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Old 05-23-2016, 06:13 AM
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Note; It will take some time to get used to the low bar position. Stick with it and it will soon become natural. It's common to feel like the bar is going to slip off your back, but this will some rectify itself as you develop the correct technique and strength where it matters.
The body follows the head so what your head does during the squat is vital
Your body will always follow your head. In other words, if you look down at the bottom of a squat (or in the 'hole') you will have a tendency to fall forwards. The best way to remedy this is to fix your eyes on a point in front of you just above eye level, and maintain this position through the squat. This may mean driving your head back into the bar (also known as 'packing the bar').

Squatting in commercial gyms is often tricky, as you may have to squat in front of a mirror. If this is the case, use the same principle, but try to avoid looking at yourself in the reflection during the movement, as this may cause you to fall forward (a common weakness in the squat).
Grip the bar in the correct way
Firstly, a simple point but one that is often overlooked; grip the bar as hard as possible when setting up your squat. Doing so is not only essential for safety, but is also important for maximising tightness which is crucial for squatting big.

Secondly, generally the closer you can get your hand position together when gripping the bar, the better. This is because a close tight grip on the bar will have the tendency to keep your chest up and avoid the chest collapsing, which can result in losing the squat forward (as aforementioned a common error).
'Open the Groin'
Ed Coan, arguably the greatest powerlifter ever to live, always says that 'opening' the groin is essential to a big squat. Whilst this may seem like a strange concept, I think another way to put it is to force your knees out both through the descent and the ascent. This will not only recruit more muscle, but will also help ensure your knees don't collapse inward which is a common error with the squat (especially for those just starting out).

Stance
How wide your stance is will be dependent on a number of factors, notably your individual body make up. Generally when 'raw' squatting most lifters will take a more moderate stance than if they are equipped squatting (i.e. in a squat suit and with knee wraps).

However, with stance there is no hard and fast rule, people have squatted huge weights raw both with narrow and wide stances. What I suggest is you find a stance that you feel comfortable in, and one where you can hit the required depth, each time, every time. Note that a closer stance will usually mean you recruit the quads more, and the wider you go, the more the posterior chain, particularly the glutes and the hamstrings, come into play. The toes should be pointed slightly outwards for most people, and it's also important that your knees track your toes on both the descent and the ascent (see the above note about 'opening the groin').

Mental Approach to the Squat
For me, when in a powerlifting contest, once the squat was over I could look forward to the rest of the competition. The squat is perhaps the most mentally demanding lift, as you are putting a maximal weight on your back, and when it gets heavy every part of your body and mind is telling you that you can't do it. As such, I often find it curious that lots is written on the squat, particularly in terms of exotic squat routines, but little attention is paid to the mental approach to the squat.

I detail some of the key considerations below:

Visualisation
The importance of effective visualisation applies to any lift, but particularly to the squat for me. In fact, before I squatted 200kg at 19 years old and weighing a skinny/fat sub 90kg, I must have done it hundreds of time in my head. The more detail you can visualise the better; how the bar feels on your back, how many steps back you take out the rack, how many breaths you take, how do you get as tight as possible and so on.
Use controlled aggression
To fulfil your squat potential you have to commit to the lift and attack it hard out the bottom portion or 'out the hole'. One of my old training partners always used to say 'beat it out the rack' (i.e. mentally defeat it before you squat it). The best way to achieve this is focused aggression; shouting or swearing at the bar is a release of energy and aggression which would be better off bottled for when you need it.

Ten Week Strength Squat Cycle
The following routine is based on tried and tested methods which I have used over the years and is a classic progressive overload based program with a twist.

Week 1-4

Day 1: Squat 5x5 (at same weight for all sets). Aim to build up to 77.5%+ for 5x5.

Day 2: Paused Squat* 9x3@ 55%.

*Pause at the bottom (below parallel) for 2-3 seconds. The whole point of this day is not to kill yourself with maximal loads but to develop speed, to re-inforce good technique and confidence.

Week 5-7

Day 1: Squat 3x3 (at same weight for all sets). Aim to build up to around 83-85% of max, or more.

Day 2: Paused Squat 6x2 @65%

Week 8

Day 1: Squat up to heavy double. This should be a near all-out effort.

Day 2: Pause Squat 6-8 singles @70% (you can do these without a belt for added difficulty)

Week 9

REST or some light squats at 60% for 3-5 reps.

Week 10

Test max/competition

A Note on Assistance Exercises
An old Powerlifting saying is: "Nothing is better for your Squat than doing the Squat".

This rings true, as for me personally, I don't need a lot of assistance exercises if I am squatting heavy and regularly. With this being said, I would recommend that after each squat day you pick 2-3 assistance exercises. Don't worry too much about identifying your specific individual weakness, as when you're starting out everything will be relatively weak, and in my experience people are usually much more similar than dissimilar in what exercises will work best.

Front squats, good mornings, glute ham raises and anything that strengthens the hamstrings or posterior chain are a good bet. Even hack squats are a favourite for many raw powerlifters; Dan Green is a big fan of them for developing quad strength, and before him, Kirk Karowski (possibly one of the greatest squatters ever) used to use them frequently in his training cycles.

Also note, training the abs is highly important from an injury prevention perspective, in that many lower back injuries occur due to weak abs when squatting.

Wrap Up
I hope this helps; remember squat heavy, work to perfect your own individual technique and learn to love the Squat (it is the 'King' after all), and you will achieve a big Raw Squat!

A good initial aim is to squat double bodyweight for a 1-3 reps in a strict deep fashion.

Good luck on your mission to conquer the 'King of Lifts!'
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