Squats and Deadlifts

November 17, 2009 // Al Kavadlo

KavadloSquatSquats are probably the single most common exercise that people need help with in order to achieve proper form.

The main thing to know about squatting with proper form is to go all the way down until the top of your thigh is below parallel to the ground. That might be lower than you think. You should ask someone to watch you to be sure.

Also keep in mind that your heels should not come off the ground at any point during the lift. Third, the movement should be initiated from the hips, not the knees. What I’m saying is, stick your butt out!

A deadlift, to put it simply, involves picking up a weight that’s on the ground in front of you. I’m sure you’ve heard the advice to lift heavy objects with your legs and not your back–that advice is talking about the deadlift! It is a great functional exercise for this reason.

Another way to look at deadlifts is that they are similar to squats except that you are holding a weight in front of you. The two most common types of deadlifts are the Romanian deadlift and the more traditional Olympic deadlift. The Romanian deadlift involves less knee flexion than the Olympic deadlift.

Romanian deadlifts involve less knee flexion.

Squats and deadlifts are amazing postural exercises but you must really focus on good posture while you do them in order to get those benefits. Keep your chest held high and pull your shoulder blades together!

Deadlifts work your grip strength and lower back, but they also work your hamstrings and glutes. Make sure you don’t use your back too much on these and that most of your range of motion is coming from your hamstrings. That means just like squats, stick your butt out when you do a deadlift.