If you've spent much time in a gym you have probably squatted using a barbell - specifically the back squat (bar resting on your shoulders behind your neck). This is one of the oldest lifts in the book and is well known for being a staple in the pursuit of strength. It is also known as one of the more dangerous and challenging lifts as the weight is resting on your shoulders, putting the rest of the body under a great deal of stress. If done improperly it can cause problems and possibly injury.
Back pain is one of the most common adverse effects of back squatting, and there are several reasons why this can occur. Oftentimes it comes back to a person’s technique on the lift. If not this it is typically a mobility or stability problem. It is hard to have proper technique if your ankles or hips are not moving properly, and if you have a weak core or glutes, heavy squatting is going to be a challenge. We are not going to dive into all of that in this article, but we are going to walk through the lift step by step and discuss technique and common areas where the low back gets beat up.
The Set Up:
The first part of the lift is the set up. This is when a person steps under the bar and prepares to un-rack it. Being properly set up to lift the bar out of the rack will help lead to a strong, safe squat. The biggest mistake I see with the set up is not properly aligning oneself under the bar before lift off. When preparing to lift the bar out of the rack, many people start by setting their shoulders under the bar then walking their feet underneath to stand it up. This can put the body in a position where the knees are taking a lot of the force because the weight is placed on the front of the foot instead of being evenly distributed.
This can also make it challenging to properly brace the core. I always coach people to do the opposite when setting up. Instead, set your feet under the bar and then squat under to position your shoulders. This will allow you to ensure even loading through your foot and generate tension in your core and hips in order to lift the bar out of the rack, ensuring you are properly braced and ready to handle the weight from the ground up. Before lifting, simply brace your stomach and lift the bar out of the rack using your hips to drive the bar up. This will avoid generating the lifting force with your knees.
The Walk Out:
Following is the walk out; another key area where you want to ensure you have properly created tension in your stomach and hips to prevent any unwanted movement at your low back. Take slow, small steps back until you have enough space to begin the movement. If you walk back in a hurry and are not properly braced, the bar can either bounce a little bit (if you are lifting heavy enough) or create momentum and start to helicopter on you. This will force you to leak energy as you will have to resist the rotation of the bar and pull it back to the proper position. Essentially, don’t be an overhyped buffoon and make sure you take the walk out slow and steady to prepare yourself for the lift.
The Descent:
Once you have successfully walked out and begin preparing for the descending phase, it is important to take a breath and brace your stomach to create tension in your core. Notice I said brace your stomach not hold your breath. Those are two very different things and holding your breath is not what you want to do here.
A common error during the descent is bending at the knees before unlocking the hips. Unlocking the hips is done by shifting your pelvis back slightly and starting to drive your knees out while beginning to descend into the squat. This is the base of a typical “athletic position”. Unlocking the hips ensures that the hips are loaded properly and the knees are not taking the brunt of the force. When an individual begins the descent by bending the knees first, it often puts the force directly on the knees; this can decrease the ability to use the glutes to help drive the movement. It can also cause the weight to be shifted forward in front of the center of gravity (the middle of your foot). This increases the force on your knees and low back as you try to keep the weight from pulling you forward. This is partly why you see people fall forward or half bent over when trying to stand back up with the weight. And guess what? Your low back probably ain’t gonna like that.
The Bottom:
In the bottom phase of the squat it is important to keep the knees driven out and not let your spine round forward, or knees cave in. By driving your knees out you are keeping your glutes engaged which will take pressure off your spine. Try thinking about screwing your feet into the floor and pushing your big toe down. This can help create stability through your feet and can activate your glutes to maintain the proper position.
The Ascent:
The ascent portion of the squat is the most challenging part and is often where people get hurt. Having a proper set up and descent is vital for having a good ascent. As mentioned previously, many people allow the bar to shift forward in front of their center of gravity. It is common for the ascent to be done incorrectly by bending forward, therefore not maintaining a neutral spine through the lift. During the ascent phase, it is important to activate your quads and glutes together. This will allow you to stand up straight with the weight on your back. If one or the other is not working, the weight will pull your body forward pushing your chest toward the ground. This leads to increased stress on the back making it hard to maintain a neutral spin, which is the safest position for heavy lifting.
This is also where at times you see people have trouble preventing their knees from coming in towards each other. If the glutes are not engaged the knees will drive in towards each other leading to poor alignment at the knee putting increased forces on them in a disadvantageous position. This poor alignment can feed into the forward weight shift which again leads to more stress on the low back. The last piece of advice for the ascent is to squeeze the bar hard. Squeezing the bar helps create more tension through your upper body, shoulders, and back and can be very helpful to stay upright when the weight is heavy.
Let's sum up the main points at each stage of the squat. For the set up and walk out, plant your feet under the bar and ensure you have your core and hips engaged before lifting the bar out of the rack. For the descent, unlock the hips before bending the knees to make sure you keep the weight over your center of gravity. At the bottom, screw your feet into the floor to ensure the glutes are engaged. For the ascent, make sure to drive the knees out squeezing your glutes to help keep the torso upright and squeeze the bar hard when it wants to slow down.
Having great technique will certainly help limit your risk of getting hurt while training, however it is not the complete puzzle. You need proper mobility and stability for the lift and need to ensure you are warming up and programming well. Every person is built and moves differently, and there are various setups for the back squat and numerous other areas that could be coached to improve the lift. If you are having back pain when squatting, evaluate your technique and try implementing these things. If you are not sure you are doing it properly or want a trained and experienced eye to help you learn the barbell lifts, come see me or shoot me a message! I would love to work with you to help you crush your goals and stay safe doing so!
