My Go-To Squat Progression 32/84

This is kind of a part 2 from yesterday's post about squat variations and progressions for people with knee problems. I wanted to go more in depth about the actually progression that I use when I start with new people to get them from 0 to squatting like a pro.

For most people, this will begin with the progression that I outlined yesterday of squatting onto a box, tapping the box, then squatting without the box. This brings us to a point where I feel that someone can sit down into a squat with enough competency to start to add some weight. Once I feel they are ready, I always start with a Goblet Squat, which is where you squat while holding a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest height. I do this for a number of reason; the weight can start super low if i need it to, there are easy increases and decreases with  5 pound dumbbell jumps, and more importantly this squat is a front-loaded squat. That means that the extra weight is on the front of the body, which allows the person to sit slightly deeper into the squat than if it is back-loaded like a barbell back squat. This promotes better squat technique and allows for a greater range of motion. We stick with a goblet squat for a long time with a lot of my clients. We have dumbbells up to 125 pounds so theoretically I could keep them there until they are strong enough to handle that, but I usually go more off of how good their squat looks.

Once a client can go a picture perfect Goblet Squat with at least 45 pounds then I start to work them into doing front squats. I go to the front squat next because it too is a front loaded exercise (duh) meaning that we can still sit lower and be more upright. For most, this means we start front squats with an  arms crossed grip. The reason I do this is because a traditional front rack grip requires upper body mobility that most people don't have. Obviously, up until this point I have been drilling front rack mobility with them, but some people will still look better with a arms crossed grip. I will maintain this grip for as long as we need to until the mobility in the front rack is good enough that we can switch over. I prefer the traditional front rack because it allows you to move more weight and can lead us into cleans if the client wants to.

It's not until the person can do a near perfect front squat that we even start to work on back squats. Because back squats are a back loaded exercise, it requires more lower body mobility to be able to sit all the way down into the bottom of a squat. I want to make sure that we can build up the mobility for a long time so we don't have to worry about squat depth. Think about it this way, most people can take a dumbbell and squat down into a nice deep squat, but as soon as you put the bar on their back, their form goes to crap and they can't hit depth nearly as well. Don't get me wrong, I love back squats, but I just don't think they are something we need to jump right into and there are better exercises we can do with people who are just starting out.

At this point, I may start to introduce Overhead Squats into the equation because they require (more so than any other exercise) a tremendous amount of full body mobility. It's a long process but now that I am no longer coaching CrossFit athletes there's not a ton of need for my clients to be able to overhead squat.

In tomorrows post, I'll go into more detail on the progression of exercises I take once squatting without a box has been achieved. Finally, My Free Fat Loss and Free Muscle Gaining Tips are done! And I have to say that they're looking pretty awesome and I'll be emailing the to all of my subscribers soon. Those will be free to anyone who subscribes here. Right now you'll also get a free copy of the Nutrition Template that I use for myself and my clients. Subscribing will also let you join the private Facebook group that I just opened (I fixed the link). This group will allow for much more engagement with each other than my Facebook page so I can make sure you guys are getting all of the info you need.

See you tomorrow!

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