4 Painful Squat Mistakes You Should Avoid

Making these painful squat mistakes is likely to hinder your progress and lead to injury. Nobody wants that, but people still make these mistakes when they squat. Why? Because they’re not aware of them.

Therefore, learn what these four painful squat mistakes are and how to fix them.

Jeremy Ethier, NASM and FMS certified trainer and YouTuber, teaches you how to squat properly and master the exercise’s technique in a recent video.

“By the end of it, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge of proper squat form, enabling you to achieve a safer and stronger squat right away,” he says.  

Read more: The Back Squat: How to Do It, Benefits, Variations, and More

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

4 Painful Squat Mistakes You Should Avoid

1. Hip structure ignorance
2. Butt wink
3. Unstable feet
4. Winding bar path

1 – Hip structure ignorance

Knowing what your hip structure is will help you determine what kind of stance is best for you, whether it’s narrow or slightly wider, and where your feet should point towards.

“If you try to use a squat stance that doesn’t fit your anatomy, you’ll often have trouble getting deep into the squat,” says Ethier.

2 – Butt wink

The butt wink happens when you round off your lower back at the bottom of the squat, so your pelvis pulls under the body.

“[The butt wink] can put a lot of harmful forces on the spinal disk,” says Ethier.

While the butt wink isn’t always a problem, you can try to limit it by reducing your range of motion or increasing your ankle mobility.

3 – Unstable feet

“Your feet play a major role in stabilising your body as you squat,” says Ethier. You’ll make small movements with your feet as you squat, which you need to know how to respond to.

Unstable feet can lead to compensations which can cause excessive stress on the lower back and knees, especially when working with heavier loads.

Pay attention to how you distribute your weight when you squat.

4 – Winding bar path

“To lift the most amount of weight and to avoid excessive stress in the knees or lower back, the bar should travel straight up and down as you perform a squat,” says Ethier.

Many athletes however, make the mistake of letting the chest fall forward and the hips to rise up during the ascent, shifting the bar forward from the midline and potentially placing more stress on the lower back.

How to fix these four painful squat mistakes

Watch the video below to learn how to fix all these painful squat mistakes.

“It’s not just about choosing the right exercises, but also performing them in a way to get the most out of them while avoiding any potential injury or setbacks later down the road,” says Ethier.