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Old 02-18-2009, 04:24 PM   #9
no quarter
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Illuminate View Post
try widening your feet and point them out more, a lot of people don't do that

just squat up and down right now without any weight, how do your feet point out? That's how they should be when you are doing them in the gym, it should be natural
to elaborate further, shove your knees out in the direction of where your toes are pointing when going down. This helps in driving your hips up from the bottom.

Also, squat below parallel. Very important. Doing quarter or half squats puts the weight on your knees and you don't get the full effect of the squat (not engaging your hamstrings and adductors). your upper body should be more at a 45 degrees. A more vertical stance would put your knees more in front of your toes than you would like which puts the weight at your toes. A more horizontal stance puts your shins closer to vertical and will alleviate pressure on your knees.

Keep doing squats though! It's quite possibly the best lifting exercise one can do. Getting the proper form is a bitch (I'm still struggling with it) but the benefits of having a proper squat is undeniable.
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