards when
coaching their athletes. This is not an
exhaustive list, and there are many
more technique points and cuing
options that can facilitate a welldeveloped
and safe squat pattern.
The squat is one of the most
fundamental movement patterns
performed in the weight room, and
one that is very often performed
poorly. In a weight room culture that
only cares about how much weight
is being put up, technique and safety
tend to fall to the wayside. Don't get
me wrong, improving overall strength
24 | Training & Conditioning | March/April 2020
is important, especially in younger
athletes, but never at the cost of
poor technique. I don't chase weight
room numbers with my athletes,
and we rarely, if ever, do one-rep
max. We do, however, always have
the goal of improving strength
and, more importantly, power. Our
primary focus is to establish and
maintain flawless technique while
lifting, not to endlessly lift more and
more weight. When form breaks
down, we reduce the weight. After

March/April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2020

March/April 2020 - 1
March/April 2020 - 2
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/june-july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/training-conditioning-video-playbook-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2019
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